When Your Spouse DOES NOT Support You Working From Home

I recently received an email from a listener that I thought would make for a wonderful topic here on Frugal WAHMs Talk Radio. What do you do when you want to provide a good income for your family by working from home but your spouse does NOT Support you? One of the biggest obstacles I have seen other Work At Home Mom’s struggle with is having little to no support from their biggest cheering squad which should be their spouses or family members.

How many times have you had friends or family members make smart mouth comments about “You work from home?” You must have lots of free time to watch TV and relax must be nice! Now come on any of us work at home moms are probably finding just the opposite that there is so much to juggle in just one day that at times it can simply feel very overwhelming. Not only are you juggling trying to provide an income for your family, but you are also juggling the regular household chores that need to be done, three meals a day, kids and school and so much more. So many times I feel myself and other work at home mom’s find we work more now, then we did when we did when we had regular full time jobs outside of the home. What can really complicate this matter is when you have little to no support from your loved ones especially your spouse.

Eleven years ago when my daughter was diagnosed with asthma I made the choice to open and start running a licensed home daycare. This would allow me to remain home with my daughter and care for her while still providing an income for my family. My husband was very upset to say the very least when I first started out. He felt I was coping out that I really I did not really want to work, that I was not as concerned as he was about our financial stability as he was. This lit a fire in me to prove him wrong, to prove that I could be respected home daycare provider and provide as good as of income if not better than what I had left. Within six months I had proven him wrong when I was making more money then he was bringing in, with the grants and programs I was eligible for each month on top of my monthly income. Within a couple of weeks he finally came to me and apologized to me and when I decided to start working from home by making my own graphics, and making my own online magazine he was my biggest cheerleader because he knew from my past experience that I would MAKE this a success also.

Some of the major obstacles that work at home mom’s face with their spouses is usually the financial instability and worry about paying the monthly bills. Often times you may be dealing with jealously of your husband wishing he to could have the opportunity of staying home to spend more time with his kids.

1. Show your husband or spouse your complete business plan, from your projective costs involved in setting up your new business, your overall objective, and your projected income from this new venture in your life. Allowing your spouse to see your goals in black and white may help to ease their minds allowing them to know you are serious, you have goal and plan to make your new online business a success.

2. While outlining your business plan you may want to research your potential tax breaks and benefits of being a stay a home working mom. You may even want to consult a tax professionals to really get yourself prepared.

3. Make suggestions on areas where you can cut back on expenses to help make your dreams a reality. For example the savings you will reap by not having to pay daycare expenses, maybe by purchasing your household essentials like groceries and household expenses from stores like Aldis’s and dollar stores, also the amount of gas and regular car acquaintance you will be saving by working from home.

4. Often times your spouse may be feeling jealous at the fact that you are going to be able to stay at home in a nice working environment and still be able to spend quality times with your children. You want to mention that you understand that your life may be easier in some aspects like you may not have to get up as early, you don’t have fight traffic daily and you no longer have a boss to report to. That you understand the concerns but the concerns outweigh having a parent at home all the time, to nurture and care for your children.

5. Another possible concern or issue your spouse might be dealing with is knowing that they will have to work harder in the beginning to help offset your income not being there. You need to be understanding that one of the biggest fears and problems is that your spouse needs to reassured that the tough financial problems will only be temporary, and that you truly appreciate them supporting your family as your try to build a new future for your family.

The best thing you can do as you start your new online business, is keep your lines of communication open with your spouse. Allow their fears and problems be heard, understood and addressed. Realize that this may not be an easy transition at the beginning but if you really want to provide an honest, good income while working from home it is possible. And prove to be a wonderful opportunity for yourself, your children and your family.

Angie is the owner of Frugal WAHMs Talk Radio and Heartland Graphics. Angie is also a work from home mom of two beautiful girls in the St Louis MO Area.