How to prepare for life as a single-income family

For the first seven years as a parent in the mid-90s, Amundsen stayed home to raise two young children while her husband became the sole provider for the household. About 30 years later, she still draws on her experience when speaking with her clients. Pre-planning tops her list. 

Try a single-income stress test

Start with a trial and run your household for anywhere between three to six months on a single income, she said. That trial will build confidence and help you understand your needs and wants while deciding what you may need to change about your lifestyle, she added.

Transitioning to a single-income household requires adjusting and cutting back on some expenses, said Tina Tehranchian, senior wealth adviser at CI Assante Wealth Management Ltd. That means modifying your budget for dining out, entertainment, subscriptions, vacations, home renovations, and vehicle upgrades. “The goal is not to eliminate these expenses, but to make sure they fit comfortably within the new reality,”  Tehranchian said. “In the meantime, just save the second income and see if they can cope and they can make ends meet on just one income,” she said. “This really provides a real-world stress test for the family.” 

Balance savings with long-term goals

Some expenses will also go away for the stay-at-home parent, such as commuting costs, money spent on professional wardrobe, parking, and childcare costs. Some households may no longer need two cars, which can save on insurance, gas, and vehicle maintenance.

You’ll know a single-income household trial is a success if you still have room to save, Amundsen said. “Do you still have enough to fund your emergency fund for all the unexpected? Can you pay your bills and you still have room to save for your future self, meaning that retirement and pension piece,” she said.

As the cost of living surges though, saving for all those goals has proven difficult for many Canadian families with two income sources, let alone one. Amundsen said that’s where pre-planning is crucial in prioritizing those savings.

Often, Amundsen’s clients ask her if they could reduce their pension or retirement savings as they reshuffle priorities. It’s not a simple yes or no question, she said, it’s about being aware of the consequences and being OK with trade-offs. They need to consider the long-term consequences of losing benefits, pension accumulation, and future earning power while off work. The stay-at-home parent may also need to work a few years longer after they return to the workforce to make up for the lost time in saving for retirement. 

Prepare for financial and emotional changes

It’s also important to know how secure the breadwinner’s job is from layoffs and the risk of sudden disabilities and healthcare concerns, Tehranchian said. More importantly, notice how you feel with the trial and if you think you can realistically do this for a few years. 

There’s a major emotional piece to becoming a stay-at-home parent, especially when a lot is changing around you, from your lifestyle to working and socializing, experts say. 

“The spouse that’s walking away from their career or job: How are they going to feel this year, next year, and in future years?” said Ryan Gubic, certified financial planner and founder of MRG Wealth Management. He said it’s important to discuss how spending decisions will be made between spouses, whether the stay-at-home parent will still have discretionary money to enjoy life, and how household responsibilities will be divided.

For a couple, it’s important to be more proactive than reactive, he said. “Rather than waiting until an issue arises … if they can talk about that proactively before it happens, it gives them both an opportunity to understand.”

However, re-entering the workforce can be difficult for many stay-at-home parents as they lose seniority or fall behind on skills needed. Amundsen recalled having to start from scratch when she re-entered. “I started back at a minimum wage job and I started at the very bottom,” she recalled. “I worked my butt off and I went back to university during that time while I was working full-time.” Still, Amundsen said she wouldn’t trade the years she spent raising her children for anything.

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