Getting a Second Job versus Spending Time with My Family - Personal Finance
In order to get the debt snowball rolling, Dave Ramsey
Yes, I have debt. I also have an awesome family, with which, I love to spend my free time. Hanging out with my wife and son each night is truly the highlight of my day. After reading The The Total Money Makeover
With someone of my credentials, I could easily start a new business and make a decent amount of money rather quickly ($200 an hour would not be out of the question). This would mean I would have to start working on nights and weekends. The problem is that I value my time with my family more than that. This is the reason I took the job that I have now instead of continuing the career path I was on. I traded 100+ hour weeks, for reading Elmo to my son. I traded 200+ nights in a hotel each year, for mowing the grass on a Wednesday night. I traded money for peace and I am sure I made the correct decision.
What would you do if you were me? Would you start a new business, knowing that you could eliminate all of your debt within 12 months, or would you continue to budget and enjoy your rather enjoyable family life?
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Comments
Comment from Dusty
Time: May 17, 2008, 6:26 am
@ Moneyloveandchange - Thanks for the comment. Your thoughts basically mirror ours. My son is only 19 months old, so spending time with him is a priority. It is a shame that my CPA license just sits there used and unwelcomed.
Comment from Melanie
Time: May 17, 2008, 6:32 pm
I know you made the right decision because when your kids get older and not small children who need their mommy and daddy at home as much as possible…then start your business. Those young years go by so fast and you can’t put a price or dollar sign on that! No amount of money could tempt me to give up time with my son. My husband once in a while feels like he should get a second job or something. I always say, no way…wait til our son is older (we also want a second child…so he will need to wait til that one is older also)…he agrees. He just worries about finances, and he really doesn’t need to, we are just fine on a budget and have everything we need and even things we want. So keep doing what you are doing and enjoy those kids and reading about elmo etc… This is something money can’t buy, and I believe it is WONDERFUL you enjoy time at home with wife and kids…so many don’t! 
Comment from Panzer
Time: May 20, 2008, 2:06 pm
Dear Dusty
The time-money trade-off is a tough call. I have just started reading “Your Money or Your Life” by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin and ultimately it’s about your priorities in life at each stage of life.
At the same time, you can use your blog to make some additional cash to pay the internet connection bills and stuff. My blog allows me to do that while I am at home when my baby is sleeping…It isn’t much but my monthly internet bill covers itself from AdSense.
Comment from moneyloveandchange
Time: May 17, 2008, 5:41 am
We’re in a similar boat. I am a stay-at-home mom with a shiny new PhD in biochemistry making $12 an hour tutoring online instead of reaping the monetary rewards of said PhD. We know that I could get a job for a year or two to get out of debt, but that is a year or two of not seeing my son as much and putting him in daycare. It just doesn’t work for us (this is not to say that it is not the best choice for others).
For us, we just decided that life is too short. As our son gets older, we may change our mind, but at the present time the extra money is just not worth it.
If I were you, I’d go with your gut feeling. It worked well for us