So one question a lot of couples and families are wrestling with is, is it better to have two incomes and pay for child care or have one parent stay home?

So if you are considering this in your home, here are five questions that can help you make that decision.

And stay tuned,

because at the end, I'll be sharing my biggest working parent lesson that I have learned in 10

years of being a mom. So make sure to like, subscribe, and share this episode with a friend.

All right, first, before I share the five questions, there's kind of this invisible step that's

really crucial. And that is to know your why.

Why are you wanting to stay home? Why are you wanting to go back to work? Why are you thinking about

going part-time? Like, understanding what is going on inside of you and your motivations for the

answers to those questions are really important. So there is a level of kind of self-reflection I want you to have that I think is really key in this overarching concept, right? Because if your answer is, oh, God, I feel like I should go back to work because if not, like, we're going to have to limit our lifestyle and I don't want to limit my lifestyle and that makes me nervous. And there's a lot of fear there.

Okay, well, let's tap into that.

Like, right?

Like, start digging through the layers of why. Or maybe I feel like I need to go home because that's what a good mom does. And that's what society's telling me, you know, in my part of the country that's what I should be doing. We'll dig more into that, right? So understanding the answer to that question is going to kind of help you flesh out and get to a healthier perspective.

That's really important to have. dig more into that, right? So understanding the answer to that question is going to kind of help

you flesh out and get to a healthier perspective that's really important to have. All right,

the first question is, it's kind of hypothetical, but which budget makes the most sense? So what I

want you to do is I want you to create a couple of mock budgets for your household. So first, I would say

total your income if you're both working. You're both going to work after maternity leave

and then list out all of your expenses, which will include child care, and see how that feels.

It's like, oh gosh, you know, I'm going to be paying for more gas because the child care place

that I want is like across town. How much is child care? Like, oh my gosh, like list all that out

and kind of just see, okay, how does that feel? And then do another budget and say, okay, what if I

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