It's almost the end of January, one twelfth of the year is gone! Normally by this time I have posted up the year in review from the prior year, put the finishing touches on this year's goals and have them and the vision board up on display. Turns out eternal moping is very unproductive :-).
Soooo after contemplating my navel for more than a few weeks, I have decided that if I cannot bear the thought of not having my partner in my life, then clearly I actually need to put a few changes into play. After unsuccessfully wrangling options for residing in the one house, we have ruled out a few options. One thing is for certain, residing at my current house is not in the plans.
With the inevitability of a move, I have decided to look at a mid term strategy. We will start to prepare for a down size, with the options being an apartment in the city, or co-habitation! Yes, I will officially resign myself to not living on my little hobby farm (read time consuming high maintenance acreage for 95% of the population). I will ponder a swanky code name for the new project of downsizing. Each year I run a 'Get Rid of 100 Things' process, so this year should see that one kick off into a bigger scope. It also means that replacements such as the lounge suite can be shelved for now. The transition into new digs will be challenging with existing 'stuff', or rather it will be easier if we don't have existing stuff to merge. If we move to an apartment, then the last few items can come with us, and we will look for smaller options to fit the new design.
I have also had a few thoughts about work, and it is time to end the torturous journey and look for an alternative role. After finally realising that things are unlikely to change for the next 12 months, I will actually change myself instead. Turns out that making the decision to leave took a ton of stress out of the equation, and I feel better about the short term sustainability of each day with a different mid term focus.
Financial plans remain like 2013, mostly on auto pilot for now. Depending on either of the options for living arrangements, the mid term will see me keep the current property and rent it out. Due to the size of the mortgage, it will be positively geared, so not much point in placing money elsewhere and getting hit with interest or capital gains tax, I will continue to pay down the mortgage. Super and investments are on track for now, no changes required.
The youngster has successfully transitioned to the new school and has a range of educational activities underway for this year including additional swimming, chess lessons and violin lessons. We are still planning a NZ holiday for December, so ability to ride a bike remains high on the list of things to teach.
Health and fitness goals contain the usual active sessions, and this year I will continue to tinker with the clean and lean diet, Japanese acupuncture and also embrace (read endure some random person groping) a monthly massage. Ok, it's January and the first one hasn't occurred! In my defence I did have an appointment, it just didn't result in a massage. So it will be 12 massages this year :-)
My top 5 wish list purchases are also going to require some revisions as the house updates will be only minimal as we are going to rent it out. I doubt that lovely timber floor boards are going to make a significant difference to the rent, so that can be swapped with re-carpeting a couple of rooms instead and the tiles can remain.
I will be splashing out on a new road bike, and finding some time to get on it since it has been on the list for the past few years. Double win here as this is going to be a dual interest with said partner, well at least until the first time she has to double me home moaning that my legs are tired, my arse is not quite numb as I can still feel the pain, and oh I wish I had bought the version that had a motor! Of course I am going a completely alternative path for purchase and will be importing mine from the UK, so I will keep you posted on how that little project pans out!
Adventure and fun stuff still to find, tickets to Michael Buble and a season pass to the Brisbane Lions already organised. And thanks to a month of moping, well the movie goals are way ahead of schedule!
Soooo after contemplating my navel for more than a few weeks, I have decided that if I cannot bear the thought of not having my partner in my life, then clearly I actually need to put a few changes into play. After unsuccessfully wrangling options for residing in the one house, we have ruled out a few options. One thing is for certain, residing at my current house is not in the plans.
With the inevitability of a move, I have decided to look at a mid term strategy. We will start to prepare for a down size, with the options being an apartment in the city, or co-habitation! Yes, I will officially resign myself to not living on my little hobby farm (read time consuming high maintenance acreage for 95% of the population). I will ponder a swanky code name for the new project of downsizing. Each year I run a 'Get Rid of 100 Things' process, so this year should see that one kick off into a bigger scope. It also means that replacements such as the lounge suite can be shelved for now. The transition into new digs will be challenging with existing 'stuff', or rather it will be easier if we don't have existing stuff to merge. If we move to an apartment, then the last few items can come with us, and we will look for smaller options to fit the new design.
I have also had a few thoughts about work, and it is time to end the torturous journey and look for an alternative role. After finally realising that things are unlikely to change for the next 12 months, I will actually change myself instead. Turns out that making the decision to leave took a ton of stress out of the equation, and I feel better about the short term sustainability of each day with a different mid term focus.
Financial plans remain like 2013, mostly on auto pilot for now. Depending on either of the options for living arrangements, the mid term will see me keep the current property and rent it out. Due to the size of the mortgage, it will be positively geared, so not much point in placing money elsewhere and getting hit with interest or capital gains tax, I will continue to pay down the mortgage. Super and investments are on track for now, no changes required.
The youngster has successfully transitioned to the new school and has a range of educational activities underway for this year including additional swimming, chess lessons and violin lessons. We are still planning a NZ holiday for December, so ability to ride a bike remains high on the list of things to teach.
Health and fitness goals contain the usual active sessions, and this year I will continue to tinker with the clean and lean diet, Japanese acupuncture and also embrace (read endure some random person groping) a monthly massage. Ok, it's January and the first one hasn't occurred! In my defence I did have an appointment, it just didn't result in a massage. So it will be 12 massages this year :-)
My top 5 wish list purchases are also going to require some revisions as the house updates will be only minimal as we are going to rent it out. I doubt that lovely timber floor boards are going to make a significant difference to the rent, so that can be swapped with re-carpeting a couple of rooms instead and the tiles can remain. I will be splashing out on a new road bike, and finding some time to get on it since it has been on the list for the past few years. Double win here as this is going to be a dual interest with said partner, well at least until the first time she has to double me home moaning that my legs are tired, my arse is not quite numb as I can still feel the pain, and oh I wish I had bought the version that had a motor! Of course I am going a completely alternative path for purchase and will be importing mine from the UK, so I will keep you posted on how that little project pans out!
Adventure and fun stuff still to find, tickets to Michael Buble and a season pass to the Brisbane Lions already organised. And thanks to a month of moping, well the movie goals are way ahead of schedule!
No comments:
Post a Comment