Would you still work if...

[WineAndFireside]

Would you still work in the following circumstances? Late forties, single parent of two (teen and tween) at home, passive income of 2700 a month after tax, home owned outright, 500,000 in investments in addition to the home. Two chronic but not life-threatening health conditions.

If you have (or able to) find a job you truly enjoy Yes at least part time.

However you could make yourself "balance sheet " of expense vs income and see how much you would have till you retire/pension age.

Thanks

You describe my current financial position almost, I’m late 50s and DH can no longer work but has a small pension. DS is 19 but will go to Uni next year so I am still working 1 day a week. I am lucky to have been able to take early retirement which gives me a monthly income of 2.5k after tax and I double that working one day a week ( high earning profession offering very flexible hours). I have a decent lump sum which is currently earning decent interest.
I think if you are happy living within your means you can give up work but consider how this may affect your state pension contributions.
Maybe a sabbatical for a few years would suit you, but if you have a profession that requires a minimum number of days working per year it would be well worth maintaining your qualifications. At 45 you may get bored or need to go back to work in the future.

This sounds amazing. I'm wondering though, do you ever get bored or feel a bit aimless? Right now I thinking I'd love it and be full of appreciation and joy, but is it really like that?

I also think I'd work on my fitness, but I think maybe I'd get lazy... 🤔

Yes I would still work. £2700 a month as total household income doesn’t seem like enough with two children, even without a mortgage. This is particularly true if dcs go to university when they are older.

I wouldn’t because in my world you’re absolutely set financially.

The fact that the income will drop to 11k in a few years would persuade me to keep my hand in a couple of days a week.

There are plenty of opportunities to work OP - or if not, volunteer!
2.7K is many people's entirely salaries without a mortgage that's a lot.

This

I personally would work for a couple of days a week - if you don’t like it you could always quit .

However it is your choice ☺️

I can't comment on the health conditions, it really would depend on what they were.

However, based on the rest of it, absolutely absolutely! 2700 isn't really a massive income, and it could be fairly easily doubled with a part-time job.

Definitely. Especially if you don't enjoy your job. Budget to help DC at Uni in the future.

Part time work is always an option too.

The job is rewarding but stressful, and not helping my health.

I wouldn't be doing work that had a negative impact on my health
If I had a passive income of £2700 per month then I would have the choice not to have a negative impact on my health
You can't buy health but you can pay to make your health as best as its going to be

I guess it would be dependent on if I could afford major repairs and maintenance of the two properties that you have.

I run my own business and work within it face to face with clients full time let alone the admin side

If I could I would work two days face to face and one day on the background stuff.

I would never get bored as there's so much more to life than work and I know for sure my health would improve massively as well as my fitness and taking care of myself because I could put the head space into it instead of always lurching from work to kids to house to admin and back round again on a weekly basis.

I say go for it op

I started this thread a few months back and it has somehow got resurrected, so I thought I'd update. I did hand in my notice and am now just starting up my own business in a related field. Unfortunately at this point it is still quite high stress, but I'm hoping once I've established things I will be able to work just two days a week, maybe three. The key will be whether I can switch off in between and look after myself a bit more. It was really interesting to read the range of responses, from ' you wouldn't see me for dust' through to ' it's not enough security to be able to stop'. I think it helped me to see a middle way, and clarify my own feelings about it.

Thanks for the update. I'm glad you decided to try something new. Keep at it !

You could double £2700 a month by working part-time? Blimey, what line of work are you in? I don't earn anything like £2700 on its own and I'm full time.

Interesting to hear about your new venture, OP. I guess if the business is in effect just additional income, then once it's off the ground properly and you've ironed out any problems then it should be great. You've got the luxury of knowing that you could stop if you want. I'm really surprised at those people saying that £2700 isn't a lot. What do they think most pensioners live off? It's less than that for many people.

Definitely the right decision OP!

Good for you.

My reservation about stopping work would have been around friends or family to spend time with during the week else I would become a couch potato and lonely.