Part-time or side hustles in lieu of rush to FIRE

[Panchos]

Has anyone out there decided to go part-time or run their own business now instead of waiting to fully be FIRE? Personally, I think I'd be happier as a part-timer without having all of the commitments that come with working full-time. My wife stays home with our three kids (ages 4 and under). I'd love to have the flexibility to be home with them more and travel/do activities as I please. I currently wok full-time at a fire department with a part-time fire job. My goal has been to pay off my mortgage (within the next 1-2 years tops) and then run a business or simply work part-time for the freedom. My part-time fire job brings me $25,000 a year easily on my days off. I'm pretty sure I could continue that trend and even make more, but want a back-up plan should that income dry up. I'm considering going back to school for nursing (I'm already a paramedic). I figure nursing would allow the most flexibility, pay, and satisfaction compared to being a medic. Not sure what I'll do yet...  I may just keep my full-time fire job and stop working so much part time. After all, I only work 9 days a month plus I get a pension (eligible for payments at 50 with penalty or 55 without penalty), 457, and a 401k match (albeit a bit pathetic).

Does anyone else work part-time instead of dealing with the BS, stress, etc of simply pushing for FIRE? If so, what do you do and what has your experience been like?

[rufflina]

I'm interested in this discussion...I think our goal is for both of us to be able to work 80% (32 hours a week). It's an option at both our jobs and it would certainly be wonderful, and feels less extreme than RE.

[AZDude]

I think about this a lot, being a software developer, working part time would be very easy and still make decent money. I figure I could probably make $40K working part time, though without added benefits like health insurance subsidies and paid time off. Combined with the fact my wife has no interest in retiring early(not judging, her decision), I could probably quit full time now if I wanted, but I would feel better about things if I paid off our future mortgage first.

[norcalmike]

Im leaving my job in the medical field at 50 with a small CalPERS pension and free health insurance.
I plan on doing contact work in the fall/winter and taking the spring/summer off so I can dabble in some real estate investments.
I think with my pension, investments and some casual work, I should be good to go.

[protostache]

This is exactly what my wife and I are doing. I went independent last year and am now working about two days a week on a long-term retainer contract. All of our bills and save-to-spends are paid out of those two days. She went from full time to part time recently as well, for a variety of reasons, and lemme tell you, it's been very nice having consistent four day weekends. We're going to do our best to make it work long term while also saving for FIRE, mostly by me taking extra gigs some weeks and working on various side-side-hustles.

I think about this a lot, being a software developer, working part time would be very easy and still make decent money. I figure I could probably make $40K working part time, though without added benefits like health insurance subsidies and paid time off.

For the record, I firmly believe you're selling yourself short. I will end up grossing more than $200k this year from that long-term retainer and a few other short-term projects earlier this year. At this point most of the extra is going toward maxing my solo 401(k) and saving for various trips we're planning on taking in the next few years.

[kamille]

I'm a nurse and I did part-time for awhile and loved it. Nursing is great for part-timers because most hospitals will still offer health and retirement benefits. I have no need for side jobs because my unit is always in need for more help and I can pick up extra shifts for incentives of up to $15 extra per hour, overtime for time and a half, and also weekend bonus pay. I'm trying to have the best of both worlds right now by working part-time hours for four weeks and than an intensive overtime amount for a 2 week pay-period. I work in an intensive care setting for 12 hour night shifts and the shifts frequently suck up both my physical and emotional energy. I am trying to FIRE without burning out and while I am still young. I would like the financial freedom when I am older to only work part-time or even less just to keep up my pension. I could choose to work part-time only now, but I hate to miss out on the opportunity available to best optimize my financial future and I never know what could happen to my job security or health down the road. I am also childless right now so I could see how wanting to spend more time with your kids could influence that decision.

[norcalmike]

I'm a nurse and I did part-time for awhile and loved it. Nursing is great for part-timers because most hospitals will still offer health and retirement benefits. I have no need for side jobs because my unit is always in need for more help and I can pick up extra shifts for incentives of up to $15 extra per hour, overtime for time and a half, and also weekend bonus pay. I'm trying to have the best of both worlds right now by working part-time hours for four weeks and than an intensive overtime amount for a 2 week pay-period. I work in an intensive care setting for 12 hour night shifts and the shifts frequently suck up both my physical and emotional energy. I am trying to FIRE without burning out and while I am still young. I would like the financial freedom when I am older to only work part-time or even less just to keep up my pension. I could choose to work part-time only now, but I hate to miss out on the opportunity available to best optimize my financial future and I never know what could happen to my job security or health down the road. I am also childless right now so I could see how wanting to spend more time with your kids could influence that decision.

