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Choice Between a 4 Day Work Week or More Money

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As I have stated before, I am aiming to achieve my goal of retiring at 40 whilst at the same time working a four day work week. Yes, I know it's insane but it's good to have goals.

Besides, if I miss it at 40, then I'll probably hit 45. But that figure isn't the most interesting one. To me the most important figure above is that I'll be doing it whilst working a four day week.

Initial Thoughts

My four day work week started in September and almost as soon as I started doing it, I was blown away by how good I felt. I decided to take Wednesdays off to split the week up and just the thought of only ever working two days on the run, before having at least one day off, was probably the best decision I ever made.

I had various detractors including people saying "but then you get two Mondays" to which I counter "yes, but you also get two Fridays!" And besides, all the people I knew who took Fridays off wanted to have a long weekend so they could go away every now and again - unfortunately, they never did.

However, no-one said that a four day work week was bad and in fact, a good percentage of people started thinking whether they could do the same.

As it turns out, Wednesday, for me at least, turned out to be a magical day. Almost like going to Disneyland every week - it was a dream come true.

A Change of Lifestyle

Early on I realised that my life had changed quite dramatically. I finally had more time to do things. being able to cook more often, eat better and exercise more has been refreshing and of course, the ability to do other things I enjoy, like walking, cycling and taking photographs meant I was distinctly happier than before.

It came at a cost though and that was a financial one. My pay was instantly 20% pro-rata lower than it should have been. In reality it really didn't bother me as much as I thought it might since I had already altered my lifestyle enough such that I'd stopped spending enough money on frivolous things that it actually cover this difference. On reflection then I was no worse off than before (luckily I'd also had a pay-rise a few months earlier which also helped).

It Lasted Two Months

You might be able to guess that my four day work week is no longer - temporarily - but for the moment it is but a dim and seemingly distant memory. At the start of November, work asked me if I could go back to five days a week until the end of the year. It is only two months and I knew the question was coming anyway so I happily said yes since I like to think I'm quite agreeable in these situations...

...not that I knew what I was letting myself in for.

The first week seemed to go quite fast, the second a bit slower and now, in my fourth week back at five days, life seems to slowly grind onwards ever inching towards that singular Friday when I finally get time to myself. It's not so bad but I have already realised that my life is the worse off, in a number of different ways, for it.

I have less time, my diet isn't as healthy as it was, my exercise routine has waned and I feel a little more stressed about a number of things. I certainly have less time to do bits and pieces as you'll have noticed by the dip in the number of posts in November.

Time Deficient

Now, I'm sure that there may be some readers who'll be saying "We've all got to do a five day working week so just live with it" but here's my case as to why I need a four day work week (and not just for mental reasons).

As a single guy, I inherently get less time than couples do (and here, I mean couples with no kids - couples with kids certainly get less time to themselves than I do). Let me justify that by saying for my situation, I'm the one who has to tidy the house, I have to do the shopping, I have to cook for myself, I have to do the washing up and the washing, I have to pay the bills and talk to the bank/utility/phone companies. Oh, and I also have to earn a living. With couples, they can at least share a number of these chores.

A number of my friends go out cycling while their partners shop and cook. While they clean up afterwards, their partners can get on with other things. If both of them tidy up, it takes half the time and in some cases less.

So you see, by having that little bit more to do what sometimes feels like an infinite number of chores really helps. This way I can at least spend proportionately more time doing the more feelgood activities like recreation or hobbies.

The Extra Pay

When I started back at five days, I knew I would probably enjoy getting my increased pay-packet but in reality, what I got extra - whilst significant - doesn't really compensate for all of the negative things I have already been feeling whilst back up to five days. I'm usually a happy person, and that's still the same, I'm just not as happy as I was in September and October.

I knew that over these two months I would switch my thoughts between sticking at five days (to help my finances and retirement plans) or four days (to enjoy life a little more) and wait until the New Year to decide which I wanted to stick with, but I think I have already made up my mind.

I shall go back to a four day work week come January and not care about the extra money. It's a call between my head and my heart and unusually for me, whilst my head has invariably won in the past, this time my heart has won out by a large margin.

As one of my friends said to me a few years ago "You can always earn more money but you can't earn more time". And that is why I shall go back to just four days in the New Year.

