I've been wanting to go part-time for years, and my husband already works part time. I have an opportunity to hopefully go part-time at a new job, but I'm wondering if aspects of it might make my life less simple. Below are the 3 reasons I haven't done it yet, tell me if I'm being crazy to want to switch.
1) Budget. It's less income overall and I'd have to purchase a car which means budgeting every dollar more closely. I already calculated the new budget and there's not a ton of money to spare. Money stress is not simple living imo, but we should be able to make the money work, at least.
2) Convenience. I work from home so I have no commute. I'd have to drive 4 miles each way for 5 4-hour shifts, plus 1 mile each way for 2-3 5.5 hour shifts at a second job every week. This also means no more working in my PJs. Plus, the grocery budget would go down by $15/week, so with my dietary concerns I might need to shop around at 2-3 stores instead of 1, adding 30-45 minutes of shopping per week at least.
3) Security. I do pay quite a bit for a crappy health plan through work currently and if I made the switch, I should be able to get a better, subsidized plan for $0. But, the ACA subsidies are notorious for falling through or being miscalculated and people owing lots of taxes for them, plus I know that at my current job I have money to spare each month. Also, we just had some huge expenses and our emergency fund in down to just under 3 months' living expenses. Before making such a big change, I'd feel a lot more secure with more savings.
I really want to take this part time opportunity if I can- it just seems like the time. I think the shorter shifts would help prevent burnout, plus I'm realizing that my 20s are almost over and I'll look back on them as the decade I spent making an evil rich company even richer. The part time opportunity is community-oriented (government job) and the plan has always been to be in a community-oriented career, I just got sidetracked these last 6 years by money and convenience. Am I glorifying this change too much because of my desire for fewer hours and to see myself as someone who does good in the world? These things are important to me, but am I being a little crazy?
Submitted May 10, 2018 at 10:50AM by KatieM2015 https://ift.tt/2I4ZfEO
