Author Topic: What would you pay for Fridays off?  (Read 12557 times)

omachi

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What would you pay for Fridays off?
« on: February 28, 2017, 01:51:14 PM »
I've recently learned that I have the option to work reduced hours with the only effects being prorated pay and vacation time. I'll keep my health insurance, paid parking, 401(k), etc. No paperwork to fill out, either. Everything just gets prorated based on hours worked, provided I'm at 32+ per week.

I've been wanting more time for myself, I'm in a good financial position, and I would really like reduced stress from 4 day weeks. All indications are that everybody in management is fine with employees taking advantage of this option, so I'm not too worried about repercussions. At least, I expect I'd get a talking to before there were any real consequences.

I'd drop about $16,000 in terms of what I take home after taxes. That would kick my FIRE date back about a year, but I'm leaning towards it anyway. Recent stress has had me considering changes, and I don't know that I'll find something that pays as well as the reduced rate with less stress. It is hard to give up that much income, though.

So my question is: what would you pay to have Fridays off?

Platypuses

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2017, 02:16:02 PM »
I would do it in a heart beat, especially if it only delays FIRE by a year. I am on the 9/80 schedule (every other Friday off) and it would have to take a big raise for me to go back to working every Friday.

boarder42

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2017, 02:25:11 PM »
i'm about to do it or at least request to do it.  we should be having a child in the next year and i'll request to take monday's off at that point.  figure i need a life event to make it more acceptable as i think its likely frowned upon at my place of business.  its worth 20% pay cut to me.

Murse

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2017, 02:27:17 PM »
It really would depend how far out you currently are from FIRE, for example: are you currently one year from fire and taking this cut will double your time to fire? Or are you 10 years out thus only pushing your fire date back 10%.

If we begin discussing burn-out (which it appears you are) and the other option would be finding another job that pays 16k less  5 days a week, this begins to make much more sense. At the end of the day though, if I was feeling burnt out yes I would take the cut. However I would try to hold on as long as I could.

boarder42

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2017, 02:32:09 PM »
It really would depend how far out you currently are from FIRE, for example: are you currently one year from fire and taking this cut will double your time to fire? Or are you 10 years out thus only pushing your fire date back 10%.

If we begin discussing burn-out (which it appears you are) and the other option would be finding another job that pays 16k less  5 days a week, this begins to make much more sense. At the end of the day though, if I was feeling burnt out yes I would take the cut. However I would try to hold on as long as I could.

i highly doubt that someone one year from FIRE would lose an entire year due to a 20% pay cut. that does not compute

Murse

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2017, 02:51:31 PM »
It really would depend how far out you currently are from FIRE, for example: are you currently one year from fire and taking this cut will double your time to fire? Or are you 10 years out thus only pushing your fire date back 10%.

If we begin discussing burn-out (which it appears you are) and the other option would be finding another job that pays 16k less  5 days a week, this begins to make much more sense. At the end of the day though, if I was feeling burnt out yes I would take the cut. However I would try to hold on as long as I could.

i highly doubt that someone one year from FIRE would lose an entire year due to a 20% pay cut. that does not compute

I agree, I was just using it for illustrative purposes.

omachi

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2017, 02:56:54 PM »
Thanks for the discussion. It helps to get other perspectives.

I would do it in a heart beat, especially if it only delays FIRE by a year. I am on the 9/80 schedule (every other Friday off) and it would have to take a big raise for me to go back to working every Friday.

I've done 9/80 before but 9 hour days chained to a desk weren't for me. Fridays off every other week were nice, but it was a trade of some misery for some happiness.

It really would depend how far out you currently are from FIRE, for example: are you currently one year from fire and taking this cut will double your time to fire? Or are you 10 years out thus only pushing your fire date back 10%.

If we begin discussing burn-out (which it appears you are) and the other option would be finding another job that pays 16k less  5 days a week, this begins to make much more sense. At the end of the day though, if I was feeling burnt out yes I would take the cut. However I would try to hold on as long as I could.

I've been feeling on the verge of burn out, or maybe burned out already, for about a year. I've been making some changes that have been helping, but where I'm really feeling it is not having much time to myself.

My calculations have my FIRE date conservatively 6 years out. Pushing back to 7 years would actually have me work fewer days, just over a longer period. Money compounding picks up a bit of the slack.


Little Aussie Battler

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2017, 03:00:14 PM »
Just make sure you are not expected to produce the same level of output as a full-time employee.

