Thinking About Getting a PT Job

[GOOFY4DONALD]

I am trying to weigh the pros and cons. I currently am working full time in the Special Ed Dept of my kiddos school. I love it and the best part is I'm working when the kids are in school (not to mention the gas $$ I save not having to drive back and forth). Well since we moved into a new house money did get a bit tighter. My paycheck was going to be just car insurance, savings, and fun/vacation money. Long story short there is not much left for the fun/vacation part. I am thinking of applying for a position in a local group home for kids, much like the kids I work with now. The manager of the home really wants me to apply since I have the most experience of the anyone that is currently applying. The position is only 1 day a week, 16 hours a day. I used to work these hours before I had kids and in a group home setting there is a lot of down time so it's not always on the go. I guess I'm trying to figure out if I am ready to give up every single Saturday and work 6 days a week. What would you guys do?

 

[Bete]

but I would have the family meeting and discuss it. I personally really like taking a vacation and to me it would be worth it. The downside is your kids may get into behavior you don't like when you are not there.

I'm not sure if you have a hubby. Is he willing to help while you work including household chores and being with the kids? These are questions you need to ask yourself. Personally, my hubby would not pick up the slack very well. You may need to make lists and see how everyone does while you are gone. To add 16 hours more of work without help is not worth a vacation.

You can do a try out period at the PT job, too. Be honest with this group home manager and say you are not sure this will work, but you really want to give it a try. You may find you are stressing out about home too much being away. There's really no good way to know; until, you actually do it.

When money is tight and we still want to vacation we really tighten the belt, here. No going out for eats and we survive on noodle and rice and potato dishes to stretch the meals. There's a lot of casseroles out there you can do. Sandwiches with less meat can be used for dinners. Soups are good, too; you can always add ingredients to soup to make it more stew like. If you are not doing it make meals from scratch. Use cheaper everything; get away from brand names. You don't need the best toilet paper or the best pair of jeans. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. If you are not willing to do these cutbacks, then just think about less expensive trips or no trips at all.

Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. As you stated, there are pros and cons.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Thanks for the reply...here is some more info. Kiddos are 14, 11, and 8. Dh will help pick up the slack so that's not a worry. My other concern is DH works shift work. That means during the school year we only get 4 days off together a month. If I take this job we will cut it down to 2. Lately DH has been spending every day off working on our unfinished basement. I'm not sure that we would really miss any time together because of that...at least not for the next few months anyway.

 

[JamesMom]

Really? You would trade working 45-50 Saturdays with 16 hr days for a 5-10 days of vacation? I would cut cable/restuarants/ and alot of the other cuts you mention long before I did that. But that's just me, YMMV.

 

[HeatherC]

Personally, I would rather be with my family. The years with my kids are literally flying by and I treasure every family moment we can get. But.. I also LOVE to vacation.

I would try to cut some expenses like knock cable back to basic, plan groceries to cut X amount each week, higher deductibles on auto and home insurance, shop around to see if you can save on things like trash pickup, phone, internet, etc.

You may be surprised how much you may be able to trim so that you can still have free Saturdays.

Good luck!

 

[Bete]

Really? You would trade working 45-50 Saturdays with 16 hr days for a 5-10 days of vacation? I would cut cable/restuarants/ and alot of the other cuts you mention long before I did that. But that's just me, YMMV.

and I rather change my way of life and do other cutbacks as you mentioned and what I stated in my post to save more money and even take a lesser vacation. I can see giving up Saturdays and working, too to have a better vacation if you can make it work. I'm getting the impression this may not be a permanent job for the poster, either; so, maybe, it will be manageable.

I will say to the original poster that maybe you should consider your finished basement (when it happens) as your vacation and be happy to just enjoy it for now.