12 hour night shifts here to. I am a Respiratory Therapist. I love the fact that OT is so easy to get. I too dont want to burn out. Im trying to find that balance of the occasional spurts of OT then take a break.

[Panchos]

Great responses.

I'm really debating on staying in the fire service until I'm vested and see where I'm at at that point in time. I'll be fully vested in 3 years (house should be paid in 1-2 years). That would give me a guaranteed pension of at least $500 a month once I turn 55. The question is whether or not I want to stay or just work part-time after that as our annual expenses should be under $24k. I think my goal would be to go part-time between nursing and my part-time fire job to cover my expenses and max out 401ks/IRAs yet still have the great flexibility of being part-time.  I'm just not sure that I want to spend another 2-3 years in nursing school. However, I figure nursing is in the same line of work and one of the most flexible when it comes to part-time/PRN work and the pay is pretty decent. Not to mention all the other nursing jobs outside of the hospital. I figure I'd probably end up doing ER nursing (maybe OR or cath lab). Wouldn't mind considering CRNA one day either (not sure if I want that stress and more schooling though).

One other option that I'd really like to pursue is my side hustle of craigslist. I really love buying and selling things for a profit. I typically focus on video gaming systems. The only trouble with this is that it's not guaranteed. I think what I love most about it is the feeling of finding a great deal and realizing the profit and meeting different people. To date, I've made maybe $1000 during my most successful month. I typically average a couple hundred bucks.

[norcalmike]

Great responses.

I'm really debating on staying in the fire service until I'm vested and see where I'm at at that point in time. I'll be fully vested in 3 years (house should be paid in 1-2 years). That would give me a guaranteed pension of at least $500 a month once I turn 55. The question is whether or not I want to stay or just work part-time after that as our annual expenses should be under $24k. I think my goal would be to go part-time between nursing and my part-time fire job to cover my expenses and max out 401ks/IRAs yet still have the great flexibility of being part-time.  I'm just not sure that I want to spend another 2-3 years in nursing school. However, I figure nursing is in the same line of work and one of the most flexible when it comes to part-time/PRN work and the pay is pretty decent. Not to mention all the other nursing jobs outside of the hospital. I figure I'd probably end up doing ER nursing (maybe OR or cath lab). Wouldn't mind considering CRNA one day either (not sure if I want that stress and more schooling though).

One other option that I'd really like to pursue is my side hustle of craigslist. I really love buying and selling things for a profit. I typically focus on video gaming systems. The only trouble with this is that it's not guaranteed. I think what I love most about it is the feeling of finding a great deal and realizing the profit and meeting different people. To date, I've made maybe $1000 during my most successful month. I typically average a couple hundred bucks.

My wife is 43 and just starting the prerequisites for RN school. Its part of my plan to propel our income even higher. even if she only works from 48-55, the RN income in California is a nice chunk of change. The tuition at community college is not bad at all either.

[Panchos]

Seems like a good plan. I'm certainly looking at doing my RN through the community college locally. Just not a fan of the lost overtime and all of the trade time I'd have to do. However, I think the pay and flexibility will overcome that. Not to mention that I'll have a solid back up plan should something happen in the fire service. Nurses where I live KC metro make about $25 an hour starting. I would expect about $30-40 an hour as PRN.

[bsmith]

I'm doing this now. I have no debt but only work part-time. I teach adjunct at a community college. It's fun and rewarding, but the pay is shit. I make about 20k a year, sometimes more if I do part-time advising in the summer. However, my expenses are minimal, so it works out. I have tons of free time and not much in the way of bills, so I'm happy.

[startingsmall]

Cutting back / downshifting is my plan.  I'm a full-time veterinarian planning to either cut back to part-time or go into a nonvet/nonclinical job (teaching at community college, writing, tutoring, etc) because I am completely burnt out on full-time practice.

My current plan is to remain full-time for the next 4-5 years (when I'll be 40-41 years old), bringing our 'stache to around $350-400k.  We'll have enough set aside that I can cut back to 15-20 hrs/wk or go for a lower-paying nonclinical job (husband wants to stay full-time long-term in the ministry but we'll see how that goes).  We'd only need to earn enough to meet our basic expenses, because that retirement fund will just keep growing until we can afford to completely stop working at 55 years old. 

