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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not work full time?

951 replies

Lazym · 04/07/2023 11:03

I have two children 16 and 12. Since my oldest turned 7 months I have worked part time. I cleaned in the evening for 8 years and for last 7 1/2 years I've worked in a supermarket 4 mornings a week, 4 - 8. Obviously when kids were younger this worked out well as I was back home for the school run and partner went to work. My youngest started secondary in September, so now childcare costs aren't an issue I've had comments from partner about finding a full time job. My point is I enjoy my job and am good at it so why should I leave this job to potentially start a job I could hate? The job I have doesn't have full time hours. I contribute to the household financially, pay for two weeks of food shopping every month and pretty much pay for all of the kids needs/clothes. One example, just spent £200 on my lad for his prom, partner paid nothing. So I work and do the usual household chores cook, clean, washing etc. Partner is very money obsessed, but I feel I pay my way too. From when they were very young he's always swanned off and done his own thing, leaving me to it. Another issue with working full time is my lad will be starting college in sept and he'll need a lift to the train station which is 6 miles away and collecting, so how am I supposed to do that? Just needed an opinion. Can never reason with partner as he's never wrong.

OP posts:
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15
doubleoseven · 04/07/2023 11:47

We're not married because we're not living in Victorian times.

He could literally kick you out tomorrow and you would be homeless and penniless. Your relationship doesn't sound great. I think a full time job and start saving would be very prudent right now, you are very vulnerable.
I would be going full time and would not be doing any of his washing, cooking his meals etc.

rumnraisinrocks · 04/07/2023 11:47

Initially I thought you should work more hours than you do to pay your way. It's not reasonable to work so few hours with the age of your kids it your partner is no longer happy to be the financial provider.
But having seen you are not named on the house, you should work full time for your own sake!
You need some financial security. Tell him the house needs to be in joint names and you will contribute more equally - possibly as proportion of income.
If he won't put you on mortgage, tell him you will work full time but the extra income will be saved or invested for your own security.
Eirher way, he needs to do half the chores, house admin and child related stuff.

As it stands, if you split up, you are fucked with no equity/savings and only working a few hours a week

Luxell934 · 04/07/2023 11:48

Full time hours aren’t that daunting if you’re already working part time and getting up at stupid o'clock you’ll be fine OP! x

GoodChat · 04/07/2023 11:48

I think you should be working full time if your partner isn't happy subsidising your lifestyle.

It's selfish to expect him to pay for your keep when you're not making any attempt to earn more.

BlueKaftan · 04/07/2023 11:49

You’re obviously not lazy but your life is currently set up in a way that provides you with no material benefits. Only ft work and marriage will help you now by giving you some much needed financial security.

Lazym · 04/07/2023 11:52

rumnraisinrocks · 04/07/2023 11:47

Initially I thought you should work more hours than you do to pay your way. It's not reasonable to work so few hours with the age of your kids it your partner is no longer happy to be the financial provider.
But having seen you are not named on the house, you should work full time for your own sake!
You need some financial security. Tell him the house needs to be in joint names and you will contribute more equally - possibly as proportion of income.
If he won't put you on mortgage, tell him you will work full time but the extra income will be saved or invested for your own security.
Eirher way, he needs to do half the chores, house admin and child related stuff.

As it stands, if you split up, you are fucked with no equity/savings and only working a few hours a week

Thank you, thats a very good idea.

OP posts:
TeaKitten · 04/07/2023 11:52

Lazym · 04/07/2023 11:24

We're not married because we're not living in Victorian times. We have a joint account that I contribute to every month. The house and mortgage are my partner's.

This is just a daft comment, it’s got absolutely nothing to do with being a ‘modern woman’, it’s about using some damn common sense!

I've had to work part time to provide childcare free and now don't have a pot to piss in or window to throw it out of but partner has plenty of money and the security of the house.

THIS is why you should be married, because then half his pension and house would be yours. Instead you’ve spent your life working part time and raising his kids and you have nothing. Yet you still don’t want to work full time to earn move and have some savings? A full time job would be a smart idea here, build up some savings and better pension incase this man leaves you.

Comeonbarbiebrianharvey · 04/07/2023 11:52

Beezknees · 04/07/2023 11:43

I don't think she's being selfish but it's not a good idea to only be working part time when they aren't married and she isn't on the mortgage!

I haven't said it's a good idea either.... or said you thought she was selfish.

Luxell934 · 04/07/2023 11:52

rumnraisinrocks · 04/07/2023 11:47

Initially I thought you should work more hours than you do to pay your way. It's not reasonable to work so few hours with the age of your kids it your partner is no longer happy to be the financial provider.
But having seen you are not named on the house, you should work full time for your own sake!
You need some financial security. Tell him the house needs to be in joint names and you will contribute more equally - possibly as proportion of income.
If he won't put you on mortgage, tell him you will work full time but the extra income will be saved or invested for your own security.
Eirher way, he needs to do half the chores, house admin and child related stuff.

