Weekly Round-Up: The Life of a Stay-At-Home Dad

Lately, I’ve been getting a good view of just what it’s like to be stay-at-home father.  The inability to work outside the home, combined with my desire to help care for my beautiful daughter, has led to more than a few times where I’ve been staying at home while my wife runs out to pick up a few groceries or otherwise do a chore or two.  Add in the times when I’m getting up to change her during the day (I’m the unofficial diaper changer in the household, and I’m only ‘unofficial’ because my wife doesn’t know how to make it official) as well as in the middle of the night, and I’m definitely taking care of my part of the parenting duties.  Granted, since we’ve chosen the breast-feeding route, there are some things that I cannot do for our baby, at least until we get more breast milk storage bottles (which we ordered yesterday, by the way).

To make things even more fun, Sondra has been considering getting another job outside the home (she currently is paid to take care of her mother, thanks to her mother’s insurance prior to her accident), which could turn me from helpful husband to full-time baby care worker.  Granted, given our current financial situation, it’s one of the better options available to us, but it does raise some potential troubles for me as the daddy.  We’re currently working to be ready for such a situation (note how we ordered breast milk bottles so we can have enough milk on hand when Sondra is not home), but it will still be quite a shift for me, no matter how much I try to help now.  Regardless of what happens, I’ll do what I can to make sure our family keeps running smoothly, and if I do become a full-time stay-at-home dad, well, at least I’ll have time to catch up on my stories…I mean, read some of the great posts from around the web, like these Yakezie posts:

Great Yakezie Posts

Americans Are Unprepared for College – If you are a regular reader, you’re probably aware that the education system is one of my major concerns, ranking up there with money.  Sadly, there’s a lot of trouble with our current education system, particularly when starting the college level education system, as Yes, I Am Cheap illustrates in this infographic.

How to Keep Your Life Insurance Cheap – It’s tough to keep your insurance inexpensive, particularly when you have health troubles.  But if you do some shopping around, you should be able to find some suggestions to help you keep things inexpensive, as this article on Beating Broke should help you to do.

Why an Emergency Fund is More Important than Paying Off Debt – You’ll see lots of disagreement about just what things to do first with your money.  Here’s some thoughts about why emergency fund savings should trump paying off debt from 20′s Finances.  You’ll see plenty of views from the other side, so it’s good to get some thoughts on this approach.

10 Financial Mistakes From the F-R-I-E-N-D-S Television Series to Avoid – It’s always good to learn something from those TV shows you’re watching, and F-R-I-E-N-D-S was definitely a popular series in its day.  If you want to put those Thursday evening viewing sessions to good use, check out this article from My Personal Finance Journey.

I am Turning 40.  Now What? –  I’m not there yet (I’m barely thirty, thank goodness), but it’s interesting to hear some thoughts from someone about a decade ahead of me in their life.  Aloysa of My Broken Coin shares some things that she has learned in her life, and her goals and hopes for the future.

Where The Amateur Financier was Featured

Since we’re talking about stay-at-home parenting anyway, I should mention that my article on Money and Child Raising: Stay-at-Home Parenting was a popular one for inclusion in carnivals.  Not that I’m surprised, it is a major decision when planning how to raise your child.  It was featured in:

• Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Vanessa’s Money
• Carnival of Financial Planning at Term Life Insurance, Inc
• Carnival of Retirement at Good Financial Cents
• Carnival of MoneyPros at CashNetUSA

Alright, that’s it for this week’s Round-Up.  Hopefully, everyone has a wonderful week, spending it with friends, family, and little babies who need their love and devotion.  I know I’ll be doing just that.  Have a great week, everyone!