Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

One-child families

Got questions about only having one child? Find the answers here.

Stop working or not?

6 replies

chrlng · 28/06/2023 21:36

Hi all.
I really need some help and advice.
My daughter is 18 months. When she was 7 months I returned to work from my maternity. We are foreigners living in the UK and we have zero childcare. No family, relatives etc to help.
I work full time 6am-2pm and my husband works 2pm-10pm. We literally swap outside the company's door. Our baby is so active and do bad at sleeping, we're so drained. But the problem is not how tired we feel but how we don't get to spend any time together as family.
We only have weekends where we can do things together. But I really feel so tired of being alone all day. At work I'm in my own office working 8 hours not really having time to socialise and at home is only me and my daughter. I feel we're missing out so many moments together. Even just having breakfast or lunch all together as a family.
Now, I'm thinking to resign.
But what about the bills? Obviously government says I can't claim benefits as my husband's wage is £27,000 per year which is high for them.
But everything has gone up.
Any other mum on the same situation? Living on single wage? How do you manage?
Should I stop?
Any advice, welcomed.
Thank you in advance xx

OP posts:
misssunshine4040 · 28/06/2023 21:39

You can't afford to give up work if your husband only earns £27k
You will need to find a way like the millions of other parents do.
It's really hard and I don't mean to sound uncaring etc but you need 2 incomes to survive

pinguins · 28/06/2023 21:43

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Can you drop 1 or 2 days to give you some breathing space but keep some income coming in? I don't think you can be a 1 income family on 27k. We were struggling to be a 1 income household on 51k and I had to go back to work.

JamMakingWannaBe · 28/06/2023 22:01

Agree with above. You can consider going part time. If you do, make sure the contributions towards your "lost" pension come out of the joint pot.

AlfietheSchnauzer · 28/06/2023 22:31

You have the weekends together! I'm a widowed parent with disabilities meaning I have to work from home whilst caring for my child. I have no partner, no friends, no family except my mum who I don't get along with. I get it's a lonely life mon-fri but that's also the reality for most families who both work full time. At least you have the weekends!! Monday - Sunday is all exactly the same for me, stuck inside wishing it had been me who was killed, not my DH

LegendsBeyond · 28/06/2023 22:35

You can’t afford to not work! You obviously need 2 salaries to survive, so you just have to keep going. It will be easier when your DC is in school.

RAYH25 · 29/06/2023 13:27

I think the only way around it is to put in a flexible working request and hope they accept. Is there any need for you to start an office job at 6am - it seems very early? Most office positions start at 8am. Could you ask to change/reduce your hours instead of losing a full time wage. Xx

New posts on this thread. Refresh page