Good for you then. We all agree that $$$ is not the be-all and end-all, but it is important not to be lacking it.
My wife too took a break of more than a year to accompany me for my overseas posting. At that time, I was given an allowance over and above my Singapore salary. To supplement that, we also rented out our home. So financially we did not suffer that much from her no-pay leave of more than a year. That period gave us a feel of what it was like to be living on one income. As we led a comfortable life with money left over for savings, we felt she could continue to be a housewife if she so chose to be when we got back.
Luckily she decided to continue working when we returned, greatly boosting our income and savings. I said luckily because with her working, our savings rate was higher allowing us to invest more. What happened was we were saving all of her income plus some of mine every year!
We are now aiming to generate a passive income that would cover her salary so that she could retire and enjoy doing the things she always wanted, but didn't have the time. We are quite near to that goal. Last year we hit $120k pa of passive income.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ampie
I have been wearing the title of "housewife" due to being out of work for a very long time. Part of this period was spent overseas so it wasn't so bad, I had the
excuse to take a break and not work because my visa didn't allow me to work in that country, but I have been back for over 18 months now and am still unable to find work.
My husband earns well but I still do not feel secure being a permanent homemaker. Reading the household income thread it seems none of the forumers have spouses who are homemakers.
How much would you need to earn before you and your spouse feels is enough for him/her to be a stay-home homemaker and parent? Or do you feel no matter how much you make, your household income can always be more in a place like Singapore?
Hypothetically, let's say you make $300k a year. Even if your spouse makes $60k a year, that is a boost of 20%. Would anybody turn down a "raise" of 20% of their salary from their boss?
|