This for 30 years....?

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  • I did think about sport. I used to love horse riding. Maybe once I've lost a few pounds I might re look at that!


    Not very MSE loosing a few pounds...you should gain a few pounds so the horse riding doesn't cost you so much...:D

    Quite a few livery stables appreciate helping hands...in return for a hack,might be worth looking at.
  • What do you do? Is there any possibility of retraining or doing something to get into a job that you enjoy? I know that its not possible for everybody to love their work, but if you can be one of the lucky ones who do, its so life enhancing. I genuinely enjoy or get satisfaction from almost every moment I spend doing my job (almost, nothing's perfect!) and it really does make such a huge difference to your overall quality of life and happiness level. That time doesn't feel lost, or wasted, it feels like time well spent.
  • esmy
    esmy Posts: 1,341
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    I'm now retired (early) but remember the shift from part time to full time well. My advice would depend on what you hope to do with the extra income but assuming you will have a bit of flexibility, my tips would be all about buying 'time':
    1. Shop online as others have recommended. It took me around 15 - 20 minutes to do the business and another 5 -10 to put it away.
    2. Pay someone to take some of the household load - this is after getting OH and kids to do their share. I paid someone to iron, my most hated chore, but could be a cleaner, decorator etc.
    3. Make sure all your leave isn't about childcare - I know this is hard especially for school holiday times - but if you want to take half a day or a day just for you occasionally, do it.
    4. Make sure your childcare is reliable and fits with what you need - you don't need to be stressing over this.
    5. Drop your standards - no one will come to any harm if you don't hoover daily!
  • my goal is to start a business of my own. i never considered it until recently, but i thought about it and realised i am not going to go back to education as it's not for me, so starting a business is the best way to make it for myself.

    i can control when i work and if it's successful or not. it's all down to me ultimately. at the moment i am working a normal job to save for it, but i will admit there are times when i would rather just use all my savings and find a way of earning money while travelling the world. i am definitely an adventurer/risk taker at heart.
  • you can earn money from almost any interest you have. i would say research ways of earning money while working your passion/interest.
  • Tabbytabitha
    Tabbytabitha Posts: 4,684
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    edited 2 January 2018 at 4:22PM
    Oh dear! Made me laugh! My husband does offer to help but because he is gone from 6am to 8pm I don't like to accept during the week at least. Like the idea of making a game like Mary popins!
    Anyway on another note...... Be careful what you wish for. Got in the car this morning and it wouldn't go into gear! Now at home waiting for RAC!!

    Why "help"? It's just as much his responsibility as yours even if he has fewer hours available.

    I'm sorry to sound negative but if you want a better work life balance and more time to yourself, starting your own business is likely to be the absolutely worst thing to do.
  • bugslet
    bugslet Posts: 6,874 Forumite
    edited 3 January 2018 at 7:45AM
    my goal is to start a business of my own. i never considered it until recently, but i thought about it and realised i am not going to go back to education as it's not for me, so starting a business is the best way to make it for myself.

    i can control when i work and if it's successful or not. it's all down to me ultimately. at the moment i am working a normal job to save for it, but i will admit there are times when i would rather just use all my savings and find a way of earning money while travelling the world. i am definitely an adventurer/risk taker at heart.

    Control when you work? Doubt it.

    No idea what you have in mind, but say you were a personal trainer, you'll turn up when your client wants you to. If you're a graphic designer, you'll work to a deadline and if it isn't 'right', you'll do it again. Of course there are jobs where you can work to hour own schedule more than other jobs, but you will still have a boss aka a client, and you will work to their timetable.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    I've pretty much resigned myself to another 30 years of my job. Theres someone i work with who's 50+ so if she can do the job i can manage. If my mood ever stabilises enough i'd like to try for a senior role but currently wouldn't be able to cope with the added stress/responsibility. I can;t see myself getting another job and having to start again, i feel lucky to have a jobs thats accommodated my disability well and think another would be hard to find
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698
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    I got bored of it after I'd been working full-time for about 7 years or so and realised I'd got another 40 years of that, day in, day out, relentlessly plugging on and on and on....

    The only way to stop is to marry well. That's the bit I didn't manage to do...

    I'd be happy to be "just a housewife" ... pottering around, talking nonsense with ladies who lunch .... I've never had any desire to "reach the top" .... in the main those phrases are just cons to get people to work longer and longer hours (often for free) in pursuit of the promotion/advancement that is rarely actually available to be attained... but still they dangle the carrot of deceit.

    :)
  • Spendless
    Spendless Posts: 24,108
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    Going from p-time to f-time can be a bit of a shock to the system. Especially if the last time you worked longer hours was before child/ren. I struggled when I first went full-time with all the things you mentioned. At first I did my grocery shopping on a weekend, but felt it was taking up a 1/4 of my 2 days off. I shop at Aldi now, so on-line not an option, but I go on a Friday evening when my DD is at an out of school club. I'd only be in the waiting room or just commuting back and forth to drop off and collect, so I see doing the shopping as 'stolen' time.

    My parents only live a few streets from us, and now they've retired they aren't as busy in the evenings so I pop in roughly once a week for a cuppa.

    What I call the washing and the washing up (all aspects of meal preparation and also the laundry) are the two largest time-consumers of chores I find.

    Dark nights (and mornings!) don't help. It's hard to get out of the mind-set 'it's too dark to do anything' rather than it's only 7pm. It took me years to make myself think differently.

    Agree with don't use all your AL on school hols. You're earning more so book some holiday clubs too. With you mentioning 11 years, I'm guessing child has gone to Secondary school? They will start to become more independent which in turn will free you some time up.
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