If you were guaranteed 1,200 a month income…

[Tja1]

Would you give up full time work and a stressful job for something low key with minimal pay and minimal responsibility?

I’m 43. I’ve been a single parent for several years. It’s been a struggle. I have income guaranteed of 1,200 a month. My mortgage is 980 so this income only really covers that and council tax.

I have around 2k spare a month at the moment that I can put away after all expenses but my mental health and general health is very bad due to the pressures of the job. I am seriously considering just throwing the towel in and getting a job two days a week doing something basic (I can’t go part time in my current industry), just something that pays the extra bills and a bit of spending money.

has anyone done this? Is it crazy? I’m so depleted and I’ve exhausted all other options including sick leave, annual leave and therapy. I just want to get off the treadmill.

I would use the guaranteed income to pay mortgage and council tax and find a part-time job to complement it.

Having time and freedom and being able to improve your mental and physical health are important.

Some people are so driven and blinded by the endless treadmill of always trying to bring in more money that they seem to forget that....

I did this but found a happy medium where 3 days a week pays 27k. I have found now I do fewer hours I enjoy it again and will go up to 4 days next year

Life is great but I do worry about my pension. Then again 1200 plus state pension would be plenty

It won't be 1200 plus state pension, though. Not in real terms.

I don't think you're crazy, but before you jump ship, think about how you'll feel with an income that gives you very little room for manoeuvre, and no safety net. I brought up my daughters as a single parent, on a very low income when they were younger but a more comfortable one when they were teenagers, and I valued the flexibility and the freedom from worrying that a slightly higher income brings. Knowing you're only covering the basic essentials and worrying about unexpected bills is stressful (I remember a couple of times getting into a complete state when my daughters needed dental work which needed paying for immediately, and having to constantly say no when they ask for things can get dispiriting). If you have no additional income you're going to be very restricted in what you and your DC can do, and that might cause some problems as they start wanting to be more independent and need the resources to do things on their own.

As others have said, is a part-time job, possibly on a low income doing something not very challenging, possible for you?

EDITED TO ADD - I just re-read your OP and see that you're planning to do exactly as I said, and get an undemanding part-time job. I think that's a good plan. Your health and happiness matter, and so long as you're above not just the breadline but the anxiety line (which isn't in the same place for everyone, so think about where yours is) you should be fine.

As a single parent, I wouldn't. If you were a single adult and weren't concerned about pension, I'd say do what you want. But with a child to provide for, I think you need more than that.

But there are lots of ideas upthread. It doesn't need to be a binary choice between p/t minimum wage and what you currently do. If you can hang on to what you do at the moment (unless you really are nearing burn out) you would have time to search for another industry that suited you better. Perhaps part-time hours will be best, especially if your child is quite young, but that doesn't mean having to go right down to the bottom of the career ladder (which is also hard work, in a different way).

The priority is to get well, but I'd put a time limit on how long you stay in that position.
£10k savings is great, but without extremely good insurance coverage, could be wiped out quickly as a homeowner/car owner etc.

I hope you have a career you can pick back up after recovery; or that you can get back to a decent income eventually.

Look after yourself, OP 💐.

But she'd have to have enough qualifying years of contributions to get full state pension, which would depend on how part-time the new role was and how long she envisages doing this for.

Are you sure that it’s not just the company that you are working in that is causing the issues ( unfair workload / toxic atmosphere) and if you tried changing companies ( still work FT) that your MH would improve.

I personally couldn’t survive on so little money and the lack of money would cause me so much stress that it wouldn’t be good for my MH

But this is something that unfortunately only you can decide

I think you're underestimating how much that 'technical' decrease in value will bite. While obviously it will always be good to have that guaranteed income it will be a less and less significant contribution to your bills over time, so becoming reliant on it seems really dangerous.

The thing is when your mortgage is up for renewal what if your preferred lender won’t give you a mortgage due to your low income?

Regardless of your trust they won’t lend based on 1200

This. Part time jobs are not necessarily all that easy to come by; there is a lot of demand

Part-time jobs that are on set days, not zero hours, with management that doesn't micromanage or go on power trips are very, very rare.

Have you thought about the consequences for your pension?

And do a thorough budget (real expenditure, not guesses) to make sure you really can live on the trust plus 700 or so.

If you have a full time income plus the trust, but only £10k in savings, it suggests your bills and expenses are quite high.

I'd want to be clear that the £1200 was going to be as low key as you're making it sound.

@MotionIntheOcean what do you mean?

Do it OP.Recover and get well again then make a plan.
You can not put a price on having good mental or physical health.

Personally no.
I may throw the towel in at 63, but not 43!

£800 a month to cover all utilities , tv , phone , food , school expenses , birthdays and holidays before any treats ? Way too low for long term

No. £1,200 + £700-800 a month with two children would not be enough for me to feel secure and comfortable.

Edit: I don't know why I thought it was two children but my answer would be the same for any number. I don't think it'd even be enough just for me.

I don't think it has to be either/or, although I don't know what industry you're in. A mid-paid job 3 days/week that is less responsibility than currently, but not mind-numbing or min wage... could you look for that sort of thing? Some employers are known to be flexible....?

Do you have enough saved for retirement? State pension isn’t much and not guaranteed by the time you retire. I would have more stashed away than 10k before I dropped to PT

Lower paid jobs are not necessarily less stressful. But in your situation yes I'd reduce my hours and look for e.g. 3 days a week in a nice organisation. Could be something like a job share still at management level.

1200 a month is not really a livable income. What can you do to make your current job work for you better?
Reduce hours?
Buy extra annual leave?
Apply for parental leave?

Is the £1,200 guaranteed to rise in line with inflation. Does your pension pot have enough in it that you wouldn't need to keep working to add to it?