To give up work..?

In your case I wouldn’t give up work as it seems like a nice balance. I would see what my other options might be for a side move or making more income.

I did give up my job to be a SAHM and I loved being with my kids, but it was lonely and isolating and when I was ready to return to work, it was difficult.

I never felt dependent on my DH as we always put all income into one pot, which continued after I left work so I was always in charge of finances and he was happy for me to take care of that. Also we funded a retirement account for me too, so I do have separate retirement money.

All of that rambling to say I’d keep the couple of days a week as it’ll be beneficial in many ways, both social and financial.

Stopping work leaves you financially vulnerable both short term and pension wise. I'd be considering a side step or retrain into something with better career progression.

I'm a lone parent BTW so motivation is about financial independence as a priority.

This. £60k isn't mega bucks, and you are in the fortunate position right now that all your money is solely yours.

£115 p/a is barely worth counting as an expense tbh, it is less than £10 per month.

I’d look at it as a good opportunity to retrain in something that pays more. Think long term.

£730 a month is a lot to lose even if you offset the nursery fees against that.

Becoming a dentist might require certain A levels. Not all dental nurses have the required ones. It’s not a given a nurse will be accepted onto a dental degree course and it’s a full time long course.

Absolutely do not give up work.

I honestly think it changes the dynamic of your relationship and it leads to break ups/cheating - normally with someone at work presumably as they more in common.

What about your husband working 4 days to help with childcare and the house? And you retrain as dentist?

Go agency. My friend works for Cavity. It’s far better money and they have been the best employer she has ever had.

I'd never in a million years be a SAHM. I'd find it incredibly dull but I also value my financial independence.

This.
And have a look at doing hygiene therapy or theatre assistant course if you want to be clinical. Plenty of things dental nurses can sidestep to.

Whatever you do, don’t give up your job to be dependent on your husband. Hugely risky.

Agree your salary sounds extremely low for someone with professional status.

Are there other adjacent careers that pay more?

By all means re-train, find another job but please don't just quit. It leaves so many women in such a vulnerable position.

Most women would say "my husband would never" until their husband does.

That’s barely more than minimum wage. I’d do something evenings or weekends that worked around your DH’s hours so you don’t have to pay childcare. Don’t give up work completely or you’ll end up with no pension.

60k really wouldn’t be a salary to make me quit work. It doesn’t go that far for a family of 4 these days

Yes - key to remember that the take home of 1 x £60k is far less than 2 x £30k as only one tax allowance is in play, and everything above £50k will be taxed at 40%.

Keep working you have a career there’s many aspects to work rather than money

also from experience it’s shit having to carry the full financial burden of the family on your own not far on your DH

60k really wouldn’t be a salary to make me quit work. It doesn’t go that far for a family
of 4 these days.
Childcare costs doesn’t really seem like a reason to me either, you pay childcare for 1 child and it will be massively reduced in only 2 years.

If you want to be a SAHM that’s a choice, but your reasons so justify it don’t make a lot of sense.

Could you maybe retrain as a dental hygienist at some point perhaps when kids are at school? Much better money and you could be self employed and work 2 or 3 days a week and earn more than you're on now? It's the same field so you will already have a lot of knowledge and experience in that setting under your belt.

I knew you would be a dental nurse!!! I left dental nursing to train as a dentist. Would highly recommend looking into dental therapy or dentistry degrees as you have the skills and so much transferable knowledge and experience.

If you can live on husbands salary you might as well and student finance will top you up while you study. Or look for a hospital dental nurse job, they can sometimes pay a bit more. I wouldn’t want to be totally out of work but I can totally understand why you don’t want to work to barely cover nursery bills.

I think you should stick with it. Being able to work very part time when the children are small is the sweet-spot, IMO.

If you do take some time off OP could you do a hygienist degree in that time? Then when the kids are in school you can pick and choose your hours and earn more?

I would always work. I work part time and my DH earns 4 times what I do but wouldn't want to be financially vulnerable by not earning. Plus the lack of state pension (or private pension) by not earning.

That said, maybe look for a career you feel better about?

My friend was a dental nurse but now works in an estate agent part time and earns much more. She’s doing admin rather than sales. I’d start looking at what local jobs are available.

Apologies I see dental nurse

That’s a full time take home of £22,000 a year if you pro rata it to full time. Dental nursing is undoubtedly limited in terms of career progression. I was going to say to hang on in there for promotion but is there such a thing? I would keep working though. It’s not a bad take home and it’s a pleasant working environment. Frankly, it’s nit pressurised or overly regulated or managed. You also have the flexibility of part time and you are keeping the money. At least it’s not 100% of your earnings for nursery. You are obviously not in London! Your nursery is cheap.

I'd keep the job as seems like a decent balance at the moment but think about what I wanted to do longer term. If you think of the aspects you enjoy can you find these elsewhere for better money? You have tonnes of transferable skills. Being a SAHM is a great option for many people, but if its not something you're really passionate about you probably won't enjoy it, and when the time comes to return to the workplace you'll probably feel the same about the low pay etc.