A Reddit poster is wondering whether to leave her corporate job to have more time with her family. Her husband is making more than enough money, but there are pros and cons to consider that have her uncertain about what the right move is.
So, should she quit her $200K job to stay home, or is she better off staying at work for longer?
Taking a look at the numbers is key when deciding whether to quit
According to the Reddit user, she and her husband have a net worth of $3.5 million, which includes $900K in a fully paid-off home. They spend around $150K per year, and while she earns between $200K and $210K in her corporate role, her husband earns $600,000. However, his income is not as stable as hers, and could drop as low as $300,000.
The couple set a goal of $5 million before they both plan to walk away from working, and she said her husband is OK with continuing to work until they meet that goal if she quits her job. She’s really eager to leave because her husband works 12-hour days and she shoulders most responsibilities with their teen children, one of whom has medical needs that make hiring help impossible.
She is also worried because both of her parents passed away young, and she has a family history of cancer, so she doesn’t know if she’ll even get to enjoy all that she’s working towards.
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However, she fears that if she walks away, she’ll regret it because it might be hard to find a job again in the future that pays a similar amount. She and her family also live in a high-cost-of-living area and may want to upgrade to a $2.5 million home, which would take up a big portion of her net worth.
Lastly, since she spent many years of her life being frugal, she doesn’t want to end up in a position where she has to be careful with money again.
How to decide whether to give up a career and stay home
The OP’s decision is a tough one, because while the couple could easily survive on her husband’s income and there are lots of good reasons to quit, buying a $2.5 million house would change their financial situation. They’d have higher expenses associated with the house, and would either need to take on a big mortgage when rates are high, or would need to withdraw a significant portion of their investment money to pay cash for the house.
Now, if her husband is OK with working longer to finance the home purchase and save up their $5 million nest egg, then it’s certainly feasible for him to do that on a $600K income. The uncertainty of his earnings complicates things, too, though, since doing this on $300K makes it a little more difficult if his income goes down to the low-end range.
One option the OP has, which several other Redditors suggested, is switching to part-time work. This could enable her to keep her job skills sharp and likely continue earning a reasonable amount of money while still giving her more flexibility to spend time with family. She could also decide that quitting now is more important than buying that bigger house, especially since her kids are already teens and won’t be home for much longer.
Ultimately, the best thing to do may be to talk to a financial advisor. An advisor can help her to see what financial options she has regarding the house and investing if her income goes away — and can also work with her to create a realistic budget so she won’t have to worry about being subject to spending restrictions she doesn’t want.
Working with a financial professional could give her the information she needs to make fully informed choices so she can make the right decision given her personal and financial goals. It’s well worth it when making such an important life choice.
Source – https://www.aol.com/leave-200k-job-family-time-181532458.html