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Many argue that being a stay-at-home mom is harder work than going into an office. There are no financial benefits, no paycheck, barely any time off, and often, very little thanks. Previous research has found that a SAHM’s salary should actually be over $145,000 a year if you factor in all the roles and tasks she performs.
One woman says she’s been a SAHM for more than 10 years. She’s always depended on her husband financially and doesn’t even have her own bank card. The mom of two was left reeling recently when her husband said he wants a divorce and would be cutting off her access to his finances. In a TikTok video, the woman has warned others of the dangers of being a SAHM, but not everyone feels sorry for her.
RELATED:
This stay-at-home mom has always depended on her husband for money, but now he wants a divorce
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
She’s 37 with 2 kids, no income, no safety net, and doesn’t even have her own bank account
Image credits: cortneygetsfit
Image credits: jet-po / freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: cortneygetsfit
And you can watch her video here:
@cortneygetsfit I never thought I’d be here. 37 years old. Two kids. No income. No safety net. And suddenly being told I need to ‘use my own card’ when I don’t even HAVE one. This is the reality for so many stay-at-home moms — and nobody prepares us for it. Maybe this is why I’ve been drowning in anxiety and depression. But I’m sharing it because too many of us are suffering in silence. If you’re going through something similar, you’re not alone. We deserve security. We deserve support. We deserve to feel safe starting over. #sahm#womenempowerment#divorcesupport#mentalhealthmatters#momsoftiktok @Cortney Gets Fit ♬ original sound – Cortney Gets Fit
A stay-at-home mom could, or should, earn around $145,235 annually, if not more
It is said that a mother’s work is never done. And some might even argue that even that is an understatement. One report found that the work mothers do in and around the home could be worth the equivalent of a six-figure salary.
The Insure.com Mother’s Day Index revealed that a stay-at-home mom could, or should, earn around $145,235 a year, if not more. That figure is up 4% from 2024.
These figures aren’t just thumb-sucked. The team uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, along with hourly rates, to work out the salary.
“Stay-at-home mothers juggle multiple jobs behind the scenes without compensation,” says Insure.com Managing Editor Nupur Gambhir. “The Mother’s Day Index is our way of recognizing some of the economic value of caregivers – their extraordinary workload would easily earn them six figures in the job market.”
As many moms will tell you, they’re juggling dozens of tasks daily. They’re chefs, childminders, cleaners, hairdressers, stylists, and even mental health counselors, to name a few.
According to Insure.com, many of the jobs a mom does have seen rises in their average hourly rate over the last year. This, in turn, pushed up the amount of money a mom should be paid.
Image credits: Kireyonok_Yuliya / freepik (not the actual photo)
Here’s a breakdown of a SAHM’s potential salary, based on their many jobs:
- Accountant/Auditor: 0.5 hours per week, $1,169 annual wage
- Baker: 3 hours per week, $435 annual wage
- Chauffeurs: 9 hours per week, $8,794 annual wage
- Childcare Worker: 40 hours per week, $33,134 annual wage
- Cook: 14 hours per week, $12,478 annual wage
- Elementary School Teacher: 20 hours per week, $24,156 annual wage
- Hairdresser: 0.5 hours per week, $543 annual wage
- Judge: 3 hours per week, $10,320 annual wage
- Landscaping: 1 hour per week, $1,022 annual wage
- Laundry Workers: 4 hours per week, $3,268 annual wage
- Licensed Nurse: 2 hours per week, $740 annual wage
- Maids/Housekeeping: 10 hours per week, $9,043 annual wage
- Meeting & Convention: 8 hours per week, $2,003 annual wage
- Mental Health Counselor: 5 hours per week, $5,584 annual wage
- Social Service Specialist: 40 hours per week, $13,459 annual wage
- Other Designers: 5 hours per week, $1,500 annual wage
- Other Teachers: 10 hours per week, $13,768 annual wage
- Personal Care Aides: 3 hours per week, $2,624 annual wage
- Private Detective: 5 hours per week, $1,186 annual wage
These are the figures listed on the Insure.com 2025 Mother’s Day Index.
