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Original poster

To think 4k a month income and no housing costs is a fortune

69 replies

nickiredcar · 10/12/2018 14:11

I've been busting myself for 4 years to make my buisness a success. I'm now regularly netting a profit of around 2-3k a month. I want to take it easier and go down to being part time even if the income halfs I'd still be very happy with that.

If it does half we would still have an income of 4k a month to support us and ds teen at a state school.

That's way above the average income but dh isn't supportive about me working less. Don't think he understands how the 80 hour working late nights and weekends have affected me and I need to slow down :(

OP posts:

babysharkah · 10/12/2018 14:13

So he brings in 1k? Can he pick up some hours in your business?

Stating the obvious 4K and no housing costs is a lot of disposable income.

Calvinsmam · 10/12/2018 14:15

Yeah that’s loads.

Have you shown him your outgoings? Why doesn’t he think it’s enough? Do you go on big holidays etc.

I run a business and I have a cut off point for how much I can do. It appears from the outside that I work part time but in reality I never actually switch off and it’s exhausting. I could technically make more money if I worked more but I wouldn’t have a quality of life.
Also the first few years were crippling, my reward is being able to have a slower paced life now.

I would talk to him about what he thinks he needs.
Does he enjoy his job?

cloudtree · 10/12/2018 14:17

I'm about to do the same so that family things don't fall apart. Its a big step though.

Original poster

nickiredcar · 10/12/2018 14:20

He earns a basic + bonus of about 2.6. the 4 would be if my wages decreased by half. He works full time and he couldn't do any of my work.

I don't think he appreciates how difficult and consuming my work is as he's PAYE. He had a decent job in IT, but it's very much 9-5 which to me seems like part time!

Yes he likes his job and is happy working his hours.

OP posts:

Singlenotsingle · 10/12/2018 14:26

Just tell him what's happening. He can like it or do the other thing. Tbh you've done well but you don't want to have a breakdown, which may well happen if you carry on like this.

Oblomov18 · 10/12/2018 14:30

Seems like a lot, but depends where you live and what your outgoings are.

BitchQueen90 · 10/12/2018 14:34

It's a lot. £4k a month would be a dream come true for me!

Why doesn't he want you working less? Does he spend a lot of money?

BikeRunSki · 10/12/2018 14:34

It’s your income, your businessa and your health.

Our income is similar, and we still feel comfortably well off despite paying £1500/month on mortgage/business loan and £450/month on childcare.2 dc, both at state schools. We do both have company cars though. £4K/month is still plenty if you have no housing costs, and presumable no childcare for a teen.

BikeRunSki · 10/12/2018 14:35

Would your business be sustainable if you reduced your hours?

Klobuchar · 10/12/2018 14:37

Any cut in income is hard to deal with. 4K is a very decent amount to live on but if you’re used to 7k then that’s a huge decrease and you will have to make changes.

You’re obviously not going to starve and it is lucky that you’ve got the choice to do this.

Berniethefastestmilkwoman · 10/12/2018 14:40

Why would he want you to continue working 80 hours a week when 4k a month is a very healthy income especially if there are no housing or childcare cost? It's a fortune to most families.

Unicornandbows · 10/12/2018 14:40

Think life is too short to be slaving away if not needed

Imicola · 10/12/2018 14:44

Calculate your hourly salary based on actual hours worked and profit? It might show him how much you are doing. Not sure if that would help but might help to get across the effort it takes.

DerelictWreck · 10/12/2018 14:47

So you don't even want to go part-time, just down to full-time (40-50hrs)?
Why on earth would he put extra money ahead of that?

RomanyRoots · 10/12/2018 14:49

I can't see how it's anything to do with him, unless it makes you struggle financially.
Tell him what you are doing and if he doesn't like it, tough titties.
I agree life is too short to work if you don't have to.

WeeMadArthur · 10/12/2018 14:51

If my DH was working 80 hours a week and wanted to work less while still making a comfortable living I would never dream of telling him that he needed to still work long hours. In fact I think his response would be along the lines of “Are you fucking kidding?”. That should be your response too OP.

corythatwas · 10/12/2018 14:51

I'd go for the usual MN argument of equal leisure. So if he wants more money than your working the same hours as him would provide, then he'll have to take a second job to meet you halfway.

Dongdingdong · 10/12/2018 14:53

If you have no housing costs (and by that I presume you mean no mortgage or rent) then yes, £4K is a fortune. YANBU!

eddielizzard · 10/12/2018 14:59

Don't tell him you're going part time, tell him you're going to work the same hours as him. He can hardly complain about that can he!

Tinkobell · 10/12/2018 15:02

The only answer to this is boring old number crunching in a spreadsheet plus looking at any outgoings (mortgage) which might be tied to your declared annual income; to see if you could still afford.
To do anything less could be financial folly and guess work.
Add up your. Cc bills each month, utilities, mortgage, car costs, holidays, council tax, insurances......could you manage to pay these on a lesser income? If you couldn't, what might be the compromises that you and your partner could make in order to trade off time for a smaller income?

LizzieSiddal · 10/12/2018 15:06

At the moment you are working 80 hours a week? If you cut hours in half that is 40 hrs, which is actually full time fro most people.

You working twice as many hours as is 'normal', and he should be bloody ashamed for asking you to carry on doing that. Why cant he double his hours? I bet he wont like that suggestion.

I do understand having your own business means working long hours, we have our own business and DH works very, long hours. He is very aware that the second he wants to reduce his hours, I am 100% behind him and we will adjust our life style accordingly.

EssentialHummus · 10/12/2018 15:06

The only answer to this is boring old number crunching in a spreadsheet

Exactly. And sometimes when you're time poor you spend much more on convenience type stuff.

Bluesmartiesarebest · 10/12/2018 15:16

You need to explain to DH that if you burn out completely you won’t be able to earn anything at all. If you can pay the bills between you, why on earth wouldn’t you reduce your hours?

BackforGood · 10/12/2018 15:27

Another asking if the business will sustain on part time hours.
I have no idea what you do, but let's say you ran a cafe - if you went from being open 6 days a week to being open 3 days a week, then the cafe won't do as well (people don't know when it is open and business trickles off plus your fixed costs (rent or mortgage / business rates / insurances / depreciation on equipment bought etc) remain the same, so, in that scenario your income could decrease substantially more than the amount you anticipate.
Or - people can't get appointments at the time they want, etc., etc.

So, is it worth employing someone to do half (or more) of the work ? Even doing the bits you don't like (maybe doing the books or the marketing or the P&P - obviously randomly guessing as have no idea of your business).

Of course it is very sensible to look at cutting your hours, but there's more than one way to skin a cat.

PopGoesTheWeaz · 10/12/2018 15:28

But you aren't talking about going part-time, you are talking about cutting back your hours to a normal full time work load. So the answer is simply:

Don't tell him you're going part time, tell him you're going to work the same hours as him. He can hardly complain about that can he!

And yes, £4k is quite a lot of disposable income. Make sure you are putting into your pension of course but still, you should have loads of savings with that salary. Mind you, do you have big expenses coming up like Uni costs? Do you have expectations about helping your DC set up as adults? Perhaps there is a savings target you could reach that would allow you both to feel comfortable with the change in hours?

Or, can you hire someone else to cover some of your work? You are effectively doing 2 people's jobs if you are working 80 hour weeks.

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