Anyone who has studied economics knows about opportunity cost, or the unwritten cost of an activity based on a possible gain being foregone. I define the income I make as a stay-at-home-mother-and-wife as the opportunity cost of working outside the home.
Assuming a job requires 40 hours per week, with a 30 minute commute (that's short!) and $8/hour for daycare (an great rate for our neighborhood):
45 hours weekly * $8 hourly * 50 weeks per year (subtract for vacations) = $18,000
Food -- takeout and increased pre-processed groceries -- based on past experiences of being sick or otherwise incapacitated (and this doesn't account for increased long-term health care costs):
$300 monthly * 12 months = $3600
Additional dry cleaning -- of clothes that would otherwise need stain removal or hand-washing:
$30 monthly * 12 months = $360
Additional clothes purchases (I'm great at finding deals, but would account for some extra pieces in my wardrobe to look presentable at work):
$30 monthly * 12 months = $360
Additional metrocard expenses:
$104 (monthly pass) - $12 (monthly average as a SAHM) = $92 monthly = $1104 yearly
TOTAL: $23,424
Assuming, of course I am still as frugal as a working mother as I am staying home. It's not accounting for a cleaning service, laundering service, car, or a phone with a data plan.
And that's after-tax money too!
