Should I sacrifice early retirement for a more fulfilling life while being the breadwinner?

When work gets stressful, some people want to take a step back and take a break. However, it becomes more difficult to leave work, even temporarily, when you have a family. A Redditor finds herself in a tough position and reached out to the FIRE Reddit community for advice. 

The Redditor is a wife who earns 4-5 times more than what her husband makes. She’s 29, while her husband is 30 years old. She paid off all of their student loans and has built a $750,000 net worth with her husband. This net worth does not include home equity.

The husband is supportive of the wife working fewer hours, and even if she only works 24 hours each week, the couple would still have a household income of $195,000. However, she’s conflicted because she knows that working less will prolong their path to retirement.

You Can Never Get Back Lost Time

Many commenters encouraged her to reduce her hours. She is in a strong financial position, even if she cuts back on her hours. The husband is a teacher who works 35 weeks out of the year, so the couple can do more things together if she works a little less.

The wife is still willing to work, and she will still be the breadwinner for the family. Some Redditors expressed regret in the comments that they were the breadwinners and didn’t get to see their children grow up. A 53-year-old woman commented saying that her adult kids remember more about the two years the father stayed home with them than they do with her. 

Grinding away at work can provide a great life for your family. However, it’s also not good to work so hard that you become a stranger in your own household.

The Wife Can Always Boost Her Earnings If Needed

Many people would dream of earning $140,000 per year while working 24 hours per week. Yes, it is a pay cut, but the couple has a high net worth and home equity. If it turns out the wife has to return to a 40-hour schedule to make ends meet, it’s easier to make that transition.

She has skills and experience that will make it easy to secure higher-paying opportunities if that’s the best course of action when the kids are older.  The wife may also decide that she never wants to go back to a 40-hour workweek. 

Her Partner Is On Board

Some women want to work a lot less the moment they become mothers, but not every woman has the flexibility to reduce her hours. Some husbands aren’t supportive of their partner working less upon starting a family.

Luckily for the Redditor, her husband is completely on board. The husband has been supportive of her reducing her hours. Because of his encouragement, she only works 32 hours per week. She’s also on the verge of working a 24-hour week as the breadwinner while being more present in her family. 

It’s a great trade-off, even if it pushes their retirement goal back by a few years. Why rush to retirement when you can take a slightly longer path that allows you to be a regular in your own household?

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