Homemaking is a matter of conviction to me. Contrary to what some people imagine about housewives being lazy rich women, our family is not wealthy, we are just average. The few luxuries which we enjoy we can only afford by the strict control of our overall spending.
During our marriage we have experienced financial problems and we have been in debt. Last time it happened I became determined that I would never let it happen again and it didn't, due to strict budgeting which I started practicing.
We solved our financial problems without me having to search for work outside home, not even part-time. We just learned to become more responsible and not to try to keep up with the Joneses. That's what the problem is with the folks nowadays, they are going above their means to try and compete with the people way above their league.
I don't know whether to laugh or to cry when I read discussions on the net where in all seriousness people declare that it was OK for a factory worker in the year 1900 to let his wife stay home with his six kids, because life had been so much cheaper, while now an educated professional simply can't afford a stay-at-home wife. I can't comprehend that someone can really be so stupid as to believe that this factory worker of more than hundred years ago had it easier than we do now.
Of course, the said factory worker didn't aspire to live in a villa, he didn't borrow 40.000 by the bank to buy a new car whenever he felt like it, he didn't consider it a necessity to go on vacation abroad three times a year and above all, he didn't think that by sending his wife to work outside home for the minimum wage he would acquire equal social standing with the company director (because of his wife being now a career woman and stuff, you know).
Don't you all find it strange that in poor countries there are less women working outside home that in the much more prosperous Western countries? I do. You see, it all simply depends on your value system. For me, having a traditional family and obeying God's commands for women is more important than driving a Mercedes and going on ski vacation every year.
In this life we all have a choice and we should accept the consequences of our choices. Nobody can have it all together, outside of a small selected circle of the very rich. Something will always have to give. There is no point in complaining about the times we live in or even worse, waiting for the government to fix things. If you are convicted about something, try to live according to your convictions. Where is the will, there is way.
Yes! I agree with you 100%. Someone told me not too long ago that I was lucky to be a housewife. I replied that I enjoy it very much and let it go at that, but inside I wanted to scream that it wasn't luck -- it was the hard work of my husband and myself that made this possible.
ReplyDeleteOf course, there are some situations when it might not be feasible, but by and large those are exceptional situations and not the norm.
Exactly. The families with one breadwinner sacrifice a great deal to allow for the wife and mother to stay home. It has nothing to do with luck.
ReplyDeleteI loved this post! I believe that the one income family that obeys God's command for the wife to stay at home actually winds up being the more prosperous family in the end. At least that has been the case in our family. Every wife and husband that have obeyed the traditional roles, has been happier and more prosperous. We have many this way and it seems as if all of the wives that have worked outside of the home have divorced and been forced to live in poverty. God's way always ranks supreme.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Amy Jo
It's just the mentality of people. I heard stories of couples where they both worked and had income far above average and would still end up in debt. Nowadays people expect instant gratification. They want it all, and they want it know. When you live on one income, you learn to plan carefully and to save for things you want and to look for economical solutions, and it may well be that in the end, you will have more.
ReplyDeleteI believe that women, especially those in their early to mid 20's, are heavily pressured by their peers, the media, and corporate America to work outside of the home. That way there is more money available for families to spend on items produced, sold, and presented in advertising. It's a "win-win" situation for corporations and government. Young women believe that they must work outside of the home and "use their minds". This is what I was recently told by a young working mom. Young working women have been influenced to believe that homemaking would not allow them to use their minds.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there will be many women, who are working and in their 20's right now, who will look back when they are in their 50's with regret at not having been able to spend more time with their children. They will then realize that it was not a "win-win" situation for them, after all.
I'm afraid here in Europe the party is coming to an end:) Most women employed outside home either work directly for the government, or are in government-subsidized branches, and the governments are broke.
ReplyDelete