FIRE with young child?

[wren007]

DH is FIRE & I work part time because I like what I do. Have a 6 year old. Anyone who is FIRE with young children? What do you tell the kids about money and your "job?" How do you handle curious parents / neighbors who see you having more free time?


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[traineeinvestor]

I FIREd on 30 September, 2013. Our daughters were 9 and 7 at the time. I still do some very part time consulting because I find it interesting but am home more days than not. DW has been working part time for several years now (after deciding that being a SAHM wasn't her thing).

The kids were used to usually having DW around when they got home from school so having me around didn't raise any questions. Since we are both seen to still be working at least some of the time, it hasn't been an issue. If/when it comes up, we will tell them we were lucky enough to save a bit when we were working full time so we could spend more time with them.

I'm back at university doing another degree (part time) and DW (aka tiger mummy) "encourages" me to study in front of the kids and has been comparing their grades with mine.

We haven't had any issues with friends/neighbours. If asked, we simply tell them we work part time so we can spend more time with the children. A few of those who know I've retired ask what I do all day and whether I am bored, but that's another issue.

I think it helps that DW and I both keep ourselves pretty busy - the kids don't see us lounging around watching TV or on the internet all day.

 

[Senator]

As long as you can provide for the child, and potentially pay for her education, do not worry about what anyone says. If you are truly FIRE'd, it doesn't matter.

There used to be a time when many women never even would consider working if they had a child, now it is common. There was even a time when a person would not even consider working past age 55, now that is common.

You can home school and the child can have a better education too.

 

[Travelwanted]

Wren-
I think we hit FI but have decided not to ER just yet but instead go part-time. The hours are great and money is amazing. We have young kids also and DW is SAHM. My fear of the costs of raising the kids keeps my from letting go completely. It is really hard to know how to budget for them. Using our current spending rate we are fine, but I believe our rate will increase as they age.

We plan to home school in the next few years once I actually ER. I think finance will be part of their education including eventually explaining how we did it via education, hard work, LBYM and smart investing.

 

[rodi]

I retired last year with a then 11 yo and 13 yo.
My husband is of a more traditional retirement age (he was 62), but I was only 52. The kids weren't too surprised... and happy to not have to deal with after-school programs anymore.

We've been upfront with them - they know we have to keep a budget so they don't have unlimited spending - but reasonable spending is ok. (In other words they have to justify purchases - and if it's something I think is a waste - they have the option to use their allowance/chore-earnings.) They also know that college is expected - and we'll pay for their bachelors degree if they go to a UC or Cal-state school. (We prefunded the 529's to an extent - and have a plan for continued funding through their middle/high school years.)

My kids just seem to treat it as if we're both SAHParents - and we are.