'$4324 a week': Stay-at-home mum details the astronomical 'fee' she charges husband

Women often complain that being a stay-at-home mum is a lot of work for no financial reward.

With all the cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing, child-minding and the like, it is a full-time job but without the perks that come with employment, such as a paycheck.

One stay-at-home mum in the US decided to detail the astronomical amount it would cost if she charged her husband to keep the house running smoothly while he goes to work. And while the video she uploaded to TikTok was revealed to be a joke, it has certainly started a conversation.

Watch the video above.

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Amber Egan is a stay-at-home mum of three children.

Earlier this month, she posted a video to her Instagram account in which she detailed what she charges her husband for what she called her 'stay-at-home' services.

She said she had written down all of her charges ahead of her husband receiving his paycheck the next day, as she would then be paid, before detailing how she came up with her total.

"I charge him $20 per load of dishes that I do. I usually do that about two or three times a day, five days a week. That's about $300 a week," she said.

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"I charge $35 per load of laundry. I do laundry about four times a week – that's about $140.

"$60 per bathroom per clean, and I usually do that two times a week... That ends up being $240 a week."

Egan continued to detail her cleaning costs, including $100 to clean the floors, ($300 per week); a homeschooling cost of $400 per school-age child per week ($800 per week); $150 a week for a car shuttle service to take the children to activities; $75 for grocery shopping, not including groceries; $50 for personal chef services ($500 per week); $200 breastfeeding fee; and a $10 sweeping fee ($50 per week). 

"So the total that I charge my husband every week for all of my stay-at-home services is about US$2700 (AU$4324) a week," Egan said, before adding that her husband can "save money" by helping her "do any of these tasks".

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She admitted it didn't leave him with much money once he paid for her services, which made her 'the breadwinner' in their household.

The post ended with her detailing how she spends her hard-earned spoils, with the money going to the mortgage, car payment, car insurance, utilities and groceries.

Since Egan posted the video just over a week ago, it has gone viral, racking up more than 5.8 million views as well as 376,000 likes and more than 10,000 comments.

While some people didn't realise Egan had posted the video as a joke, many weighed in with their own humour.

"My husband was listening as I watched this and said, 'I don't know what you're watching but you should probably keep scrolling'," wrote one, while another wrote, "I died when you said that he could save money by helping out".

Another felt she had left out a few key areas.

"Don't forget bookkeeping, escort, medic and psychology services," wrote one.

Many commenters felt that while the video was satire, it was a true reflection of what stay-at-home mothers (SAHMs) did in a week.

"It really does change a perspective of how much SAHMs contribute to the welfare of the family and home," said one, while another wrote, "It 100 per cent puts into perspective how much SAHMs actually do and that it's actually a full-time job."

And it wasn't just mums who agreed.

"A woman who knows her worth," said one male commenter.

Egan told People this week the intent of the video was to draw attention to all of the mental and physical unpaid labour stay-at-home mums provide. 

"I wanted to make it so stay-at-home mums could feel seen and then also know that just because you're not bringing home a paycheck, that doesn't mean that you're not doing work that's valuable at the same time," she said.

"I want to tell mums that just because you're not getting money does not mean you're not doing something that provides a lot of value to somebody."

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