Here are some questions to think about while making your work/family decision:

Financial Considerations

Can you afford to quit your job? How much will you have to give up? Are your finances overextended now?

Job Satisfaction

Do you think that being an at-home parent can be satisfying? How much satisfaction do you get from your current career? How much satisfaction do you expect to receive from your new career at home?

Job Attachment

How much do you enjoy the status and prestige of your job? How much of your identity is tied to your current job?

Lifestyle Change

How will you and your husband react to this change? Can you both live on a budget? How attached are you to your current lifestyle?

Is the Money Yours, Mine, or Ours?

Who has control of the checkbook? Who will make minor financial decisions for the family? Who will make the major financial decisions?

Pressures on the Working Spouse

How will your spouse react to being the family’s sole financial support? Given greater financial responsibilities, how will he find time to participate in family life?

How Can You Divide up Household Work Fairly?

How will you achieve an equitable distribution of chores and responsibilities? Do you respect each other’s roles? Are either of you making unrealistic expectations about what the other spouse will take on?

Personal and Parental Goals

What kind of family life do you want to have? Is your vision compatible with your spouse’s? How can you help each other achieve those goals?

Support from Family and Friends

How much support can you count on from other family members and friends? In the absence of that support, will you and your spouse have to rely mostly on each other?

What is Best for Your Child or Children?

What kind of childhood would you like to provide for your children? What was your own childhood like?