The Stay At Home Mom “Salary”
While some holler and fuss about the untouchable price tag, others are perfectly fine stamping a firm number on this gig.
Not surprisingly, many stay-at-home moms (SAHM) undervalue their own efforts.
After all, most of these women put in 96 hours a week caring for their family and household—without seeing an actual company paycheck.
Needless to say, as a SAHM, it can be hard to know exactly what you’re worth…or why it even matters.
To your family, you’re undeniably worth every penny you’re not being paid.
And to replace you would be a nightmare. (But more on this later.)
The bottom line is that your salary would top 150k, and here’s why this information should be important to you.
According to 2019 data from Salary.com, if you are a stay-at-home mom (or dad), and paid for your services, you would be looking at a median annual salary of $178,201. Why? Because many stay-at-home parents work around the clock. If you have young children, work can often mean nighttime feedings, greeting early morning risers, and late-night meal prep.
1. Acknowledge the Many Hats
Parents are well-known for doing a handful of jobs 24/7.
Naturally, when you are the parent who’s home with the kids, it’s going to be you who is wearing many hats throughout the day.
In fact, all this hat-wearing is the main driver in why a stay-at-home mom salary is estimated at over $150,000, according to a recent study. To get your mind wrapped around this concept, think about all the responsibilities you tackle from day to day, including:
- CEO
- Housekeeper
- Teacher
- Psychologist
- Cook/Chef
- Inventory Manager
- Computer Operator
- Laundry Machine Operator
- Facilities Manager
- Staff Nurse
- Academic Advisor
- Janitor/Maid
- Chauffeur
As you may have guessed, this certainly isn’t an exhaustive list.
Most moms could probably add coach and pet caregiver (and many more) on there, too.
The point is that you’re expected to be a compilation of many jobs in one person.
Even in the professional world, you don’t see this amount of responsibility fall on a single position. In all reality, few employers could keep their employees around to fill this type of role. It’s just too challenging!
2. Understand the SAHM Hybrid Role
If you’re like most SAHM, estimated annual salaries might not mean that much to you. Meaning, what good does it do you to know what a stay-at-home mom’s salary should be? Especially when the only raining cash you see on payday is Monopoly money.
Yet, understanding the breadth of your importance is the first step in safeguarding your family’s future.
And what could be more important than combining centuries of “mom tradition” with technological advances in a hybrid role? The answer is NOTHING—nothing is more important to your overall worth than being flexible and able to adapt to anything that comes your way.
With that said, your stay-at-home mom salary would be heavily influenced by how tech-savvy you are.
For starters, consider all the devices you have to “fix” on a daily basis. Honestly, how many times can a 3-year-old mess up the YouTube screen while watching CocoMo? Or, how many times have you “fixed” the PlayStation 4 this month?
Really, “hybrid” doesn’t really do your SAHM role justice. Yet, it’s not too far off in accurately describing how awesome you manage to stuff into one person.
3. Remember, It’s All About Value
Can you think of a particular brand that is undeniably worth MUCH less (in your opinion) than another brand? Consider generic versus name brand, for example.
What this means is that you’d pay a few more dollars or drive a few more miles just to get the “real deal.” Mostly, because it’s so much better!
Maybe your mind goes to a special ice cream treat from your favorite parlor. Or, perhaps a certain can of soup or even a clothing line comes to mind. Whatever quality you value in that specific item for that specific brand, it’s worth every penny you spend on it.
Truth be told, you’d rather have just one of those quality items than a handful of less-than-awesome items any day of the week.
A stay-at-home mom salary falls in line with this sort of thinking—quality versus quantity. Why this should matter to you is that being a SAHM is the ultimate form of delivering quality.
You wear various hats throughout your days, months, and years as a SAHM. Consider how much it would cost if your family had to actually pay someone else to do all the work that you do.
For example, a housemaid can make anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 per year. And a chauffeur’s pay ranges from $75.00 to $250.00. For bigger vehicles, it can top $1,500.00 per hour!
These are just a handful of the hats you wear every single day. When it comes to a stay-at-home mom salary, your value would have a number if you weren’t there to wear your hats.
How to Ensure “Job Security” as a Stay-at-Home Mom
It may seem slightly odd thinking you would ever need to ensure your SAHM gig. But, try looking at it from a different angle.
Of course, jumping the SAHM ship is probably not on your agenda. But, this isn’t to say that your family will always have you in the same way they have you now. Life is unpredictable, and ensuring that your stay-at-home mom role keeps rolling means consider a scenario without you in it.
If that sounds backward, think about what would happen to your stay-at-home mom salary if your family had to find someone else to fill the job. In short, your SAHM responsibilities would actually become a salary for someone…probably a few someones.
To ensure job security as a stay-at-home mom, it’s important to have a backup plan. In other words, you’re going to need a strategy for you to “be there” without actually being there—which is where term life insurance for SAHMs enters stage left.
For starters, consider all the hats you wear and think about how your family would afford those hats sans a SAHM. This is going to impact the amount and duration of the policy you choose. Term life insurance policies generally come in affordable 10-, 20-, and 30-year terms with varying amounts available.
When you step back to consider how much your stay-at-home mom salary would be, you might experience sticker shock. Yet, it all makes sense once you begin to hypothetically replace all the responsibilities you fulfill.
Take the Next Step
As a stay-at-home mom, it can be overwhelming to consider every aspect of your job. But we can help!
To support you as you safeguard your family’s financial security, I’ve created an up-to-date life insurance guide for parents. My guide can help you with your long-term life insurance goals, especially with little kids at home!
Here at CB Acker Associates, we want to help you take care of your family. If you’re ready to find a policy that fits your needs and your budget, we can help!
With access to all the top-rated life insurance companies, we work extra hard to get you the best life insurance rates possible. You can even compare rates and benefits from over 40 providers with no obligation to buy here. Plus, it’s fast—under 60 seconds kind of fast.
Please, give us a call today at 650-969-5844 or email [email protected].