...doesn't time fly!

I was shocked to realise how long it is since I've posted here. The last six weeks has been quite hectic and it will continue for another few months. So its time for a bit of a catch up.

My plan is to transition from working face to face to working as a consultant online part time after I retire from my job. My manager has really encouraged each of us to be building an income outside of work so we have something in place if we get laid off. So I am doing a US based course (which means I get up in the middle of the night one night a week) to up my quals and get started on setting up my new business. Its going well and I feel confident its going to be successful. Its just going to be a juggling act for a while!

Financially - we've used the redraw for business set up costs, training courses and also for some work around the yard. It's also slowed down our mortgage payoff for a while.

So when I'm not at work I'm studying or building my website or writing content or working on marketing plans. I'm really enjoying it so I feel happier and less stressed about work. I have been taking time off pretty regularly as I am tired, but overall I'm happier.

We've been working on the yard and the painting inside. Each Sunday we spend a few hours working together outside, we've chopped down trees, cleaned out garden beds and I've had another round of decluttering clothes. I feel that we are starting to move into a retirement mindset, we're detaching from workplace issues and enjoying pottering about together. DH working less hours and me taking days off here and there is giving us a feel for whats to come - and it feels good!

So for the next few months I'll still be busy with training and business set up and then I'll have a bit more time for myself and more frequent blogging.

April Progress Report

April has been a busy month here as I'm doing some training, so not as much extra money to put off the mortgage for a while.

Mortgage

•  $121,680, down from $123,676
• Total reduction: $1996

Retirement Savings

• Mine: $128,336
• DH:    $306,560
• Total: $436,896
• total increase: $8470

Health

I've added green juices to my diet a couple of days a week which I'm enjoying, doing some weights training but need to add a bit more cardio exercise.

Work

Work has quietened down which is nice. But we've been told the redundancy discussions have been postponed yet again, so probably early in 2021. So I am doing some training to take the work I do online and create a side-gig/retirement business. I'm really enjoying it but it will slow down our mortgage payoff for the next 3-4 months. Having something else to focus has been great, I feel far less stressed knowing I'm working towards a new business & semi-retirement.

Home

I've been working on cleaning up outside and weeding garden beds. Inside the painting is progressing slowly.