The value of Parenting:
Analysis shows stay-at-home moms are worth more than $131,000 a year
By Jimmy Hancock - Journal Writer
Although she never thought she would be so far removed from the workplace, Lisa Fisher believes being a stay-at-home mom caring for her two young sons is the most important job she could have.
“I said all along while I was pregnant that I would be going back to work,” Fisher said. “I stayed home six weeks with Adrik and when it was up, I just couldn't stand the idea of leaving him.”
Her desire to stay with their son didn't bother her husband, Keil, much. Lisa said her husband grew up on a farm with his mother home full time. He wanted their children to have the same, at least for part of the day.
There's no question that the emotional value of Fisher's services is priceless to her family. But stay-at-home parents such as Fisher add financially to the household as well.
Childcare, transportation, cleaning, cooking and other household duties are all important, expensive tasks, the replacement value of which is often severely underestimated.
An analysis by Salary.com found that today's 5.4 million stay-at-home moms would earn $131,471 in annual salary, including overtime pay, if they were doing the same work for an employer.
The value of parenting has important implications for personal finances, in issues such as borrowing for a mortgage to buying life insurance. When they do their financial planning, many families don't take into account the value of parental caregiving. Neither do some in the financial world, even though the issue has been around for decades.
In the mid-1970s, when women entered the work force in large numbers, life insurance companies began to consider how much value a spouse imparts in a two-income household vs. a single-income household.
"What you're really looking at is some of the things like housekeeping services, somebody to cook the meals, somebody to do the laundry," said Linda Lanam, vice president of annuities and market regulation at the American Council of Life Insurers. "There is a cost to replacing that."
But mortgage companies and other lenders may not fully consider those costs when calculating a family's ability to carry a loan. And there are other considerations in today's world. Many two-income families have had to deal with this issue when one spouse is laid off.
As their household income dropped, it was balanced by cost savings of not having to pay day care; savings on maid, yard and pet services; the lower costs of home-cooked meals vs. dining out; and lower work-related costs such as commuting, clothing and lunches.
Another silver lining is the sole wage earner may have a greater chance of increasing his or her income, since the stay-at-home spouse presumably is now shouldering a larger share of the household work and the working spouse can pursue a better-paying position.
For the Fishers, the last scenario played out, eventually bringing them to Pocatello. The couple was living in Chadron, Neb., when their first son was born in 2002. Keil was working for the post office as a carrier when he decided he was interested in a similar position in Pocatello.
“My husband was stationed in Mountain Home when he was in the Air Force,” Fisher said. “He loved Idaho and watched the transfer list and saw there was an opening in Pocatello.”
Because Keil's mother lived close enough to care for her grandson, Lisa had gone back to work in August 2002, putting in 10 to 15 hours a week. It allowed Lisa the social interaction she desired and she didn't have to leave her young son in day care.
The couple decided in July 2003 to move to Pocatello and Keil took the transfer to the post office here. Before the couple and their young son even got to Pocatello, they learned of another impending change in their lives.
“During the move out here, with the U-Haul in a parking lot in Kemmerer, Wyo., we found out I was expecting another child,” Fisher said.
Even though Keil's position in Pocatello was only guaranteed part-time hours, he found every available chance to fill in was actually working 60 hours or more per week when the couple first moved to Pocatello.
Lisa said her husband's increased pay and her impending delivery made it easy not to work before Jantzen, her second son, was born a year ago. Now she chooses not to work for both economic and personal reasons.
“It's not purely economics,” Lisa said. “I just don't want my children in day care full time.”
Although she has a bachelor's degree in legal studies, Lisa said it doesn't lend itself to many jobs, unless you want to go on to be a lawyer.
That was her original intention, but as she neared completing the degree, Lisa decided that wasn't the career she wanted after all. She's found that most part-time positions just won't cover the costs the job creates.
“To find a part-time job and justify the cost of day care and juggling schedules, just was too hard,” Fisher said. “You also have to figure in the cost of going to work, gas and eating out. I would also have to get a new wardrobe because I haven't worked regularly in three years.”
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