2020++ - smiling and waving and looking so fine

mark55man

HI all

Now I have made a long term plan, I'm going to stop worrying (and posting) about that stuff, and focus on weight and exercise.  I know I've said that all before, but this time I mean it

Target 1 - 50000 steps per week - will get me to 2m for the year
Target 2 - try and lose some weight before xmas - so I have some belt room for what is a difficult time to be good, then major focus for 2023 (I'm almost back to my starting place at the start of this diary)
Target 3 - work with DS1 (who is a regular at his gym) to do a few things with weights
Target 4 - don't let winter make me housebound

How hard can it be right?

(Still counting down though) - 290 Actual Working days to R-Day

savingholmes

Love it! Good to not let winter make you housebound - I need to take that one on board more too.

mark55man

Got to 40000 steps last week, so just a bit short of target, but have more time this week so will try and make it up

DS1 did his personal trainer act with some free weights and the machines - was not as bad as I remembered, so next time we will try a bit more.  Tried to do a proper lunge - looked like a drunken stork

Really looking forward for some time off at Christmas, but not quite there yet 

savingholmes

Good luck with upping the fitness.

I hate lunges... 

I too am counting down the days until I finish for xmas.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Nice that you're going to the gym with your son, it will definitely help with trying not to hibernate too much during winter.  Also, it can be daunting going alone when you don't feel confident in what you're doing.  I've found some good apps that set you programs that progress as you do.  I'm just too lazy to go to the gym or workout   

@alt80 I've never tried therapy, but I can definitely understand the benefit.  It's a shame it's not more widely offered... I have a friend living in the US and she says pretty much everyone she knows goes, they're much more open to it.  She's started going not really seeing the point and said she's amazed at how helpful she's finding it

mark55man

Quiet week, have been laid low with a non-covid lurgy - so been feeling a little sorry for myself and steps well down.  But I'm going to indulge myself in not trying to make up the shortfall today as have got friends coming round then its the football which will involve a gentle walk to the pub and back.  Let's see if that improves the mood somewhat

Moneywise, still flat - had some mid level serious spends on the cars, but that has been and gone and it had been a while since any work, and new tyres and brakes just before winter isn't the worst place to be!. My MN pot should be complete this year, so will think about a follow-on objective, but my H-ess-bee-sea Reular saving is now paying 5% so I may just build up the cash buffers at 5% while my mortgage chugs away at 2,1% for a few years.  Any excess in the MN pot can be reallocated into general pension purposes 

The kittens continue to find ways to add cost - now its going in and out the house so often that its like a revolving door into the Firdge that is outside.  We do have a cat flap, in the laundry area, but we keep that cold so it almost as bad as having the windows or doors open.  So we now let them out and then check every so often  

DS2 work experience / work skills placement going well - seems to have been getting on well with his course mates - even socialising a bit after work, which is big progress.  There is talk of a plus one at XMAS - all a bit Love Actually actually. 

Everything  else fine - fingers crossed for this evening, the next few weeks in particular, and December/XMAS in general 

Sarahwithlove

Retirement will be here before you know it. One of my colleagues took flexi retirement until he reached SP age and then fully retired. He was back part time within 6 weeks 

savingholmes

Glad things are improving for DS2.

I think that lurgy is doing the rounds - I was worse with that than covid. Hope you recover quickly.

Good news on the savings interest rate. FD are offering 7% if you create a current acct with them and reg saver.

Sorry about the car bills. Good you had the £ to cope.

mark55man

Still not over the lurgy, but a bit better, and did a few more steps, although my longest walk day (8000+) was done with my fitbit on the charger at home after I forgot to put it on. Normally I just write them off as a stupid tax but its all getting a bit close to my target deadline

Have been a little extravagant with the heating, we normally try and average 17, but its just felt colder, I think the snap has upset the air flows around the thermostat so have been boosting it when I wake up, so its not quite so chilly first thing

the young adult cats (too big for kittens) are sat on the window ledge captivated by watching the snow fall - I did try and tempt them to go out, but they weren't having it.  Wait until it settles that will blow their tiny minds

280 Actual Working days to R-Day  

enthusiasticsaver

Not read your diary for a while @mark55man so I am excited to see the R countdown.  Any tips feel free to ask.  We retired in 2016/2017, my DH retired 18 months before me but I was working part time anyway.  We were both 58.  2024 is the year my DHs pension eventually kicks in and mine starts in 2026 so still a few years to go.  We did not have the long countdown to retirement as we were planning on both retiring in 2020 when I was 60 but work annoyances for both of us forced us to sit down and work out whether we could afford to go earlier. Luckily we could and never regretted it. 

Sounds like you have it sorted though. My advice is to keep busy after retirement but with things you want to do rather than have to. Both of us have taken up new hobbies.  I joined a couple of walkers groups and DH joined a few model railway clubs and we both got e bikes and use our country club membership more. I have just started volunteering at our local primary school as we no longer doing regular childcare for grandchildren as they all in school now. I generally find it is the people who do not have a plan as to what to do in retirement that end up missing work and going back or they get stuck in some rut and spend a lot of time pottering. I suppose that is fine though if that is what they want to do.