I get my chores done and out of the way as quickly as possible. I will usually do them when I get off work so that I can relax on my days off and not have anything hanging over my head.
My husband's grandmother told us that if you can pay your rent/mortgage with one week's worth of pay then you can make it (financially speaking).
So far, that piece of advice has worked for us.
I've changed jobs a year and a half ago. I was at my last job for 15 and a half years. There were quite a few people that were surprised when I left my previous company because I had been with them for so long.