I promised more than a week ago that I’d find some good resources to help families decide if they can afford to live on one income.

Like any dual-income family with kids, the thought did cross my mind that having Matt or I stay at home would make life easier. I still think that. At points throughout the past four years each of us has seriously considered being a stay-at-home mom or dad. But after running the numbers again and again and giving much thought to what work and family mean to us, we’re both still working and parenting and doing the best we can.

The choice requires so much more than punching in some numbers into a calculator. But resources certainly help. Finally, here they are. Hope they were worth the wait.

This calculator can run the numbers for you.

Ka-Blog reader Suzanne suggests the New York Times two incomes to one income calculator. “It’s a bit confusing and ambiguous,” she writes, “but it provides some food for thought.”

Here’s a decent guide to the tax implications of switching to one income courtesy of Quicken.

And here are some tips excerpted from a column I wrote on the topic a couple of years ago.

First, sit down with your budget and face the facts.

Try to live on one income for as long as one year. Don’t rush into this.

Make financial choices based on what you can afford on one income. In other words, don’t trade up and keep up with the Joneses.

Look at the expenses associated with working.

Create a five to ten year plan. That’s what CPA Ruth Ann Michnay suggests. That way, you don’t have to feel guilty saving less for retirement when living on less money, as long as the plan allows you to catch up down the road. Don’t look at savings as all or nothing.

Don’t rule out part-time work. Although I know from experience that the stress of working part-time can be nearly level with the stress caused working full-time.

Have you switched from two incomes to one or from one to two? Tell us why and what worked for you?

My neighbor recently muttered that he was making more money in 1987 than he was in 2007. “That sucks,” he exclaimed.

No doubt. And according to some new tax stats written up in today’s New York Times, 2005 incomes on average are trailing those from 2000.

The average income in 2005 was $55,238, still nearly 1 percent less than $55,714 in 2000, after adjusting for inflation.

This is a new phenomenon, with wages growing every year since after WWII until this century.

But the number of millionaires grew by 26 percent, David Cay Johnston writes.

I haven’t experienced this, but then again, I haven’t been in the same job for the past few years.

Did anyone catch the recently released data about young women in their 20s who are actually outearning men in their age group? My colleague Gail Rosenblum wrote a story about the trend in Minneapolis.

In Minneapolis, the wages of full-time women in their 20s were 19 percent higher than men’s, or $31,000 vs. $26,000, said researcher Trent Alexander of the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Population Center.

What’s happening with your wages? Are you worried that the cost of living will soon outpace your earnings? Is that frustrating reality old news for you? Or is the money rolling in and your millionaire status is just about a given?

It’s a joke that my husband and I have had for a couple of years now, especially when trying to juggle a busy work week, a sick kid, or a house repair.

Apparently I’m not the only gal in the world yearning for an extra pair of hands. Here’s a New York Times story on the subject.

I thought I’d share with you excerpts of some emails I received from readers after they finished my Friday column about teens and summer jobs.

Will’s job stank:

My first job was as a dishwasher when I was 16. The restaurant had Friday Night Fish Boils, so I spent a lot of Friday nights scrubbing out giant, fish-scented pots still hot from the stove. Often, they had deposits of fish bones or scales in the bottom. It was gross, but the money made me feel pretty independent for a 16-year-old. I remember at the end of the summer, I bought a J.Crew sweater for $80 (a lot of money for me then). It was nice to want something and get it guilt-free because I had worked hard for it.

Laverne’s job was sweet:

The salary was 35 cents an hour! I was 15 and our next door neighbor owned a small Five and Ten cent store on Lake Street in south Minneapolis. I don’t remember how many hours a week I worked, but I will tell you I worked hard for those hours.

The manager’s office was up on a balcony where he could observe the whole floor of the store. Behind the counter were small flop down seats, but you didn’t dare sit on one as you would be buzzed by the manager to let you know you should be on your feet, ready to serve whoever came into the store.

The only really fun time was when I was able to work behind the candy counter! All those heaps of candy to be measured out and sold by the pound. Occasionally I’d be able to pop one into my mouth if no one was looking.

The first thing I bought with my earnings was a short plaid “swing” coat. I was so proud of that purchase!

Joy’s job was dirty, but she liked the money:

My first job was wiping address stencils at a local news paper. I would take the individual stencil, put solvent on a rag and cleaned off the ink. The processes was repeated for three hour shifts two days a week when I was in the 9th grade. My fingers became black with ink which helped me quit biting my nails. I worked in the backshop where the big printing press was located and I learned a lot about printing that summer. I bought a 10 speed bike with earnings from the job and then rode it to work. It was a dirty job but I liked having a purpose and of course the money.

Tree’s first jobs– reading and receptionist:

My first paid job was as a library clerk at my local public library branch in 1968. My first job at the library is still my favorite paid job [aside from raising my daughter]. I went on to become an attorney, a consultant and a writer.

[In college] I got a work study job as a receptionist in my dorm. Boys were not allowed on the residential floors. Being receptionist meant that I got to buzz the female students in their dorm rooms to notify they had a visitor. One buzz meant they had a phone call and then they had to go down the hall to pick up the phone, on phone per floor. Two buzzes meant they had a visitor at the desk. Three buzzes meant they had a male visitor at the desk. This was also a fantastic job; warm and social. It was so much fun to do the three buzzes. I was born right in the middle of the baby boom. When I was a teenager, it used to be hard to even gets jobs at McDonald’s because there were so many teenagers looking for jobs. My white collar job at the library, using my mind, was a big step up from fast food or, even, retail sales. All my friends envied me.

Getting a job as a teen isn’t easy these days either. According to the Labor Dept, only 48.8 percent of teens ages 16 to 19 were working or looking for work at the start of summer, down from 51.6 percent last year and 60.2 percent in 2000. Economists guess that some students are opting not to work to attend summer school or take unpaid internships. But some just can’t find work.

What was your first job? Do you think it’s important that teens work?

Happy Friday to those of you in town. I woke up this morning panicked because I felt like there was something I was supposed to do today. Yes! Go to work!

Great story in the Washington Post about a particularly raging job market. Accounting anyone?

I’m always amazed at stories about recent high school grads who home in on a sensible, in- demand careers and land fabulous jobs straight out of school. While my friends and I had little trouble finding paychecks when we left college in the late-90s, very few of us graduated with job offers and most switched industries or went back to school for advanced degrees.

I’ll check to see if accounting is as hot in Minnesota and will ask a career counselor about which jobs are in demand in the North star State. In the meantime, share how you discovered the color of your parachute.