AIBU to use inheritance to go part time and avoid burnout?

[redshirts]

I'm 27, single and own my house (with a mortgage). I work full time and am doing a part time course to retrain. I'm finding keeping on top of all that comes home ownership, a reasonably full on job and studying to be overwhelming at times. I have recently inherited £35k, some of which I will put towards my course fees. WIBU to consider using some of the money to go part time to 4 days per week until my course is finished next June? Or how do I avoid burnout? I don't have a lot of family support unfortunately.

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You could use the mortgage charter to change your mortgage to interest only for six months too

I thought you were 45-50 and had inherited £250K. At only 27, with just £35K, going part time is bonkers. Far better to put it towards a house/pay it off an existing mortgage.

YABU @redshirts

Did you miss the part about her feeling overwhelmed studying as well as working full time in a reasonably stressful job?

Can you over pay on your mortgage now as it will reduce payment term when you go to remortgage later? If you're unsure what to do then put it in premium bonds for 6 months while you decide. My dh was given £30k and he spent it on shite and has nothing to show for it now.

I was expecting to read a post from someone struggling with several kids or nearing the end of their working life. Why is there a lot to keep on top of with owning a home? I bought my first place at 26. Once in the house, it was just a place to live - I bought or was given a few pieces of furniture etc, did a modicum of painting and made some curtains. Otherwise paid my bills as you do wherever you live and carried on working full time and socialising. I could certainly have fitted in some course work if I'd needed to.

I wouldn't fritter away £35000 - it's really not that much. Invest it in your house or an ISA. Don't use it for living expenses.

Im twice your age, been working since I was about 15 more or less. Im knackered and burnt out in public sector management. Got no option to go part time

Moral of the story - work as little as you can in my view. Go part time if you can.

F

My son luckily has a wonderful partner who is encouraging him in his master's. He can manage three days in the office, two days in the university. He's studying/writing till two in the morning at times. Without the support of a partner working/studying, running a home must be very hard.

I would go part time and just be very frugal so that you can invest the inheritance.

I went part time at 28. I have clinical depression, anxiety disorder and autism. I can't cope with what other people can. You might be similar. Either way, you've got a lot going on so take it easy. Do what you need to do.

Jealous of what can I ask??

I am mortgage free, have a household income of over £120,000 and go on 6 holidays a year, what exactly am I jealous of??

Nowhere does it state what job she does or what she is studying!

Yes I am judging, 27, no husband, no kids, working f/t is normal!

How much mess can one person make in one week? Surely a whip round on a Saturday and job done??

OP I went back to university as a mature student while working 4 days a week and frankly it was difficult.

I did feel that it made studying more difficult and I missed out on some aspects of my course because I was too tired/had work commitments.

I would as you suggested go part time so you can better focus on retraining.

You will always get comments from people who like to pretend they are superhuman and can do everything but real life is not like that...

Well amongst all the snidey remarks there are some suggestions that may help as an alternative to going part time.

As to whether going part time is a good idea depends on many things. Eg how receptive and supportive your employer will be, whether they'll allow you to go full time again, although that may not be relevant if retraining means you'll be leaving them anyway?

Will reducing your hours mean they actually reduce your workload? Often working 80% FTE just means you have to try and do the same amount of work but get paid less for it so it could be more stressful, not less.

How old were you when you went back to uni?

Also nowhere in the post does the OP say anything about it being a uni course.

I wouldn’t. I’d invest 20k and put 10k in a SIPP. Your future self will thank you.

Of her being young and no husband and children to do chores after!
working full time can mean 35 or 60
hours, and it can be sending emails or back to back teams calls and then do the actual work in the evenings. She may have a big commute too. And to shame her for not being able to do a degree or other professional course at the same time is cruel. And just because she ‘could’ do it (if she had no rest of social life) why should she work all hours god sends if she has a cushion not to?

Op you could also stick the 35k in premium bonds (there is a Mumsnet thread about them) and you might become a millionaire and quit that job entirely 😊

I think the best thing would be to buy extra annual leave to take one day a week only if this would actually reduce your workload. If not then buying in convenience is the key.

Also, you might not care about your career prospects in current job if you’re retraining to do a new one - can you share your current work and new work so more specific advice can be given for those industries,

I appreciate it’s full on but this is the youngest and fittest you’ll be and a great time to build up savings. I’m now in my 40s and so glad I built up savings when I could. Once you have children you may still have to work but with all their needs thrown in, clubs, what they need etc.

If you've just bought a standard home, then I don't understand what you mean by "everything that comes with home ownership". You should be able to get by with spending a couple of hours a week on housework. Put the bills on direct debit. Sorted.

Hello @justasking111

I'm curious, is it a big home?

I had a little flat in my late 20s

I worked full time and studied for two years via night classes and weekends

It was a really tough time but I agree that's the time that you can do it

It's obviously your decision @redshirts
But I'm curious to know what really needs doing in terms of running the house

Even if you have a nice big house, unless you've taken on a bunch of renovations, I can't really see what needs doing

Obviously, it's your choice, but I think your 20s are the time to get as much money in as possible

something about the tone of your post suggested to me that you're worried about burnout as something that you've heard about happening rather than you feel like you're on the edge of it

With the amount of negativity there is around health these days, I can't help wondering if you absorb some kind of message about that

I say this as a person who was in treatment for anxiety and depression for decades - got my first antidepressant prescription age 20 - and even I'm concerned that the prevailing narrative of constant negativity is creating fears where there's no need to be fearful.

Unless you have some kind of back up income, something like a trust fund so something really reliable - at 27, prioritising earning and saving is incredibly important. Obviously there are some home maintenance jobs that need doing and I find them quite stressful. But I can't help wondering how many of them you have. Especially as other posters have also said that the home stuff is really stressful.

Apparently some new graduates are asking for regular "mental health days" in their job interviews. It's a trend - the view that full time working is more than an ordinary person in their twenties can be expected to handle.

We have those - they are called annual leave days 😂

I agree with this.