This crazy world has many mothers considering leaving their jobs to be stay at home moms. Our reasons for making this decision could vary, however we do seem to arrive there the same way. It is important to take a hard look at your lifestyle and determine, can we afford this, or does our current living standard prevent this goal? Our desire to be a stay at home mom could force us to re-align our priorities, and possibly sacrifice some of the comforts we love! Interestingly though, a question many of us fail to ask ourselves is "what does it cost me to go to work each day"? Your answer to that question could be a surprise. Find a sheet of paper and get ready to some math. You could be closer to achieving this goal than you think.

There are several factors to consider, but I consider the following the "biggies". Day care is a huge expense, in some cases as much as $12,000 a year for one child. Add it up, what are you spending each week? What about your clothing? Not only are you spending money on your business attire, but you are spending money on dry cleaning, pantyhose, shoes, nails, make-up etc.

Your food bill can add up fast. If you are like me, I was all about going to lunch every day. I needed the mental break and found that getting away from the office for a my mid day meal did the trick. That mid day break hit me in the pocket book hard. What is your lunch costing you each day? Also, with gourmet coffee shops on every corner it is easy to get sucked in for a nice cup of java. What about your late afternoon vending machine pick me up? Last but not least, how often do you pick up dinner on you way to the house, go to dinner to avoid having to cook anything when you get home. Now how much are you spending on food.

What are spending on fuel each day? Your mileage adds up daily. High mileage causes the value of your vehicle to decrease. The more you drive the more maintenance is required on your car in the form of oil changes and tires. How much more are you paying for your car insurance as a result of going to work each day? Some insurance companies provide a discount for less driving, some even have insurance policies based on miles driven.

Another to consider is your income tax. How much more are you paying in income tax, because your additional income is throwing you into a higher tax bracket? Not to mention, you could be missing out on certain tax breaks as a single income household.

Now, add all your expenses up and deduct them from your income. Now, what is your income? Push it a step further and take the amount left over and divide it by 2,080 hours in a work year. Where does that take your hourly rate? Is it worth it to even go to a job at that rate? This can be an eye opening exercise, it definitely was for me! It was my catalyst to make the leap to stay at home mom.