Aim for full FI or a part time work situation?

[Christobal]

Hi there. I am trying to decide if I go for high saving rates and earlier full financial independence or if FI has to wait much longer but I reduce to part time work right now.  I read that Mr MM has done the former, and this coincided with birth of his child, - however for people who have kids already there is much to be said to for working part time now rather than reaching FI when the kids have become independent I would guess. 
I know that in the end everyone needs to decide considering their own circumstances, but I am interested in general pros and cons that I might now have considered, and I can't find much discussion on this particular issue.  Most of the discussion seems to aim at reaching full FI quickly.

Any advise, considerations and view points are very appreciated.  Thanks :)

[Frugalady10]

I am in the same same boat as I had kids young. Right now I decided time with my kids when they were young is more important than saving the most money for me ( you never get the time back). I am working part time but plan on going back full time when the kids are in school all day- it will delay my financial independence- if Ii was working full time now my goal would be 10 years but working part time it is 17, but I personally would rather have the time now with my kids.

[steveo]

I have 3 kids - 11, 9 and 2. Myself and my wife work full time with the youngest in day care 4 days per week. The youngest up until the last couple of weeks was in day care full time since 6 months old. Truthfully I don't think it has hurt the kids at all.

My take is to try and reach FI as quickly as is reasonable and to me kids going to daycare is okay. The oldest kids don't care at all.

I suppose though you have to weigh it up for yourself.

[suntailedshadow]

I have ran this exact debate through my head at least a 1/2 million times >.<

My current conclusion is that I want to work hard right now to save up enough money that when I switch to part time (Just covering expenses) I can let my Nest Egg float until its mature enough to fully retire on. Using Conservative numbers I plan for that nest egg to reach maturity by the time the last kid leaves the house ;-)  That way I can spent lots of time with the kids now and be able to fully retire when they are all independent and out of the house. This kind of planning is obviously dependent on being in an industry that will allow you to obtain part time work at the rate/hours you need.

For me, working all of the needed hours now is not as difficult as my Wife is a SAHM and we only have 1 little girl (More planned for the future). This makes it much easier to stay connected with the day-to-day goings-on of the kid. If both 1/2's of the couple are working, I think it makes it a much harder decision.

[KMMK]

I switched from 35-40 hours a week to about 30 hours a week. I found full time work was just interfering with my life and happiness too much. I have a much better balance now. Since I'm young and well paid, it doesn't affect my FI date too greatly. Roughly, it's the difference between being FI between 43-45 and between 47-49. I'll be able to retire early either way. And I just don't know for sure how long my life will be, so I want to make sure I'm fully enjoying the present and not just obsessed with the future.

I'm half of a DINK couple, and my husband is taking the opposite approach - more work now, full retirement sooner. It has a  lot to do with our jobs. Mine is easier to do part time. His is very demanding and unhealthy, so the sooner he's done the better.