Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic To work or not to work

My kids are big-- one's a teen, the other is off to university in the fall. I have always worked because we needed the money. But now suddenly we.... don't.
My kids don't really need me that much.. and I don't hate my job. Don't love it either though.
Is it lame to stay home to do baking and volunteering ? Will I be totally bored ??

Thoughts anyone ?

Only you can say whether you'll be bored, but I don't think it's lame at all. And I'm told that sometimes kids need you around more when they're teens than when they're small.

I don't think it sounds lame if you'd like to have free time and spend it doing things like that. If you don't need the money, is it possible to find another job at your leisure if you do find it to be boring after a while?

JD

My mom's friend quit her job a few months ago to be at home and do volunteer work. She has two adult kids who are out of the house, and two teenagers still living there. Like your kids, hers are mostly self sufficient, so they don't really "need" her at home, but she quit because she didn't like her job and they didn't need the money.

One of her kids has Down Syndrome, so a lot of her volunteer work has been for programs like his school and Special Olympics. She's absolutely loving all of it, and she can't believe she didn't quit sooner. I think if you can find something that's close to your heart like that, it can be really fulfilling. And like Jen said, you could always go back to working if you find that you're bored.

Good luck with your decision!

~Anna

This is an interesting situation you find yourself in.

I do believe that if you quit and just sit around at home you will be bored after a period of time. But as others have already mentioned, you can get a lot of satisfaction out of doing some sort of volunteer work for a cause you really believe in.

But, another thing to consider is the possibility of 'sticking it out' for another year or so to save up some money as a hedge against any future difficulties which may arise. The economy is not going to get better anytime soon, and rising prices will stress everyone's ability to maintain their current standard of living.

Bottom line... it's nice to have a choice.

Tank (who says you can also figure that if you don't need the job there is probably someone out there who does)

I plan to retire as early as I can afford it - not possible yet, but hopefully within the next 7-8 years. If I could do it sooner I would. Unless you are passionately in love with a job there are always other things to do that are probably more interesting, and by staying out of the labour pool you free a job for someone else.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts everyone. :p