Shy But Not Retiring

It’s pointless to pretend that I’m not envious of the many 60+ folks in my feed, and indeed my life,  who played by the rules, and now have a paid off house, and the liberty and security to let rip and be who they truly are. Of course I am. It’s also pointless to dwell on this, since we are, in my least favourite of modern cliches, where we are.

I’m put in a position where I shall have to continue to work for a while, and although Neil works very hard (and is a tad younger, I might add) the fact remains that we will both have to press on for a bit.

I’m sure I’m not the only one,  so it may be of some use to run through the adaptations we’re looking at to get us through the next few years.

Retraining

Until recently, I worked as a business manager in a residential care home, and that fell apart just after I’d donated my heart and soul to keeping the place going during a pandemic. Gratitude was not their long suit. 

I ran the veg box scheme for a couple of years, but without grant funding, it was not going to earn me any money, and the writing was on the wall for the physical commitment needed.

I had to pivot, and come up with an alternative which would work longer term.

I love to write, and do earn a very small amount now and again from wordsmithing, with one particularly gorgeous client.

I am also working as a Virtual Assistant. I have a couple of really good clients, and could do with a few more! Do think of me if you need help!

Meanwhile, I am also retraining - I’m studying bookkeeping, which I think might be a sound back up in years to come.(I already offer basic bookkeeping, for which no qualification is required. This is the more advanced version.) Much as I love to potter in my garden in almost all weathers, the time must come when I can take shelter in the little old van, and work productively while the storm passes!

I don’t believe it’s ever too late to retrain, but it’s also possibly not too early - have you thought about what you’ll need to do to future proof your income, should you need to?

Redesigning

The land tenancy is up for renewal, and despite our advancing years, we can’t imagine life without it. We moved to this house on the understanding that we hoped we would move onward and upward at some point, but if we didn’t, then we’d be content to stay here. It couldn’t be a place that we just needed to escape from day one. That acceptance was based on knowing we had the land to turn to, and for the first two years I spent most of my working life out there.

We plan on renewing the tenancy, but we know we will have to reframe how we work, and redesign how we use the land. What was a market garden, providing ten veg boxes a week, plus restaurant sales, has to go back to being a family garden - and a small family at that!

I’m a great lover of allotments, and in many ways, wish I could just throw up my hands and go and get one, instead of dealing with the complexities and demands of livestock and grassland as well as the growing patch - but once again, we need to make the best use of what we have got. Sometimes it’s as much trouble to have too much of something as it is to have too little!  What we need is an acre or two, but that’s just not available.

I’m learning to sow a little of this, and a little of that, and trying for the umpteenth time to follow the Dig for Victory leaflets, issued 80 odd years ago in the war, which taught you how to ‘grow food for winter, as well as summer’ and supposedly did not require too much of a time commitment. I’m still recuperating, so not out on the land yet, it will be a rush to get things done when I can go out there. 

Do you find that you’re longing to sow seeds and it’s too early, then February and March have passed in a whirlwind, (or in this case, a rainfall) and suddenly it’s too late?

Reviewing

The budget has long been a part of our life, but if I’m honest, we’ve been too flexible with it. We’re both optimists (Neil more so than I) and have been of the ‘there’s always tomorrow’ frame of mind.

Well, time marches on, and it turns out there is not always tomorrow - and the future needs funding. We really have to re-budget, and this time, we have to stick to it until it hurts.

I’ve started a review of all our spending, and like so many of us, I’m afraid there’s not a lot of slack.  As Dave Ramsey often says, if the hole is big, you need a big shovel, and our shovel (income) is just not big enough. 

Neil’s business is on a cusp - I won’t bore you with the details, but further expansion either has to be quite big and quite rapid, or not happen at all. So I need to up my game somewhat, and either facilitate that fast and furious growth, or get more paying work myself.

We also need to check our spending back to zero on non essentials.

If you are also one of those who did not do all the right things, and find yourself now beyond, let’s say, 50, and with no real financial roadmap - what do you plan to do about it? I’d love to hear. 

Reflections

I've decided for the time being not to publish this over on Substack - I don't know why, it feels quite personal and vulnerable! So this little on is just on here for now.

This is the sixth week since my surgery, so the last one where I need to be careful about being outdoors in the pulling mud and lifting anything. It's flown by to be honest, and hopefully the weather will pick up, and I'll have chance to get on the garden.