I'm a sahm/homemaker right now. I'm currently on the sub. list for aides at the kids' school, hoping to get a close to full time position. Brian is a self employed electrical contractor, and what we pay for medical insurance is ridiculous, but we are so blessed that we can afford it. If I could work at least 25 per week at the kids school, I would be considered full time and qualify for benefits. I'd also be able to away some retirement for myself. Brian's already said should I get hired on, he didn't care what I spent my paycheck on, as long as we had benefits. Working 25 hours per week, at $7.50 an hour to start, after taxes, benefits, and retirement contributions, I'd bring home about $100-125 every 2 weeks.

However, I do adore being a housewife and full time mom!! I'm able to volunteer at the school, and I"m on the pto as well! I guess we'll just see what the future brings!

 Just read Walts post about ironing shirts. DH do go to the laundry and it will be the last thing that I give up. lol He doesnt wear them all the time but often has to come home and change quick because something popped up. I work too many hours to iron shirts. I did years ago and that will change, maybe, in the future. For now, I am supporting my local laundry. Babs

I have worked since I was 14, only stopping to have two kids and a hysterectomy, I've always been very frugal most times out of neccessity. I had my kids in my 20's so I had plenty of energy to clip coupons, go to three different stores, yard sale for kids clothes every weekend. I even cooked everything from sractch including bread sometimes, no bread maker. At that time I usually worked 50-60 hours a week and did for 20 years. Now I'm 46 still very furgal and have no clue how I did it all back then, I guess it was my upbringing we always had the attitude of you do what you have too ,different era, no soccer moms, the kids had one activity per week if that and they received an allowance for chores to help me out even as early as 3-4 years old. Now no kids at home very simple to do what I have to do and still working but now 9-5.

I still iron my husbands shirts every Sunday, I actually like to iron isn't that strange?

I also like to iron and I do iron my DH's shirts.  We tried taking them to the laundry but when several came back with broken buttons I decided to do them myself. 

Shellia

gabbiecat:

I still iron my husbands shirts every Sunday, I actually like to iron isn't that strange?

Not strange at all in my book! I enjoy ironing and sometimes even make work for myself. I hang 99% of my laundry on the line outside and it needs ironing when it comes in. I like to get a glass of iced tea, take off  my shoes, put on some music and make a good time of it.  

I'm disabled.  I work about 12-20 hours a week as a telephone operator for a hospital.  No kids...just pets...they're my children.

Housewife here too. And I don't bake my own bread anymore despite being very good at it and loving to do it. Between my kids' food allergies and my insulin resistance-prediabetes, I would have to take such teensy portions of any bread I did bake, and I love bread, and homemade fresh bread is a cruel form of torture to smell and not indulge in. I will undoubtedly bake again, when the baby isn't a baby anymore, but it would still have to spartan bread with no egg nor milk, (yes I know perfectly good breads have neither egg nor milk, but mmmmmm it sure is good to make it with!) and then I would still have to eat only one thin little slice and stop there. Maybe one slice is better than none, but supermarket lite bread is easier to resist overindulgence with.

Used to make melt-and-pour soap for fun, but it's hardly frugal. Would make my own soap if I had excess animal fat to dispose of. Otherwise that too is more expensive than buying Kirk's Castille.

"I work 40 hours a week outside of the home and take on just about all of the responsibilities at home when it comes to cooking meals, grocery shopping, keeping the house clean and organized and most of the "childcare". It's really difficult, both physically and mentally. "

Julie,

I feel for you. I always felt when I was working a job, that even when I liked the job, it was awful not to be able to be home, and I longed to be doing homekeeping instead.

I also wonder why your husband imagines that you should work two jobs to his one. Does he really try to have it both ways, that you should work full time at a job the same as he does, yet he shouldn't do his half of the homekeeping? When a couple are both wage-earning fulltime, that means either they have hired or volunteer help doing the home chores, or else they each must take on the additional half-time job of the homekeeping, betweem them. It's not right that a man should expect his wife to do even more than he expects from himself.

Work full time, but with a very flexible schedule. Some at the office, some on the road/field and some from home.

DL