Did you give up a large portion of your income in pursuit of a happier life?

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are at a crossroads - we make about $300k/year, and I feel very grateful for that for sure. But we have an opportunity that would mean halfing our income, which would mean we could still live comfortably but it's a big drop, in pursuit of something we always wanted to do and something that more aligns with our values. I can be more specific if needed, but I'd love to hear experiences from people who chose the dropping a bit of their income option and how that worked out.

[Anonymous]

For a 150K HHI, no debt except mortgage and no relatives to support except my own children, yes, I would.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We have no debt except mortgage and have enough equity to pay cash for the house. No relatives to support, but two children.

[Anonymous]

Also, I meant to type "dropping a LOT of their income option," not bit.

[Anonymous]

yes, best decision ever.

no one ever says at a funeral of somebody that the deceased wishes they could have spent more time more time at work or making more money............

[Anonymous]

We did it six years ago, and we've never been happier.

We have a nicely updated yet very small (2000 sq ft, if you include our finished basement) home. We don't have a big house to show off, but the trade off is that we take weekend getaways twice monthly in the summer months, and we take 2-3 vacations a year. Our experiences and leisure far outweigh the benefits of extra space in a house.

(We still make max contributions to retirement, and put funds into savings every month.)

We have friends with huge (mostly empty) houses, and they always want to know why we don't upgrade. But they never travel as much as we do, and we just prefer experience over space. And the cut in pay created the time we needed to have these adventures. For us, it works.

[Anonymous]

I didn't give up income I was earning, but I did forgo a larger income (biglaw) in order to have a career that more aligned with my values and priorities. No regrets. Hopefully you've been saving some of that $300K, so you have a financial cushion in case of an emergency and a nest egg for college, and no debt and the ability to pay off your mortgage if needed.

[Anonymous]

I know a pair of DC lawyers who dropped out of big law once they paid off loans. One became a SAHM to 4, the other became a music minister for a church in Idaho.

I think they're nuts, but they're happy and say it's the best thing they could've ever done for their family. To each his own.

[Anonymous]

We did about 12 years ago. Our income dropped by slightly more than half (it has increased over time, but we are not to where we used to be, but our retirement and college savings are in very good shape). Yes, it was absolutely worth it to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a pair of DC lawyers who dropped out of big law once they paid off loans. One became a SAHM to 4, the other became a music minister for a church in Idaho.

I think they're nuts, but they're happy and say it's the best thing they could've ever done for their family. To each his own.

This just makes me sad. So the whole law thing was a complete waste, simply worked to pay off loans -- would have same outcome if they just moved to Idaho directly..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a pair of DC lawyers who dropped out of big law once they paid off loans. One became a SAHM to 4, the other became a music minister for a church in Idaho.

I think they're nuts, but they're happy and say it's the best thing they could've ever done for their family. To each his own.

This just makes me sad. So the whole law thing was a complete waste, simply worked to pay off loans -- would have same outcome if they just moved to Idaho directly..

Not necessarily. They have lawto fall back on in an emergency.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Best decision I ever made, no regrets. And my salary in the new field has gone up a lot since then, although it will never approach my former salary.

[Anonymous]

I quit my job as a teacher to spend time with my own kids. I loved working with kids but the whole system is so f***ed, all the joy had been sucked out of it for me and I didn't have the energy to spend on my family. I look forward to finding some way to employ my other talents, but am for now just enjoying my babies.

I feel like DH would be happier doing something else that involved less money, but his star continues to rise and he's so obsessed with progress that I don't know if it will happen.

[Anonymous]

I dropped my income by 40% in order to pursue my calling. We had a mortgage. I was the higher earner at that time and we had a kid at the time and went on to have 2 more. So worth it. Money never made me happy or secure.

[Anonymous]

Everyone knows money isn't making them happy, and that chasing the security of having a big paycheck is like a thirst that's never satisfied. But fear stands in the way of dropping out of the race. We did it to pursue what we felt we were called to do in this life. We aren't wealthy but we are insanely fulfilled and joyful.