As it stands, if you split up, you are fucked with no equity/savings and only working a few hours a week

Yes this is spot on.
You need to make some changes for yourself, not for DP. If he won’t put you on the mortgage, keep the money and save up for your own security. He can still do 50% of the chores and if he’s not on board with this maybe you need to have a serious chat about how he’s treating you like a mug not a partner.

Tradwife360 · 04/07/2023 11:53

Have a chat with your DP and explain to him that you take care of him, the home, your DCs and their needs- if you went back to work full time he would have to take on half of that. Most men don’t want to do that so it might make him think.
You are looking after him, so therefore it’s not unreasonable that he should look after you financially.

Babsexxx · 04/07/2023 11:55

If I where you I would of been working my ass off and every hour under the sun as soon as my kids started full time school to completely protect myself really and saved a nest egg?!

O would be definitely looking at full time work to even save for if god forbid anything went wrong! That house isn’t a marital asset I think you need to protect yourself!

littlemousebigcheese · 04/07/2023 11:55

You're not married?

Itsbeennice · 04/07/2023 11:55

Lazym · 04/07/2023 11:24

We're not married because we're not living in Victorian times. We have a joint account that I contribute to every month. The house and mortgage are my partner's.

"The house and mortgage are my partner's"...
Sounds Victorian to me?

Luxell934 · 04/07/2023 11:56

Tradwife360 · 04/07/2023 11:53

Have a chat with your DP and explain to him that you take care of him, the home, your DCs and their needs- if you went back to work full time he would have to take on half of that. Most men don’t want to do that so it might make him think.
You are looking after him, so therefore it’s not unreasonable that he should look after you financially.

But long term this isn’t good for OP. DP hasn’t married her or put her on the mortgage even though their oldest child is 16. OP has worked part time to save childcare costs so husband could continue to work and pay the mortgage. If he decides to leave her then she’s fucked. She will have nothing.

Lazym · 04/07/2023 11:56

TeaKitten · 04/07/2023 11:52

This is just a daft comment, it’s got absolutely nothing to do with being a ‘modern woman’, it’s about using some damn common sense!

I've had to work part time to provide childcare free and now don't have a pot to piss in or window to throw it out of but partner has plenty of money and the security of the house.

THIS is why you should be married, because then half his pension and house would be yours. Instead you’ve spent your life working part time and raising his kids and you have nothing. Yet you still don’t want to work full time to earn move and have some savings? A full time job would be a smart idea here, build up some savings and better pension incase this man leaves you.

Yes, thank you.

OP posts:
LiquoriceAllsorts2 · 04/07/2023 11:59

I doubt that you are able to live off what you earn so you are being subsidized by your partner in return for the childcare. You might not be named on the house but you are living there rent free. It doesn’t seem unreasonable for you to work more to contribute more to the family costs and also have money for yourself. If you and your partner split you will not be in a good position.

mycoffeecup · 04/07/2023 11:59

Do you own a property? Because otherwise you're in a very precarious position - he could kick you out and you'd have absolutely zero rights other than to CMS if you were the RP. If I were in that situation (which I wouldn't be) I'd be maximising my income and buying a property

littlemousebigcheese · 04/07/2023 12:00

You've provided free childcare for his children, wake up in the middle of the night to go to work and then do school runs and housework. He gets to own a house and spend his money on what he wants?
Marriage protects you and recognises the contributions you've made in terms of career sacrifice, child and domestic labour, emotional labour etc.

Appleofmyeye2023 · 04/07/2023 12:00

DustyLee123 · 04/07/2023 11:27

It looks like you are in a very poor financial situation. You don’t own a house or have a rental agreement. You are working PT.
Do you have a private pension ? Have you checked your NI contributions and your pension forecast ?

This

Please, Op, inform yourself of your very precarious financial situation

if you split you will be homeless

you have no rights to any of his assets you have enabled whilst you were part time sham. So, his pensions have built full time , his advancement in his work etc all benefitted from your arrangement. Yet you will see no benefit for,this is you split up and have no legal rights to it

never mind, that if he is run over by a bus, and is not mentally competent (eg in a coma) you will not be able to access any of his money to keep you out of debt, unless you have a LPOA already in place? If he dies, you will also loose your home, unless he has a legal Will leaving it to you.

