Also, people always calculate their missed earnings inaccurately. They will probably not earn as much upon returning and also lose the benefits of accruing interest on their earnings (if they had continued working).

I guess it’s no question that where I fall on this debate. While I respect both choices, I feel that many opt out for the wrong reasons or without fully weighing the financial consequences.

I have been working since leaving Uni (graduated with my husband) 16 years ago. My biggest motivation for going to Uni was that my best friend’s mother had to wash dishes for a living in order to escape an abusive husband and for her to support her kids

I have been both ahead of my husband and behind him on the career front. With every new job opportunity we have discussed who’s job is no. 1 and who’s is no. 2. This blantant discussion was required because our children were in full time day care / school and it needed to be clear who would need to take time off work when they were sick. Quite often we would meet on the highway between workplaces to swap because of a meeting/commitment that the other had.

I ended up having my dream job at 34 yo – but it was massive and there were legal issues that needed to be dealt with (the company were breaking the law and although I wasn’t a director so wouldn’t be sitting in jail if it came to light, I am an honest person). We disussed ways to leave that would not be too obvious (we lived in a place where you stay in a job for 3 – 10 years as it was where everyone wanted to live/work in my industry).

We decided to live overseas. My husband got a promotion within his company in the move. I worked full time for the first year, but as my company weren’t paying for international schooling for 3 kids, housing and medical (US$100+ pa), his job is no 1 and my company know it (made very clear before I accepted job). My job is same level as the job in Aus, but with reputable company – much less stress but still very good on a resume.

For the past 2 years I cut the hours back to 2 days at the office, 2 days from home/part time office. Fridays is my day of helping at school, bookclub, haircut, seeing friends etc. So 3 days a week I am at home when the kids get home from school.

None of this would have been possible if I had quit work after having my first child 10 years ago. I have such a cushy job now because I worked so hard for the first 13 years of my career AND because I was in a position to negotiate because my husband had also worked so hard for the first 13 years of his career. Our accomplishments are a joint effort and have been since sharing a full time bar job for our last 3 years at Uni.

I’ve seen a few at-home moms talk about how they feel financially secure (little or no debt, a fat savings account, etc). Not to put too fine a point on it, but how do you make “OUR financial security” translate into “MY financial security”? Has anyone gone so far as to establish a trust in your name or set up some kind of legal agreement protecting yourself in case of death, divorce, etc?

For those of you who aren’t in the workforce (and who won’t be for a while) I’d love to hear how you keep your skills sharp. It seems like the Internet has made it more possible than ever to stay on top of emerging trends and keep connections with people in your field, even when you aren’t working in that field. How can moms really take advantage of that?

A couple of years ago there was a story about a woman who took serious time off to raise her kids, and then stepped back in as, I think, CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Anyone remember this story, or the company? Seems her story could be a case study for how to take the time off you and your family need while still protecting your future.

My issue is that, if I go back, I can’t see myself working just *anywhere.* I strted working at 15 and I’ve been helping other people “get rich” since then while at times putting my family in the poor house (I had to work when our son was born, hubs made more money but I had the health insurance. Childcare cost left us in a deficit every month).

I’m trying to channel Oprah and thinking that finding something I love will make the money follow. I see the benefit being at home has had on our son. But my retirement portfolio and the gap in my resume are both equally frightening.

Save maternity leave, I haven’t ever not worked so I can only speak from that side of things. But I do think that women should always be confident in their ability to provide for themselves, and keep up their skills so they can re-enter at any time. Also, these days there are various programs to help women relaunch into the workforce.

-Christine