Hubby is curious to how others support a large family..
As u all pretty much know, we are ttc #6, i have always told hubby, i will have as many children as he will give me, i have also said how i would love at least 8, he has never said a definate no, but just wants to concentrate on ttc this one for now.
He is curious to know what incomes/jobs the other larger families have, we although not rich, are living comfortably for now, but of course the more kids the more things cost.
Atm, we are on centerlink as hubby has just finished studying, but he plans on getting an apprenticeship soon.
We dont know many large familys of 5 or more in our area, so he is curious to see how another families afford their big tribe.
I think hubby would be very keen to keep having more kids, if he hears positve stories from other larger families, so far we only get negativity from our imediate family.
While we're not the biggest of families, we're still a family of 6.
My DH is the sole provider and brings home a decent income which makes it easier for me to be a SAHM.
It all comes down to budgeting correctly I guess. We pay 1/3 of DH's income on the house, and we run 2 cars. We buy all our food as cheaply as possible but are still able to afford some luxuries. I love to cook so that helps a lot. We try to save money each week but end up having to go into it for things like birthdays etc, but we kinda figure that's what the savings are there for.
We're lucky as our children are fairly spaced apart in age which for now makes things a little easier. DH & I always knew we'd like loads of babies but money is the only factor that really stops us from having more, I know for us another child would put us into a much dire predicament, which is why I am more than happy to stay a family of 6. If we happen to get an amazing lotto win, things may change
Our income varies a lot from year to year because we are farmers so we could earn say $70,000 one year, $90,000 the next back to something like $60,000 the year after that depending on what prices we get for grain, sheep and wool etc. So we live on a base budget, which would be similar to what someone on centerlink benefits would get, so under $30,000 per year plus family assistance, so that anything else can pay for the farm running costs, business loans etc and anything left goes into savings. $30,000 might not seem like a lot of money but doing this for a few years now has allowed us to put away a substancial kitty to pay for incidentals like trips away etc so we are living pretty comfortably.
I grew up in a big family and dad did a number of jobs, but the main ones i can remember were draftsman, truck mechanic, worked in a duck plucking factory, and working with plastics in a factory. Mum also did ironing from home, cleaning of people 's houses and small businesses.
When the youngest was at school, mum started tafe and later worked and studied again by correspondence.
DH pays CS for two kids from his previous relationship - so that knocks about $460 of his income out. We have 2 and are planning for number 3 in the next 6 - 12 mths.
Combined we earn about $120K + each financial year. Each year we get a pay increase (government jobs) and we get an increase when we go up in rank also.
Due to shift work we only end up putting the two kids in CC one week out of three. We're still better off if we both work full time - I love it for myself more than anything - its not just about the cash.
We live in a nice suburb, and save a lot of money now in the kids accounts for their future education. We are living quite well - could be better if we cut back on some 'wants' - but pffftt - we're all happy and healthy! Money is in the bank just in case something goes wrong.
6 in our family.....Dh works two jobs.....Fire Brigade (shift work) and has his own motorcycle biz. THere is no way we could live off the fire brigade wage alone..mmm maybe we could, be we dont want too. ...i dont want to have to watch where every cent of where our money goes...if the girls need a new pair of shoes i want to be able to buy them there and then....., if we want takeaway 2 nights in a row, we can have it. We're not rich by any means, but having 2 incomes being brought into our home, gives us a bit more breathing space money wise.....
There has to be 2 x incomes coming into our household, me and him work, or he works 2 x jobs. ATM him working two jobs works well for us with a young family. Downside is, DH works alot....but the days he does give himself off, are spent wisely...i.e every second really does count...
I actually have 5 children also. I have to congratulate you for living off centrelink. I am not sure that I could do that. We dont actually qualify for Centrelink anymore but I can still remember a time when I only had 2 little ones and it was TOUGH!!
My husband and I earn a combined package of close to $200 000 - but when I graduate we will change careers probably and will have to take a big pay cut until my career progresses.... scary thought.
AllisD, we have been on centerlink while hubby did his pre apprentice plumbing course at tafe, it was hard at first cause we lost a massive amount of income when he left his job, unfortunatly it was not his decission to leave work, he was let go, when he decided to put his family first ahead of work, i was put on bed rest and had no one to look after the kids, but it gave him the oppotunity to learn a new skill and trade and find a job that he really wanted to do.
I did not mean to offend with my comments about Centrelink. I think that it's great that your DH has (although not by first choice) been able to change careers. We thought about it last year when we realised our skills were only any good in one industry - but we couldnt make the figures work.
Have you heard about In Home Care? It is an option for childcare that doesn't cost a cent depending on circumstances.
Hubby is curious to how others support a large family..
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