Fireinthebelly

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2017, 03:02:27 PM »
I do it.  Costing me about 20k in lost salary.  Well worth it

Guesl982374

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2017, 03:07:03 PM »
I'd do it.
« Last Edit: August 30, 2018, 09:29:09 AM by Liberty Stache »

AnswerIs42

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2017, 03:46:25 PM »
I'd take a 20% pay cut for Fridays off in a heartbeat too.

It's an interesting thought experiment to think about exactly how much time I'd take off if I could take as much as I wanted with a proportional pay cut. At this point in time I'd probably do three days a week. Maybe reduce it to 2 as my stash grows bigger ;)

Syonyk

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2017, 03:51:51 PM »
I'd happily pay 20% for Fridays off.

In fact, I do. :)

32h work weeks are awesome.

Ocinfo

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #12 on: February 28, 2017, 03:56:58 PM »
I'll be doing something similar but likely when I'm 2-3 years pre-FI and will likely work a 24 hour schedule until well after being FI as I generally like the work and making ~$100k for part time work is hard to walk away from.

There was a recent similar thread talking about part time work that slightly extends working years versus just getting done as soon as possible.


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bunchbikes

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #13 on: February 28, 2017, 04:03:44 PM »
My wife and I have taken 3 day weekends for the past year or so.

The weekends feel so long, that even after a year, I still am not quite used to it.   In a good way.


You will not regret having 4 days on, 3 days off.   If you really wanted to, you could probably go back to full-time employment, right?  So why not give it a try.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2017, 04:15:51 PM by CargoBiker »

markbike528CBX

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #14 on: February 28, 2017, 04:08:56 PM »
Q: What would you pay for Fridays off?
A: My gross salary for that time absent.   
I get Compensating Time Off as a substitute for overtime. I'm salaried otherwise.

omachi

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #15 on: February 28, 2017, 04:14:40 PM »
You will not regret having 4 days on, 3 days off.   If you really wanted to, you could probably go back to full-time employment, right?  So why not give it a try.

Thanks all, this is exactly what I needed to hear. I'm going to go for it. The way it's setup, I could go back to full time anytime, so long as there's space on a project.

bunchbikes

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #16 on: February 28, 2017, 04:15:30 PM »
Thanks all, this is exactly what I needed to hear. I'm going to go for it. The way it's setup, I could go back to full time anytime, so long as there's space on a project.


Well there you go.  Try it, and see how you like it.  Report back.

boarder42

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #17 on: February 28, 2017, 04:24:15 PM »
Since a good chunk of my retirement is tied to company ESOP. I'd work the minimum 2.5 days per week keep it if they would.let me. Probably wouldn't add more than 2 years to my FIRE plans.

VAR

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #18 on: March 08, 2017, 06:56:30 AM »
I very happily only work 4 days a week. I'm 20 pct retired. It's amazing but too short!

Candace

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #19 on: March 08, 2017, 07:02:10 AM »
I did the same thing about 16 months ago. No way would I go back. The difference in my life is profound.

Enjoy!

boarder42

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #20 on: March 08, 2017, 07:05:55 AM »
i feel like its not as acceptable for younger people esp. without kids.  if i was 50 i think they'd be ok with it but i'm 30.  and have no kids so why are you not trying to advance and make the our employee owners more money etc.  thats why i plan to use the life even of the birth of our first kid hopefully in the next year as leverage to cut my hours.  we'll see how that works out.

marielle

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #21 on: March 08, 2017, 07:09:52 AM »
I probably wouldn't unless I was older, but by then I'd be nearly FI so it wouldn't matter anyway. I wish my company would let me switch to four 10s though. Has anyone ever had luck doing that in a company that typically has 8-5 hours?

jade

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #22 on: March 08, 2017, 07:14:37 AM »
I do it already and love it. I also found that I save money in other ways as I feel more in balance and less likely to splurge on fast food and other things!

Jenny1974

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #23 on: March 08, 2017, 07:19:31 AM »
Take it!!  I work 9 hours M-Th and only work a half day EVERY Friday.  It would take a LOT for me to give that up.  It gives me some time to myself and keeps me sane!
« Last Edit: March 29, 2017, 07:07:10 AM by buchanaj »

MudDuck

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #24 on: March 08, 2017, 07:32:32 AM »
I do exactly the opposite- I work an extra day most weeks to get that extra $15k.