We live very frugal; so, we can have a nice vacation every year. You make choices. We are retired; so, I'm not in the same boat as the poster.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I don't think I would do it - I work part time, Saturdays only, right now. It is my only job and it wasn't bad at all when the kids were little and I was home all day during the week. And, it still isn't bad in the summer when I'm home with them all week. But, now that they are older and in school all day, it kind of stinks. I miss the family time on the weekends. I also hate missing all the fun weekend activities ... I'm missing 1/2 of my DD's soccer games this fall due to my work.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I would not work 6 days a week just to have a vacation. I would not sacrifice the family time. I also think it would be really tough to stay on top of the regular household chores. I would do it in a heartbeat if we needed the money to survive, but not for non-essentials. Yes, Disney is great, but you can still find cheaper day trips where you can still have a great family adventure.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Well... I don't have kids--just a fiance--so I may be a little different. I work 7 days per week (sometimes 6 if they let me off on a Sunday) with 2 jobs. 3 or 4 week days I leave one job and go straight to another--sometimes with enough time to grab a burger and a drink depending on traffic. We're in debt consolidation, and he took a pay cut so I need the job for a little extra money--but because of the hours that I have to work (more than I'd like/need)--I end up with extra fun money/vacation money. Our consolidation is up in March 2013 so there's light at the end of the tunnel. We'll be debt free (except cars and mortgage) and I will be able to drop to one job. I am exhausted 100% of the time, but loveeee that I can run off to Disney 2 or 3 times per year because of the extra cash flow. We also are having a Disney Wedding in November--and not a dime of it is on credit!

If I had a family--I may not want to lose time with the children--but if they're at ages where they have a million things going on anyway and won't notice--I'd say go for it--even if just for a little while. Talk it over with the family and make a pros/cons list and see what happens. Good Luck!

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

Maybe you can offer child care to kids at the school?? I know my coworker has a son at a special education school and a lot of the staff do that for extra $$$$

 

[thomas998]

Not to rain on your parade... but you need to look at how much money this new job will actually generate.

I'm not sure how much money you are making or the state you live in... but sometimes when you start trying to earn more with a second job you forget that all that money is going to be taxed at the highest tax rate that that you are paying in... it could also impact you on tax credits... would you really be happy if you found that you made a couple of thousand extra dollars at the expense of a couple of thousand dollars in tax credits at the end of the year?

Not saying you shouldn't do it, but your net gain might not be as great as you think.

 

[starann]

I work Sat and Sun, 12hours each day, and stay home with my kdis during the week (well, mainly with the baby since the older 2 went back to school today!!).

I was going to say your kids are old enough that you could work every Sat, but someone else did the Math of working 52 Sat a year for a 5 to 10 day vacation and it really didn't seem worth it to me. I liked another posters post about offering to babysit some special needs kids...goodness knows their parents need time away just like any other parents. Yes the money wouldn't bee consistant, but at least it would be someting with out making you into a work horse!

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Thanks to all that replied. Although the math may be accurate I would not actually be working 52 Saturdays for a 10 day vacation. I ONLY need about 2,000 for our nect Nov trip so much of it would be savings/spending money. I would like to add the 16 hours a week but not all in the same day. The group home that I would be applying for does have many oncall/relief on staff so I may look into that. As far as taxes we just moved into the higher tax bracket and we are in the bottom of that (thanks to my FT job) so a small PT job will keep us where we are at.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

I was sort of in the same situation as you 2 years ago.

I have had a part-time saturday-only job for years. Needed something more, so I got a job as a paraprofessional in our school district (loved it too - left the job to go back to school for my teaching cert, but ended up just taking a different part-time job while I have a kindergarten student - long story )

Anyway, while I had my school job I also worked my Saturday job, with the intention of having that money go towards Disney. I won't lie - it was a lot. I felt like I had little time with my older two kids. But it was a good lesson for all of us to work for what we want. Plus, I figure I can do anything for a set amount of time.

Now, my Saturday job wasn't all day, which did make it easier. And I had off around holidays and summer.

But I also used to do home daycare 5 days a week, plus my saturday job, and then picked up working in the activities dept of a nursing home evenings and Sundays. THAT was too much. LOL

I say try it if you really need the money in order to have the trip you want. If it really doesn't work for you, you can leave the job!

good luck!

 

[Evi]

I wouldn't do it. I'd cut back on other things Cable, netflix, takeout, landscaper etc. I'd rather take smaller local vacations with family then not spend so much time with them. Get the kids to pitch in at home have the 14 yr old learn how to help with cooking and little ones can help with other stuff. I know choosing to cut back seems hard but once you do it you'll be so much happier. More time with family and less time buying things.

 

[SaraJayne]

I wouldn't sacrifice family time, either. Since the kids are in school and busy with sports, etc after school, the only time we get to really spend time together is the weekends. I'm not willing to give that up.

I'm currently looking for a part time job, but only when the kids are in school and no evenings or weekends.

The money would be strictly for "fun", so I'm able to be choosy about the hours.