45 years relentless work

[FireflyJar]

I've worked for the last 45 years all through 3 children - never stopping once. Woke up today and just thought, I've had enough. I have 1 year of small mortgage left, I hate my job and want to leave and never work again. AIBU to resign and live off my savings of £15k for a few years till my mortgage kicks in?
Can I survive on this wage? I jußt can't do another 5 years - I'm burnt out.
How much do I even need to live on? Am I mad to even think it?

I did this, left career job at 55 and did part time admin job. You will pick one up quite easily as they will see that you are hardworking and reliable, always mention you can take annual leave anytime, you do not need school holidays. They then know you wont have child care issues, they are not allowed to ask you that but they always want to know!

Sounds wonderful 😊
I will read the book thank you

Married with children
I have a partner who lives with me and pays half the bills - I reckon I could live on £800 a month as small mortgage
But I would have no spends

So you would end up dependant on your partner? Plus having no money. What is his view on taking up the slack if you quit? And are the savings yours or joint?

So that’s 18 months with your 15k. What are you going to do for the other 3 and a half years?

Could you consider taking a sabbatical to recharge yourself and then taking a part time role in a lower stress environment? I think having no spending money at all while having a lot of spare time sounds pretty grim. I’m in my fifties and don’t work any more but would hate it if I was absolutely broke.

What work do you do?

I would use my 15k to pay off the mortgage and then look for a part-time job that I enjoy.

Cafe worker, Shop assistant, dinner lady if you like kids, my sisters trust is crying out for HCA with no prior experience necessary, prison service again no experience necessary.

You need to be honest about how much of a change in lifestyle you are prepared to make.

Don't forget if you don't have a job you will have a lot more free time - more tempatation to spend.

TBH, I don't feel I need to spend much. But everyone is correct. I do need to find another job, but would a gap of 6 months be bad for me?

What is your pension situation? Just state pension or do you have a private pension too?

State and a small private pension

Why not take 6 months? Life is too short to be miserable at work
Take a risk.

Start looking for part time work before you hand your notice in...

Part term can be great! It's often better financially than you'd think - you may drop into lower tax bracket so proportionately you earn more. If you work 2 days a week that might give you enough to keep everything ticking over (especially Inc mortgage is paid) but having 5 days off in a row is great! Having free time is more fun if you still have money for treats....

I've done 40 years in the NHS. 6 to go before retirement and I am DONE. Unfortunately I have to do those six years as I have 6 years to go on my mortgage thanks to stupid ex H ruining my retirement and our marriage and now regretting it but I won't have him back but I'll get there and so will you!!! Keep going. Don't spend all the money.

Op why not make a plan to have a 6 mth sebatical next summer and travel.

You definitely can't quit with just £15k savings unfair to put that pressure onto your DH. £15k is an emergency fund.

Get the mortgage paid off, then start savings so that hopefully you can retire early rather than government pension age

I know how you feel. I am 55, at least 20 years older than most people i work with. Been working 37 years full time, with another feckin 12 to go!
Honestly could you pay off the mortgage with savings and work part time to cover bills?

It’s not about something being “good” or “bad” it’s simply whether you can afford it.
With your bare basic bills and no wiggle room or money to spend on anything else your savings won’t even keep you going for a year and a half.
So if you quit work you need to be realistic about your finances.

Why not just look for a part time job? Can you reduce your days in your current job?
You would have a lot more free time but still be able to survive.
The reality is with only £15k and a mortgage to pay you don’t really have the luxury of just quitting your job and hoping for the best.

£15k doesn't sound like very much. Not enough to take you up to 67..... with or without a mortgage. Have you a private pension you can tap into?

Could you go part time?

Sorry, just spotted your previous post.

Just get a part time online job in the industry that you've worked in for 45 years

They'll bite your hand off

You can’t live on £15k for six years, especially while you’re still paying your mortgage for one of those.

But you can definitely leave your job and find something else that’s less relentless even if not as well paid. And you can take a break for a few months before you do that.

You can't leave your job because you are exhausted and expect your husband to carry on in his to keep the family afloat

At least not without sone serious conversation

I know exactly how you feel. I started working in 1985, expecting to retire in 2026. Nope the bastard government's have moved it twice and now I'm going to reach state pension age in 2033. Bastards!
I got made redundant last year from a part-time job just getting statutory minimum and it wasn't enough to retire early. I'm also an older parent so I still have a teenager draining my resources. As a result I've had to go back to work. In order to build up a stash of savings I'm now working full time for the first time since before the teenager was born.

I just don't know how much longer I can face being told what to do for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week!

This