money v quality of life?

whodathunkit

If you're working such long hours and earning such good money, why on earth are you doing your own housework rather than paying for a cleaner?

Anatidaephobia

Another vote for quality of life from me. I work thirty hours a week max (usually a bit less) and my commute is about ten minutes. Life is so much better this way (IMO) and I have no desire whatsoever to work more hours for more money.

If changing employments meant you were financially struggling and couldn't afford to pay your bills then that's different. But if you can still cope by cutting down on some material luxuries then it seems like something worth looking into and discussing in depth with your partner.

bagpussbear

Would it be possible to cut your hours down in this role, maybe do 4 or 3half days a week?

FBaby

justme111 wrote: »

These decisions are to be taken with your oh, not solo. All circumstances are different so there is no blanket answer. In general it is sad state of affairs when we sell ourselves for money with which to buy alcohol to keep us selling ourselves and gadgets to children - consumerist society , wrong proorities. Career iimportant in self actualization so it is not just money. See how you can develop it without putting in so many hours. Ah , and get a cleaner. May be you could commute by train ? Don't dismiss it before you tried.

I agree with Justme, you need to discuss this with your partner. Do they work themselves, could they contribute a bit more financially, could the kids help more with housework etc...

Money is something that is easy to take for granted once you have it. I've been where you are, but in the end, I wasn't prepared to give up the things that money gets me, not the gadget, food and alcohol, but the week-ends away discovering our beautiful country, the exciting holiday abroad, discovering new worlds, the activities we can all engaged in, the comfort of a nice house, reliable car and savings for the future.

In the end, it's all about balance. Could you go down to 4 days instead of 5? Are you sure there are absolutely no decent paid job close by? If so, can you consider moving closer to your work?

slightlyconfused1

If you could job-share, working two or three days a week your "cost of working" would dramatically reduce, less petrol, wear and tear on the car, childcare costs, guilt presents etc. Your disposable income would therefore drop less than you fear.

You can never get this time back. Quality of life over "things" wins every time in my book.

double_mummy

do the living on the lower wage for 3 months - put everything else into savings at the end of the 3 months if you have proven you can live on that wage then go for it if not a rethink (you will also have an emergency fund then)

FBaby

You can never get this time back. Quality of life over "things" wins every time in my book.

Indeed, but looking towards the future is important too and I think the way things are going, many people will have a shock when they reach retirement age and they will have saved little/nothing because they decided that they wanted to make the best of the present.

I have a colleague in this situation. She is 67, should have retired 7 years ago, but she can't afford to. She still has to pay her mortgage and looks after her mum. She looks depressed and she is clearly bitter at the fact that she is still having to work. She looks so tired every day and all this is affecting her performance. She says all the time that if she could go back, she would have worked full-time so her mortgage would be paid rather than working part-time to be with her kids. It doesn't help that one isn't speaking to her and the other has moved to another country.

In the end, there is no right or wrong and is all about the best balance we can find. One sure thing is that whatever what disposable income one has, spending it on material things is not the way to go.

Seanymph

Can you move your household nearer your work? Work part time? Pay a cleaner?

The first thing I'd look to do was retain the money, but address all the other issues.

If that then failed THEN I'd look at less money.

'No one ever said on their death bed I wish I'd spent more time at the office'.

Rob Parsons.


I think it's very true. However if you have an end goal then doing what you are doing for a short period is worth it.

nickj_2

if you're travelling 3 1/2 hrs per day , that's 17 1/2 hrs per week or 35 days per year that you could be spending doing stuff with your family ,
your kids only grow up once you should make the most of it whilst they are still young ,
i would look for something else

Mattygroves2

Could you move your working day so that you start and finish earlier ? That way you'd get some of the evening back which is time that could be spent with the family and the traffic might be better too.

However the most obvious solution is to move closer to work as it is the commute that is taking your time. Your actual working hours aren't actually too bad if you don't have to work after 6 or at weekends as well.

A 9 day fortnight would be another option so you work longer days but get one full day off a fortnight. Means you can actually do something meaningful with your time at home particularly in the school holidays.