AtomicRoster...
Well, you've asked the 'million pound' question. I have read the thread to this point and have been quite impressed with most of the answers - you have received some thoughtful replies.
I've been in the game for 25 years. Most of the time it has been an absolute gas. But I am turning 46 next month... we have a teenage child... my wife has worked all our married lives. We have done very well for ourselves, mostly because we came offshore in the late '80s. Otherwise we wouldn't be where we are today financially.
The game has changed radically... disposable income has decreased considerably since I started in the early 80s... hours per month are up. Fatigue management (as one other post put it) is a huge issue. I am fit, healthy and I have a good attitude but I am knackered all the time... I still miss birthdays/anniversaries/weddings/funerals and Xmas and Easter because of this darn job. Not all of 'em, but too many for a short life time...
I am roughly familiar with what your 65k Stirling gets you in the UK... you live on a nice professional salary... you sound nicely settled. I don't think it's worth it anymore I must say.
It's going to continue to get worse - this is where you're thoughtful question will pay off for you and your family - pensions have pretty much vanished. The status of the profession of pilot has decreased to abysmal in North America, it's not far behind in the rest of the world. In the words of Leonard Cohen (poet) pilots are: no longer the hero[es] of their own enterprise... The remuneration is no longer consistent with the responsibility.
Someone else posted that piloting is a "job for school leavers"... that is quite astute. (I'm one of 'em). I am aware that pilots are not the brightest intellectually. Perhaps this is part of our 'fall' from grace as a profession... The old post war pilot image of an ex-airforce officer and all its associations, or the aristocratic ne'er do well, or even the sensitive contemplative loner smitten with the romance of flying... all has given way to a new breed of pilot with a different set of character traits entirely... As bean counters and MBAs have begun to rule the industry, the pilot has become a small, dull tooth in the gears of commerce. We continue to play a huge role in the day to day operation of an airline, but we are not reaping a fair share of the reward. As the future unfolds, the type of person who is attracted to the lower salary and lifestyle sacrifices will continue to change the face of this profession, and unfortunately not for the better. The kind of person, man or woman, who is attracted to a self financed piloting career to earn 20k-40k Stirling or USD is not the same kind of person who was attracted to 80-100k...
So, as you ponder your future, don't just think about the equipment but think about the kind of people you want to work with as well. It makes a difference.
I got into the game because I am a romantic - I was smitten with the flying bug at about age 5 and I could never have done anything else and won't do anything else... I never had a choice. You seem to have one.
Good luck and safe flying.
k-o-t-s