Balancing work, family, and the mental load.
494 threads
I make $75k gross. After taxes ($15k), my wife's full-time daycare costs ($21k), and commuting/lunch out ($4k), my actual take-home is... basically nothing. So technically I work f
Took a pay cut (about 15%) but been doing this for 3 months now and wanted to share in case it helps someone. I negotiated Fridays off and honestly the extra day with my kids has c
My company offered 2 weeks paid, which I realize now is pathetic compared to some places, but I took it when our daughter was born in July. Spent the second week just doing baby st
Got promoted last month to manage a small team, fully remote. On paper this is the best scenario - I'm home, I can be with my kids, no commute. But it turns out managing people is
Made the jump last month. Went from full-time management at a tech company to 4-day weeks doing freelance consulting. Financially it's tight - we're in Denver and costs are insane
So I've been WFH for about 8 months now and honestly it's gotten worse not better. My daughter just turned 3 and she's at that age where she NEEDS constant attention. Our daycare i
So I've been remote for 2 years and it's been great, but man... today my 4yo has strep and my 6yo apparently caught it. Wife is at work (her job doesn't allow WFH) and I have back-
Wife texted me a photo and I almost cried at my desk. My 5yo has been such a huge part of my routine and now there's just... a newborn. A newborn who doesn't even recognize me yet.
This might sound weird but I feel this constant pressure that MY job is the "primary" one even though my wife makes nearly as much as I do. We're both working full-time, but someho
We were doing pretty good with 3 remote days. Cut to 1 day starting next month. I have a 5yo in school and a 2yo at home with my mom during the day. The 2yo is sick constantly (day
I travel maybe 2 weeks/month for my consulting job. It's good money and I like the work, but every time I leave I feel like I'm abandoning my family. Last week my son asked if I w
How is anyone managing this? I'm supposed to be in back-to-back Zoom calls all day but my son keeps bursting into my home office asking for snacks, wanting to show me his drawings,
Just got back from a 3-day conference and I'm a wreck. Missed bedtime twice, my wife looked dead inside when I called to check in, and my 4yo asked why I don't love them as much as
Currently in software engineering (good money, flexible employer, burnout is real). Been thinking about transitioning to something lower-stress like teaching or government work. Wo
Just negotiated "flexible hours" with my new employer. Want to get a real sense of what that means in practice at other companies before I get surprised: Can I really start at 10a
Seriously looking at $2,100/month per kid for full-time. TWO kids. That's $4,200 a month. My entire second job would go to daycare. How is anyone doing this? Are we supposed to jus
Trying to figure out where my time is actually going. I feel like I work 8 hours, spend maybe 3-4 with the kids if they don't have activities, and then I'm too tired for anything e
I've been trying to make this work for 6 months and I'm losing it. My company let me go full remote after my second kid was born, which sounds amazing on paper. But my 3-year-old d
Got laid off from my finance job in January. Was a wake-up call honestly. Took some time to think about what I actually wanted instead of just climbing the ladder. Decided to take
Took 8 months of emails and conversations but they approved a Mon-Thu schedule starting next month. Tips if you're thinking about pitching this: Show the math: my productivity act