Thanks qwerty and akkord for your inputs.
For our family, it came down to money vs. baby to be real honest. We both were making decent amount money, but my wife, though she was on her way to promotions and more opportunities, quit her job and dedicated first couple years to take care our kids full time. Of course, I help whenever I can, but it would never be as much as how much she does. Raising kids full time is actually the hardest job/task in case you don't know. So mad respect to those full time moms out there. Sure, our income got cut in half, but we've never felt like we don't have enough money to be honest even though I don't make 7 figures or anything. Some people might say that's missing out opportunities and wasting time for her, but my wife definitely feels like she made the right choice. It wasn't like she's been wanting to quit. She loved her job to be clear.
Going into a little more religious side, I think my wife taking a role of a woman to raise kids full time is something God originally intended for a family to operate and I believe God will take care of ones who make such sacrifice/choice in terms of financial issues since we all worry about that area before making a decision. I believe God will surely take care of a woman who takes the hardest job for her family. We've been experiencing God taking care of us regardless of our income that's only half of the full potential. Not sure how, but we actually feel like there are more in our bank for some reason (no, we don't have debt). But of course there are exceptions and not all family or a wife is in the same situation that can quit her job, so I can't say what we did is the only right way for everyone. Even if you disregard all these religious things, your babies will get mom's full attention so that's the biggest gift you can give to your little ones. Just sharing our experience and thoughts.
akkord said:
This is exactly what I tell some of my friends where one of them wants to be a stay at home mom/dad. If you stay home, you lose that potential income of making more in the future (promotions, annual salary increases, switching jobs, bonuses, etc.) and trying to get back into the job market after a few years, you may be making a lot less.
The flipside is, you'll never have that time back when the kids are babies/toddlers, so I can see the other side. But in Irvine, where both the husband/wife/partners most likely make 6 figures+ it's hard to justify quitting a job to forego all the potential income.
qwerty said:
Mety said:
The reason people send their kids to full time daycare is because both mom and dad are working?
What about mom (or dad) stays home and not spend those $3000 a month on daycare? Is it because you'll make more than $3000 a month?
Depending on how much each parent makes, the opportunity cost may be too high. If you have one parent making a lot and one netting about 3k per month then it would make sense from strictly a financial perspective for the lower earning parent to stay home. If you have two high earners then paying for daycare is probably the best route. If one of the high earning parents takes 3-5 years off, or longer, the job market may pass them by