My "Out of the Rat Race" adventure.

gallygirl · 26 September 2016 at 7:33AM

There_Is_a_Light wrote: »

DS1 thought of a genius but a bit of a sly idea regarding taking a sabbatical, he suggested that I take a break from Oct - June. Go back for July/Aug/Sept (3 months of easy work) and then hand my notice in. Bit sneaky but it would generate a heap of money, would feel a bit guilty though.

So...........do I play it totally safe and stay till Dec OR do I just go for it?

Well, now that it's been raised, NOT going for it one way or another is not an option

. As for feeling guilty - I'm taking a stab in the dark here but over the years how many extra hours have you devoted to work at evenings, weekends and holidays? Still feel guilty?

Knit_Witch · 26 September 2016 at 2:49PM

There_Is_a_Light wrote: »

I am not sure if they will let me take a sabbatical but I am going to ask, no harm in that I guess.

FIRE stands for Financial Independence. retiring early

You don't ask, you don't get! Go for it hun :beer:

There_Is_a_Light · 27 September 2016 at 7:17AM

Thanks for the words of encouragement folks

I have been reflecting on where I was this time last year. Work was a total nightmare and at the end of September I fell into an episode of anxiety and mild depression (it didn't feel mild at the time however). I took a full month off work and was supported back to work. I felt let down by how much I had been abused and taken for granted despite asking for help.

One year on I almost feel like a different person, I feel in control and positive (I may have the odd black dog day).

I am determined to enjoy my last year of working full time. This time next year I will be in my last working week!

Here is to enjoying every day of my journey from right now

Made a FB sale for £150 last night thanks to Mr Light.....in the FIRE pot you go! (the money not Mr Light)

A_Frayed_Knot · 27 September 2016 at 8:08AM

There_Is_a_Light wrote: »

What a week!

Oaf-stead visit over, survived but put in over 50 hours at work.

There_Is_a_Light wrote: »

DS1 thought of a genius but a bit of a sly idea regarding taking a sabbatical, he suggested that I take a break from Oct - June. Go back for July/Aug/Sept (3 months of easy work) and then hand my notice in. Bit sneaky but it would generate a heap of money, would feel a bit guilty though.

So...........do I play it totally safe and stay till Dec OR do I just go for it?

50 hours :eek: and that was only one week, think about all the others. Still feel a bit guilty ???

TimmySaver · 27 September 2016 at 10:14AM

There_Is_a_Light wrote: »

Hi Timmy and thanks for posting.

It really will make a difference if your OH drops to 3 days a week, Mr Light did that 2 years ago. I squish full time hours into 4 days which is tiring but worth it for a 3 day weekend.

Not long till every day will be a weekend:rotfl: Just need to keep focused.

From reading you diary, I'm sure you'll be able to keep focused!

I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling positive and in control. I can understand the feelings of guilt. My mum was a nursery nurse at the same school for 35 years. She did no end of unpaid overtime over those years. Due to the physical nature of the job, her body is very worn down and felt guilty about retiring early and taking her LGPS early, but we managed to convince her that it was the best decision. Within weeks over retiring, there were not only no feelings of guilt remaining, but she knew that she'd never want to work again - a couple of years later and she's still really enjoying retirement.

I hope that you can make the decision you're happy with. You do only have one life and you need to make sure you're happy with what you do with it

Hope you have a good day.

There_Is_a_Light · 1 October 2016 at 8:41AM

I am officially in the final year of working full time. This time next year I will have worked my last ever permanent position in FE. I get a bubble of excitement every time I think about it

Having calculated how many academic weeks there are until then and the fact that I work 4 days a week (5 days work squeezed into 4) and taking into account holidays and non teaching weeks, the numbers are in.....

40 actual working weeks to go
165 actual working days:beer:

I have a mega spreadsheet alongside my daily counter to spur me along. It's almost like paying a huge debt off but in labour rather than payments.

Mr Light rattled me a bit as he was a bit worried that we might run out of cash before the pension pots are accessible but having re-looked at the figures we will be OK. I have also been looking around for types of seasonal work leading up to Christmas and there are some interesting positions out there which we can apply for next year after a month of traveling

Sorry if this post seems totally self indulgent but I often come here and read back to see how far I have come and it really does spur me on.

Today will be a collecting of wood day and food shopping as i have not really got the hang of bulk buying but am going to give it a shot this month to save on fuel.