Right now I have Thursdays and Mondays off work. I have been working 5×16 since about middle of January. I could work like this year round if I want to. I have been working about 60 hour weeks from September to Jan and 48 hour weeks before that (liked that, 3 days work, 4 off).
The taxes in part don't make it worth it:
$15.50 pay, $23.25 overtime
5 days
Day 1: $124+$186=$310
Day 2: $124+$186=$310
Day 3: $124+$186=$310
Day 4: $376 (16 hours of overtime still not much more)
Day 5: $376
Weekly: $1,674
Federal Tax: 22% (no state tax here in Alaska) $368
So make about $1.3k a week. Functionally my checks after dental insurance (no health offered at my job) is $4,200 a month working this much. So $50k a year net
Working 4 days taxed: $286
So lose basically a whole day of work to either scenario
Working 3×16 Comes out to be $930 a week x 4= $3,720 a month. $44k a year. 22% tax rate
Work 2×16 the tax rate is 12% and with the standard deduction bringing it so low I'll get almost all of it refunded.
IBR student loan payment under $60 a month.
If I earned $70k plus per year then selling my entire life away to working would be more worth it. That would let me buy land, build a house, homestead, own a truck outright etc etc.
$45k vs $30k really doesn't improve my life all that much. Not for having to work 2.5x more it doesn't.
I hope to use my 5 days a week to seek self employment and aim to make extra $15k a year from this and hopefully eventually earn $70k-$100k a year from self employment.
I don't want to be rich. I want to own land, grow food and live. I want to not be in debt. I want to get ahead and if I'm not really getting ahead I would rather live in upper end of poverty than the lower end of crawling up but still spinning wheels.
I work supporting people who experience intellectual developmental disabilities. I now days work one on one with people in their homes live in. Paid 16, sleep 8 (get paid if working during sleep time though). It's with people who have had issues with living in group homes and have higher behavioral needs (anger, poop smearing etc). So the job is a step up in this field and pays more than in many places for similar work.
I am in Alaska and when I lived in New Mexico same field all jobs about $400 a week (before taxes)
For 6 years I worked 5×8=40 per week to earn $24k after taxes/insurance (2013-2019) and now I earn over that (minus inflation etc making it actually less) working just 2 days of my life and get 5 to myself?
I feel working 16 is whatever when I gotta give up hours of my day to get ready, commute, prepare food etc etc to work 8 hours. Well worth having more time off.
That 5 days to myself is sure worth a whole lot to me.
I rent a place with no running water and shit in an outhouse at -35F but it's only $600 a month with utilities (heat, electric, cooking gas) included in that.
So $30k? I'll make it work and enjoy my free time thanks.
Warming up soon (snow gone in 8-12 weeks). Excited for free time in warmer season.
My student loan payment for income based repayment goes up when I get into the next tax bracket so instead of paying $60 a month I start paying $250-$310. $40k principle but in 11 years interest ballooned it all to over $60k. To pay it off I have to pay well over that $300 a month number.
Why the fuck are we taxing people earning fucking $50k a year 22% and taxing capital gains on people making $500k or $500,000,000k a year at a lower number?