Quote Originally Posted by qccfc View Post
During the financial crash, i had 2 kids and i had my hours cut in work down to 3 days a week. in effect i lost 40% of my weekly wage. It was tough. What i did have however was time my children were young and we could spend our time in parks, and doing things that were free, even though life was tough, i was lucky enough to manage to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. However life was still decent. If we wanted a holiday it was UK based, maybe camping, its all life experience and children just want to do things as a family anyway.

In the past 5 years things have recovered. The work has picked up and there is a little bit more money there. However i think people can have a decent life on a lot less money than people think, and its amazing how much money you waste.
Almost a blessing in disguise maybe? Precious time with the kids when they are little and like you say you got by ok. I know plenty who didn't want to go full time again after kids, just trying to balance out a work life balance on a 3 to 4 day week. My original question wasn't quite worded right, as ever, it was more to hear what posters feel they need to earn to live, everyone has different needs and wants....
Apparently, most couples argue about cash so it's obviously a big deal and can impact other parts of your life like health and mental issues. We are led to believe we NEED certain things in life or get used to them, then can't live without them.