What's your life stage at 40.

[Oreyt]

It's a mad age really I think. Some could have a 22 year old. Some might have a newborn. Some are happy childless. Some could still be trying.

I'm 40 with a 12 and 14 year old.
Married 10 years. Together 18.
Never had a career.

Turned 41 this year.
Married 18 years - together 20
Have a DS 17 and a DD 13

Career stagnated during my twenties and thirties as my focus was on the children. And also wasn't very happy with a lot of the jobs I was in. But happy in a fab job for the last three years and finally feel my career is going in the right direction.

I'm 43. Married for almost 20 years. Still love each other... most days!
Two 16 year old kids and a hefty mortgage remaining (£250k)

Im 38 my one and only child is 21 years old and moved out.
Never been married never want to been single12 years id rather have a one night stand.
I have a great life good job great close friends i travel alot and i enjoy life everyday.
Im debt free and bill free.

Recently turned 40. Married for the second time a few years ago and pregnant with our first ours baby. Have a 16yo and 12yo from my first marriage so I'm obviously quite mad! Career going great, just finishing a PhD, own house and madly in love. Couldn't ask for more and so bloody grateful! Really looking forward to being a mum again and not having the stress of a shit husband, no money and trying to hold everything together like I was first time round.

I’m 40, married 3 years, have a 2 year old and a decent senior level job, and a mortgage. Life is up and down, but I count myself lucky.

I want to climb higher in the career ladder, but also contemplating a 2nd child. I feel a bit knackered with the current one and I’m not sure if having a second at 41 will be too much… I’d love to know thoughts of others in the same situ.

My life has turned out so different than I imagined. I didn’t want to get married and have kids. When I was younger, I just wanted to be single with a highflying career and lots of cash 💰

At 40 I had a 4 year old so FT working and nursery fees. Own small 3 bed home, modest mortgage had 5 years left on it.

Career at a funny stage as I had worked for same company for 22 years, work was reducing and we all knew we were just waiting for a redundancy announcement but those with longer service were staying for the decent redundancy payout (it came a couple of years later)

Still getting used to decision not to proceed with any fertility treatment and ds being our only child.

Supporting teen niece with some serious issues. Supporting parents in their late 60s with life threatening health issues.

Life was all about taking care of others at that point, it was exhausting but it was something I had to do. Lost a parent not long after and glad I did take that time to care for them when I could.

I’m 47, at 40 i’d just had my one and only dc after years of infertility. Cut right back on my full time 17 year teaching career and living abroad

At 40, I had 3 kids under 3 with husband of 9 years, was on maternity leave, living abroad in the midst of Covid. Very bad post natal anxiety, some tough times.

Fast forward 4 years and we are now in another country, just bought a home here, kids all in school, working FT, definitely full on working mum mode with very little me time - but my mental health is good, I feel so lucky to have all I have.

It is a weird age. I'm 42, 4yo and 7yo. Married 6.5 years, been together with DH 16 years.
Career is okish but the trajectory was much, much better pre kids. However I'm aware I've got at least another 25 years of work to fix that.
Financially we aren't where I hoped I'd be by this age. My partners were much better off at this point in their lives. DH is a bit older than me and we have a mortgage take takes us right up to a v late retirement date for him.
One thing that's really changed since I then 40 is my body has started to wreck. I need to start exercising formally but I'm dealing with so many minor injuries

At 40 I got married and had my first child at 41. So it was the start of a wonderful time in my life. I had to stop working on medical grounds during my second pregnancy and didn't go back, which was a weird adjustment.

I'm 40. Kids 8&5. Married 13 years, together almost 18.

Career is good - slowed down when the kids were very young, but have now got a good, permanent, senior job which I am very happy with.

Unfortunately husband's mental health has gone to shit this year so I'm now the sole earner and carry most of the mental load at home, but I'm surviving for now.

At 40 I had been with DH for 10 years, had a 5 and 8 year old and had just left a highly paid job that I hated, to start an MSc in a completely unrelated field. Since then we've moved house within the same bit of London, both dc have gone to university and I've worked in my 'new' career for long enough to be thinking about retiring!

At 40 I had a 19yr old, 10yr old 8yr old and a newborn and had been with my husband 15yrs.

Now 45 with a 24, 15, 13, 5 and 3yr old… life is chaos. Still have the husband.

I'm 45. At 40 I had a 20yo and a 2yo and I was running a small business, very part time. Had been married for 8 years and we owned a small flat in central London with the mortgage paid off. Financially we were doing well with plenty of assets.

Now we have a 3rd child, a 4 bed house with a huge mortgage, my business has folded but I've started a new one. Our investments have taken off so we're financially secure. Life is hectic but fun with the kids.

I'm 47, but at 40: married for 17 years, kids aged 15 and 14, mortgage, 2 cats, supply teaching juggled around caring responsibilities. Not much different now except the kids are adults and only one still lives here full time, and my dad now lives with us.

I’m 38 not far from 40. Have 9yo and 5yo boys. Immigrant from indonesia and now british citizen. I have 2 houses in big city in england and hopefully will have another more next year. Married for 11 years with really nice, successful man. I dont have career, always been a SAHM. I’m in the process of losing weight now, already lose 2stones and now i’m focusing on be the best version of myself.

At 40 had just married, at 41 found out we were going to be grandparents and we uprooted and moved 500 miles out of London ,became mortgage free, gave up full time work and started to enjoy our lives

The day I turned 40 was spent with my head down the loo, 3 months pregnant, suffering with HG. I also had a 6 year old and an 18 year old. SAHM as I had been since pregnant with the eldest.

I’m 44 now. Nothings changed apart form we are all 4 years older.

40, married 10 years with two DC 7 and 5 and one on the way.
20 year career that I love

I'm 42, with a very nearly 14yo and a 10 yo, married nearly 15 years.

Since turning 40 I've changed career (applied when I was 40, started the new job just after turning 41!)

At 40 owned a home for nearly 20 years. Settled in career. As a parent, at the primary school age. Been married for 15 years but also widowed by 40.

At 40 I had two kids 14 and 12.
Owned two properties in London and one in Europe.
Had just sold my first business as a going concern and was in the process of launching my current company the following year.
Divorce dust from previous year was settling.

41 been with my husband 18 years this is my second marriage.
Have little girl who not long turn 6.
Gave up my very well paid career to be a sahm/housewife don't regret it for a minute. Mortgage free.
Still very much in love with my amazing husband most day.
After of years of of trying to keep my toxic parents in my life I finally cut them off 6 months ago.

Not yet 40 (not too far off). By then I will have 18 and 15 year old and will have been married for 15 years. Will not own a house (Unless I win the lottery before now and then). Have a decent enough career in the NHS that I see myself still in by that point. Will be at top of band 6 pay. Not too bad and am generally fairly happy with my lot!

At 40 I had my DS who was 6 and had been with DH for a decade and we had paid off our mortgage a couple of years before. Was very happy working in Higher education.