The Cost of a Second Job
With jobs disappearing at break-neck speed and personal finances teetering in today’s economy, many families make the difficult decision to bring in a second income while they still can. In many cases, it’s the wife who has stayed home to raise children that now launches herself out into the workforce. It’s a sacrifice happening all over the country, but does it really pay to have a second income?
Let’s take the example of a family who currently brings in only one income. The husband works in the accounting department of a regional utility and makes $50,000 a year. The family is not sure how much longer the husband will have his job as layoffs have already begun. The couple decides that the wife should get a job to bring in more income to pay down debt and save for a possible layoff.
In order to start her new job with a temp agency, the wife has to first buy a wardrobe suitable for the office. This could very conservatively cost $1,000 or more. The couple already has two cars so transportation is covered but the gas to drive to and from the new job will cost about $50 per week. The couple’s two children are too young to be left home alone after school so they are enrolled in an after-school program costing $150 per week. The wife had always made lunches for the kids and the husband, but now that she has less time to spare, she signs the kids up for school lunches at a total cost of $17.50 per week. Her husband takes $5 a day with him to work to buy a sandwich and drink from the office vending machines. She takes frozen microwavable meals to her office at around $3 per day. Dinners more frequently consist of prepared meals from the grocery store than the scratch cooking she used to do.
In all the running around to and from work, a bank transfer gets missed and three items are returned NSF from the checking account for total NSF fees of $105. The gas bill is paid late and incurs a $20 late fee.
When looking at the value of bringing in a second income, all of the above potential costs and more must be included in the calculation before you make the decision. Frequently, a second job will not bring in enough additional income to make it worthwhile.
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Tags: 2nd job, loss my job, part time job, second job, unemployment, work at home
This entry was posted on Monday, February 23, 2009 at 7:42 am and is filed under Financial Goals, Misc, Saving Money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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