I have no problem with part time /seasonal work; in fact, it's something we may do after we're retired. BUT we don't want to do this to pay for groceries -- we feel strongly about having enough to cover our necessities before we quit our "real jobs". We'll take on part time /seasonal work as it presents itself so that we can afford special trips, etc.
I don't want to do that NOW for the same reasons others have already mentioned:
- Part time /seasonal would pay less than I'm earning now in a professional job; thus, I would have to work more hours to earn the same amount of money. Part time /seasonal wouldn't provide benefits, the largest of which is the pension I'll have in a few more years.
- We'd have no guarantee that part time /seasonal would continue year to year -- it's not something to count upon. For example, my mom had a nice-paying little one-week job that revolved around an event for . . . oh, ten years. She enjoyed it, looked forward to it every year, worked her butt off, and then she was done for 51 weeks. Suddenly last year the event changed locations -- and the event coordinators are now required to hire from the venue's staff. Because it was just fun money for her, she was disappointed but not devastated.
- Once I'm retired, if I take on a part time /seasonal job, I never want to HAVE TO work. I want to be able to do it on my own terms. I'm thinking of a teacher friend who was begged to come back and "finish out the year" when we found ourselves short-handed. After much deliberation, he said he'd do it, but he would not teach a 1st period class because he wasn't going to get up early /drive in the dark anymore. The school needed him so badly that they changed 50-60 students' schedules to accommodate his demands. I don't know that I would personally have made that demand for a six-month job, but the point is valid: If I work after retirement, I want to be able to make my own decisions -- and if I NEED the money, I can't do that.
- I would feel uncomfortable retiring and not having a comfortable amount of money saved. I am a little more conservative than most people here and feel the need to have a pretty good financial buffer against inflation, etc. If I quit before I have what I consider necessary, I would worry about what might happen if I were unable to find work next year, if I became disabled and could not work, etc. I do not like to worry, and I am not a person to put off 'til tomorrow what should be done today. When I quit, I want to know that I've completed my goals.