SAHMs and breakups D/D

This is to SAHMs.

If your husband passed away or if you two divorced/broke up, how many of you would be able to support yourself and your children without government assistance or child support?

Do you think it is important for a SAHM, no matter how stable her relationship with her husband is, should have a higher education and extensive work experience (i.e. a career) prior to having children? I've noticed that many of the SAHMs on BG don't have a higher education / extensive work experience and would be screwed if their SO left them.

Do you think it is dangerous to rely on a man 100% financially?

Watching...

I am working on getting a higher education so no matter what I will be able to support myself and my kids.

Yep I think so.
When I was a SAHM I still made an income selling things online and when SO lost his job when our son was 8 months old it was very easy for me to find 2 jobs to hold us over.
I work full time now but when the baby's born I will be a SAHM once again but could never do it if I didn't think it's be easy for me to find work again if I needed to.

I'm working on getting a business degree while being a stay at home mom.

I would be on gov at least at first while finding a job but I would be able to find work. I have my associates and bach...although my bach is in psychology you can't do quite as much as someone with a masters or higher but I could always get my teaching certificate and teach!

It's always good to have a backup plan. I have a Bachelor's Degree, but I didn't like Social Work. Although, if I had to feed my kids, it's the first thing I'd apply for until I found something else.

I'm not a SAHM but I have been. I do think it's dangerous to rely on someone else 100%, you should always have a backup plan and McDonalds isn't it lol... and I don't know why any woman wouldn't aspire to be/do more than care for children and a home. What about when their kids grow up and move out? Imo being a stay at home wife isn't a valid title lol

I definitely think its dangerous to rely 100% on the salary of one person and that people should have a backup plan in case anything were to happen.

Quoting Back to Noob Status:" This is to SAHMs. If your husband passed away or if you two divorced/broke up, how many of you would ... [snip!] ... work experience and would be screwed if their SO left them. Do you think it is dangerous to rely on a man 100% financially?"

I'm pretty much a sahm now, but I'm going to school just for this reason. I will be a teacher, which they don't make much, but enough that I would be able to be financially stable without my SO.

I don't have an opinion on what other women should do, since I'm not them. But for me, I've got a degree & plan to continue not long after this baby arrives. I've got work experience. And I never did it in case something may happen, but now that you mention it, I'm thankful now for that reason that I did. DH & I both also have good life insurance coverage should anything happen (given its within the causes that the plan would cover) & it would be enough to take care of all the big stuff, pay off the house, etc. so I doubt if anything happened to either of us that we would end up on any assistance, although there is nothing wrong with that if/when help is needed.

I only stayed married to my ex because I didn't want to be away from my daughter during his visitation. I luckily worked and knew I could make it, it would be rough. I recently remarried and am now a SAHM due to health. I know if this marriage fails, I could make it.

It was important to me to have a degree and career before becoming a mom because I knew I would be a SAHM.

Quoting Rd.:" I'm not a SAHM but I have been. I do think it's dangerous to rely on someone else 100%, you should always ... [snip!] ... for children and a home. What about when their kids grow up and move out? Imo being a stay at home wife isn't a valid title lol"

I don't agree with that last statement at all.
Kids should be with their mothers first and foremost. My son didn't start daycare until he was 20 months and that's because SO and I broke up and I needed to work more.
We both worked before that but had opposite schedules and had a babysitter a few hours a day when they overlapped. But honestly when I have 3 or 4 kids under the age of 4, yeah I think being a SAHM will be a very fitting title and much cheaper than having them all in daycare and working.


ETA ignore all of that. I just realized you were talking about after the kids grow up lol

Quoting Cariad (SuperKink):" I am working on getting a higher education so no matter what I will be able to support myself and my kids."

  Same. I regret the fact that I didn't finish my degree before having DD. In my defense I didn't think I would conceive so fast when we started to TTC (5th cycle).
I hate the fact that I rely on DH 100% for income/support. If he were to die/leave me right now I would be screwed. I can't wait to go back to school next fall, like extremely excited to get my final semester done!