Being a Work-at-Home Mom: Do you have what it takes?

I have been a work-at-home mom for almost year now. I resigned from my last job on April 15, 2009… it was my birthday gift to myself, so to speak.

My birthday wish last year was “freedom” from the bondage and inequities of the corporate world, and I made the decision to grant it… a decision filled with fear and trepidation for what lies ahead after my last paycheck.

While I did try to come up with a back-up plan to my not receiving a salary every fifteen days, the next months were indeed a struggle… both financially and emotionally.

Actually, it is still a struggle almost a year later, but it is now more a financial than an emotional one. You could say I am slowly starting to come to grips with my “new reality”.

So, for all you mothers who are still caught in the labyrinth of indecision, this one is for you.

How will you know if you, too, can be a work-at-home (or even a stay-at-home) mom?

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Why do I want to leave my job?

Do you hate the job itself or just your boss? It could be that you are just in the wrong job, doing something that you do not really enjoy. For example, you hate math but you are working in the Accounting Dept.

Maybe you just don’t like your boss or your co-workers. Let’s face it, team dynamics is crucial to wanting to stay with a company. If you don’t enjoy being with the people you are working with, it could be THE deal-breaker for you. Unless you enjoy dragging yourself everyday just to go to work.

Whatever your answer to the question is, you should first try to find a “solution” to whatever it is you dislike about working before deciding to be a WAHM or SAHM.

This word of caution is meant especially for those over 35 and not yet in a supervisory or managerial position. You might find it doubly hard to get hired after you have decided that being a WAHM or SAHM is not for you.

The hiring age in the Philippines is still pegged at below 35 and the “equal opportunity” employers are limited to a few industries only (e.g., callcenters).

2. Where will I get the money to support myself or my family?

It might be easier to decide to just jump ship if you have only yourself to feed and spend money on. The difficulty increases when you have a family depending on you or kids that you have to send to school.

If you are married, see to it that your husband’s salary can cover for the income that you are no longer going to receive bi-monthly. Make a list of your expenses and see if your family can afford to live on a single income (your husband’s).

Ask yourself also how you would feel as a “dependent” of your husband. Bear in mind that you will no longer be earning your own money to spend on whatever you fancy. If you are the independent type, this arrangement might not work for you unless you have enough savings to tide you over for the next few years or if you can find another source of income as soon as you quit your job.

3. Will I be happy to be “just” at home?

Whether you are a WAHM or SAHM the reality is you are expected to be at home 95% of the time. If you are not home almost all the time, then you are either employed or running your own business outside of your home.

Unless you married a very wealthy man who can afford to pay for at least one house help or if you live with your parents or in-laws who don’t mind having you to just bum around all day, expect yourself to be doing all the housework from cooking to doing the laundry. Will you be okay doing all that?

Also, will you be happy not “going somewhere” (read: to the office) everyday? If you are the type who loves dressing up for work and hoarding makeup or office bags and shoes, this stay-at-home arrangement might not work for you.


These are just some of the initial points you should consider before deciding to sever your ties with your employer to be a stay-at-home. I’ll leave it to you to figure out the other factors for consideration because the decision really depends on one person: YOU.

Only you can figure out where your ultimate happiness is… not your husband… not your kids. Of course you must add them to the equation, too, but in the end only your happiness can tip the balance of the stay-at-home scale.

Still undecided? Pray to God for guidance. Everything falls into place in His perfect time.