I'm curious as to what you would do, so if you were in my situation, what would you choose? Please explain.

Labels: earning, living, exercising, working

Inserted: 2008-11-25 21:27 (3 years, 2 months ago)

Two Ways Biking Substantially Improves Your Life

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I mentioned before that I would be getting rid of my car and instead buying a bike. It turns out that I couldn't wait before selling my car and I got the bike anyway. (Don't worry, I shan't be keeping the car, she'll still be sold when I planned, I just so happened to buy the bike a bit earlier.)

So far, the bike has been a revelation to me. I have been out on numerous occasions, done some things I have never done before and even taken part in some crazy shenanigans. After only a month of having the bike, I am completely devoted to it, the lifestyle it creates for me and the way it makes me feel.

But let me tell you about the two ways I think it has already brought me a lot of joy and happiness and how getting a bike can do the same for you.

Saving Money

I wondered whether this was too obvious but then I figured out the something which was not quite as obvious. It is all about how much money you'll actually save rather than the fact that you'll be saving something.

You'd be surprised at the amount of money you do actually save by not having a car (or should I say how much you spend by having one). The outlay required to just own a car seems to keep getting larger and though petrol prices are not as high as they once were, it is still a huge outlay even for someone like me who hardly ever drives anywhere.

Taking a look at my approximate outgoings for the car on a monthly basis:

• $20.00 - insurance
• $6.00 - breakdown cover
• $17.50 - road licensing
• $12.50 - Warrant of Fitness
• $80.00 - repairs (from the last two bills)
• $7.50 - residential parking charges
• $70.00 - petrol (one tank)

I'm sure some of these figures (apart from the repair bills) are quite low in comparison to other peoples' cars but you can see that it's over $200 per month just to keep her ticking over. I haven't included things like covered parking charges either. Even if I were to give my car away, I would still be better off after only 4.5 months! I am hoping however that selling the car will actually cover the cost of the bike even though it is crazy to think how low it has deprecated to (though I did buy it 4th or 5th hand).

By not having the car, that's an almost automatic saving of over $200 a month. Of course, this savings figure would depend on whether I need to hail a cab or hire a car during the month but I suspect those jaunts will be few and far between. Averaged out over the year, I expect to save well over $1500 if not closer to $2000. It could also be much higher if you take into account that I would probably fill up way on average more than one tank a month.

Go ahead and make a list of your own monthly expeses. It doesn't even have to be that detailed. Write down all the charges you pay for over the space of a month or a year. Divide it all out to a month and take a note of what you'd be saving. Sometimes even doing it in small steps helps.

Another aspect you should also look at is the lifestyle saving not having a car gives you. You wouldn't have to remember such things as paying road licensing, insuring yourself, obtaining breakdown cover, getting the car checked and having any repairs done. Even paying for or washing the damn thing seems like too much hassle to me so I'd rather not do it.

All in all, removing the car simplifies your life further and for me, that's one of my current goals.

Getting Fitter

There's no doubt that I have already noticed my fitness and health is improving. Whilst I used to run around on an indoor soccer pitch and get worn out, I can already run around for pretty much the entire game without getting as tired. The longer bike rides have given me more stamina which is also improving my other exercise activities.

We all know that exercising is good for us but in many cases, we don't listen to the advice our internal mind is telling us. By not having a car, it almost forces us to play by different rules. Walking, running or biking to your destinations becomes a part of your life rather than a part of your exercise regime and is therefore easier to keep up. For example, last week I rode to my friends' house to play Ultimate Frisbee and rode back again afterwards. It didn't take much longer than it would have in the car yet that was an extra 30 mins of exercise (around other exercise) that I wouldn't have otherwise had.

By making exercise a part of your life, forcing you to do it by not having a car, improves your fitness, health and wellbeing without even thinking about it.

Of course, public transport is also an option but if you're trying to spend less and save more like me, then the bike wins for those closer destinations.

Other Advantages

Owning a bike has other advantages too. It uses up less raw materials, it's greener to run, the more people have bikes means that the drivers are more aware of them and plenty of other reasons too.

Anything to add to either of these ways biking improves your life? Any other reasons you can think of how that you'd like to share, please comment below?

Labels: saving, living, exercising, selling

Inserted: 2008-11-10 23:33 (3 years, 3 months ago)