In an effort to save other folk from this financial blow, I will be posting some blogs on the topic of how part-time work as a second income can be a complete waste of time or worse an actual drain on your income.
Of course, our circumstances though by no means unique are specific to us and anyone interested would need to do their own math, but I hope by sharing our experience others can avoid a similar pitfall.
Even if your main aim for part-time work is to stay sane and have a social life and money is not a big factor, this may still apply to you since leaving work can mean both of these important needs are well catered for if not greatly improved.
My husband is the main income earner in our family. This isn't because he is smarter or better educated than me (indeed I am the one with the university education) but because the world still counts his industry (technology) as being more valuable than mine (arts) he gets the lions share of income, but hey I'm working on this universal problem!
Needless to say, my husband goes out and earns the greater part of our household income for which I am truly grateful and he is very good at his job.
I myself have had a long string of poorly paid but creatively enjoyable commissions for painting, murals, drawings and illustrations over the years. On top of that I have worked in various retail jobs and cleaned/DE cluttered houses. I am also the mother of two boys, now almost grown to men and have also volunteered on various community projects.
My most recent work was filling a maternity role in a bookstore I have worked at on and off over the last few years. As the role was coming to an end I was kindly offered a few days of work at the same store and I sat down one day to look at our finances and see how it all might work.
I won't lie, there had been various issue at work. That along with several other projects I had on outside of work had me wondering about the possibility of leaving.
A bookstore as many people imagine is a lovely place to work but we were so busy that the enjoyable parts were almost non-existent and I found conditions trying. High wages was not priority but it was not cheering to have minimum wages and be expected to work Sundays with zero loading (while supermarket employees we knew earned double our wage).
All up, I sat down one day and thought about all the pros and cons of leaving my 3 days employment, bearing in mind I had a freelance illustrating job (also not well paid but creatively interesting) which added up to about one days worth of work a week.
After an hour of jotting down all the costs I could think of associated with going to work, I added up the total and compared it to what I earned. The figure was greater than my income! In shock, I chastised myself for my poor math and set about working it all our again but I was right the first time.
The cost to our household of my going to work was my wages!
My Findings:
Groceries: I do shop with a list for what we’ve run out of, but
then in regards to food I buy what’s on special and make meals around that.
I shop at Aldi and IGA one
week and my local shopping street the other. I really do believe in keeping it
local so that is my compromise. On average we spend about $275- a week for a
family of four- basically 4 adults as my boys are young men of 15 and 18.
Even though I shop carefully I do find is I
end up throwing out (I’m ashamed to admit) a fair amount of food each week. I’ll
buy a whole reduced celery going for $2- but throw 2/3 away because I only ended up
using it for one meal, I’ll make a dozen fresh scones but a third get thrown
out because they don’t keep well and no one thinks to freeze them etc etc. A
lot of this is just poor management because I am busy and my boys do not get
involved in much of this (except eating). I figured if I shopped with smaller
amounts twice a week and planned more carefully I could probably save at least $50- a week.
Car: Not driving to work 3 times a week would save me
about $25- a week in
petrol (obviously there is an amount you could work out on less wear and tear,
miles on the clock, need to service, new tyres etc etc, need to wash etc but
I’ve no idea what that would be.
Stuff bought at work: Embarrassing to say but working at a bookstore there
is no week I do not spend money on a book or three. Sure some are gifts but
others are just for me. Estimated savings on average- $40-/week
Lunches: I buy a take-out coffee with my work colleagues most days and lunch at least 2 of my
three days- I could save $30-
here too. More things that could be made at home for my family to take for
lunches and you have another $50-
easily saved per week, probably more with Fil. Also because I am too busy to
keep my place as I would like it I tend to meet friends for lunch at a café
instead of having something at my place or even making up a picnic. Even once a
week this saves me at least $20-
My Findings:
Groceries: I do shop with a list for what we’ve run out of, but then in regards to food I buy what’s on special and make meals around that.
I shop at Aldiand IGA one week and my local shopping street the other. I really do believe in keeping it local so that is my compromise. On average we spend about $275-a week for a family of four- basically 4 adults as my boys are young men of 15 and 18.
Even though I shop carefully I do find is I end up throwing out (I’m ashamed to admit) a fair amount of food each week. I’ll buy awhole reduced celery going for $2- but throw 2/3 away because Ionly ended up using it for one meal, I’ll make a dozen fresh scones but a third get thrown out because they don’t keep well andno one thinks to freeze them etcetc. A lot of this is just poor management because I am busy and my boys do not get involved in much of this (except eating). I figured if I shopped with smaller amounts twice a week and planned more carefully I could probably save at least$50-a week.
Car: Not driving to work 3 times a week would save me about $25-a week in petrol (obviously there is an amount you could work out on less wear and tear, mileson the clock, need to service, new tyres etcetc, need to wash etcbut I’ve no idea what that would be.
Stuff bought at work: Embarrassing to say but working at a bookstore there is no week I do not spend money on a book or three. Sure some are gifts butothers are just for me. Estimated savings on average- $40-/week
Lunches: I buy a take-out coffee with my work colleagues most days and lunch at least 2 of my three
so possibly $100-/week (whoa!)
My Findings:
Groceries: I do shop with a list for what we’ve run out of, but then in regards to food I buy what’s on special and make meals around that.
