The Two Income Family Myth of Mom Working Outside the Home

In days of yore women stayed at home to tend the home fires, cook the meals, care for the family garden and livestock,  and look after their children.  Three significant events took place affecting Canada and other parts of the world that took women out of the home and into the workforce.  They were:  World War I (1914 -1919), The Great Depression (1929 - to early 1940's) and World War II (1939 - 1945).  Women left the home to work as a sign of social responsibility as well as to help support their families.  Fast forward to 2011 and women are still working outside of the home mainly due to the cost of living has become so high that two incomes are necessary to keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables.  However, the two income family really is a myth.

Consider the family of four with husband gainfully employed.  Unless the wife has some type of formal education the minimum wage in Ontario is $10.25 per hour and $8.90 per hour if working in an establishment that serves liquor.  I'm going to do all the calculation based on a per week basis.  Assuming the higher amount a 40 hour work week works out to $410 per week before taxes at 15% for the first $41,544 earned in 2011 ($61.50 per).  Child care for two children comes in at $200.00.  Mom's too tired to make herself a lunch ($25.00) and usually buys a coffee ($7.25) on the way to work each day.  The cost of gasoline to drive the vehicle to work comes out to $35.00 plus addition miscellaneous vehicle expenses at an average of $15.00 per week which includes parking if charged, insurance, basic maintenance.  Mom is running late so picks up fast food once during the week at an average cost for a family of four $25.00.  At this rate Mom is actually netting a whole $41.25 per week.  Now $41.25 is still extra money but it is not a lot for the effort expended and the true costs of working outside the home haven't even been fully covered.  There's the extra clothing costs and extra grocery costs with increased convenience foods just to name a couple.

The way to get ahead first and foremost is to cut back on your expenses.  I will give a few tips on how to do that in tomorrow's post.  The following post will deal with a few legitimate ways to make money online.

Garden Gnome