Here’s a fun number for you. $162,581. Using their Salary Wizard at Salary.com that’s the medium annual salary a homemaker is worth! But What is a homemaker-and why/how is one possibly worth 162,581? Recently I did a little google search and I was sincerely surprised learn that “What Is A Homemaker-Homemaker Definition” was a real question that thousands of people Google each month.
If you are one of those people here looking for a definition, here’s the simple dictionary (dry) meaning of a homemaker according to Websters;
Merriam Webster Dictionary
one who manages a household especially as a spouse and parent
But hey, don’t leave yet. Keep reading because I’ve got some homemaker stats that are sure to inspire and impress you and we are going to talk more about a homemaker’s worth in just a minute.
Interesting Homemaker Statistics;
After a 30 year decline homemakers made a huge comeback. In 1999 only 23% of mothers were SAHM.
At American FactFinder we see that nearly 90,000,000 women are “unemployed”. And over at Gallup we can read that 56% of American mothers would prefer to stay at home. Did you catch that? The word prefer? Granted, one of the reasons is it doesn’t pay to work outside the home for most the female population if you have kids and daycare expenses. The majority of women would barely make enough to cover all the daycare and hidden costs.
What Does a Homemaker Do All Day?
As a homemaker, I tried to come up with a list of the generic stuff that most homemakers do without even thinking twice about.
One of the reasons I wanted to make this list is because if you are a homemaker, you know how when you go through the day being super busy, but at the end of the day you find you forgot over half of what you did, and worse, you can’t figure out why you’re so tired? I wanted to create this list a boost for those needing it for this reason.
Maybe you’ve seen lists like the one below before. The first one like it came out in the 80’s if I’m not mistaken, but renditions of it have been rolling around ever since then. I got the idea for this particular updated list from that NEAT ARTICLE at Salary.com which you really must read, but I didn’t feel the list was conclusive enough so I added more to it.
Here is my rendition of the job description of a homemaker.
Of course every homemaker doesn’t do all the things on this list. Maybe some do, but they definitely don’t do all these things all the time. We do many of these things on a daily basis though. In my particular case I’ve been a business owner for the majority of my homemaking years as well as a homeschooling mom.
The Dark Side of Homemaking
Being a homemaker can be fulfilling, but it’s hard. According to the article 50 Shades of Snot over at Today, SAHM’s deal with more depression than mom’s holding a paying job outside the home.
Let’s just take a look at a few reasons.
No Training
For one, there’s not a lot of on-the-job training, nor are the courses to prepare you. Many women don’t know how to be industrious or productive as a homemaker and they lack executive functioning skills specialized to homemaking. This is part of why homemaking YT channels by homemakers simply homemaking have boomed in recent years.
Hard Work
Another reason it’s hard is in many situations the work we do is so temporary that it can appear we’ve done nothing at all. This can be frustrating, unfulfilling and downright depressing, especially when we are asked what we did all day and not even we can remember because we are too exhausted and the evidence of what we cooked/cleaned is gone.
Selfishness & Self Care
Another thing about homemaking-especially for SAHM’s of little ones-is the immense amount of serving and sacrifice that goes into this. Unfortunately some mom’s become so miserable because they’ve either neglected themselves to an unhealthy degree feeling that it would be too selfish for them to practice self care. Then there are mom’s who’ve dug in and tried to hang on to the same freedoms they had before becoming a SAHM/homemaker and they find the SAHM/kids/homemaking lifestyle an inconvenience.
Finances/No Pay
There’s also the little thing where you don’t get paid and the stigma that surrounds SAHM’s that their husbands must make “enough” for them to stay home. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard from women who have half the size family we do and make 2x more tell me they’d love to be “able” to stay home but could never afford to.
The fact is, according to THIS ARTICLE only 5% of married SAHM’s have husbands that bring in 75,000 exceeding a year. The rest are in the lower and middle classes.
So if you are comparing yourself to someone who appears to be able to afford being a SAHM better than you can and you feel like you got the short end of the stick budget wise – and like you’re a minority because you have to pinch pennies, just keep in mind that you are actually in the majority!
What Is A Homemaker Worth?
So Salary Wizard already gave us $162,581, but the thing is that it can be far more than that depending on the homemaker.
Take a homeschooling homemaker mom for example, you can add around 10,000 per child if you are a homeschooling/homemaking mom. You can look up how much each state spends per pupil each year HERE to get exact calculations on that if you like. For me it’s over $109,000 since I have 6 children. So I guess that means I’m worth over $271,000!
But what about the hidden values of being a homemaker/SAHM?
Let me ask you this; did you know that another meaning for the word “serving” is ministry?
What has this got to do with being a SAH homemaker? Everything!
If you look at your homemaker job as a ministry, suddenly the tremendous sacrifices and hardships that come with this job have new and beautiful meaning and the fact that you are going without a second income that would help make life easier, better, or more luxurious suddenly takes on another perspective. You realize that the time & opportunities to be with your children and the chance to make a home a true haven for your family are where the value is at. Of course if you are Christian homemaker-you realize you are likely even making an eternal difference in the lives of those around you.
In the article, How Homemakers Help the Economy, by The Trumpet, the value of homemaker mothers becomes more plain to see. The article points out a Harvard School of Public Health researcher found that unsupervised children score lower (in the bottom corner) of standardized math tests, are more likely to use alcohol, drugs, commit crimes and have sex.
