When you first plan on staying home with your children, probablythe first thing you do is take a look and see if you can affordit. You cut back on cable TV, buy older cars, lose retirementbenefits…

Whoops! Most moms don't seem to be thinking about what being astay-at-home mom does for her package. The yearsspent not working have a huge impact, however, when you decideto retire, so you need to plan now.

Let's start by looking at what you're losing for yourretirement. No 401(k) with your employer contributing towardsit. No pension, although those are getting scarce in most jobsanyhow. Less money available to put towards retirement. Youaren't putting money into Social Security, so your benefits willbe lower.

Ouch. Being a stay-at-home mom means you lose a lot for yourretirement. Socially, the stay-at-home mom, as you may alreadyknow, is not as valued by most or by our government as theworking mother. Fortunately, there are steps you can take toprepare for your own retirement. It means more sacrifices, asyou'll have to put more money aside, but better to provide yourown than be a burden.

You will want to consider having your spouse contribute towardsa Spousal IRA. You may want to talk to a professional todetermine the best type of IRA. According to the IRS website, upto $3000 may be contributed to a spousal IRA in a given year,assuming you are married and filing a joint return. Seehttp://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590.pdf for more information onIRAs.

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