Stay-at-home mom reveals how much women like her would make if they started getting paid for their labor

A stay-at-home mom's work is often considered of lesser importance by society because it does not generate a direct income. However, according to this mom's calculations, a stay-at-home mother's work might be of much more value than one can imagine. She even went as far as to indirectly point out that her husband could only keep his checks because she did so many of the things at home, free of charge. The mom, Amber Audrey (who goes by @amberaudrey_96 on TikTok), shared how much she would earn every week as a stay-at-home mom if her services were paid for.

Audrey made a satirical video about how much she "charged" her husband for her "stay-at-home mom services." She explained how her husband would pay her once he got paid for the month. "I charge him $20 per load of dishes that I do. I usually do them two to three times a day, five days a week." The total comes up to around $300 per week. Also, she charged her husband $35 for one load of laundry, and she did it around 4 times per week, making it a total of $140. "$60 per bathroom per clean." Audrey deep-cleaned the bathroom two times a week, and the house had two bathrooms, so her total came up to $240 per week for cleaning the bathroom.

Cleaning all the floors around the house came up to $300 per week. "I homeschool the kids, so I charge him $400 tuition for each kid each week." That earned her a total of $800. Also, Audrey charged her husband for her shuttle services for taking the kids to art class, gymnastics and more. That comes up to $150 per week. She also charged $75 for going grocery shopping. The amount did not include groceries or tips. A meal cost $50 and came up to $500 per week as she made lunch and dinner five days a week while her husband made breakfast. She didn't work on Saturdays or Sundays. Her "breastfeeding fee" came up to $200. She also charged a $10 sweeping fee for the upkeep of the house five days a week.

"So the total that I charge my husband for all of my stay-at-home services is about $2700 per week. If he wants to save money, he can help me do any of these tasks," Audrey explained. "It doesn't leave much for him at the end of the month, but it does give me enough to pay my mortgage, my car payment, car insurance, water, electric, groceries, stuff like that." She added, "So it ultimately does kind of make me the breadwinner in my household."

According to a 2018 Aveeno Bay Survey, 31 percent of the 1500 participants surveyed in the UK felt that staying at home with kids was harder than working. The survey mostly included parents of newborns. While Motherly's State of Motherhood Survey explained that stay-at-home parents could experience significant amounts of stress due to isolation, lack of personal time and support structures. At the same time, the US provides little to no financial support for full-time caregivers.

People shared their thoughts on Audrey's system in the comments. @amandaschwartz730 wrote, "This may be satire, but it 100% puts into perspective how much stay-at-home moms actually do and that it’s actually a full-time job." @myakolove1 commented, "Housekeeper, private tutoring, chef, laundry service, personal shopper, carpool and nanny. Umm, actually, that whole check belongs to you. That’s what people can’t comprehend."

You can follow Amber Audrey (@amberaudrey_96) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.