Dilemma...

So, we just had our second (and likely final) kid back in February and my wife has about a month worth of leave remaining before she's scheduled to return to work. She's now trying to convince me to let her stay home with the kids for a year or so before going back. While we could make it financially with some fiscal self-control, it'd be tight. We're also currently on an excellent health insurance plan through her employer, so if we switched to mine we'd be paying more for worse coverage.

Anyway, I'm considering selling my 2018 Tundra and just paying cash for a 1st gen or early 2nd gen to leave us some more breathing room. There are other things we could cut back (401k contribution level, college savings for the kids, etc.), but I don't want to mess with those if I can help it. This is the first brand new vehicle I've ever had as I've always paid cash for used cars, so while I love my new Tundra, I think I could live with getting something older.

So, what should I do? Keep my Tundra and live on a tight budget, or sell it and live more financially comfortable?

 

Tough choices man. Obviously the choice will be how financially stable you want to be. If I was in your shoes and we decided that wife was not going to work for a year I would sell the truck and get something cheaper with no monthly payments. You're going to want to be smart with the money you have saved up because you'll slowly start using your savings here and there and before you know it will be gone. Also say good by to 'wants' and budget for 'needs'.

 

Ouch tough situation, I will be in the same spot in a couple of months.

Some key things to looks at:
-what money is going on things that aren’t needed? Like stuff that can wait another month etc
-defanetly don’t want to mess with the kids accounts, for your 401K depends how your company matches and stuff so let’s say your doing 10% and your company matches only 5%, can cut that back yes your retirement won’t grow as fast but right now how things have gone with the market you should still be alright.
-as far as insurance yeah it’s gonna suck regardless, does your company do an HSA? Mine does more money if I’m on the family plan.
-how long does your wife plan to be off? Maybe to help out she can take up a part time job, Uber or something small. Can also buy a cricket (label maker) and do custom designs for water bottles or printouts on Etsy stuff like that. Little things that can get you additional income in the end. Right now with social media at its peak there are tons of weighs to earn extra cash (advertisements)
-will selling the truck get you any money that you can sit in for a while?

At the end of the day you want the best for you family. Weigh all your options and do a pros and cons list. Sit down with your wife so that both of y’all agree to the plan. Maybe bring some other people in to level the field I know these talks with the wife aren’t the best.

Hope this helps!

 

Tough one man...
I get the sentiment for mom being at home and making the sacrifices to be more financially comfortable.
At the same time, I've seen (many other family and friends) where 1 year turns into 2, etc.

The insurance could be a big influencer, especially given all the check-ups for a new-born thru the first year.

I'd just keep it simple...
Would doing everything you describe allow you and the wife to live comfortably and remain happy?
Or (for example) could she go back to work for say 6-9 months...you guys save the additional income and end up in the same or better position in a year?
If you go with what you described above, make it a deal...in one year, she goes back to work and you get your 2019 CM TRD Pro.

 

Thanks for the advice, guys. I owe about $26k on the Tundra and could probably get around $42-$43k selling to a private party. It's a Limited CM with premium package—no KBB data for 2018s but a similarly-equipped 2017 has a KBB value of $44,900 for private party (Seems high. Heck, I only paid $44,800 for mine brand new in Sept). It only has about 3,200 miles on it and literally doesn't have a single scratch or dent. That would give me about $16k to spend on something else, then give me an extra ~$500 in the bank every month.

Anyway, we'd be fine if we budgeted, but it'd just be nice having the extra money every month just in case. I could also just keep it and know I could sell if some emergency came up...

 

Possible to refinance to get lower monthly payments?

 

Tough one for sure.

If your situation was long term, then yes it makes sense. 1 year will fly by before ya know it. Tighten the budget up and maybe cut corners here and there. I'm saving $80 a month by taking a slightly longer route home and avoiding the toll. Part time job, coupons for grocery, work some overtime @ work. Good luck

 

This. You can always pay down more if /when she goes to work. Cut back on things like cable and going out to eat. Also on single income you can claim more dependents for for bring home pay.

If only for year would look into keeping. If possibly longer or long term, you need to guage this, maybe sell for something paid in full.

Good Luck!

 

Flip the script on her and tell her you want to be a stay at home dad.

 

I don't recommend this ^^^^ especially if she has a gun...

 

I understand about being on a tight budget. I also don't recommend cutting your 401-k contribution or the college fund. Removing the 401k will significantly affect your long term savings for retirement. And college will be very expensive when they get there so you will need all you can save.

