to ask how much money you would need to stop working?

[bedraggledmumoftwo]

Or if you already have, at what point was it manageable financially?

returning from mat leave after second baby but don't think i can go back part time so it is all or nothing. I am lucky in that i have a successful career, am senior qualified professional, but even so i will only bring in about £1k a month after childcare for two toddlers and commuting costs. I realise i am lucky to actually make a profit at all after paying for childcare, but i do question whether it is worth the stress and commute and being away from my babies all week, when my dh has just got a big promotion and could afford to cover our living costs.

at what point would/did you decide not to work any more? And if you are a sahm do you plan on working after the kids are grown up?

I went part time
A lot of my friends became sahm's but now the kids are school age they're finding it very hard to get back into work
It's ok if you're qualified in a job which is easy to get back into but just for admin type jobs & customer service jobs 100 people are applying just for 1 job
Recruitment these days involves assessment centres , plus interview just for a job in a supermarket
I'd advise not giving up work unless you're happy knowing it might be very tough getting back into it

For me I work 20 hours a week & have to contribute £350 of my £500 a month salary to household bills. The remaining £150 a month goes on school uniform , children's presents, transport to work , lunches out twice a month

So if someone said they'd give me£500 a month I'd consider giving up

It would be more than manageable financially for me to stop working, DH earns plenty to support us. I work because I prefer to work than be a SAHM.

Not really answering your question but just saying that not everyone would give up work just because they could financially!

That's the thing, I have worked really hard to get where I am and don't want to just give it up and find I cannot get back into it later... And i would have to spend time and money to keep my qualification valid later.

But at the same time I cannot really justify spending my kids' childhood at work doing a stressful job for relatively little reward if we don't actually need the money. It is a difficult one.

factor in the pension contributions, paid leave and other benefits. the net income you have per month is not full story for the longer term. and that in five years when the child care costs your wages will have also gone up and you will be much better off.

£2k a month forever would be enough for me and DH to stop working at live a good quality life so... £98k? Call it a round £100k?

look into part time, 80 per cent, compressed work week etc etc. it may be more feasible than you think

I cannot really justify spending my kids' childhood at work doing a stressful job for relatively little reward if we don't actually need the money.

I can! Justification as follows:

1 - they will be happier with a mum who actually enjoys spending 3 days a week with them (I have been lucky and got a 4 day job) rather than one who resents spending 7 days a week with them (as I say, I would hate being a full time SAHM)

2 - I think it's good for my DC to be looked after by a variety of people (our nanny is way better than me at some things, not at others of course, so this way they get the best of both)

3 - in the long term childcare costs will reduce and at that point my earnings will significantly outweigh childcare, so it's worth keeping in work till then (I wouldn't be able to go back at this level after a break)

I can probably think of other justifications if you want

If you have two toddlers then presumably you are not too far off one in school and one in nursery school (free 15 hours a week) - at that point you could use a childminder for the wrap around bits and that should be a lot cheaper than current full time childcare for 2 DC, no?

I gave up work when I had dd. It was never the plan. I was going back to work and then when she was 6 weeks old, I just couldn't do it. Dh agreed with me and I stayed off until she was 6 months and then got a job in tesco at night. I only lasted 6 months there.

Was off until dd was nearly 6 and ds was 3. I worked 2 full days a week and had 5 days at home. I struggled to afford working 2 days a week.

Now they are both at high school from tomorrow, All the money I earn is now mine and not needing to pay for childcare etc.

I could of stopped worked years back as wuth my first ony got £40 more than benefits but why on earth would I do that? Nooo thank you. Any way that was nearly 7 years ago and Ive done so much and met so many brilliant people. I have finished my degree and am about to start a professional postgraduate degree and have our third.

I would of continued working even if it had cost me my entire wage and then some!

But at the same time I cannot really justify spending my kids' childhood at work doing a stressful job for relatively little reward if we don't actually need the money. It is a difficult one

It's better to think longer term though
Like if god forbid your dh got ill & couldn't work
& like another poster said your pension is important too

Everyone circumstances are different and it is impossible to put a figure on how much you need to stop working.

I did not work after the birth of DD 9 years ago and did not return after the birth of her brother. I have kept my qualifications up to date by doing other things whilst I have been a SAHM.

DH works away all week and I do not have close family near by to mop up any gaps in childcare which I think helps many people who work.

It is not perfect and there are days that I would love to return to work but our current arrangements work for our family and that is how I see it.

Make a decision based on yourself and your family!

