Switching to a lower paying job

[Anonymous]

I currently am in government affairs and make $260k a year. I have developed some health issues and can’t do this much longer, want to step out of this field and teach either full or part time depending on my health, as I did teach early in my career before ending up in politics. Is this possible? Stats below:

3 kids: 10,8 and 4
Mortgage: $4k a month
Private school: $3k a month
NW about $1.9 million, mostly for n retirement
529’s have about $100, 80, and $10k in them

[Anonymous]

Million in regular investment account would give you easily $70k a year almost tax free and keep growing. The rest of the money would come from your new job. Would it be enough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Million in regular investment account would give you easily $70k a year almost tax free and keep growing. The rest of the money would come from your new job. Would it be enough?

What investment would give you 7% almost tax free plus grow?

[Anonymous]

Teaching is incredibly stressful, particularly if you’re already dealing with health challenges. You will probably find yourself working longer hours than you do now, with no scheduling flexibility. Part-time teaching positions don’t really exist, at least in the public system. If a school has a part-time position, then it’s almost always filled by a staff member who works the other half at another school. I’m not sure how many years you taught before, but DCPS will only give you credit for up to 10 prior years of service. Google “DCPS salary scale” to see exactly what your starting salary would be. DCPS pays better than any other system in the area, so you’d most likely make less than that if you went to another public system or private school.

Been in public education since 2009, and I love it. But it’s exhausting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Million in regular investment account would give you easily $70k a year almost tax free and keep growing. The rest of the money would come from your new job. Would it be enough?

What about retirement and college? Do you have a spouse with income? I’d think it’s pretty tight already. Drop the private school and it gets better, but unless you have a big inheritance coming, no. You can’t afford this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Million in regular investment account would give you easily $70k a year almost tax free and keep growing. The rest of the money would come from your new job. Would it be enough?

What investment would give you 7% almost tax free plus grow?

Yes I’d love to know.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Spouse makes $170k plus small bonus (maybe $5-10k a year), so this would be a big drop for us. We ran some numbers and spouse and I agreed that looking at the numbers, our deficit would be around $30k a year without me working. Hence, teaching job..

[Anonymous]

Is teaching lower stress than government affairs? Depends where you teach I guess…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Spouse makes $170k plus small bonus (maybe $5-10k a year), so this would be a big drop for us. We ran some numbers and spouse and I agreed that looking at the numbers, our deficit would be around $30k a year without me working. Hence, teaching job..

I'd suggest cutting expenses (and see if you like living like that), while doing that for 6-12 months, funnel all of your "extra income" into college for the kids. The older two should have about enough for in-state if you keep it in aggressive investments for now, but add $10-20K to each to be sure. But the 4 yo needs a good kick start for college.

Then you can retire/work a PT time and not have the addition of needing to save for college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Spouse makes $170k plus small bonus (maybe $5-10k a year), so this would be a big drop for us. We ran some numbers and spouse and I agreed that looking at the numbers, our deficit would be around $30k a year without me working. Hence, teaching job..

I'd suggest cutting expenses (and see if you like living like that), while doing that for 6-12 months, funnel all of your "extra income" into college for the kids. The older two should have about enough for in-state if you keep it in aggressive investments for now, but add $10-20K to each to be sure. But the 4 yo needs a good kick start for college.

Then you can retire/work a PT time and not have the addition of needing to save for college

OP here. This is such a great point. Question, there are some home renovations I’d like to do before quitting. I don’t think we will be able to cash flow them after, so should I just do them now and extend my quitting deadline? Or is that dumb?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Million in regular investment account would give you easily $70k a year almost tax free and keep growing. The rest of the money would come from your new job. Would it be enough?

What investment would give you 7% almost tax free plus grow?

Yes I’d love to know.

Not just a 7% return, but lots of growth!!! I can't wait to hear about this amazing investment opportunity.

[Anonymous]

I got out of teaching due to the high stress it caused. Over the last 7 yrs, I've had at least a half dozen former colleagues leave too for the same reason. When and where did you teach? I wouldn't recommend public school.

[Anonymous]

I taught in DCPS. I’ve been through Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden, and now either Trump or Harris. I’m just sort of “done”? Like I’ve done everything I ever imagined. Any my health just can’t keep up. I think summers off and work days aligned with my kids calendars would really help. Maybe I’m being too optimistic.

[Anonymous]

You will need to cut the private school

[Anonymous]

Can you move to something adjacent to GA - like Public Affairs? Or Reg Affairs?

What about the GA space is running you ragged? If it's PAC-related stuff, then see if you can move to a company that doesn't have one.