Recently, in the news, someone made a comment about Mrs. Romney having "Never worked a day in her life!" Now obviously the woman who said this has no clue. Mrs. Obama does though, as she Tweeted, "Every mother works hard, and every woman deserves to be respected."
Thank you, Mrs Obama! Mrs. Romney spoke of how they may not have financial hardships, she has had her share of other hardships (she is not only a cancer survivor but also suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. She has also raised five boys). Mrs. Romney goes on to say, "I would love to have people understand that Mitt and I have compassion for people that are struggling. That's why we're running."
Now I'm not saying that I'm endorsing Romney or Obama. I am saying this brings up a very good subject that I would like to talk about; and it is affecting our economy.
Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with a close friend of mine. She mentioned that she felt so bad for young people today because they both have to work, and that there is NO way that most families today can survive on just one income. She can't understand how anyone can get married and start a family before they graduate from college. Well, I see it all the time, and these people are not getting government assistance.
It is true that things today cost so much, but at the same time our income has grown too. Here's an example. I know someone quite well, who is a retired engineer. In the 1970's he was making $11,000 a YEAR! No I did not leave out any zeros! I couldn't believe it. 11,000? To give you some perspective, gas was 25 cents a gallon. Their house note was $110 per month. Sorry, I just have to laugh. It's just funny, to compare all that to today.
Ok...well, let's talk about today. I would venture to say that that same engineer is making about $100,000 a year, gas is $4 a gallon, and his house note is maybe $1500 a month or probably more. Wow, what a comparison!
Now let's go back to young married couples. Some of them are still in school, some are just starting out with a new job. Where do they live? Are they wanting to have granite counter tops? Two nice new cars? Nice pricey clothes? Fun trips like curises, etc? All these things many young couples are wanting and having (putting it all on the credit card). I wanted them too, but I waited until we were more established, and we could actually pay for them (not with plastic). One other thing I would like to mention...the average wedding cost over $25,000 today. Really?!?
We started our family after being married for five years. My husband had over a year of school left. I had worked up until our first child was born. After he was born, I stayed home with him. I have not been in the work force since. How did we do it? We sacrificed. We rented for several years, until we could save enough to put down on a MODEST home. There were times we only had ONE car, and it was a small basic, used car. Roll down windows, stick shift, you know your basic model.
We've been married for almost 29 years, and I still don't have granite counter tops; and there are other things we have sacrificed. Now I will have to say, in the last several years, we have been able to go on cruises, etc. but we worked up to those things. You know what? I don't regret it either.
It's like my daughter recently said, "I want to work up to those things. I don't want a new fancy car or a nice home right away. I want to be able to look back and know I've worked hard for these things."
Ok, so back to the one income family and the stay at home mom. I realized not everyone can do this, but a lot of us can. Like I said before, it takes sacrifice but it can work. One other thing; people look at staying home with their kids as demeaning. Some think of this mom as one who is uneducated. There is nothing more far from the truth. I have had many tell me that there was no way they could stay home, it would be too boring. Well, let me tell you, it is much less boring than any job! You never know what to expect. You always have to be on your toes. It is NOT a boring job! Not to mention, the caregiver has a HUGE influence on their little ones.
One other thing I would like to add, a stay at home mom is like a CEO of a company. Not only is she raising and teaching her children, but she also organizes, deals with the finances, makes sure everyone gets to their various places, and so forth.
Earlier, I mentioned that all this is affecting our economy. How does it affect our economy? I believe there is a big connection to our homes and our country. There is more debt than ever in our homes, just like our country is in more debt than ever before. If we can start balancing the budget in our homes, I believe that we could have a huge affect on balancing the budget in our Government.
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