Changing gear/lifestyle...

Well, Boris' announcement today may well crystalise things for me somewhat as that is another significant chunk of money out of our wages every month, made worse by the paltry offer that our company has made - - I really cannot see the current car staying much longer as we are really struggling now, let alone once the extra taxation comes in.

OK, in turn... work.

The irony here is that during the course of last year we implemented new software (a few million quids worth!) which has changed everyone's jobs completely - - I am doing a similar job, but not the same and I rarely touch comma delimited files anymore as this software is much more capable of handling swift changes. I rarely work extra hours anymore either. I've also got three new staff starting over the coming few months which almost doubles my staff team - - this releases a vast amount of pressure on all of us. I have 21 years service and whilst my salary is a bit under par for the job role when compared with other companies, I do not have the uni degrees that many of the employers demand for a role like this. I can no longer just upsticks and go off and throw a coach around the roads as an alternative and getting a job that pays similar without qualifications would be nigh on impossible. I am kinda stuck really. The upside is that I can work from home - currently all of the time until I can sort out my covid vaccine status, but even then potentially three out of five days. Once Little C has finished college, this may in fact be the key... we could save a huge amount of money simply by moving away from here. As long as I have a broadband connection and am within a distance that I could get in for a couple of days a week, we should be good. This is a definite on my agenda - - not sure where, not sure how, but I want away from here.

@Upsydaisy is spot on in as much that it isn't losing a pitch that worries me as such, but more how convenient it would be to have to detach awnings etc or pack stuff away just to have a toodle around the country lanes. That is the sort of holiday we like (to some degree), although to be honest I would be quite happy to pitch up somewhere in the likes of Yorkshire and sit there watching the world go by for a week or so. I can get well over a couple of hundred yards as long as I have my stick, so taking a gentle wander into a village to go to something wouldn't really be an issue I don't think. The physical size doesn't really put me off to be honest - bear in mind that I was used to chucking double deckers around not only in heavily congested streets but also in housing estates and even country lanes when on rail replacement work. A van based camper would be a breeze really.

The main reason that I am less favourable toward the caravan idea is simply storing it when not in use. This is my driveway:


The one on the right is mine - that slope is quite steep, so pushing a caravan up it by hand would be a non-starter and equally manoeuvring one out in our heavily parked up street would be a nightmare I think. The rent on the house is enough without adding rent to store a caravan somewhere (if that even exists) - a camper could sit in the drive (if SORN) or even on the road if suitably alarmed and roadworthy.

We're definitely going to be in at the bottom end of this, so DIY repairs are going to have to be the order of the day - as an example, the one that surfaced yesterday (belter of an interior) needed recommissioning (so tyres, hoses, brakes, engine and gearbox service) and also neede a bonnet, a repair to a back corner and hitting with a few rattle cans to tidy it up. That is the sort of stuff that could quite easily be done at leisure with it parked on the drive. A caravan, less so (I think!)

Moving house is clearly not really an option for now whilst Little C is at college, but that will have to happen at some stage before I go quietly mad; but, the one thing that I really feel we have to do, is give ourselves the ability to have some sort of holiday.

 

No, it was a Mercedes 207d - stored up for the past 8 years apparently, so would need all fluids changed, belts, hoses, tyres and as mentioned it did need a bonnet (£165 - I checked); that is why its price was as low and to be fair I reckon it could be battered even lower, but being a 207d they are pretty legendary for their reliability as you know. Simple engineering really, but tough as old boots. The interior on it was in beautiful condition. In some respects it kinda made me regret starting doing a bit of research in some ways, purely because it ticked so many boxes for us - - had we been that year or so down the line and sorted the finance bits out, it would be worth a couple of grand to sit on the drive and potter with for a while.

 

To some degree, I see where you are coming from - however, bear in mind that the rent that we have to pay is higher than most mortgage payments and that is a no choice situation as we do not have tens of thousands deposit. Pension is going to be state plus a lump sum when I retire from the auto-enrolement scheme. The plan there is to use whatever inheritance (if there is any) along with that pension lump sum and try to buy a retirement home (park home I am thinking) so that we will then have state pension income but no rent worries.

Hours have thankfully already reduced, and job is changing/morphing; stepping down is not an option as that would be driving for which I am no longer licenced and to be honest I doubt I would pass the medical. Make no mistake, I firmly lay a lot of my health problems at the door of my work; nearly 20 years of excessive hours, varying responsibility and directors who knew what was happening and failed to act (I wasn't alone) - - my entire industry is a bit of a pig to be honest.

What I really need is a lottery win as I would retire tomorrow and would not look back. I certainly wouldn't be bored.

 

You are doing what I used to do with major life events, list all the positives and negatives. It helped me with things like a new job or a house move.

I agree with Michael that your job sounds like the root cause of many of your negatives. I didn't think it was still possible to work such long hours, they are taking advantage of you. Have you got a union rep? They can sometimes help especially when companies are ignoring the working time directive. I'd even go as far as to suggest you could win a case against your company for treating you so badly.

I hope you can de-stress and find a better work/life balance.

 

The problem there is I can't afford a holiday to find out

 

Been doing some more ruminating on this, and it seems that the campervan idea may be a non-starter as prices are riding particularly high; a half decent one is the thick end of £7k - -- COMPASS CASTAWAY 4 Berth Peugeot Boxer Motorhome 2005- - | eBay

That example listed would not fit in our driveway (too long) so it would have to sit on the roadside (legal, but not a great idea I wouldn't think, if only for the risk of damage/vandalism); there would of course also be the annual MOT to consider, as well as insurance, servicing and VED, so not a lot left out of £800 annually I would think.

Caravans are considerably cheaper (still out of reach!) - Se connecter à Facebook

Something like that example would hit so many boxes for us in terms of size etc, and of course would allow us to leave it on a site and go touring in the car. There is no annual test, and not an awful lot in terms of maintenance (brakes, lubrication and occasionally tyres really I suppose) - speaking to a friend, he stores his caravan on a caravan site local to him for £300 a year; he can't use it on the site without paying more, it is just a parking space, but that isn't a disgusting amount to be fair. Sadly, to add a towbar to the car is near on £1000. So, there is now't cheap.