Together, it totals 183 hours per week on average, and is equal to an annual salary of $145,235. But as we know, most of, if not all of this work is performed for free.
People were divided, with some saying the woman should have known better
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What do you think ?
Dilly Millandry 1 day ago
To be pedantic (and I feel like being pedantic as I've been up all night with my dog who has cystitis so my mood is grim!) if your eldest child is 7 you have not been a SAHM for 10+ years. Clearly wanted the seemingly easier option of being supported and not working. Daft to sign a prenup and have no way of supporting yourself should the relationship fail. Don't do this people! Make sure you can always find a way to support yourself. She'll need to find a job, she has transferable skills (see that list!).
sturmwesen 1 day ago (edited)
SAHM and prenup that gives her nothing? How stupid can you be? Hasn't the generation of divorced, jobless mothers before you taught you anything? This is exactly why I want women to think d**n hard before giving up your job and/or studies/schooling.
StrangeOne 1 day ago (edited)
Is this satire? Are the replies for real? No one prepared her? Really? My mom always told me to make sure I have my own money, my own bank account and never share credit with a spouse. Just because you're a SAHM doesn't mean you can't have your own bank account, your own credit cards, your own source of income, even if it means tax credits. Agree on who takes care of rent and who takes care of the bills. In the meantime, build skills you can use at a job, volunteer, take some courses. My recommendation is a CPR and first aid course. This can be useful at many jobs. Take a computer and business course. Anything that can be used in various fields of work. It can save you from having to resort to working at dead-end, entry level, minimum wage jobs in your middle years. Not that there's any shame with that, but, from experience, it's definitely not ideal for supporting a family. Create a safety net. IF things go south, where will you be able to go, and how long will you be able to stay there?
LakotaWolf (she/her) 19 hours ago
Yep - even in the best and happiest of marriages where the woman is a SAHM, the husband could die young or get into an accident and become disabled/unable to work - putting the SAHM into the same position as OP.
Load More Replies... Panda Kicki 1 day ago
She agreed to have a prenup giving her nothing and then be SAMH? Like, absurd.
Gavin Johnson 1 day ago
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes eh? Signed away rights in a prenup, provided valuable support and raised the children, gave husband the life he wanted, got stitched up when husband grew tired of the relationship. Who’d have seen that coming?
Kate Johnson 1 day ago
This is what magical thinking gets you. There's scores of women out there doing the same stupid thing. Sacrificing their futures and security to be a SAHM. The overwhelming majority of men are not trustworthy enough for that. If you do it, get a prenup that pays you. In this case I'd get the nastiest lawyer I could find.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 23 hours ago (edited)
With what money, in OP's case? XD
Load More Replies...
FreeTheUnicorn 20 hours ago
This is the only side you *ever* hear about. I assume it's because otherwise the women would start speaking to one another and realise they had options.
Load More Replies...
Bookworm 1 day ago
The title made me laugh. Literally everywhere online and most people IRL are going to say being a stay at home parent is financially risky. There's no reason to have over a 10 year gap when the oldest is 7. If you're a sahp you need to work out the finances first. Both of you with your own account and shared one. You each get the same amount of disposable income to your own account and the rest goes into the shared account. Once a month you review your finances together. In her case OP should have gotten a postnup before the first child saying she'd be entitled to X amount each year she's a sahm in addition to child support. She needs to get a lawyer to see if the prenup can be challenged, especially if the decision for her to stay at home came after it was signed and they had kids. Meantime she still needs to be getting what money she needs to survive out. She may have to repay it, but taking some to make sure she and kids are provided for is a necessity.
Asri 1 day ago
Feminists have been warning for over half a century. Plus no competent lawyer would have a client sign away alimony in a pre-nup without explaining what it meant. Her pain and fear are real, but they shouldn't be a surprise.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 day ago
I'm sure it WAS explained to her. She still signed it. She probably thought "Husband and I are soulmates, we'll NEVER get divorced, we'll be together forever, I don't need to worry about this silly no alimony clause!"
