Would you stop working if you could afford it?

[Ibitebats]

I'm 48 and suddenly realise we're in a position that I do not need to work for the money. I could give up and there'd be no need to change our lifestyle, holidays etc. Pensions are good.

I do not enjoy my job. I'm an auditor - I get paid a reasonable amount for not much - frankly. And we now have to be in the office 4 days a week (I work 4 days so that means every day for me - it's not pro rata). The children are 10 and 8 so approaching secondary school. Dd2 likely to need more help than DD1 with homework etc.

I am really wrestling with whether to stop working. I sway between thinking it's good for the DDs to see me working and thinking how much easier our lives would be if I am around more to do everything. Plus being around in the school holidays.

Would you stay at home if you could?

You are still young enough to change jobs . I have twice since 50..

Now 53 and much happier.

@Starlightstarbright3 what do you do?

I think it's good for kids to see parents working. Not maybe full time - I'm surprised you can't find somewhere to work that would be more flexible.

I'm older than you and could probably stop working at 56 or 58....and I'm contemplating it.

Hell yes, I'd out the door so fast there would be slipstream! 😂

Why would you being unemployed be helpful for your kids homework? They're at school during the day, aren't they?
I have a FT demanding job and three kids - I can still help them (help themselves) with homework!

If you don't want to work, don't - but don't use your kids homework as a reason. Plenty of parents work FT and can provide support to their teens.

You said going part time in current job isn't an option. Excuse my ignorance about auditing, but are there transferrable skills to do say proof reading? Monitoring in clinical research studies?
A colleague does proof reading from home for various documents but also reviewing uni papers etc and enjoys it as a side line.

I’d look for something more flexible, in your position. Or something voluntary. It seems very young to stop working entirely, especially when you’d have that time during school hours.

I would. I'm being made redundant later this year and I'm already looking at cutbacks so I can make my redundancy last as long possible and I can have the maximum time off

Absolutely. I have gone on a job share as we could afford for me to do it. I love all my extra days off. I would probably do some volunteering if I was able to give up work or get a job that isn’t stressful for me. Knowing you can quit if you hate it would make a massive difference and doing a different job to now, which although part time is high stress would be lovely.

hell yes! I could fill my days easily

Yes, but I'd put my time to use somewhere else. I'm a sociological researcher by 'trade' but I've never found a job that wasn't too part-time to live on, in that field. I'd try to get involved in it via a university.

You just need something more flexible surely. Also, have you saved all the money the kids will need as teens and at university? Is your DH’s job secure?
I agree it’s an excuse saying you need to be around for teen homework. I work FT and spend about five hours a day with my teens

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I’d be really interested to hear more about this - did you move sidewards / upwards or was it an unrelated job? I imagine it is harder to get a job if you are not already in one though..

I would stop working today if I was suddenly independently wealthy. That seems highly unlikely, unless there's a lottery win. If it relied on someone else earning then no. You never know how a relationship will go, or if the bread winner suddenly becomes too ill to work. I would want to keep my presence in the labour market, even if that was elsewhere and part time.

I did in my early fifties, however I already had a decent enough pension and investments. I had a health scare and then DD died so I looked after DS after school and enjoyed the time with him and had some therapy. It was an easy decision at an awful time. I didn’t do much for a while but after DS left school I started some voluntary work which I enjoy immensely.

So I had a couple of years of zero income of my own and then took my pension at 55 but DH earns quite a decent salary so it made zero difference to our standard of living and we had paid off our mortgage many years before.

I did actually love my job but I have no regrets. I was really worried how the situation would affect DS and it was the best decision for our family.

I always respond to these threads, every time!
My answer is a big fat fucking no chance would I stay in work. I'd be off like a shot.
I work in a very similar field to you, 4 days a week, office based. If I could afford to, I'd leave tomorrow.

Lots of advantages to be SAH for your family. Secondary school age ramps up in terms of schoolwork, extra curricular and relationships with peers, would have loved my parents to have been around a little more at this time. You could always try it out for a while.

I would, but I'd spend all my time studying instead.

Degree after degree after degree, just for fun.

I have.

I am very severely disabled however and working was impacting my physical and mental health quite badly.

I received an inheritance of which I have passed some on to my children to get them set up after leaving uni and now live off.

The government have just agreed I am too disabled to work as well.

Very interesting question, which resonates with me as I am in a similar position, although in a different line of work. I am the same age as you, and my child is the same age as one of yours.

Reducing hours would have a significant effect on my pension.

My workplace is tough, and increasingly toxic (and unfortunately across my industry it is the same, so changing jobs isn't the answer). I am content that I have achieved the level of responsibility and recognition that I want to achieve.

My main professional goal is to survive(!), but otherwise I still want to do a good job for the people that I work for, and to solve problems and improve the services for my current employer. This is very much now on a "sorting out problems as they come along" basis rather than having a strategic plan of what services and in what order. Not even a 5 year plan.

I am becoming aware that my child is growing up and feels like their childhood is slipping through my fingers whilst I have been worrying and stressed about work. Whilst I realise that I may have enjoyed them more when they were little, I understand that they might need me more over the tricky years ahead.

My parents are also needing increasing support, and the rate at which more is required of me is accelerating.

I am also aware of how precious life is, and how it can be snatched away. A number of my contemporaries died when we were relatively young (all due to different unforeseeable reasons). I also have seen different experiences of retirement. On one side of the family, there have been long and enjoyable retirements from the age of 50 upwards. On the other side, there was working for a few years post retirement age, followed by a few very significant bereavements and then death within a couple of years, so no opportunity to enjoy the fruits of long, hard effort.

I am concluding therefore, that I do want to retire early. However, I think I would like to get past 50. For no good reason, it feels a bit wasteful for me to be retired before then.

My husband asked me what my plans and aspirations for retirement are. And I don't really have any. He made the very good point that my plan can't simply be "to not have to go to work". He is right. Reflecting on it, I am not very good at doing nothing and relaxing. I do need to do stuff. I like to be helpful and I don't particularly have a desire for getting credit for what I do. I would like to be able to use my skills and experience rather than feel they are wasted at a relatively early age. I also like to acquire new skills and knowledge.

So, probably, I also need to keep going until I have some sort of an idea of what I would want to do afterwards, as I also don't want to be bored and aimless just because I didn't bother to work out what I wanted to do.

I'd go professional with my hobbies. I already sell my excess crafts on Etsy because I produce more than I need, so I'd like to spend more time doing that. I also write, so I'd spend time self-publishing, and I dabble in day trading too with good returns.

Oh, and I love gardening too, and it's a life goal to one day live zero food miles for veg by growing all of my own.

So I'd occupy myself easily.

Just to add, I'd still want my son in nursery three days a week!

Maybe homework is an excuse. It's not so much the time itself as my attitude. I'm tired and distracted by work post 6pm. I'd likely have a better attitude and energy to support the DC in the school evenings if work wasn't there. I don't doubt that others manage both. I just do not think I do.

Financially, we're fine and I wouldn't be relying on DH. Sadly this is mainly due to inheritance and investments inherited. But it does give me the luxury of choice.

All of that resonates @Secnarf

I worked to live, did not live for my work.

Work was a means to an end.
I enjoyed my work and all it brought us but as soon as it was possible to stop working and maintain the same lifestyle, I stopped. Have never been happier.
If you are working purely because you don't know what you would do with all your free time, you need to look at getting some outside interests.😲

I stopped work at 57 but by then, the daily grind & commute was a slog and If I could have stopped working (financially) in my 40's I would have happily done so.