5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom
I’m absolutely positive a few of these will ruffle some feathers, especially #4.
And the “working” version of me would have never believed this side of the dream I always wanted. But after two years of being a stay-at-home mama, there really are some conversations I wish someone would’ve had with me.
Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom Was Everything I Wanted… and Nothing Like I Expected
This might sound a tad dramatic, but I knew when I started working at 17 that I wanted something different for my life.
I knew very quickly that clocking into a job for 8+ hours a day wasn’t what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing. And once I got married and had kids? That push was even stronger. That overwhelming feeling of knowing I was made to be pouring into the four walls of my home, being available to my family and our needs and priorities, and living a life that was solely on our schedule—not someone else’s.
It took 17 years after starting my very first job until I was finally able to quit and be a stay-at-home mom.
I spent many evenings after work in tears with a wine glass in my hand telling my husband about my day, what had happened, and how my boss had, once again, made me feel guilty for requesting off 2 hours for a doctor's appointment… or the conversation about missing too much work when I took a week off for my 3-month old daughter's skull surgery. (Yeah… that happened.)
So you can only imagine how I felt on the final Friday of my two week’s notice!
I just knew life would finally slow down. And all of my problems would just melt in the wind behind me!
Spoiler alert: I was wrong.
Being a stay-at-home mom still brings its own struggles. They might look a lot different than what your working friends are juggling day-to-day, but nonetheless… they’re still there.
And don’t get me wrong, this life is still for me. It just took some small adjustments (okay… maybe some big adjustments!), and some space out of my comfort zone.
So if there’s a conversation I would have with you before you make the leap—or if you’re already here and wondering what in the actual hell is happening—this would be it!
1: You’ll Be Busier as a Stay-at-Home Mom Than You Ever Were at Your 9-5
It’s true, mama. I know it might sound wild but that’s because it is! You suddenly have more time to do all those things you put off during the week or didn’t want to waste your weekend doing!
And as mama, you already know the house is literally never-ending. So when you’re home more, you naturally get shit done because that’s our superpower!
I ended up creating a daily cleaning schedule where I tackle 1-2 small things per day so that I’m not constantly cleaning, picking up, or scattered about what needs to be done.
But here’s what I’ve figured out… My Monday’s might have switched from the due date for corporate accounting reports to cleaning the bathroom & scrubbing the toilet… but I genuinely get a lot more joy out of a clean bathroom than I ever did submitting reports that took every bit of energy for me to push out in time.
And that’s why spending your time doing what fills your cup truly matters.
2: Living on One Income Can Feel More Restricting Than You Expected
“Mom! You bought the ghetto Fruit Loops?”
Uh, yes sir! Mama did!
Could we really not afford the name brand Fruit Loops? Yes, we absolutely could. But going from 2 full-time incomes to a one-income household can really play tricks on your mind!
I spent the first several months worried about where we could save. Overthinking how I could better spend our money. And I even reorganized our monthly budget multiple times thinking I could squeeze a penny here or there. (like it really mattered…)
Fast forward two years, and I can admit I was a little overdramatic. But the fear of not having enough was very real. Because if I’m just being honest, sometimes the scariest part wasn’t about not having enough money… It was the thought of having to go back to a 9-5 after getting a taste of that freedom and flexibility I had always craved. 🫣
That’s actually one of the reasons I decided to go all-in on different ways to make money from home. Before quitting, I dabbled in Freelance Copywriting and even affiliate marketing, but I wasn’t treating them like I depended on the income.
I know we’re not all the same, but cutting back or sacrificing small luxuries eventually feels restricting. And trust me, I’m not saying keep your day job! I’m just saying be open to learning how to make money from your couch instead of jumping back onto someone else’s timeclock.
3: Your Friendships and Schedule Will Change
I really never thought about how drastically my day-to-day would change from my best friend that I worked with at the time. I suddenly had a lot more time on my hands and was humbled rather quickly to see just how long it took my people in the friend group chat to respond!
I don’t tell you this to scare you… only to encourage you to find people who are in the same phase of life as you are.
For me, I felt lonely for a long period of time. It ended up being horrible timing, but my friend group did in fact change drastically around the time I quit my job and became a stay-at-home mom. It would have happened either way. It had nothing to do with me quitting or staying home. But two phases of life merged together into one and I had to learn how to adapt pretty quickly if I didn’t want to spend my days mad at the world or overthinking every conversation.
