Advice please

[Gallymum1]

I currently work with my husband running our own business. We make a good living, although no spare cash for holidays abroad or designer clothing etc. We have 3 children,2 older and one just about to start school. I’ve always stressed over money and my massive concern now is our lack of pension. I have a couple of small ones from previous jobs but not worth much. Other than that we don’t gave one other than the state. I’ve just started a scheme for the business but not convinced the business can support 2 salaries and a pension long term. Also, we seem to be falling behind our peers financially. My gut seems to be telling me I need to return to work full time once my lo starts school. I just think I’d feel more financially secure and it would give us more options. BUT I’m not sure I could cope working full time with3 kids and a house to look after (hubby very focussed on business but not do much at home, I.e., he doesn’t help out much). Going round in circles knowing what to do for the best.

Define .”a good living” - what salary can you afford to pay yourselves?

We take home around 3.5k per month between us made up of basic salary and dividends

Falling behind peers - irrelevant.
Pensions - of utmost importance.

If you got a job elsewhere, would your husband need to employ someone or would he manage?

I'd say that it would seem a good idea to get another job. It needn't be full time if that seems a little much - perhaps a part-time position would suit your lifestyle better?

Some of the extra money could be used to pay for help in the house, e.g. a cleaning lady or mother's help to take the pressure off you.

And definitely make sure you're putting money away for your pensions. It could be tempting to put it off but investments need time to grow. If you leave until the children have left home etc, you might find your self needing to save 2-3 times as much to accumulate a similar pot.

So you take home £42k between you - that's more than minimum wage but less than the average income. No pension is a worry. could one of you get a job but still do a bit on the business in your spare time until the business is big enough to afford both of you?