Aside from that, do not perpetuate this longer than necessary. Women’s pensions are in crisis, because people like you don’t understand that you aren’t just working for today, but for after you retire. Your partner may well also be thinking about this- that unless you start contributing more to a pension of your own , you will both be struggling in retirement as his pension won’t go that far, and you probably don’t have much in way of private pension . I hope you’ve been paying voluntarily NI contribution since your youngest turned 12, if you have incomplete years- go and check your government pension forecast now. To not qualify for at least full state pension could be catastrophic

you either need to marry to get legal and financial protection, or go to work full time now and benefit from a full time wage now , but also in your retirements. I pretty much just worked for my pension alone for many years-what I weren’t was not much more than our childcare bills.

I was main breadwinner in our house for many years. ExH had mental illness, but even when well avoided working by not making applications, applying for stuff he wasn’t qualified for, getting fired for poor performance. It put huge stress on me, forced me to work ever longer hours . I need up resenting his entitlement to think it was ok for him not taking responsibility to contribute to his upkeep fully, never mind his share of kids. It also terrified me that if I lost my job we had nothing to fall back on. Do not underestimate the stress, resentment etc that this creates when one partner decides to not work / not work full time unilaterally where there is no good reason

regarding chores, your partner is capable of doing half. That has to become the deal to return to work full time. It makes for a lot less arguments and stress if horses are divided equally and raises your kids to know that both parents need to contribute equally in a relationship. I’d even go as far to say, it is still worth working full time even if you pay a cleaner or laundry, just for pension and the mental benefits of working and being financially actively

your job that you enjoy is fair enough to not to want to leave. Look at the aspects of that job that you like, and write them out, target applying for any job, even n a new sector or different role, thst has those same aspects . Ask your partner for a years grace to allow you to try to do this search , but after thst you really do have to work full time if he doesn’t want to continue to take pressure of being only full time wage.

Qat · 04/07/2023 12:01

Your partner will need to do his share outside of work if you go full time, ie 50% of chores and also 50% of giving lifts etc.

Why not have a month if him doing this before you change jobs to see if it's what he really wants?

I agree that you need to protect yourself financially though - so either get married or seek a well paid job and build up a pension.

gogomoto · 04/07/2023 12:02

I've been there, exh was a bit fed up I wasn't full time yet wasn't available to take on child related responsibilities (dd is autistic with complex mental health issues, therapy weekly etc). I did all the household admin, housework apart from a fortnightly cleaner etc.

Anyway fast forward to now, amicably split for over 4 years and he has apologised for thinking I was lazy, that I didn't do much particularly the amount of admin it takes to live, I still do DD's now! I even helped him with his house purchase admin as it's not easy. It is nice he now recognised that he did nothing but work, I protected him from so much faff which he finds difficult (think hes also autistic, undiagnosed)

orangeyeahthatsright · 04/07/2023 12:02

PeachesOnTheBeaches · 04/07/2023 11:15

YABU. Also why do you have separate finances and aren’t married despite having children?

You do realise people are allowed to run their lives by their own choices rather than rigid conventions, right?

bucketoflego · 04/07/2023 12:03

I agree about working full time just to protect yourself. Yes this isn't the Victorian times but he could literally kick you out tomorrow, he couldn't do that if you were married which is why women get married to protect themselves from this.

As for the whole starting college and trains etc you need to have a sit down talk about that, how that will work if you are working full time and what chores he wants to take on now that you will be unavailable to do all the chores you currently do with only working part time? I bet that will go down like a lead balloon. He is too used to you doing it all and will be very reluctant to spend his free time cleaning a bathroom or doing laundry.

Robinni · 04/07/2023 12:04

Your “lad” is almost an adult; he can make his own way to the train station.

Staying in a relationship where you are unmarried, with two children, name not on the mortgage, no full time job and no pension is utterly bonkers.

Tell him you will work full time and contribute more provided you get married and he puts you on the mortgage.

Otherwise, you will work full time and retain the additional income for yourself for your own security/retirement.

You NEED to work full time for yourself.

Poundfoolishpennywise · 04/07/2023 12:05

I started off thinking YANBU AT ALL, but did worry when I read your comments about not being married and not having any financial stake in the house. If you split up, would you have the means to live elsewhere and cover all your expenses without a full time job? Do you have your own savings?

MN is generally very anti SAHMs or even working part-time, so you will get some harsh responses on here. Personally, as long as you are contributing financially in a way which feels fair to both of you (and it clearly doesn’t to your DH, but that’s not necessarily fair based on the posts you have written) I don’t think it’s unreasonable at all to continue with your current job/hours.

If you were to agree to getting a new job and/or upping your hours, you would need to agree a fresh split of house chores/caring responsibilities. My guess, if your DH is anything like mine, is that wouldn’t go down well and might change his perspective on the situation. A lot of men want to have their cake and eat it - equal financial contribution yes, but also nice house, chores done, kids fed and looked after… with very little input/effort on their side.

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