I was already focused on how to make money from home and building my digital marketing business so I started leaning in to people who were doing the same thing. I’ve met an entire community of women and SAHM’s who are like-minded and growing in the same direction I am. And I’m even lucky enough to call a couple of them close friends now!
Your people are out there!
4: It’s Okay if Motherhood Isn’t the Only Thing That Fulfills You
Yep—I said it. I know this is supposed to be “enough” so don’t come at me.
But what happens when you start losing yourself to the never-ending chores, the snacks, the dinners, the sports schedules, the night time routines, and the pouring into everything but yourself day in and day out?
Like I mentioned before, we’re not all the same. But I’ve met an extraordinary number of women, especially stay-at-home moms, who are desperately looking for an outlet. A hobby. Something that’s all theirs. And something that generates a paycheck with her name on it.
Mama, that doesn’t make you ungrateful for this season of life. It doesn’t make you ungrateful for finally having the dream you’ve always dreamed of and still wanting more…
It makes you human. 🤍
I personally wanted something that challenged me. I wanted something I could get creative with. Something that was all mine.
That’s why I started building something online. Not because motherhood wasn’t enough. Because I needed an outlet.
If you’re wondering what that journey looked like, I actually put together a free mini course explaining the different paths I explored when I started making money online. You can watch it here.
5: Watching Your Husband Carry the Financial Weight Is Harder Than Most People Talk About
If there’s one thing about our men… they are hard workers!
Am I right?
At the time of this blog post, my husband has worked a full-time job while building his own backflow & plumbing business on the side for over 6 years. In May of 2026, he was able to go out on his own and leave his 9-5.
But that was after many, many long days, nights he wouldn’t get home until 10 or later, weekends spent away from his family, holidays busy tying up loose ends, missed ballgames, and every little moment in between.
Even though he needed me to be available to take care of our home and raise the kids, I felt an extreme amount of guilt knowing he was carrying every bit of the financial load.
He was working to pay the bills, build our dreams, accomplish our goals, and everything in between. And for me, that was hard to watch.
Another reason to start learning how to build an income from home.
What Helped Me Build an Income as a Stay-At-Home Mom
I love to write. (You don’t start a blog when you hate yapping!) 🤭 The first online business I ever had was Freelance Copywriting. I wrote marketing for award winning keynote speakers, life coaches, career coaches, and business owners alike.
I wrote blogs, emails, social media captions, product descriptions, and even created simple digital products in Canva they could give away. I signed up for Write Your Way to Freedom, a self-paced online course that teaches you how to build a copywriting business without any experience or portfolio, and I did the damn thing!
That opened up a world of other opportunities in Digital Marketing and I eventually started earning commissions by sharing my favorite brands and products (affiliate marketing), creating and selling my own digital products, and starting this blog! (And speaking of digital products, one of my favorites is my snack pack combos. I literally took something mundane—something I was already doing each week and put a price tag on it. And if you’re a mama who makes endless snacks or if you’re just looking for some easy things to munch on throughout the day, grab this snack pack combo! You can thank me later!)
I learned how to turn my everyday life into an income through The Digital Wealth Academy (DWA). I’ll be honest, I’ve purchased a lot of courses over the years. And DWA is the one-stop-shop I would recommend to my best friend or favorite cousin who wanted to start making money online. 🤭
Be careful with online courses! A lot of them will give you just enough information and then want you to upgrade or purchase something different to learn more. DWA was the first self-paced online course that never left me wondering what to do next. Every DWA student gets lifetime access, all new updates and course drops for no additional cost, weekly training calls, and an entire community of people who share success stories, what’s working, and who are genuinely rooting for each other. (Remember when I said to find your people? 😉)
Land The Plane, Monica!
Becoming a stay-at-home mom has honestly been one of the biggest transitions of my life.
It’s been hard… it’s been rewarding… and it’s been everything I’ve ever wanted in the most unexpected ways!
This is the conversation no one had with me. It would have never changed my mind on wanting to be home… I’ve always known this is where I belong. But I’d be lying if I said it wouldn’t have been one hell of a heads up!
If you’re in this season, just know you’re not alone, mama.
It’s okay to love being home and want to grow at the same time.
Those two things can coexist together. And you have so many ways to take some of those silent struggles and turn them into something beautiful. 🤍
Comments are open! Let’s chat! 👇🏼