With a toddler at home and hopefully another kiddo in the next year or two, it just doesn't make sense for me to plow on through 'til retirement.  I think this plan makes more sense for me.   So I'm aiming to hang in there for 4-5 years, but who knows if I'll make it to quite that point.  Once I get to $300k, it'll basically just be a matter of evaluating whether the headaches are worth the $$$ or whether I'd be better off going PT.

[SimpleGuy]

I'm thinking about going part-time as well so I'd be interested in hearing about others who've already gone this route.  One of my big concerns is being able to find a part-time job that I don't dislike more than my current full-time job (it's not so much the job I dislike as the location).  I've seen a few posts of the forums about the difficulty of finding decent part-time jobs after pulling the pin.     

[Panchos]

I suppose I'm fortunate in that I've already got a part-time fire job that I average about 25-30k a year from. I'm also thinking about going to nursing school and doing that as it's a great job with lots of flexibility in high demand. I may consider these once the house is paid in a year or two. I'm not sold on it yet as my work is pretty cush at the fire department.

[Mrs. Crackin' the Whip]

No advice here.  We're both employed full time with traditional jobs and no side hustles.  Mr.  Crackin' is considering website development as a part-time gig.  But that's just a thought right now.  I just wanted to say congratulations on being set to pay off our house in the next couple of years.  That's awesome!

[rufflina]

Realized our employer even offers 60% time (3 days a week), and you still get health insurance. Definitely worth thinking about as an eventual goal...I'll have to think about when I would feel comfortable going 80%, and then 60%.

[YK-Phil]

We are FI but not RE yet, mostly due to the "one more year" syndrome. My ideal situation would be to share my current job (which I qualify as a well-paid "hide-out") with a like-minded person: 3-6 months working, followed by 3-6 months off. Wash, rinse, repeat. My predecessor who knows the ins and outs of the job, would be the best fit and probably go for it but my employer would need some convincing.

[Kris]

When DH and I retire in 3 years, I plan to keep doing my side gig (writing romance novels) part-time. Partly for the added assurance that we'll be okay (I can easily make $1500/month at this with not much effort) and partly because I think it will be nice for me to have something to do 5-10 hours a week if I want to keep some structure to my time.  No idea how long I'll do it, but it is part of the plan.

[WynnDuffy73]

Has anyone managed to pull this off in the accounting/finance world?  Our company is constantly bringing in contractors(temps) in our accounting department.  It's not part time but it's temporary.

I've thought about eventually possibly doing contractor temp work in the accounting world where I only work 50-75% of the year.  Kind of like a partial retirement. 

The temps in our company have it made.  Management pretty much leaves them alone.  The only downside is job security which isn't a problem if you are close to FIRE.

[Rezdent]

Has anyone managed to pull this off in the accounting/finance world?  Our company is constantly bringing in contractors(temps) in our accounting department.  It's not part time but it's temporary.

I've thought about eventually possibly doing contractor temp work in the accounting world where I only work 50-75% of the year.  Kind of like a partial retirement. 

The temps in our company have it made.  Management pretty much leaves them alone.  The only downside is job security which isn't a problem if you are close to FIRE.

I  did this for a while when I was younger and looking for a FT position.  I did some temp work but quickly figured out that cutting the middleman benefitted both me and my clients.
My method wasn't for shy people, it involved lots of cold-calling and selling yourself.
My niche was bookkeeping and Admin for small business owners who needed help but weren't at a stage to hire an employee.
This meant I was self-employed, contract labor basis.

At the time it was stressful because I really needed steady full time employment, and I barely scraped by.  I dropped my accounts when I landed a real job.  Someone who is FI would likely enjoy the flexibility.

[bacchi]

You definitely want the short week rather than (just) short hours scenario. I did a ~20 hours/week job and, while it was nice to get into work at 10 and leave at 2, a long weekend is much better for that feeling of freedom.

[ed1964]

This  is also what we do. We have been debt free for over ten years, so a couple of yrs. ago we decided to not work full time for anyone. She works 3 days a week at a store and I have a Lawn mowing business that I work at 3 days a week, We also have a few cows that we sell calves from. Our expenses are about 13k per yr. and we still save about 50% of our annual salary. This way we still grow our IRA and 401k while working less.

[Cassie]

When my hubby & i were ages 53 & 58 we took our small pensions and now work p.t. consulting in our respective fields.  3 years later we still love it. Just the right life balance.