Switched jobs, took at 35k paycut

[FireDAD]

........And I couldn't be happier!

My previous employer had promised me travel at 25% of the time. It was more like 75-100%. After one year when I did better than expected they changed my compensation without notifying me; the ownership was expecting 7 days a week, etc. I could go on and on about why I was unhappy but in the end the 80k a year wasn't worth it anymore.

The new job is 3 miles from the house (yay biking again!). I get to do the work I am best at for a town I really care about. If I lived at my maximum income and spent spent spent I would have been trapped in the job I hated and been forced to accept the abuse. Working towards FI and living below my paycheck allowed me to take a major decrease in pay but a HUGE raise in quality of life.
Sure this will slow down the path to FI, but what a much more pleasurable journey it will be.

[Spitfire]

Sounds like a good idea to me. I would consider a job I "hate" if I made enough money to get FI in a very short time, but not for a longer term sentence. Pre-FI lifestyle is important too.

[lavagirl]

This is exactly my plan...for next year though.  Using this year being super frugal and paying off debt and then moving to a lower cost of living area and taking a major pay cut.  Because I have kids, I'd feel better taking a pay cut when I have no outstanding debt.  Kudos to you! I'm glad you were able to make a change that improved your quality of life. 

[Loud Noises]

Congratulations!!  That's what I love about Mustacianism... it's really more about freeing yourself to live the life you want as soon as possible... that doesn't need to wait for FI!  I'm happy to see that you both realized it and had an opportunity come up that allowed you to act on it.

[ringer707]

I'm with you, congrats on the job! I just accepted a job offer with an 11k paycut, but commute is cut in half, no more paying $70/month in tolls and $50/month in parking. I'm ecstatic!

[UKMustache]

Taking a pay cut was probably the best move I ever made. 

I went from 60+ hours Mon-Fri..
...to 30 hours Mon-Thu for a little over half the salary.

I'm very fortunate in that my wife loves her job and makes good money otherwise I may have never made the jump.

I'm so glad I did now though. Its been 6 months and I'm sleeping better, eating better and I'm doing my first triathlon in 10 days (well you've got to fill the time somehow!).

[Kitsune]

Last year, I went from 60 hours/week at 75K (once you account for bonuses and RRSP matching) to 35 hours/week for 60K.

For me, this is ABSOLUTELY worth it, because oh man the quality of life increase is so great (and, quite frankly: now I can garden, do my own maintenance, cook my own food, etc, and I'm saving more than I used to even after the paycut, which I hadn't expected.)

 But my god, I'm glad I hadn't inflated my lifestyle like some of my old colleagues who were stuck there...

[FireDAD]

I KNEW everyone here would understand. Some of my "normal" friends think I'm crazy, but when it's 4pm on a Wednesday and I'm enjoying life in Rocky Mountain National Park I'll ask who is the crazy one.

[undercover]

Having a scarcity mindset is the worst...causes people to be too cheap and hold on to jobs that don't make them happy strictly for the "security" of good money. It's good that you recognize there is an abundance of life and money out there and that your time is worth more than misery.

Don't listen to your friends...you're doing it right. I think this site gets a lot of stuff right - but also a lot very wrong. This site proclaims frugality and high income at all costs until you're FI - which shouldn't simply always be the case. Works for some, not for others.

[Warlord1986]

Good for you for not letting the money tie you down. Congratulations on your escape!

[tipster350]

Congrats. My plan is to do the same. I am about 5 years out from FIRE at the current salary, but I cannot go on in this manner. Every day is a struggle and it's affecting my health.

Our time now is important too. Getting to the finish line by the fastest route isn't always the right route.

[Kitsune]

Having a scarcity mindset is the worst...causes people to be too cheap and hold on to jobs that don't make them happy strictly for the "security" of good money. It's good that you recognize there is an abundance of life and money out there and that your time is worth more than misery.

Don't listen to your friends...you're doing it right. I think this site gets a lot of stuff right - but also a lot very wrong. This site proclaims frugality and high income at all costs until you're FI - which shouldn't simply always be the case. Works for some, not for others.

Frankly, I think that being frugal and being able to live on 1/2 of what you take home means that you can also take the opportunities that are offered. Which is what I did - I basically made my "dream retirement" (live in the country, with animals, have kids, garden a lot, spend a lot of time at the lake, etc) combine with having a dayjob, and NOT have to work like a dog in a city I don't wanna be in for an extra 15 years. Am I gonna be working longer? Sure. Is my life going to be exponentially better? Absolutely.

[south of 61]

I totally agree KITSUNE. I love my lifestyle now, left a high paying job 6 years ago, means I'll be working longer in a lower paid position (just over half of what I used to earn), but now I have a life!!! Time with my family, pets, garden, hobbies - it's just amazing and I'm so glad I did it.

[TVRodriguez]

Fantastic work, OP! 

I did something similar and have never regretted it!

[LAL]

Ditto.  DH left people he hated for something I bet will be a paycut. As long as we can live it doesn't matter.

[Polish_Hammer]

Congrats. My plan is to do the same. I am about 5 years out from FIRE at the current salary, but I cannot go on in this manner. Every day is a struggle and it's affecting my health.

Our time now is important too. Getting to the finish line by the fastest route isn't always the right route.

ditto. 45 months way but can't do the current job. Health is suffering and stress level is too much. Need to change even if it adds years to fire

[CodAlmighty]

Congratulations. I'm in a similar boat to the one you were. I earn very good money where I am but I absolutey hate coming to work. I'm working on cutting my expenses so that I can get myself into the position where I no longer need the money, so that I can get a job that I enjoy much closer to home for half the salary I earn now. Hats off to you for doing it.

[Syonyk]

Nice!

I'm in the middle of doing something similar, going from a fairly high paying job in a place we didn't like living to a lower paying job, remote, from a rural area we do enjoy.  The pay cut is quite significant, but the cost of living change alone will make up for it, and I simply don't like commuting.  It'll be about a 2 minute walk out to my outbuilding office that I'm building. :)

And in the process, we had enough tucked away that I could take 3 months off and work on the house/property/get my office set up/etc.  :)

[scipsy]

Congratulations.

I just did the same thing.  I took a 15k pay cut because I was tired of the travel.  I went back to a company I used to work for and got credit towards my pension, more vacation, and 4 day workweek, and a lot more money than when I originally left.  When I relocated (which my new company paid for), I got a place a mile from work and walk or ride a bike everyday.  I don't think I have been happier in my adult life.  The plus side is that I will get routine raises at this job and whereas I didn't before at my high paying consulting job.  Stress can really impact life expectancy.  The fact that I have really sound finances made this move super easy to do.

You made the right choice!