I shop at Aldiand IGA one week and my local shopping street the other. I really do believe in keeping it local so that is my compromise. On average we spend about $275-a week for a family of four- basically 4 adults as my boys are young men of 15 and 18.
Even though I shop carefully I do find is I end up throwing out (I’m ashamed to admit) a fair amount of food each week. I’ll buy awhole reduced celery going for $2- but throw 2/3 away because Ionly ended up using it for one meal, I’ll make a dozen fresh scones but a third get thrown out because they don’t keep well andno one thinks to freeze them etcetc. A lot of this is just poor management because I am busy and my boys do not get involved in much of this (except eating). I figured if I shopped with smaller amounts twice a week and planned more carefully I could probably save at least$50-a week.
Car: Not driving to work 3 times a week would save me about $25-a week in petrol (obviously there is an amount you could work out on less wear and tear, mileson the clock, need to service, new tyres etcetc, need to wash etcbut I’ve no idea what that would be.
Stuff bought at work: Embarrassing to say but working at a bookstore there is no week I do not spend money on a book or three. Sure some are gifts butothers are just for me. Estimated savings on average- $40-/week
Lunches: I buy a take-out coffee with my work colleagues most days and lunch at least 2 of my three
so possibly $100-/week (whoa!)
Gifts- I am a creative person and could easily make, draw
or build most gifts and cards a year if I have the time (I used to when the
boys were young) and I actually enjoy doing this very much. Even if I did this
for half the friends and family I know, this has the potential to save $120- a week. It sounds a
lot but if you spent only $40- per person (and it would be a lot more on immediate family)including a card and wrap for a
birthday and Christmas and Easter each year- throw in some congratulations,
commiserations etc etc then add what you actually spend on close family members
and divvy it all up over a year and divide by 52, it really adds up. Don't believe me? Try it!-$120-/week (holy moly!)
Financial management- with more time to do home-banking and bill-paying
and shopping around you can save a bit each week on interest charges etc etc
I’d say almost $20-
a week saved probably more as we tend to miss credit card repayment dates
through poor management and lazily use other banks so $20-/week
Grow your own: If you have a bit more time you can grow a few
things you might use each week like herbs and citrus and cut flowers. I use
herbs to cook with almost every day plus lemons and limes and flowers perhaps I
buy a cheap bunch fortnightly. Savings at least $20- a week after an
initial set-up, potentially much more if you had the space or inclination for
other things.-$20-/week
Clothes- I don’t have an expensive set of clothes but I do buy
some as well as comfortable shoes at least twice a year- savings probably $20- a week. There's also time to alter or mend a few things for the family and get a bit more wear out of things.
Take away and dinners out- Each fortnight we probably have one dinner out and
at least one take- because everyone is too tired to cook. Even if you halved
this to monthly to keep a treat, it still saves $65- a week. (sheesh!)
Tutoring- attending public school I found my boys have needed
tutoring at times with some subjects, some I’m embarrassed to say we
could have been some help with if we’d had the time and energy. Even one less tutor
a week is a saving of $40-
Haircuts: For most of their lives I have cut my boys and my
husband’s hair (I had an 18 month stint as a hairdresser in my youth- useful!)
Working 4 days I often instructed them to go out and get it cut as I felt
harassed to do it myself. If I have time it doesn’t take long and I find it’s
hard to get a good men’s cut for less than $20-. Every four weeks that’s $30- saved per week. I can
also cut and colour my own hair if I have the time but right now it is a rare
pampering treat so more potential savings there of about $30- a week.
Extra cash: Having the time, I am quite capable of drawing,
painting, cooking, up-cycling, gardening, writing, housecleaning and lots of
other things. Having the time I have the potential of earning at least $150-
week, including fixing things up for our own use (furniture etc). Minimum $150- (and up to $300+).
There are lots of other
things you could probably work out a figure for- entertaining friends or going
to their- make your own stuff for cheaper instead of grabbing dip and salad
from Coles- it’ll cost you half. More time to plan means you can come up with
ideas for cheaper entertainment etc
Adding it all up I find by not working three days in my retail I could save $560-
a week!
If you add what I could earn in a minimum capacity elsewhere that's $700- a week!!! For three days I earned $350- (after tax and I was in the lowest tax bracket).
Even if I still put $50- of
that aside for super (all my work was putting in) I am still $150- better off than I have been all by
working.
I feel I have been modest in my calculations but let's say I was crazy and was $50- over in my spending calculations per week- that's still $100- BETTER OFF NOT GOING OUT TO WORK!
It's insane but of course this calculation
only works if you are on low wages. A professional earning considerably more
would find financially they are better off at work, but how much would be worth checking since your outlays would be higher (clothes, transport, eating out for example).
On the other hand if you are paying for
childcare, a housecleaner or any type of outsourcing, you could get rid of it
all or some of it and consider cutting both partners work days!
The bottom line was I certainly could leave my retail job- and I did!
My next Blog I will share putting my saved money into action, how to stay sane and have a social life away from work AND some of the many projects, work opportunities and greater happiness I have experienced as my life is now.
This blog is not about keeping women or any second income earner at home as a 1950's housewife- far from it! It is however about making your life richer in joy and experiences, having time for the people (and pets!) you love, the environment and your community, learning new skills and furthering your education, in essence having the time and energy to care and enjoy the life you live.
It really is about closing one small and battered door and walking through a wide open, freshly painted one:)
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