Got No Dough - Saving Money in Slim Times

If you were in a financial crunch and you had the option of working full-time or working part-time, which would you choose? The obvious answer would seem to be working full-time, but that may not always be the best answer.

This is a situation that I’ve had to mull over for the past couple of weeks. I’m currently working full-time and really want to work part-time for many reasons. Given our financial situation, it didn’t seem feasible until I considered these three things.

1. Distance to drive. This one factor weighs the heaviest because it has the biggest repercussions. A longer commute not only uses more gas, but it also puts more wear & tear on my car. I have more of a chance of getting stuck in traffic, which lengthens my drive time even more and causes me to lose valuable time that I could be spending with my family. In my situation, I’m currently driving 55 miles (2 hours with no traffic) round trip. The new job would only be 37 miles (1 hour 15 mins) round trip. My car gets approximately 30 mpg and the price of gas is around $3.15 a gallon. Savings per week: $9.45 (not including wear & tear which would make this figure much higher)
2. Childcare. I already get a very good deal on my childcare, but if I can cut my childcare expenses in half by going from an 8 hour day to a 4 hour day - I’m going to save a lot of money. Savings per week: $50.00
3. Benefits. At my current job, I have to pay 50% of my health insurance cost and still have a $50 copay. I have no vision and no dental insurance. The cost of this is $220 a month to cover just my husband and I. My children qualify for a state program, thank goodness! The part time job offers medical, dental, vision and life insurance. On top of that, it offers paid holidays, sick leave, and vacation. The health benefits should be around $100 a month saving me $120 a month. How nice to get more and pay less. Add in the paid holidays, sick leave and vacation and that’s worth about $75 a week. Savings: $105 a week

Next, I have to look at how much my income will change. I currently earn $400 a week and that will change to $185.20 a week, so I will lose $214.80 off the bat. However, if we add back in the money I’m going to save, I’m actually only going to lose $50.35 a week. In addition, each day I will gain back 45 minutes in commute time and 4 hours I would normally be working - which gives me 23 hours and 45 minutes a week to spend how I’d like. That’s almost an entire day!

Ok, so you don’t see how I’ve saved money yet, do you? The saved money is going to come with the extra 23 hours and 45 minutes I’m saving. That’s almost 24 hours I get to spend with my boys (goodbye mommy guilt). Almost 24 hours I can spend planning meals instead of eating out. Almost 24 hours to use my talents to earn money online (blogging, eBay, etc.). When all is said and done, I will probably be able to make MORE money this way than by working full time. Beyond that, I will have a new found sense of freedom and peace.

So - I took a leap of faith and accepted the new job. I’m starting in about two weeks and hopefully my theory is correct.