I'm gonna put this in cliffs...

-OP and his wife decide to move home to Alabama to raise our daughter in a small town and be close to family.
-OP currently makes about 70k a year and is the sole provider
-OP drives 1 hour one way to work everyday leaves at 645am gets home around 630pm
-OP has the potential to make 100k a year soon within 2 years.


-OP was just offered a job 8 minutes from home...make anywhere between 65-80k a year(it's more of a commission pay)
-OP could even go home during the day for lunch...and would work from 730am until 530pm.

OP is trying to find work/life balance

OP should definitely switch jobs but at the same time keep his current one.


I really hope this helps in some small way.

I would switch jobs srs. I hate commutes of any significant length. Imagine spending so much of your life behind the wheel

switch jobs is a no brainer. Having more time = happier life.

There's more at play here than provided by OP to give a genuine clear cut answer one way or the other.

1) Does wife have any intent to work? Or is she a stay at home for the rest of her life?

2) If yes to #1, how much you reckon she makes when she's back in the workforce?

3) How close are you to getting any retirement/401(k) vestments from current company?

4) Would there be significant benefits differences from going current company to prospective company?

5) What's growth opportunity looking like at prospective company? Can you get to $100k in 2-3 years?

I'm leaning towards going for Prospective company though mang, 2 hours+ round trip commutes suck.

Does the new job have a base and then commission on top of it, or is it closer to straight commission?


I’d lean towards taking the new job, but that will depend on future goals. Having more time with your family is priceless, and while I’m comfortable I’ve always leaned more towards the approach of “if I made a lot more money by sacrificing a lot more personal time, I’d gladly turn around and spend that extra money to buy the time back if I could”. When your daughter is grown that time doesn’t come back. Same with the healthy years you could be spending more time with wife, family, and friends. But you’d have to budget accordingly and make sure you and your wife are both on the same page moving forward.

Wife may go back to work later, but were trying for a second so it will be some time.

I am contributing 401k, I become vested in January

No benefit differences...still pay for our insurance out of pocket

the growth at the prospective company would almost be 0...there is only two more individuals in upper management and it may be 10 plus years before they leave.

It's only $500 a week and then commission. Not trying would be 1k a week....trying I say I would average 1400 a week.


Currently I am salary 1250 a week...plus a small commission. Next in January I would move into a new position which would be a big potential increase. We have7 wholesalers. Lowest guy makes what I make....top producer makes 220 a year.