301k in debt and morbidly obese - things aren't great!

supersaver1000

MrBloater wrote: »

Good things.
- Woke up fully refreshed after a nine hour sleep - amazing how much clarity I felt.
- Listed a couple of items on ebay.
- Did ab and squat exercises
- Sealed gaps in house and changed a couple of lightbulbs
- Looked at the tasks that needed to be done for work and have realised that I can probably do them over the next six weeks
- Sat out in the sun for a bit

But then..
- New found clarity combined with a comment from Mrs B this afternoon have led me to question the wisdom of my plan. On a purely financial scale it will mean waving goodbye to at least 12k (before tax) p.a. and will leave me stranded on the top of a lower scale with nowhere to go. Do I want to be the embittered old bloke who let promotion pass him by? How much of my reluctance to step up to the plate is genuine discomfort and how much was just total exhaustion compounded by the unhealthy lifestyle I was choosing. Could an alcohol-free fitter and more positive me actually do the higher level job and maintain my family responsibilities. Yikes I have a lot of thinking to do and not much time. Will sleep on it.

Why not enjoy the back seat for a while. You don't have to become embittered, there will be other if as yet unseen opportunities.

Anyway I am sure you will choose the right way for you, but just wanted to add my twopenneth.

jetplane

Mr B I wonder does your boss read this diary?

MrBloater

Despite another 8.30 bedtime yesterday I woke up with a real sense of unease this morning. Unease grew into real discomfort and by the time the first meeting of the day was over I knew what I had to do. And so I have told my boss that come September I will either be somewhere else or will revert back to my original contract. The weight that lifted from my shoulders was immense - it was the right thing to do, it was done the right way and I can walk tall. I get the distinct impression that the temporary nature of my existing role would not have been made permanent as there are planned cutbacks and quite a few mouths snapping for limited fish. I know where my heart lies, where I want my career to go for the next twenty years and if I don't make a shift soon then I never will be able to. And at least I have a safety net, if nothing suitable presents itself then my boss will honour my original contract, so my worst case scenario come September is a job without management obligations at a place that I enjoy working at. And my best case scenario - well, let's wait and see what happens.

jetplane

MrBloater wrote: »

And at least I have a safety net, if nothing suitable presents itself then my boss will honour my original contract, so my worst case scenario come September is a job without management obligations at a place that I enjoy working at.

That's a comfortable safety net to have MrB, one which many would envy.

in_need_of_direction

I'm so impressed. It's hard to walk away from the gravy train but it's the right thing. Just watch, the weight will start to fall away too

patman99

That's one hell of a commitment MrB.
Good luck with the future.

MrBloater

Maybe it's because I'm in a much better place than the last time I was looking for work, or maybe it's because I know I have a safety net - but in two days I have found eight jobs (six of them paying more than I am on now) within 10 miles of home that I would have a fair crack at getting were I to apply.

I can't get too over-excited cos nothing is definite, but living without the cloud hanging over me is an invigorating experience and has opened my eyes to bigger pictures than I was seeing before. And no doubts whatsoever - I am one who does tend to dwell and re-enact scenarios and over-analyse, and nothing so far has led me to regret my decision. Very interesting times ahead.

gallygirl

MrBloater wrote: »

Very interesting times ahead.

Indeed they are :T:T:T

elfy1807

Hi.

I've just spent the last couple of weeks (during free time) reading your entire diary, which is a massive deal to me because anything that's over 1k posts tends to make me lose interest, so I don't bother following. But I couldn't stop reading yours.

You have done amazing in the last 3 years... and some of what you have done has made me want to do it myself.

Your 2 grand, 2 stone, 4 months challenge really inspired me.

Last April I joined WW and resulted in losing 2.5 stone in just 14 weeks going from 12.5 to 10st. Since then I have struggled to keep with it, but have plateaued at 10.7 (including overindulgence at christmas which lasted from mid november right through to mid january). I too am an all or nothing kind of person and was down the gym 4 times a week plus doing around 6 or 7 gym classes a week as well. Until they changed the class schedule resulting in me not being able to attend and therefore cancelling my membership (very MSE of me... I know so many people stop going to the gym but still pay for the membership - at £40 a month, I couldn't afford that).

Between October and now, I haven't really been back on plan... I have the occasional "good" eating day, and tried going back to a gym class once a week (but it's £6 a class... quite expensive on a budget).
However since starting to read your diary (about 3 weeks ago) you have motivated me to go out running. I am NOT a runner in the slightest. But I've started C25k and have signed up to Race For Life in July. And I have to say, I'm enjoying it. I like a challenge.
Am also going to attempt the 5:2 diet suggested by some people on here - I'm going to slightly adapt the 2 part, rather than 500 calories, to have just 12 WW points (as I can have fruit & veg for 0 points rather than counting their calories).
Today is my first fasting day - I am yet to eat and am trying to string it out a bit longer before going to work - whilst I'm not eating, it doesn't bother me about eating. But the second I put something in my mouth, I crave everything.

So I am aiming to hit 9st/57kg by my birthday in July by keeping up the running and giving this 5:2 a go.
And alongside that, I am aiming to save at least £2000 towards a house deposit with OH by 31st Dec 2014. Not exactly 4 months, but a goal nonetheless.

As for the job - I understand what you mean about being at a lower level.
I currently have 2 jobs, both in retail - my main job is contracted to 20 hours a week which I like (which I have 6 hours extra OT each week on a temporary basis, but for the foreseeable future) and a second job, which is just 7.5 hours a week, which I really enjoy.
There's an opportunity at job 1 for a full time supervisor position. And whilst it's more money, it would mean leaving a department I like to go to a department I don't like so much, with people I don't really have many dealings with usually and don't think I would enjoy working with (unlike the people on my current team). It would also mean giving up my second job, which as I said, I really enjoy, and I've only had for about a month.
I'm slightly considering the supervisor job, but deep down, although I'd love the money so I could pay off my mum & car finance quicker and get a bigger house deposit together, I don't believe it would make me happy. I know damn well I could do it, but doing something for money and doing something to be happy are usually two different things.

I hope you finally come up with a decision that's right for you, Mrs B and the littlies.
I'll be here to follow your continuous journey.
In my opinion life isn't always about money.
You need to make sure you're happy.

Sorry for the long post - I don't do anything shortly - my boyfriend will send me a short question by text and I'll reply with an essay worthy of a first class degree

Granariesgirl

Just dropping by to see what's happening chez Bloater... :cool:

:TBravo Mr B - keep up the good work on the selling, shed, fitness, etc! :T

On the work front, I think you're right to go for whichever job you feel happy doing for the next 20-ish (?) years. There are too many embittered people out there doing jobs they hate because "it pays well". Does it impact on their home life - I bet it does a hell of a lot!

If Mrs B is happy flying high & you're not, then each to their own. After all, without all the highly skilled & dedicated ground personnel, no pilot would get into the air!


Good luck.