It'll be years before it pays off well enough that I can work 32-hour weeks rather than 48 and I'm quite looking forward to it.

Ocinfo

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #25 on: March 08, 2017, 08:57:36 AM »
I probably wouldn't unless I was older, but by then I'd be nearly FI so it wouldn't matter anyway. I wish my company would let me switch to four 10s though. Has anyone ever had luck doing that in a company that typically has 8-5 hours?

Don't do it if everyone else works Friday and you're in a role that can work from home or would be expected to answer questions. You'll just end up work 4 10s plus Friday. If you have a job where you can't work unless you're in the office then it might work if they're willing to allow it.


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NorthernBlitz

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #26 on: March 08, 2017, 08:58:41 AM »
I would be weary of this if I was a salaried employee.

If you're not actually paid by the hour, my guess is that your workload wouldn't go down as much as your pay would (i.e. 90% of the work for 80% of the pay!)

I think I'd prefer to work "full time" and retire 20% sooner. And actually, I think it would be sooner than that because (1) your savings rate on that extra 20% salary would likely be higher than your savings rate on the first 80% of your salary and (2) the extra money you save compounds.

Like all things to do with early retirement, it all depends on your valuation of free time in the present vs. free time in the future.

Tetsuya Hondo

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #27 on: March 08, 2017, 09:46:22 AM »
This is a no-brainer.

Enjoy your Fridays.

historienne

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #28 on: March 08, 2017, 10:00:00 AM »
My husband did this at his last job.  It was great.  It was a $35k drop in salary - he actually went down to 0.75% time.  We have two young kids, so the marginal value of time to us is really high.  We kept the kids in full time daycare, and he did almost all of the house chores in his time off, freeing up our evenings and weekends for more relaxed family time.  Sadly, his new job does not offer this kind of arrangement, and while it's been worthwhile for him (he finds the new job much more fun than the old one), I really miss his old setup now that I have to do those chores!

omachi

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #29 on: March 08, 2017, 10:00:43 AM »
I would be weary of this if I was a salaried employee.

If you're not actually paid by the hour, my guess is that your workload wouldn't go down as much as your pay would (i.e. 90% of the work for 80% of the pay!)

I think I'd prefer to work "full time" and retire 20% sooner. And actually, I think it would be sooner than that because (1) your savings rate on that extra 20% salary would likely be higher than your savings rate on the first 80% of your salary and (2) the extra money you save compounds.

Like all things to do with early retirement, it all depends on your valuation of free time in the present vs. free time in the future.

I'm going to do it, so just explaining some of my thinking here. I'm not too concerned on workload. I'm salaried but have strict hour limits on projects, so that prevents excess work issues.

While it gives up 20% gross salary, it's quite a bit less after taxes. It's all at my marginal tax rate, so I don't net as much on it as the first 80%. I've already maxed my tax advantaged accounts, so no help there. My net take home per hour actually goes up as I'll make about 85% of current net for 80% of the work.

Ultimately, my fairly conservative math says I'll go from 6 years to FI to 7 years. That is 7 years at 80%, though, which actually means fewer work days over the long run. More lifetime free time, more of it now instead of later, and less stress overall outweighs an extra calendar year until total freedom for me.

Retire-Canada

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #30 on: March 08, 2017, 10:19:32 AM »
So my question is: what would you pay to have Fridays off?

I have Fridays off. I work 4 x 10hrs so didn't need to take a pay cut, but I did have to manoeuvre a client into changing his whole production schedule for that to happen. It took over a year of work to get there, but it's awesome. I highly recommend it.

I also had Thursdays off for a few months and had to take a 25% income cut to do that. I loved it. It was well worth it. That meant I was off for 4 days and worked for 3 days each week. I enjoyed work so much more and had two weekends. My weekend [Thurs & Fri] and my normal weekend with my GF [Sat & Sun] when she was off.

I plan to get back to a 3 days work week later this year the 25% pay cut was a reasonable trade off given I have enough invested it will get me to FIRE on its own in a reasonable time.

Erma

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #31 on: March 08, 2017, 11:43:44 AM »
I do have Thursdays off with around 16000CHF less per year than of I would work full time. It's absolutely worth it. I'm much more relaxed now and enjoy it immensely. We now work 160% between two people and it is really nice if you can do most chores during the week and have your weekend for fun things. I love it and Inhope I will never have to work a 100% job.

