My wife and I have recently had our first child who is 6 weeks old. She will therefore be in/out of unemployment, part time/full time work over the next several years and beyond.
This therefore puts the financial earning burden largely on my shoulders.
Certain parts of the year (4-5 months) I work 65 hour weeks and am on call 24/7 for our nightshift team. The other parts of the year are divided into 50-55 hour weeks and then it dies off with a compulsory shut down over Xmas/New Year for 4 weeks.
I'm 31 years old and my wife is 33. I always envisioned of being successful in my career and working my way up the corporate ladder. The dream of early retirement looks like it will happen in our 50's (as opposed to early 30's like the famous blogs on the topic). So I'm therefore looking at another 20+ years of slogging out 55-65 hour weeks the majority of the year. I feel like work is such as huge part of my life now that hobbies such as cycling, going to the beach, hiking, etc get put on the back burner.
20 more years seems just like such a long slog.
I dream about being one of the entry level workers I manage, earning a bit over minimum wage, the guaranteed lunch breaks and out of work on the dot with no responsibilities until I'd arrive the next day. However, this wouldn't be able to support my family or build the early retirement or lifestyle we envision (travelling, etc).
Anyone else feel stuck? They want less stress but can't afford to financially?