I would either sell the truck and replace it down the road, but be aware, replacing down the road could be quite a few years which there is nothing wrong with that, or try to keep the truck and live tight for a bit. A nice Gen1 or Gen2 Tundra would serve you well though.

At the numbers you mentioned, you have about 16k in equity in your truck which you can find something in the low 20k range if you want a Gen2 Crewmax and save about 20k which is 400.00 a month in a payment.

 

Keep a tight budget and re-evaluate after the year. Drive your wife's car to save money on gas while you commute to work. Get rid of cable movie packages, daily starbucks runs, etc. You can make it work; always remember that there are people in worse financial conditions and they make it work.

And as @GAknight siad, 1 can turn into 2. My one year has been 12 now

 

My wife and I talked about the same thing sorta... We have 1 on the way but she does not get Maternity leave, so she has to go 3 months without pay. I always joke with her, if we lose the house the tundra (CM) is big enough for us to live in! Maybe you can do that? lol JK JK

Joking aside... You do have to factor in child care, with your wife staying home you wont have to pay that anymore. I personally would keep the truck, like some have said above its only 1 year of a tight budget and I assume you have something in savings just in case of emergency.

One example for us on saving money, I switched to T-Mobile from AT&T saved us $100 a month just by doing that... obviously a few other things also. But the choice is ultimately yours, I wish you luck!=)

P.S. You could always start a gofundme post it on here, You know some of these forum members got DEEEEEP POCKETS... lol JK

 

Honestly if it’s for a year or so I say suck it up and just watch the money...that’s a great truck that’ll last you a long time and be trouble free....it’s only temporary.
With kids that young you want a trouble free truck that you don’t have to worry about.

 

My wife dropped to working 3 days a week, sort of a compromise. She still gets the kid time she wants with a few days break to talk to other adults. Working out very well so far.

 

Has she tried other counties?

 

Haha, yeah, it seems like everyone is starting a GoFundMe account for every little thing these days.

But yeah, I do feel kind of "dirty" having a car payment after always paying cash for vehicles in the past. It's an awesome truck and I know it'll serve me well, but it almost never makes financial sense to buy new. It would take A LOT of repairs on an older vehicle that I could pay $15-$20k cash for before I even came close to the ~$45k I spent on my new Tundra. Even if she was still working, something in the back of my mind keeps telling me to sell it and get something cheaper. I did just see this on CL that is making the decision tougher...

https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/d/2005-toyota-tundra-trd-low/6588223244.html

 

Haha ya I've seen some ridiculous gofundme stuff lately... drives me insane! lol

 

Nice find. I owned one just like it except an 06 model. That color is very easy to maintain.

 

My wife stayed at home for 8 years while our two youngest were at home. I make a good salary, but it was definitely a little challenging at times - especially since I was building a rock-crawler Bronco during that time period - it was a very slow build (took about the full 8 years). As someone else mentioned, there are things that you can cut back on to make it a little easier. There were times where I wished we had a little more financial flexibility. However, my wife was really happy to be able to stay with the kids and spend the time with them. I don't regret it one bit. When the kids went to school, she got bored and went back to work and is very successful with her business now.

If it is something that your wife wants to do, I say go for it - she will treasure the memories forever.

 

Agree. Something about the comfort knowing your young ones are at home with mommy vs a day care. Not everyone can swing it, but it you can do it.

 

It really is. My last two trucks before my current cement Tundra were silver. The silver Tundras look great as well, but it was time for a different color!

 

Sell it. Family over truck everyday

 

Dump the Tundra..

 

We were in your shoes about 18 years ago and it wasn't an easy decision, at least at the time.

Ended up downsizing our house (lost my 3 car garage ) and driving older, but reliable, vehicles. Vacations were mostly camping trips with our popup trailer.

To be honest, it was tough at the time but it was the best decision we ever made. We spent tons of time as a family doing trips together and building family memories, and our kids grew up being best of friends, which they still are today.

When push comes to shove material possessions really don't mean much in the grand scheme of things. Yeah, the new stuff is nice but a 10+ year old truck will still get you from point A to point B and will be way more comfortable and capable than the old '86 Trooper or '93 Quest we had at the time.

I would encourage you to do what ever you think is best for YOUR family in the long term.

 

I'd have a serious talk with my wife about this one-year idea. Would she really want to go back to work one year from now? The kids will still be young. It sounds like she really wants to be a stay-at-home mom. Is that an option beyond 12 months from now?

To me, having my wife raise my kids (instead of daycare) is worth way more than a truck.