@Superk88 wrote:
Wife and I recently moved back to Alabama to save money and be closer to family. She is a veteran and now a stay at home Mom and is debt free besides her Car. I work and am currently trying to rebuild my credit...i was in 90k worth of debt and now down to about 20k which is a bike I'm desperatlly trying to sell and then a few charge offs.
I work 45 miles from home...
It's 1 hour each way...leave at 7am get home around 630pm or later.
I'm an assitant parts manager for one of the biggest Wholesale Ford dealers in the Nation...the job is fun yet stressfull.
I work 5 days a week and Saturdays here and there.
My income is right now at 75k with the chance to make 120 to 130 in a couple years.
I was just offered a job at a smaller dealer close to home....like as in the drive is 8 minutes one way.
They just bought out the local stores and are trying to make changes.
They wanna bring me in at 60k sallary and with 2.5% commision it would average to 70-75k a year and could grow but how much is unknown.
No Saturdays....home for lunch....home by 545 every single day.
I am so conflicted...the company I work for is great, with great income potential, and I just acquired vacation days. There established and well known...the other is a smaller work in progress.
I would really like the time with my 1.5 year old...and were trying for another soon...but I am trying to think about when they are teenagers where I will be and what I will be doing. How can I best provide for them.
The question of IF my wife will go back to work is unknown...we may try to start a small buisness...we may homeschool the kids.
Very conflicted
I recently had your reverse situation. Currently, I have been working from home since March 2020 and.I.love.it. In January, we are going back to the office, but hybrid. In fact, it was a hybrid job before the pandemic; 2 work-from-home days and 3 days in the office. I work 6 am to 2 pm and the office is 10 miles from home. Good job, good benefits, but no growth and its time to move on.
Well, last month I interviewed for, and was offered my dream job with my dream company. $20K more per year and growth potential. Now the bad: no remote; no hybrid. 5 days per week in the office 8 am to 5 pm. The fun part, the office is 50 miles from home. I know, wah, poor me.
But I had to take everything into consideration. I would have had to commute to work which would have added up to 2 hours a day in the car (winter is coming). Wear and tear on the car, gas (going up), time away from home etc. Otherwise, I would have had to relocate to be closer and I just do not want to live in the bigger city anymore.
I am getting older, in my 40s now. That, combined with what I have learned in life with close ones passing and even COVID is that life is short. Do I want to spend my life in the rat race? Not really. I like my current work/life balance. I do not miss out on my family or taking my dogs for a hike after work.
I kept trying different scenarios that would make it work and I kept coming back to my current, superior work/life balance and I ultimately declined the position. I no longer care about American success (materialism). I have a home, I can buy a new car every 5-7 years and I go on vacation. I don't need nor want to be a slave to American materialism.
You seem younger than me (I'd guess mid to late 20s) and you need and want to grow and provide for your family. I get that. One thing that I did was I figured out my hourly rate for my current job vs. the new one. I am salaried so I took my annual and divided by 2080.08 hours which is what one would work 40 hours a week during the year to come up with the hourly rate. The new job was a much higher hourly rate by $8. But then, I times that hourly rate by the (up to) 10 hours a week I'd spend in the car. The time I'd be taking to get ready in the mornings; the ironing on Sundays etc and it just wasn't worth it. So, you could do the opposite. See how much less you'd earn with the new job, but when you take the hourly rate that you are NOT being paid for currently when you drive, and put wear and tear on your car etc see if thats worth it. Or even lost opportunities, i.e. spending time with your wife and kid(s). You don't get that time back.
I cannot make the decision for you obviously, but if it were me, I'd take the new job, spend more time with your family and in a few years, see where the new job goes. And if it doesn't go well, you could always re-apply for the other opportunity (or any other opportunity). If anything, you could eventually relocate to a mid-way point. The great thing about Alabama is that it is pretty darn affordable. I can't say the same thing out here in Utah.
TL DL life is short and success should not be measured by how much you can buy to impress other people. You have to decide which is more important to you; earning more money or spending more time enjoying life.
Let us know what you decide eh?
