The upside of polygamy.

Sometimes I think polygamists have got a clue. Hear me out.

I’m reading a book about a girl who escaped from a polygamous sect in Utah in 2003. Carolyn was the fourth wife of a man 32 years older than her. Altogether, the family comprised more than 50 children. It’s powerful, fascinating stuff. But one thing struck me about their lifestyle – if one wife disappeared, as Carolyn did, home life barely skipped a beat. There were plenty of other wives to pack lunches, take kids to the doctor, do the vacuuming and keep the family businesses ticking.

This isn’t an ad for polygamy. No way, Jose.  Have you seen the dresses they have to wear? Joking. Sort of.

But the book has made me wonder who would do all the stuff I do if I wasn’t here – given that (to the best of my knowledge) Jim has no other wives waiting in the wings.

We have no secret stash of cash or any wealthy, elderly, ill and childless relatives, so if one of us got hit by the proverbial bus, we’d be broke as well as sad.

It’s impossible to put a dollar value on a bedtime story from Dad or a cheer from the sideline at netball from Mum. But we can and we should put a price on the stuff we do – the school pickup, the gardening, the shopping. If two became one, or one became none, life for those left behind should go on, complete with ballet lessons and Thai on Saturday nights.

Lifewise has created a calculator to help you put a price on the stuff you and your partner do. It’s amazing to see how much you’d have to pay to have those things done by someone else. The good news is once you know, you can protect it.

Have you ever wondered who would do the stuff you do if you weren’t around?

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How many staff (assuming you reject the concept of polygamy) would it take to replace you?