If you could afford to live by working just 3 days a week…

[Somedreamer]

Would you?

Or would you keep working 5 days and put the money into savings for your future?

Extra context: No huge financial safety net, still have a mortgage and 6 months of expenses as an emergency fund.

Full disclosure: I am considering this but wondering if it’s irresponsible!

It’s your life. Do it!

I would consider four, but tbh i think an adult in their prime really should be able to manage to work full time!

The economy needs people to work. You are obviously decently paid if you could afford to cut to 3 days, aren't weekends and holidays enough leisure time for you?

There are so many variables it’s impossible to say.

Me, personally, at the current time in my life, no, I wouldn’t. I could afford to live on three days pay but I’d like to do more than just exist and the extra two days pay comes in very handy to do that.

If I was 60 and the mortgage was paid off, then I might feel differently.

Tbh no, not if I had a mortgage and no partner to share this sort of stuff with. I work part time and yes it is great, but I bear little financial responsibility for the household and put most of my salary in a pension

Life can turn in a sixpence. Earn while you can to save for when you can’t.

I’m actually looking for a part time job now as I volunteer 2 half days a week. But I’ve been ill
(psychiatric hospital) and although I could have a full time job I don’t want one. Plus I have savings.

I did when my son was small and it was the right thing to do. He is school age and I am now working full time, and spending that extra money catching up on home improvements that need doing, and saving extra into pensions to make up for the lack of ability to save while working part time. So while it worked in the immediate term and was very lovely, there are longer term financial implications, albeit, 'fixable' ones imo.

Do you have any outstanding student loan? I had a small amount left of a Plan 1 when I went on maternity leave, and the same amount left 7 years later due to only managing to pay off interest on my lower salary. You may consider that a good or a bad thing!

Could you do 5 in 4? You get an extra day off but a full salary and it's not going to cost you anything extra eg childcare. Then retire early

I could but I don’t. In my job if I tried to work 3 days I would just end up cramming 5 days of work into 3 or working additional days to keep on top of things. My mum worked in a professional job and also tried going part time a few years before she retired. She just ended up getting paid part time wages for working full time hours. If you are confident that you will actually have work taken off you and be able to keep your working week to three days then go for it! Could you trial it for 6 months and up your hours again if it didn’t work out?

Over the years I've worked 3, 4 and 5 days in a full on role. 4 was definitely the best balance, as the salary was still good but there was extra time to pursue other stuff. When I worked 3 days I felt like I never 'caught up', so it was actually more stress on less pay. But depends entirely on your situation.

I am in your position at 60 (although no mortgage). I'm still working a lot because I worry about what will happen if I get ill etc. Could you compromise and do 4 days? A little more time AND a little more money?

I would love to have more time to myself. Lots of friends work 3 day weeks while childrearing

You realise they don't get "more time to themselves" when childrearing, right? They are just doing two jobs, and are probably dashing from work to responsibilities at home. They are probably doing loads of washing and extra cleaning, taking kids to and from childcare and activities, supporting them with homework, spending time buying kids shoes, clothes, gifts for birthday parties. Not to mention just spending time with kids. An afternoon being a "patient" for an enthusiastic four year old "doctor" is not "time for themselves".

I’d do four days as a compromise. I used to do three but now do four which is almost as good!

The economy does not "need us to work". All that extra labour just lines the pockets of billionaires.

Yes if we stayed in our current house. However it’s too small for us and we want a proper family home so I’m going to keep working full time to afford it. This is the choice I am making.

Depends on how much you love or hate your job. I wouldn’t give up work to watch Tv, scroll on my phone or do housework. You’d have to have something meaningful and interesting to do on those extra days.

I moved sideways out of my senior management role last autumn to work three days a week. It's enabling me to train for a couple of marathons and an ultra marathon (as the first commenter mentioned!!), study for another undergrad degree on a part time basis, and be more present at home despite my children being older.

For context, we have a reasonably comfortable lifestyle, lots of equity in our home, and great pensions but no spare cash left at the end of the month (bar a small savings pot). I have absolutely no regrets and my DH is in full support of it, but at the same time recognise that my career doesn't bring me any joy in terms of it being a reflection of my success, and other people feel differently about their own careers and would hate to be in my position. Horses for courses.

Yes I'd do it, as long as I had some left over for savings. Live for now!

@Bimblebombles I wish I had something I could turn into a business. I'm always so impressed by people who do so.

@Somedreamer I dropped to three days a week in my early thirties. It took me a while to adjust and stop feeling weirdly guilty and anxious, which I can see with hindsight had everything to do with my mental health being really poor at the time. I'm so glad I dropped to three days, and hope to be able to continue it for quite some time. I'm lucky that jobs are easy to come by in my line of work so I have plenty of options in the future. Having said all of that, it all depends on having a very robust safety net.

Well she can manage as she already does. And she will still be working. Just part time, which is a perfectly valid choice to make if finances and job allow. Not every working pattern needs to fit neatly into 37 hours a week to make the economy work!

Also 'leisure time' 😂 sorry does that include housework, shopping, cooking, looking after children, parents, doing volunteer work? It's all not like everyone works and then lies on the sofa watching TV the whole of the rest of the time.

I went part time when I had kids and haven’t gone back to full time. I do shifts but typically three a week. I absolutely love it. Yes I could save more for retirement but why flog myself for the next 25 years when I could enjoy my life now as it happens?

I don't think you have enough savings to do that.
As you only have 6 months of expenses saved that would suggest to me that on your current salary at 5 days a week you don't have a lot left over to save so that means that on 3 days a week it would be very tight indeed. Why haven't you managed to save more?
You need to do a lot more calculations as to whether it's workable. The problem is if (when) the cost of living goes up yet again you are probably going to be pushed, and also if there are any larger expenses where is the money coming from for that?
I work 3.5 days a week and it's great but I am mortgage-free and have a lot more savings than you.
I think you need to do some more calculations and perhaps drop down to 4 days a week irst and see how you get on with that.
Or you keep working 5 days as week and start overpaying the mortgage to get rid of it as soon as possible or start saving significantly more and then reassess the situation in 2 or 3 years.

I work 3 days as I have young children. Tbh its pretty hard going as I'm still expected to achieve the same as my FT counterparts. I'll go back to 4 days once my youngest is 3 and there is a govt. contribution to childcare.

I would absolutely go down to three days a week.

I work 3 days a week and have done for the past 12 years, running a business with my DH. The flip side of that is we haven't taken any holidays during that time and we've put a lot of money into investments. We have a nice nest egg to retire in our 40s.

Both of us have lost a parent in their 60s, so we'll likely take a break from work to have some fun, when we sell our business later on in the year. I'm not sure I want to fully retire in my 40s, but I'd be reluctant to go back to working fulltime unless our circumstances drastically change.