Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Self Worth
I had fun stamping last night. Had never gone to a stamping party before, but made quite a nice greeting card. It reminded me of a grade school art project, you know, the kind where you copy the teacher's work exactly. The party was at an old friend's house, whom I hadn't seen for months, and all of her other friends. So I knew everyone there and it was fun and relaxing.
The stamping instructor had her stamp party booking notebook filled for every weekend that I saw and quite a few evenings. I was privately wondering about this, as I knew she worked and was married. Turns out her husband is in Iraq and they have no children yet, so no wonder she wants to keep busy. My friend's (the hostess) son spend two stints in what he calls "Old Russia" and has come home and bought a house with a VA (veteran's) mortgage, and he's only my son's age! Surprise, surprise, but I didn't book a stamping party despite the tempting perks. There's no room up on my tiny kitchen table, in my little house.
I had a large shoebox, perfect for my new stamping gear, but threw it (uncharacteristically) away a few weeks ago in a cleaning fit. I also spent way too much money to get equipped to do some stamping of my own! I thought I might be one of the more extravagant people, but many spent as much or more than I did. It blew a hole in my budget, but I can save all kinds of money making my own cards now, right? (And tonight is the first cemetery tour.)
What mothers are really worth
Stay-at-home mothers wear many hats. They're the family CEO, the day care provider, accountant, chauffeur, counselor, chef, nurse, laundress, entertainer, personal stylist, and educator. Based on a 100-hour work week, Salary.com has estimated that a fair wage for the typical stay-at-home mom would be $131,471 for executing all of her daily tasks.
"Mothers are responsible for the mental and physical well being of the family - putting a price on that isn't easy," said Lena Bottos, compensation market analyst for Salary.com. "But we looked at it as what you would have to pay other people to do the same work if the mom weren't there."
Even if these mothers were getting paid what they'd be worth on the market, Bottos added that they still wouldn't be adequately compensated. "When you take into account that it represents a 100-hour work-week, and doesn't even begin to factor in that they are on call 24 hours a day, it's not so large. Plus, stay-at-home moms get no benefits in terms of pension or 401(k)."
Salary.com" also figured that a 40-hour per week working mom who comes home to take care of her kids should earn the 60 hours of mom overtime in addition to her work paycheck.
Gee, maybe I should have stayed home! But who pays a single parent? Indeed, who pays any stay-at-home parent? I wonder if the monetary worth of a single parent is more or less than a married parent. There would be reasons for either. A single parent is sort of doing the job of both parents, but has fewer duties and people for which to care.
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The stamping instructor had her stamp party booking notebook filled for every weekend that I saw and quite a few evenings. I was privately wondering about this, as I knew she worked and was married. Turns out her husband is in Iraq and they have no children yet, so no wonder she wants to keep busy. My friend's (the hostess) son spend two stints in what he calls "Old Russia" and has come home and bought a house with a VA (veteran's) mortgage, and he's only my son's age! Surprise, surprise, but I didn't book a stamping party despite the tempting perks. There's no room up on my tiny kitchen table, in my little house.
I had a large shoebox, perfect for my new stamping gear, but threw it (uncharacteristically) away a few weeks ago in a cleaning fit. I also spent way too much money to get equipped to do some stamping of my own! I thought I might be one of the more extravagant people, but many spent as much or more than I did. It blew a hole in my budget, but I can save all kinds of money making my own cards now, right? (And tonight is the first cemetery tour.)
What mothers are really worth
Stay-at-home mothers wear many hats. They're the family CEO, the day care provider, accountant, chauffeur, counselor, chef, nurse, laundress, entertainer, personal stylist, and educator. Based on a 100-hour work week, Salary.com has estimated that a fair wage for the typical stay-at-home mom would be $131,471 for executing all of her daily tasks.
"Mothers are responsible for the mental and physical well being of the family - putting a price on that isn't easy," said Lena Bottos, compensation market analyst for Salary.com. "But we looked at it as what you would have to pay other people to do the same work if the mom weren't there."
Even if these mothers were getting paid what they'd be worth on the market, Bottos added that they still wouldn't be adequately compensated. "When you take into account that it represents a 100-hour work-week, and doesn't even begin to factor in that they are on call 24 hours a day, it's not so large. Plus, stay-at-home moms get no benefits in terms of pension or 401(k)."
Salary.com" also figured that a 40-hour per week working mom who comes home to take care of her kids should earn the 60 hours of mom overtime in addition to her work paycheck.
Gee, maybe I should have stayed home! But who pays a single parent? Indeed, who pays any stay-at-home parent? I wonder if the monetary worth of a single parent is more or less than a married parent. There would be reasons for either. A single parent is sort of doing the job of both parents, but has fewer duties and people for which to care.
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