Does anyone work w/ends whilst their OH works Mon-Fri?

Spendless

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

If you can get a weekend job easier than weekdays, it might be an idea to go for it in the short term and look for other work once you're in. As far as I can tell, it's easier to get a job when you're in work.

I took on the voluntary job as I thought it would be easier 'to get a job from a job' but there's so few about here and the ones that are advertised you have to apply as soon as they go up, cos they are pulling them very quickly eg I saw one ideal for my friend on Mon printed it off, she took it in Tues and the job has had enough applicants and been taken off.

I'm thinking a w/end job might be easier to get purely cos less people want to do both sat & Sun.

Money_maker

I did this a few years ago. Drove to london on friday night. Stopped over fri and sat night returning sunday evening. Mine was probably two out of three weekends and seasonal. Its okay in the short term if you OH is fine with it but in the long term I wouldn't recommend it. I had 2 DS's and missed precious family time.

I now work p/t evenings.

mirrorimage0

my hubby works on the buses so does all different shifts including weekends and has really random days off, my children are both in juniors now and i work full time mon-fri from 8am till 2.30 pm running a school kitchen, not sure how it works in your borough but i had to start off as a casual cook 1 and got sent to different schools daily or for a couple of weeks at a time and each month a grapevine comes out listing the permanent places, i was really lucky and was only there a couple of months before i got a permenant position, then was offered cook 2 in the kitchen and now have been offered cook 3 , with every position a slight increase in wage which is great for me and it works round the kids school as i put them in breakfast club at school each morning at 7.30 and im there to pick them from school, the only problem would be if they were ill but i have family nearbye that can look after them if that happened and because its school kitchens they are quite understanding if i really cant leave and they have casuals to fill in so doesnt leave any one else in the lurch its quite a good wage to and you get all the school holidays of and a council pension if you want one. x

naughty_10382

What about something like Avon? Can be done during the day while kids are at school. If you're only out delivering books etc, you can put that off for a day should your child/ren become ill and need to be picked up.

I've just started and am enjoying it. There is an Avon thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2121065 here. The board (Up your income) also has similar jobs, I'm just recommending Avon as I do it!

Hope that helps.

MERFE

I've done this, I worked sat and sun whilst OH worked during the week, I've also worked thurs fri when OH had a wed to sun working week so we could reduce childcare costs. Its been tough, I now work sunday, then mon tues wed evenings, and OH does every other sat as overtime on a voluntry basis so he doesnt have to do it if we feel we need time as a family. My daughter used to do ballet on a sat and I felt I had to stop this because it is the only day we have together as a family and her ballet took us up till lunch before we could do anything. Its do-able but it isnt easy, you will value your holidays so much, and I am always looking forward to when the kids are older and I can do day shifts and not be so tired all the time, although I enjoy being able to do what a SAHM can too.

I've also tried being a SAHM and it isnt something I could do for too long, I need to work. I've tried having the kids at a childminders and working part time and full time and although the weekend/evening work is hard and tiring it is the best of both worlds. Working full time with the kids at the childminders was the easiest except for the rush in the morning and evening but I didnt want to miss out on taking the kids to school, i have less guilt now then worrying about when they are sick etc cos I know they are with Daddy so I can go to work and get on with it.

ailuro2

work out how much money you need to get your heads clear, then agree to try it out for that period of time.

So, for example, if three months of weekends is enough to clear any outstanding balances and have enough left over to pay for a week away in a caravan in the summer, then you only work three months.

You can always stay longer if you find it is not s problem being together as a family.

You must be strict and put ALL your wages away though, otherwise you'll get used to the money and be a bit less tight with the purse strings, then you'll find you NEED your wages and you'll be tied to working.;)

keith26

I've worked weekends for the last 19 years and it works for me, it has its own drawbacks however shopping and other things like that are so much easier mid week, the kids were easier to sort out too as generally one of us was off most of the time, all I would say is make sure you set time aside for just the two of you.

Spendless

ailuro2 wrote: »

work out how much money you need to get your heads clear, then agree to try it out for that period of time.

So, for example, if three months of weekends is enough to clear any outstanding balances and have enough left over to pay for a week away in a caravan in the summer, then you only work three months.

You can always stay longer if you find it is not s problem being together as a family.

You must be strict and put ALL your wages away though, otherwise you'll get used to the money and be a bit less tight with the purse strings, then you'll find you NEED your wages and you'll be tied to working.;)

This is very much along the lines that we've talked about. I don't really want to look into other job options, as I worked in an office from leaving school till I had eldest and I've spent the past few years updating my skills. It feels as though it would have all been a waste of time, effort and money not to use it. Kids will be 7 and 10 next month. They attend seperate Infant and Junior schools but from September youngest will be at Juniors and will start earlier than she currently does, which will slightly widen my horizons to what time I can start work in the week without having to find childcare.

shelovestobuystuff

Most schools have some sort of wraparound childcare on site or closeby,breakfast clubs sometimes start even earlier so it should be possible to keep up a daytime,weekday job 8-6 say.In my area they charge hourly and are open to anyone if they have the space.Working people in my area dont tend to use these services as they are generally full of social work referals.
Most wraparound care providers are open school hols too but full days obviously are going to take a chunk of your wage.

Spendless

There's wrap around care at my kids school, including holiday club but they charge per session not hourly. Childminders (mainly) charge an hourly fee but so many have dropped out of doing it and I feel I'd always be looking for the next childcare provider.