Can you afford to be a stay-at-home parent?

Ever dream of giving up the workaday schlep and staying home with your kids? Here are some things you need to consider before making the decision to be a stay-at-home parent.

It is 8 a.m. You're desperately trying to corral your sleepy children into their snowsuits so you can bundle them off to daycare. Your son can't find his teddy bear, and your daughter is ineffectively tugging a brush through her tangled hair. The breakfast dishes are on the table, and will still be there when you get home tonight, just in time to begin the frantic dinnertime rush.

• For many families, this is a regular day and more parents are wondering if they can afford to stay at home.

A recent Statistics Canada report showed that the majority of dual-earner families felt they were caught in a time crunch and that they didn't have enough time to devote to family and friends.

• Fully 69 percent of the women and 51 percent of the men reported that they often felt stress because of the time pressure.

For many, it's purely a question of money.

• For one thing, Revenue Canada penalizes single-earner families, by taxing individual earnings, rather than household income.
• In the case of a two-parent family of four with an income of $60,000, for example, the single earner would pay $13,800 in income tax a year, compared to the dual earners who would pay a total of $9,600 in tax.
• So although their household income is the same, the single-earner family would pay an extra $4,200 in tax.
• That said, there are some offsetting effects from having a parent stay home.

Tax credits (like provincial tax benefits, the federal Child Tax Benefit, sales tax credits and GST) are based on household income.

• So if one of you quits your job to stay home with the kids, you're likely to get more back from the government in the form of a spouse dependant credit, and Child Tax Benefit payments.

If money is the only thing holding you back from doing what you really want, you should look closely at how much you're actually spending in order to work.

• By the time you subtract taxes, lost tax credits, child care, commuting costs, additional income tax, working wardrobe and occasional take-out meals, unless you're making a fairly hefty wage, you're probably not that far ahead of the game.

For some households, having a stay-at-home parent can create a less stressful environment and also save family expenses. Consider these tips and decide whether being a stay-at-home parent is something you're interested in and can afford.