Dear Penny,
My husband and I have both worked full-time jobs our whole marriage. About 10 years ago, I started a side hustle. I worked on it nights, weekends and any free time I had because I wanted to eventually one day be my own boss.
In June 2019, I was laid off from my job, along with many others in the company. I was lucky enough that my side hustle (I sell stuff online) was making enough money to cover my salary and a little more. So I decided to make it my full-time job, which my husband was OK with. I still work at least 40 hours a week.
When COVID hit, my husband left his job because I have health issues, and we did not want to get exposed to the virus. By this time, my self-employment was making enough money to cover both our salaries, so it was financially OK.
Now, almost two years later, he does not want to go back to work. He likes that he can do what he wants all day. We are financially OK, but I feel that since we still have a teenager in the house, him working to make a few extra dollars would be a good idea. Our goal was always to retire early, and we are on that track, but I did not think it meant he would retire now. He never said it would be that way until just recently.
He is currently looking for a new job (since he knows it’s what I want), but he is not happy about it. I am trying not to feel bad and tell myself that most people work. He has no real good reason not to work since we are still young. We can’t retire and travel right now, since we have a child in school, like we planned for the future.
Is it wrong for me to ask him to work, even if we don’t necessarily need the money to live off of? I even suggested part time or finding a job he loves, even if it does not pay as much, for another few years. I’m not asking for decades.
-Annoyed Wife
Dear Annoyed,
If your husband sulks, ignore him. But please don’t waste a second feeling guilty about asking him to work. He’s gotten two years of leisure.
You busted your butt to get to a place where you didn’t need to be traditionally employed. You basically did two full-time jobs for nearly a decade. You did that because you wanted …….