PoutineLover

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #32 on: March 08, 2017, 11:50:39 AM »
I do this. I've actually never had a real full time job. My current salary is based on 80% of the work week and I still get full benefits and vacation and summer fridays (which are thursdays for me - 3 day workweek ftw!). Totally worth it. Yes, I would like to make more money and be able to save more, and I guess I'm giving up 10,000 pretax, but I'm able to live and save on what I earn, although FI is a long way off. I counted it up and I actually have more days off than on in a year, which is pretty sweet, and my workdays are shorter than usual (6.75/day). I am thinking about getting a new job for other reasons, but it's going to have to be pretty great or really well paid to make me switch.

NorthernBlitz

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #33 on: March 08, 2017, 11:57:57 AM »
I would be weary of this if I was a salaried employee.

If you're not actually paid by the hour, my guess is that your workload wouldn't go down as much as your pay would (i.e. 90% of the work for 80% of the pay!)

I think I'd prefer to work "full time" and retire 20% sooner. And actually, I think it would be sooner than that because (1) your savings rate on that extra 20% salary would likely be higher than your savings rate on the first 80% of your salary and (2) the extra money you save compounds.

Like all things to do with early retirement, it all depends on your valuation of free time in the present vs. free time in the future.

I'm going to do it, so just explaining some of my thinking here. I'm not too concerned on workload. I'm salaried but have strict hour limits on projects, so that prevents excess work issues.

While it gives up 20% gross salary, it's quite a bit less after taxes. It's all at my marginal tax rate, so I don't net as much on it as the first 80%. I've already maxed my tax advantaged accounts, so no help there. My net take home per hour actually goes up as I'll make about 85% of current net for 80% of the work.

Ultimately, my fairly conservative math says I'll go from 6 years to FI to 7 years. That is 7 years at 80%, though, which actually means fewer work days over the long run. More lifetime free time, more of it now instead of later, and less stress overall outweighs an extra calendar year until total freedom for me.

Sounds like the math says it's a good decision. If my difference to FI was 1 year, I go with long weekends too.

PDX Citizen

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #34 on: March 08, 2017, 12:41:54 PM »
I actually proposed this to my employer a couple years ago and they accepted.  It's been one of the better decisions I've made - it's amazing the difference that having a 3-day weekend, every weekend, can make.  Before I did it, I couldn't get to early retirement soon enough, now even though I'm still saving towards it, it's not my main focus because I have a better work/life balance.  One additional plus is that the marginal tax rate that you pay on the top 20% of your salary is probably higher than your overall tax rate, so a 20% cut in hours doesn't equate to a 20% cut in after-tax pay.
« Last Edit: March 08, 2017, 12:45:21 PM by PDX Citizen »

Schaefer Light

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #35 on: March 08, 2017, 12:46:33 PM »
Just make sure you are not expected to produce the same level of output as a full-time employee.

This would be my biggest concern.  As a salaried employee, there's no way I'd agree to do the same work for 20% less pay.  I'd much rather work from home.
« Last Edit: March 08, 2017, 12:48:47 PM by Schaefer Light »

MayDay

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #36 on: March 08, 2017, 01:14:33 PM »
I am 50% time and salaried accordingly.  It is all WFH so it can be difficult not to feel like I am working all the time.

I did it previously for a large corporation and really didn't work extra, because everything got left at work- I veeeery occasionally had a phone call on an off day but that was the exception not the rule. 

honeybbq

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #37 on: March 08, 2017, 01:28:51 PM »
I would do it in a heart beat, especially if it only delays FIRE by a year. I am on the 9/80 schedule (every other Friday off) and it would have to take a big raise for me to go back to working every Friday.

This x 10000

lucylu

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #38 on: March 08, 2017, 01:44:49 PM »
I would pay 1/5 of my 5 day salary. Which I did, for 7 years. It was really the best of both worlds; I kept a near-full time job but had 3 day weekends. I used my Friday to do all the things you would NOT want to do on a weekend (grocery, errands, etc) and was able to do fun kid activities with my children. It did not set back my career at all.

Dicey

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #39 on: March 08, 2017, 01:58:14 PM »
DH works 9-9's and has every other Friday off. Okay, technically the other Friday he works an hour less so it averages a 40 hour work week.

It costs him nothing, and it's worth a ton.

