My year of living dangerously

db2016

got to DISAGREE on the leaving an external backup drive plugged in at all times,

if you get malware (virus etc), they yes they usually go for the main drive, but if your external drive is plugged in, they can also infect that! if its a backup only drive, well the standard advice is, minimum unplug it, and make new backup every month for your average user

but the "gold standard" is 3 backups, one close by but unplugged, one off site (for fire risk minimisation but again rotated / updated monthly or often as needed) and then another which is archival.

overkill for most, but minimum, leave it unplugged, especially if the PC is exposed to the internet (which nearly all devices are these days).

for documents etc, use free "cloud" based stuff, eg if your in the google / gmail ecosystem use "docs", "sheets", and google drive. these are free brower based word processors and spreadsheets.

apple uses icloud i believe.

another_casualty wrote: »

As for the hard drive . Now that you have taken the first step , I would advise you leave it plugged into your computer at all times .

redofromstart

doingitanyway wrote: »

Thanks INOD And now for the big confession that may explain my frittering and money worries...you see I turned the job down :eek: I know. So back to relying 100% on my own resources, so I really need to get organised and make my money work for me for as long as it can.

Good for you! I was guilty of taking temp jobs because I thought I should be contributing which in turn stifled any energy I had. Focus on the things that make you smile, and give it your best shot.

:j:j:j

doingitanyway

another_casualty wrote: »

Glad you had a good Christmas DIA , and I like your summary of all that's happened so far .
Regarding the squirrel problem , it seems that you need a fearless builder of sorts who can assess the loft , and if nothing is there then fill the hole where they are gaining access more or less straight away..
my brother did mine , when I had that problem for a couple of days.
Unfortunately , the standard procedure by most companies is they go to loft and put traps etc and hope that the problem is solved the usual way . It would be helpful to yourself to see what explanations the guy has been giving you every time he investigates . The very least he should be doing is putting ammonia and mothballs up there .
Have you banged the ceiling on various occasions ? Then again, it probably happens when your bleary eyed and probably sleeping

As for the hard drive . Now that you have taken the first step , I would advise you leave it plugged into your computer at all times .
It's best to backup every month or so . Not 100% sure about p c , but with macs they backup automatically . I imagine that you just press the arrow over the hard drive icon on your desktop, have a look at top of the screen and press 'back up now' . Somebody here who uses pc will probably put you in the right direction anyhow .

Anyway , fantastic progress has and is being made. It looks like you have a very good year to look forward to .
Happy new year !
( have I said that too early ?)

Thanks AC. The fascia is shot so the squirrels have numerous access points. The only real answer is to renew the fascias. I will keep up the search. In the meantime I want the current squirrels removed.
I am Mac and from what I can see it is saving to the external drive automatically
Fingers crossed for a good year for us both AC!

db2016 wrote: »

got to DISAGREE on the leaving an external backup drive plugged in at all times,


if you get malware (virus etc), they yes they usually go for the main drive, but if your external drive is plugged in, they can also infect that! if its a backup only drive, well the standard advice is, minimum unplug it, and make new backup every month for your average user

but the "gold standard" is 3 backups, one close by but unplugged, one off site (for fire risk minimisation but again rotated / updated monthly or often as needed) and then another which is archival.

overkill for most, but minimum, leave it unplugged, especially if the PC is exposed to the internet (which nearly all devices are these days).

for documents etc, use free "cloud" based stuff, eg if your in the google / gmail ecosystem use "docs", "sheets", and google drive. these are free brower based word processors and spreadsheets.

apple uses icloud i believe.

Thank you

redofromstart wrote: »

Good for you! I was guilty of taking temp jobs because I thought I should be contributing which in turn stifled any energy I had. Focus on the things that make you smile, and give it your best shot.

:j:j:j

So glad you understood Redo. I think I panicked and sought a job but I should have stuck with my initial aim and worked through the panic. As soon as I turned it down calm descended. You are right. I need to give it my best shot and not disperse my energies. Thank you

doingitanyway

A friend just phoned. She is on the way to the hospital as her brother had a stroke. He cannot speak and one side of his body is paralysed. Life can change so very quickly. I'll be starting a new diary with new goals but the health goals will be the priority. MSE is important but the real wealth is health. Take care.

beanielou

So true.
Good health is priceless.

24ta

Good decision not to take the job, it sounded good a few hours a week for holiday/house money and leaving you time to be creative but in reality if it was going to take more of your time, possibly cause stress/loss of focus, then that was not in your original plan.

You are following your original plan which is good.
I hope your creativity is flowing in 2020 and wish you a happy and healthy new year.

doingitanyway

24ta wrote: »

Good decision not to take the job, it sounded good a few hours a week for holiday/house money and leaving you time to be creative but in reality if it was going to take more of your time, possibly cause stress/loss of focus, then that was not in your original plan.

You are following your original plan which is good.
I hope your creativity is flowing in 2020 and wish you a happy and healthy new year.

Thank you 24a. Wishing you a Happy New Year and hoping 2020 treats you kindly. Re the job, I am going to give my original plan everything for the next year and then see where I am

doingitanyway

My new diary is called Midlife Musings and Measurable Goals but I don't know how to do a link???

mark55man

Here's the link you just need to cut and paste into your post above
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6086256

HairyHandofDartmoor

Happy new year DIA _party_