Good luck

It would have to be A LOT of money & for life. Not because I earn very much (quite the opposite after nursery fees). But I hate cleaning and being at homewith young children with no £ & being bored I also aspire to being financially secure/comfortable/well off in the future and can't see that happening without hard work. But, if someone wanted to hand me that future on a plate and I could have a cleaner & money to do interesting things and pay for childcare as needed then I could probably be persuaded!

If I have learned anything in this life it's keep your job no matter what no matter how little you work.Because if like me your once loving husband buggers off out of the blue you need to be able to pay your morgage and feed your kids.Believe me husbands who are devoted and happy lose the plot don t pay maintence and set themselves off on self destructive paths.
I used to think it would never happen to me,how wrong was I and the countless women on other threads tearing their hair out about men who leave and don t pay to support their children end up in terrible situations,If you can reduce your hours but keep your hand in.Call it insurance I'm sure it won t happen to you but, then I never thought it would happen to me.
Unless I had 2 k a month guaranteed at this point I would not stop working.

Spot on Bessiebigpant.

That happened to my Mum and it was a nightmare having 4 of us when she split from my Dad. Such a stressful time and took her years to get herself sorted.

That's why I went back to work - was never going to be put in the situation my Mum was in. Yes, you guessed it - I split up from my DH when our DS was 2.5. Thank goodness I worked. I've spent the last few years getting more experience and qualifications and promotions, so I don't need to rely on maintenance, which is good as he only pays £10 a week.

I think everyone has made good points that don't need repeating.

I find it sad that "I only bring in 1k after paying for two toddlers"
What's that number after the cost of your respective commutes and childcare are divided down the middle?

I know it's not the point of your thread. Answer about 5million would do it for me.

Try to reset how you calculate the "value" of continuing to work - it will make it all easier as you slog out the door to work in the dark in a few months if nothing else.

2 million,

30 years to retirement, 2 children, so I reckon 2 million would pay off our mortgage, and leave us a nice steady income from capital and interest to live on at a pretty decent standard of living, 1 million if it was just me giving up and dh kept working,

Difficult to answer, for all the very good reasons given above. I could certainly afford to stop working now in terms of day to day living costs. We could live fairly comfortably on dh's salary alone, or equally we could afford to live on mine. However, thinking about my pension plus the other benefits to working, I wouldn't consider stopping any time soon.

Ps I must add though that our children are grown up so the years of horrendous childcare costs are well behind us, and also we've had time to work our way up in our professions.

£360k - that's £1k a month for the rest of my working life. Could manage very nicely on that!

What about compressed hours?

When I worked full time I negotiated three longer days from five 9-5 days and only lost 10 hours a week in salary.

I could answer your question with a figure now, but I'm much further down the line than you in terms of age/stage of life.
At your stage in life, it's not just about the ££ you have left - tbh, £1000pm after childcare and commute, is HUGE. Many people just about break even and still think it's worth working.

You see threads on here regularly about how difficult it is to get back into work once you've had a few years at home - that's what you want to think about. Would you be happy to give up all you've worked for?
So many 'unknowns' ahead of you, I'd look into PT work rather than giving up.

An extra £800 per month and I would stop working. Technically I could now but it would be a basic lifestyle with not much disposable income. I earn around £950-1100 for my 15hour a week job after pension with no childcare costs so an extra 800 per month and I would not work!

Ive thought about compressed hours but it would only be me doing the nursery drop offs and pick ups,a plus i have a long commute, so i wouldn't realistically be able to do more than my conditioned hours on a regular basis. My boss is very anti part time so i wouldn't think that likely unless i found a jobshare partner, which would be difficult.

I hadn't really thought about the possibility of divorce etc, as this hypothetical is based on us living with his salary only. I suppose I should consider that, depressingly!
I would, however, have the option of a career break for up to five years after which i would be able to go back so at least that would give me some security.

Minipie, I have a two year old and an 8 month old- df2 will be a year, so i am thinking of her as a toddler then hopefully, if she ever starts moving so i will start getting 15 hours for dd1 next year but my work cut the childcare vouchers accordingly, so it doesn't make any real difference to my take home pay.
dd2 is a long way off any free childcare, let alone school!

I know people always say it shouldn't be just the mother's salary that pays childcare, but i am an accountant, so I am thinking in terms of opportunity cost- we, as a household would net around a grand a month more if i went to work and put the kids in nursery than if i were a sahm.

That was meant to say dd2, don't know what df2 is- my second father?!