[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by hakuna matata

Once the children are old enough does it make more sense for the spouse to go back to work? My take is that if you are used to living off one income, go back to work and use ALL of the money from the second income for your retirement.

This is exactly what we do. My wife was a SAHM for 10 years. She then took a job that basically fell in her lap (she wasn't looking for work but a perfect opportunity presented itself). We were putting 80% of her income into savings. When she left that job early last year, she didn't work for a few months and then another great opportunity came her way. She now works part-time, 2-3 days/week for 6 hours/day. 50% of her salary goes into a 401k (plus the company match). That's the max they would allow. We wanted to do 100%. The remainder that actually comes home after taxes is minimal so I don't really designate it for savings but it probably ends up there in the long run. I often remind her that every dollar she earns is one less that I have to earn before I can retire.