Opt out

Sure as Mother's Day comes and goes every year, working moms will always want the most elusive thing there is: more time. Time to get all our work done, well, and still have all the time we want with our family. Most days, that's tough to come by, and no amount of macaroni and glue will produce it.

So it's no surprise that the Society for Human Resource Management has found two surveys that say full-time working moms would gladly take pay cuts if it means more time with their children:

• 43 percent of working moms would take a pay cut for more time at home
• 51 percent would quit their jobs if their spouse/significant other made enough money to support the family

I've been there, and made the decision to work part time and then freelance when my three kids were young. I gave up a lot of income during those years. And, no, our financial future is not fully figured out, but I wouldn't change a thing about that decision because I felt it so strongly in my gut that it's what we needed as a family. But pulling back from the work force is not a decision that should be made lightly. The pay you give up in the short term, based on family economic and care needs at that moment in yours and your family's life, has long-term consequences. Read More »