Load More Replies... Dilly Millandry 1 day ago
To be pedantic (and I feel like being pedantic as I've been up all night with my dog who has cystitis so my mood is grim!) if your eldest child is 7 you have not been a SAHM for 10+ years. Clearly wanted the seemingly easier option of being supported and not working. Daft to sign a prenup and have no way of supporting yourself should the relationship fail. Don't do this people! Make sure you can always find a way to support yourself. She'll need to find a job, she has transferable skills (see that list!).
sturmwesen 1 day ago (edited)
SAHM and prenup that gives her nothing? How stupid can you be? Hasn't the generation of divorced, jobless mothers before you taught you anything? This is exactly why I want women to think d**n hard before giving up your job and/or studies/schooling.
StrangeOne 1 day ago (edited)
Is this satire? Are the replies for real? No one prepared her? Really? My mom always told me to make sure I have my own money, my own bank account and never share credit with a spouse. Just because you're a SAHM doesn't mean you can't have your own bank account, your own credit cards, your own source of income, even if it means tax credits. Agree on who takes care of rent and who takes care of the bills. In the meantime, build skills you can use at a job, volunteer, take some courses. My recommendation is a CPR and first aid course. This can be useful at many jobs. Take a computer and business course. Anything that can be used in various fields of work. It can save you from having to resort to working at dead-end, entry level, minimum wage jobs in your middle years. Not that there's any shame with that, but, from experience, it's definitely not ideal for supporting a family. Create a safety net. IF things go south, where will you be able to go, and how long will you be able to stay there?
LakotaWolf (she/her) 19 hours ago
Yep - even in the best and happiest of marriages where the woman is a SAHM, the husband could die young or get into an accident and become disabled/unable to work - putting the SAHM into the same position as OP.
Load More Replies... Panda Kicki 1 day ago
She agreed to have a prenup giving her nothing and then be SAMH? Like, absurd.
Gavin Johnson 1 day ago
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes eh? Signed away rights in a prenup, provided valuable support and raised the children, gave husband the life he wanted, got stitched up when husband grew tired of the relationship. Who’d have seen that coming?
Kate Johnson 1 day ago
This is what magical thinking gets you. There's scores of women out there doing the same stupid thing. Sacrificing their futures and security to be a SAHM. The overwhelming majority of men are not trustworthy enough for that. If you do it, get a prenup that pays you. In this case I'd get the nastiest lawyer I could find.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 23 hours ago (edited)
With what money, in OP's case? XD
Load More Replies... FreeTheUnicorn 20 hours ago
This is the only side you *ever* hear about. I assume it's because otherwise the women would start speaking to one another and realise they had options.
Load More Replies... Bookworm 1 day ago
The title made me laugh. Literally everywhere online and most people IRL are going to say being a stay at home parent is financially risky. There's no reason to have over a 10 year gap when the oldest is 7. If you're a sahp you need to work out the finances first. Both of you with your own account and shared one. You each get the same amount of disposable income to your own account and the rest goes into the shared account. Once a month you review your finances together. In her case OP should have gotten a postnup before the first child saying she'd be entitled to X amount each year she's a sahm in addition to child support. She needs to get a lawyer to see if the prenup can be challenged, especially if the decision for her to stay at home came after it was signed and they had kids. Meantime she still needs to be getting what money she needs to survive out. She may have to repay it, but taking some to make sure she and kids are provided for is a necessity.
Asri 1 day ago
Feminists have been warning for over half a century. Plus no competent lawyer would have a client sign away alimony in a pre-nup without explaining what it meant. Her pain and fear are real, but they shouldn't be a surprise.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 day ago
I'm sure it WAS explained to her. She still signed it. She probably thought "Husband and I are soulmates, we'll NEVER get divorced, we'll be together forever, I don't need to worry about this silly no alimony clause!"
Load More Replies...
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