Going part time at work

wondercollie

I went the other way. Part time shift work to full time day shift. The big bonus for me is I get every weekend off.

17 years of every other weekend and rotating shifts were taking a toll on my health.

Now, on my lates, I'm home by 730pm. I don't have traffic to fight. I don't have to say no to things on the weekend.

Yes, we meal plan more but I spend less on somethings and more on fuel and parking but so far it seems to be balancing.

Oh, and in a strange way, I get more paid time off. All of what you would call bank holidays, I now get the day off with pay (before I just lost the wages and had to pick up a shift on another ward or day). I get personal leave days.

I think I've finally found the rare nursing job that actually has work/life balance that my employer keeps spouting off about.

timehastoldme

Spendless, I think we only manage it because we don't have kids. I help support my mum a little financially, but on tighter months (every single January ever) it's only us that feel the pinch, and we don't mind.

For lots of people, a full time job is a great healthy challenge and can be uplifting. There were times I loved it, but when education changed (I don't mean planning or hours or red tape or even ofsted, I mean the decline in collaboration and the increase in competition, the dog eat dog stuff) it got more and more detrimental to my mental health, and so I'm out of mainstream education and unlikely to ever go back. That decision meant some other decisions (like not having children, which had always terrified me anyway to be honest- they come out of WHERE?), so the pay off is a non conformist quiet little life, just husband, me and the dog. Is not for everyone, for sure, but what is?

PollyWollyDoodle

I'd echo most of the above, I gave up a really well paid job that I hated to become self-employed and work part time, two years ago. I should add that I'm fortunate enough to have paid off my mortgage, as my work now is unpredictable.

My income dropped by 2/3 but I can honestly say I don't miss it, I do wonder what I used to do with all that money! Well, apart from overpayments on the mortgage, it mostly went on: tax, travel costs, clothes and shoes for work, 'treats' because I was so fed up at work, online supermarket shopping because I didn't have time to shop ... and so on.

I now shop at Lidl, buy clothes from CSs and make my own, cook everything from scratch, garden, and enjoy the simpler things in life.

What I would say is that you really need to budget for some non-essentials, I started off with a very strict regime and soon realised this wasn't how I wanted to live. As others have posted above, there are cheaper ways to have holidays, takeaways etc but you do need some 'fun' stuff, especially with a teenager. I still manage meals out, cinema trips, and pursuing my hobbies, I just do it a bit less frequently or more thriftily.

Life is for living, and I feel sure you won't regret your move. You can't put a value on time. Good luck.

doingitanyway

CurlyTop wrote: »

You have one life, so live it.

I too, dropped days. As a Civil Servant in 2012, I went from 37 hours to 32 over four days. I have m.e and fibromyalgia. At the same time, I was in the middle of a dmp. I was really concerned as to how we would manage financially but as my DH pointed out, I would be working one day less a week, one day less of packed lunch and sorting clothes out for work but furthermore would gain one day of my life back.

Thank you for posting. I am currently looking to drop hours. It did not occur me to request 32 hours over 4 days. A day off per week Sounds perfect for me as F/T is 35 hours for me, so asking for 32 hours I will only lose 3 hours pay and only need work an extra hour a day. This will be the starting point for my negotiations

CurlyTop

doingitanyway wrote: »

Thank you for posting. I am currently looking to drop hours. It did not occur me to request 32 hours over 4 days. A day off per week Sounds perfect for me as F/T is 35 hours for me, so asking for 32 hours I will only lose 3 hours pay and only need work an extra hour a day. This will be the starting point for my negotiations

Best of luck. I hope you get it. We have to explain why we are dropping hours and the business impact. As this was a health reason, the groundwork was there but also you could say that whilst you are in effect dropping a day you are working more hours on the days you are in and so the impact to the business is minimal. If your employer is hesitant, suggest a trial period to see if this works for both sides.

doingitanyway

Thanks Curlytop. Most helpful.

timehastoldme

The26thchoice, forgot to mention this one, but Sainsbury's for clothes is a good way to save. Every half term they have a 25% off, and usually just after a half price sale as they rotate stock. If there's something I particularly like, I'll get if at 25% off because you can't guarantee what will be in the half price sale, but for basics there's usually something in the sale, and they last well too.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

It's very heartening to read these stories.

Everyone I know who earns a lot, spends a lot and is really stressed and miserable.

CurlyTop

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

It's very heartening to read these stories.

Everyone I know who earns a lot, spends a lot and is really stressed and miserable.

OVJ, never have such truer words been spoken. I hear them grumbling all the time in work about how fed up they are, how the job tires them out etc. This is what I tell myself when I'm having my 'wobble' moments

FrugalWeirdo83

I work 30 hours a week over 4 days which is still more than I would like but I'm a single mum on a low income so I have to be realistic . However my daughter starts school next year and I want to be able to pick her up from school so I'm considering working 5 days but less hours and dropping them a bit more down to 27 hours. I'm spending this year seeing if it's possible!