Every mother knows the schedule of her full-time Monday to Sunday job. The daily activities are tailored around her family’s needs, ranging from cooking and cleaning to teaching and driving. Stay-at-home mothers’ juggle a bigger workload than most office employees can even handle. She’ll even put in overtime without a groan, a moan, or a sigh. But ask any mum how much she thinks she is worth, and she’ll most likely blush and respond that ‘she does it out of the goodness of her heart’—followed by a coy smile.

But what if you could put a theoretical value on a mum’s salary? How much do you think she would earn? Salary.com surveyed over 6,000 mothers in order to calculate out how much they would make if they were paid an annual salary. The researchers broke down a mother’s most time-consuming duties into 10 job titles: Facilities Manager, CEO, Laundry Operator, Computer Operator, Housekeeper, Cook, Day Care Teacher, Van Driver, Janitor, and Psychologist.

The data then took into consideration the number of hours a mother worked, including overtime, which averaged out to 94 hours a week. If mums were to be paid for their arduous work, the base salary would be an enormous $113,568 USD a year. That’s right, mothers of the world, you are providing $100,000 worth of hard labour, for free. The most valuable and equally invaluable worker in this country is a mother. Solely on this principle, stay-at-home mothers should be considering income protection insurance.

It’s a petrifying thought to think that at any moment your life can change in a heartbeat. Generation Y and X of the late 60’s to the 90’s, we are more accident prone than the Baby Boomers of the 40’s. What would happen if you were temporarily out-of-action, no longer being able to complete your 94-hour workweek? In the event of an unsuspected injury or illness, income protection will ensure that you receive up to 75% of your income until you’re back in action. They can call us clumsy but they can’t call us careless; having a backup plan in place will give you a greater peace of mind.

Mothers, I know what you’re thinking. You barely have room in the household budget for your husband’s life insurance before adding your own income protection costs into the mix. But consider what would happen if you couldn’t even lift a finger for a week or more. What kind of state would the house be in? Who would be able to cook and feed your children? Would your husband have to take time off of work to take care of the children? How much would you have to spend out-of-pocket to cover housekeeping costs?

The Million Dollar Woman insurance is designed to meet the needs of motherhood.

For as little as $2.50 a day (that’s less than a coffee these days) you can insure household chores such as grocery shopping, cleaning, and cooking. Should you find yourself needing to make a claim, the policy will be able to compensate you up to $900 a week for up to 13 weeks. Plain and simple, that’s $11,700 to ensure you get your housework done.

Nevertheless, certain income protection insurance can be slightly more expensive than life insurance. Income protection premiums are tax deductible, however benefit payments are subject to tax as they are considered to be a source of income. So if you are debating between taking out a life insurance and income protection, it is important to factor this information into the decision. Your financial adviser or an experienced insurance agent can give you guidance on this important choice. They can help you determine exactly how much cover to purchase and put together an affordable package.

There’s no doubt about it, it’s a grueling topic to have to bring up to your spouse; the mere thought of a serious injury or illness can be very off-putting. But instead of asking yourself if you can afford to have income protection, ask yourself if you can afford not to.

2 minute quote form: Get an income protection insurance quote from multiple providers in under 2 minutes from Moneyhound, it’s free.

Written by Melissa Cortes, Yahoo!7 Moneyhound – Fetching you a better deal. Moneyhound.com.au is a price comparison site that can help you save money across all your monthly bills. Try it now, it’s free.

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