Conclusion
For most my homemaking journey-which began around 2004, I didn’t want to call myself a “homemaker”. I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and back then the term “homemaker” was practically a derogatory word. Millennial’s may not believe me, but it’s the truth. Even in 2000 it was still looked down on. In fact, when I told one of my grandma’s what I wanted to be she tried to talk me out of it. And once I made the mistake of telling a coworker I wanted to be a SAHM. She didn’t believe me at first. When she realized I was serious she told other coworkers and later that day another coworker came up to me and asked, “Do you REALLY want to be a stay at home mom?” She and the other co worker started laughing, and she responded with, “That’s not for me. I couldn’t stand being home.” I became the laughing stock of the workplace!
But the tide has taken a 180 turn. Just take a gander on Instagram under “#homemaker” and you’ll see what I mean.
But I’m starting to think maybe I should rethink the title of “Homemaker” after doing the research for this article. When you consider all the stats and data, being a homemaker truly is a ministry of serving a cause bigger than materialism. You might not make anything and it might not feel like you are doing much-but in the end you are making differences in the lives of your kids, spouse and even extended family and friends.
P.S. Wondering how our family of 8 survives on one income? I’m working on a post sharing our secrets, but in the meantime you can find some of the ways HERE and HERE.
Got kids & feel like you are doing everything for everyone? Be sure to check out the chore chart system I made and have for sale in my Etsy Shop-it’s the only system that has ever worked for our big family and when the kids follow it our home is so much more peaceful! FYI if you sign up for my newsletters below you’ll get a coupon code for 15% off items in my Etsy shop!
If you enjoyed What is a Homemaker-Homemaker Definition be sure to check out my other Domestic Arts (aka homemaking) postsand especially my YouTube channel!
If you are feeling like a frumpy housewife you’ll love my Beauty and Style posts, including my Dump the Frump series for SAH and homeschooling mama’s and my post on how to dress for your body type.
Love my shirt? I got it from Happy Homemaker Designs on Etsy!
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I think “homemaker” is one of the most beautiful words in the English language, and I’m proud to tell people that’s who I am and what I do all day. I think most people I run into would give a lot to have someone making a home for them. I also prefer the term “homemaker” to “stay/work-at-home mom” because the latter term, in my mind, limits women to working at home only when they have children there to take care of, while the “homemaker” label is much more visionary. My 5 children are all in school, college, or married, and I’m still a full-time homemaker. And I’m never bored! There’s so much scope not only for doing the work that makes a home for my family, but also for volunteering and serving others outside our family. So many needs in the world and often, not enough people to meet those needs, because so many are working for pay all day. It’s a financial sacrifice for our family, to be sure, but the rewards for us and others are so great.
I’m loving everything about this outfit, and I love your hair, really gorgeous!
Your outfit is so cute! The sweater looks so comfy.
This is such an inspiring post. Yes indeed homemakers are super heroes.
I have 3 more to add…Hairstylist. Dental Hygienist. Mani/Pedicurist.
Love!! How did I forget those!
Thanks so much for this post! It was really encouraging to me as a SAHM of 5 whom I also homeschool
I love this! But I do think one major reason that homemakers are making a come back is because of all the side hustles people can do from home nowadays!
Loved this post. It was an interesting reading x
Homemakers, mothers, wives, women!! All amazing and all bring so much value to life. Love how you broke this down, yay for homemakers!
Kileen
cute & little
I am a homemker, but my husband helps out just as much as I do. I’m considered very lucky. He even cooks most of the meals. He wants to!!
That’s so interesting, people tend to underestimate the work of an homemaker
I already work from home on my own business, so when the kids eventually come along for hubby and me it will definitely be me adding all of those responsibilities as well! I am all about women being able to make their own choices about what is right for their family. I remember my mom getting looked down upon in the 80s and 90s because she was a SAHM.
I fully believe that a homemaker is worth every penny! And given all of the responsibilities involved, it’s important that anyone taking all of that on is getting a good amount of self care, too.
Yes!
Wowzers! Between homemakers and stay-at-home moms, I can totally see that being the case! It’s not an easy job and somebody has to do! If we got paid, I know it would make a world of difference.
Wouldn’t it be awesome!!!
Haha, just saw the link to your Amazon page – I bought a pair of those pants for myself! 🙂
Aren’t they fun!
Oh my gosh, I’ve never read the “worth” of a SAHM quantified like that. Yet so much of what we/they do is intangible. My husband is leaving his job to be a SAHD this fall, and we’re so excited! (Also, I’m obsessed with your pants. I really want them. Where are they from???)
Hello Catherine! Yes, intangible is a great way to put it. I would love it if my hubby could be a SAHD! I think he’d be a better SAHD than I am SAHM, lol!
The pants are from Amazon….I’ve linked to them in this post because I’ve had so many requests for them!
It is so incredible to see the many titles a SAHM holds, yet the credit is just not there in our society, so frustrating!!! I give huge kudos to any woman (or man) that chooses to stay home and care for their family, especially when weighing the costs of childcare etc!
Thank you!!
Holy moly! Moms are super heros who for sure. This was such an eye opening post, thank you!
You are welcome!
I love the item on your list that says “gestation engineer”! As a mother of 4, I definitely can relate!
I had fun coming up with that one! That’s an exhausting one for sure, lol!
It’s easily one of the hardest jobs in the world.
Absolutely!
Great job description.
Thank you!