Has anyone here successfully made being a SAHM work when your spouse/partner is paid 100% on commission?

My husband sells cars and does very well overall, but our income can be pretty volatile month to month. Some months are great, and others are a lot tighter, which makes planning feel stressful.

I’m currently an accountant, but if I’m being completely honest, I really don’t enjoy it. I’ve wanted to be a stay-at-home mom for a long time. We have a toddler, and we’re planning to have another baby in the future, so the desire to be home with our kids is only getting stronger.

Right now, we’re not quite at the income level where we’d feel completely comfortable with me quitting. This is my husband’s first year in car sales, though, and we’re hopeful that as he gains experience, builds his skills, and develops a larger client base, his income will continue to increase and become more consistent over time.

His managers have also been paying him a temporary base salary in addition to commissions to help get him through the slower periods while he’s getting established. They haven’t taken that away yet, although eventually the expectation is that he’ll be commission-only. Realistically, we could probably make it work on what he’s earning now, but it would definitely require us to be more intentional with our budgeting and savings.

The logical side of me worries about walking away from a steady paycheck when my husband’s income isn’t guaranteed. On the other hand, I feel like I’m missing time with my baby that I can never get back.

If your family relies primarily on commission income, how do you make it work? Did you wait until your spouse reached a certain income level before staying home? Do you budget based on your lowest-earning months? Keep a large emergency fund? Did becoming a one-income family feel terrifying at first?

I’d love to hear real experiences, both positive and negative.