I'm not writing to humblebrag, just to share something he recently mentioned. One of his colleagues takes Mondays, not Fridays. His reasoning? There are more Monday holidays than Fridays, so he actually comes out ahead when there's a paid holiday. Before you pull the trigger, see if that would apply to you too. We're still trying to wrap our heads around it, so I don't know all the details, but surely it's a mustachian virtue to think like a contrarian and work the system to your advantage, if it can be done.
 

StreetCat

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #40 on: March 08, 2017, 02:54:52 PM »
So my question is: what would you pay to have Fridays off?
I'd give up 20% of my gross pay plus up to another 5% if I had to.  In addition to getting friday's off, that reduced pay is coming off of my marginal tax bracket, which is high.  So my take home pay would reduce by less than 20%.

I wish my employer allowed this.

Cookie78

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #41 on: March 08, 2017, 03:37:04 PM »
Absolutely. I work 35 hour weeks and get every Friday off. I couldn't go back. Fridays are now my favorite day by far.

pattycakepdx

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #42 on: March 08, 2017, 04:27:56 PM »
Take it!!  I work 9 hours M-F and only work a half day EVERY Friday.  It would take a LOT for me to give that up.  It gives me some time to myself and keeps me sane!

I just started doing this at the beginning of the year, and it has been amazing so far! I'm currently interviewing for another job, and am really struggling to decide whether the significantly higher pay and more interesting work would really be worth giving up this schedule and my super short commute. Good problem to have I guess, but still a tough call!

omachi

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #43 on: March 08, 2017, 05:12:48 PM »
DH works 9-9's and has every other Friday off. Okay, technically the other Friday he works an hour less so it averages a 40 hour work week.

It costs him nothing, and it's worth a ton.

I'm not writing to humblebrag, just to share something he recently mentioned. One of his colleagues takes Mondays, not Fridays. His reasoning? There are more Monday holidays than Fridays, so he actually comes out ahead when there's a paid holiday. Before you pull the trigger, see if that would apply to you too. We're still trying to wrap our heads around it, so I don't know all the details, but surely it's a mustachian virtue to think like a contrarian and work the system to your advantage, if it can be done.
 

That's brilliant. It won't work for me because of how we do paid time off, but that sort of thinking is great.

CatInTheHat

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #44 on: March 08, 2017, 07:11:44 PM »
It depends on the financial situation.  If you are saddled with debt I am not sure I would.  If you are in a good position with no debt other than a mortgage with a reasonable end goal in site, I would in a second.  I would even do less.  If given the chance, I would probably sign up to work 20 hours a week for the rest of my life in corporate rather than maintain the rat race full time until FI. 

SwordGuy

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #45 on: March 08, 2017, 09:03:42 PM »
Based on where we are financially, I would take a 25% cut in pay and sign that document on the spot.

Retire-Canada

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #46 on: March 09, 2017, 06:57:13 AM »
I was talking to my main client yesterday and one of their projects I am working on looks like it will shutdown by end May this year. First thing that occured to me was "scale back to 3 days a week". That happening for the start of summer is perfect. :)

OthalaFehu

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #47 on: March 09, 2017, 07:17:59 AM »
It is great to have a weekday off to run errands and do all the things that can't be done on the weekends. Personally if you can afford it, your mental health is worth it.

AccidentalMiser

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #48 on: March 09, 2017, 01:27:20 PM »
I absolutely would.  I worked 4-10s for 3 years before my current boss took over our department.  He "asked HR" if it was OK for me to work a different schedule and they said "we don't recognize alternate work schedules" so back to 5-8s I went.

I would happily give up money to go back to 4-10s and would happily give up 20% of my income to go to 4-8s!

I realize that it's not for everyone but I suspect having to work 5 days per week will drive me to RE sooner than I would have otherwise.

TheAnonOne

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Re: What would you pay for Fridays off?
« Reply #49 on: March 09, 2017, 03:24:45 PM »
The math depends on your savings rate.

A low earner saving nearly nothing would be devastated by a 20% paycut.

Someone making 200k (after tax) with an 80% savings rate. Aka, they spend 40k a year, taking another 40k hit a year drops the savings rate from..

80% (160/200) to...
75% (120/160)

Much less of an impact!

However, the overall savings obviously drops from 160k a year to 120k a year. This is gigantic in real terms.

If your spending 100k on a 200k income the change is a lot more profound.

50% (100/200) to..
37.5% (60/160

Significantly increasing time to FIRE

So please, if your not higher up in the savings rate, do the math, this might be hard to swallow.

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