So, life dilema here.
First about us....
Me: I'm 27, I earn £40k as en engineer before tax about £28k after tax. Work contribute 6% into pension if I contribute 3%. I work 1 mile from home and cycle no matter the weather.
Wife: 27, Currently on maternity leave she works 3 days a week and earns about £19k before tax. Work contribute 14% into her pension in return for her contributing 7%. She works approx 1 mile from home and walks every day.
Us: 6 month old son, my wife will go back to work in 6 months. Goal is to become FI as early as possible (around 10 years probably) but not necessarily RE. Still 21 years left on mortgage if we made minimum payments. In the last 4 months we have reduced this down by 4 years by overpaying. We share one newish car that is 'very cheap to run'.
Situation....
I worked at company 1 and left to work for company 2 on a permanent basis, after 1 year I left company 2 to go back to work for company 1 for various reasons (mainly my wife was due to give birth and I wanted to be nearer to home) I'm now bored at work back at job 1 and becoming increasingly demotivated for various reasons.
An opportunity has appeared for me to do contracting work for a supplier where I would be doing the exact same role that I was doing at job 2. This is normally a 12 month contract with the possibility to extend. The pay before tax could range from £67k to £86k with the after tax income being £42k to £60k depending on IR35 status.
Downsides to new job...
Instead of working 1 mile away, this job would be a 60 mile daily total commute and is about 2 hours in total each day.
No permanent position, could be out of work after 1 year.
No sick pay
No work pension contributions.
No holiday pay.
Additional car costs.
Would need a 2nd car (15K miles per year)
Benefits to new job...
Significantly higher income, enabling FI earlier.
My own boss, I decide what work I do and do not accept and for what price I will work.
Can work from home 1 or 2 days a week.
Field I am more interested in.
Facilities no where near as good.
I can't move house as housing is significantly more expensive near the new job, we live in a good area that is very good value - it is also near to my wife work, and both of our parents (babysitting).
My question...
Simply, what should I do? How can I weigh this up and decide?
Should I risk it at the new job and suck up the longer days for a few years?
Should I stay where I am and just deal with a work place that isn't ideal but offers decent pay and benefits in relation to my costs and extra time I get at home?
Thank you for your help!