xichrisxi:
As an old timer…currently 36 years old,I would advise everyone to make sure they have adequate life & critical illness insurance to cover for the unexpected.
Given the situation we have found ourselves in without a good level of cover our family home would of been had to of been sold as i have not been working for the last 6 months and my wife for the last 12 months,this is because my wife is suffering from an illness.
Before this all happened we were sailing along nicely both working full time,moved into a newly built 3 bed semi and all looked rosy…as previously documented on here our lives took a very unexpected turn that has caused us no end of stress & heartache,the ONLY thing that has at least taken care of the one thing that never goes away,household bills &a money worries,is the insurance we had in place for critical & terminal illness.
It’s 101% worth the small monthly cost and anyone with a mortgage,bills and dependants should definitely have cover in place,you may think you’ll never need it…neither did my wife and we certainly didn’t think we’d be utilising the cover before my wife’s reached her mid 30s.
I’d second that, though I’m lucky and never needed it, nor hope to
But it is good to know if things go wrong, it’s their in the background. Best wishes to your wife.
I have always earned great money because I would not put up with ■■■■ and never did long hours all the time, there was times it could not be helped but got well reward for it.
I also was Never afraid to walk away even during times when I was up to my neck in loans in think it’s got to do with knowing your very good at your job and have no worries walking into another one even in hard times.
Life is about confidence within yourself, I am still as committed as I was and if I may say still as good and still working for good people and for the last 20 years I don’t owe any money to no one and I’m 58 now, it’s called living the dream and that don’t take much to get there.
As already said everything to their own
Can’t really complain ref “work life balance”,
Nice house owned outright, both decent cars and caravan same thing.
Only have the usual household bills to contend with.
Workwise it’s handy enough as I’m not away all week and finish most Fri’s before lunch and paid decent wages for NI too.
Love our family long weekends away in caravan and just back from 10days in glorious sunshine on French Riviera.
As some have realised, it can be troublesome to try and find a balance in this line of work, but it can be done. The most important thing is ensuring that the time you get off is utilised well. Particularly when tramping.
I have been asked many times if I could work Saturdays,i refuse because you need at least two days off,saturday to do what you need to do,shopping,cleaning,sorting out other problems,and sunday to relax ready for another week ahead.
I am sending this from my yacht based in the Ionian islands, Greece. Flew out in May, home in October.
Genuinely not being flash with the above comment, I have worked and planned for this life. No kids, small terrace property paid for.
To pay for this, come home, limp all the hours I can work legally( 2016/17 was with Royal Mail till 2nd week Jan, two weeks off, not through choice, then tramping till May) earned me enough for this year’s beer tokens and bills.
Works for me, it’s not for everyone. Work to live, not live to work, never a truer word written.
I’ve done ■■■■ all since the end of May… .and i’m doing ■■■■ all until the end of September.
If I can earn enough from October-may,I’ll be doing the same next year.
puggy:
I am sending this from my yacht based in the Ionian islands, Greece. Flew out in May, home in October.
Genuinely not being flash with the above comment, I have worked and planned for this life. No kids, small terrace property paid for.
To pay for this, come home, limp all the hours I can work legally( 2016/17 was with Royal Mail till 2nd week Jan, two weeks off, not through choice, then tramping till May) earned me enough for this year’s beer tokens and bills.
Works for me, it’s not for everyone. Work to live, not live to work, never a truer word written.
commonrail:
I’ve done [zb] all since the end of May… .and i’m doing [zb] all until the end of September.
If I can earn enough from October-may,I’ll be doing the same next year.
Does baffle me this I’m away all week but
It’s compensated by getting the weekends to
Myself , really , unless it’s the football season my Saturday’s are taken up doing all the jobs that I’ve not been able to do through the week because I haven’t been there , cut the grass , wash x3 cars , decorate , etc etc
The weekends were mine when I was on days as I’d get all the jobs done on a afternoon / evening , but tramping , weekends are just for catching up with jobs
42 years at it and did another 70 hours in the last 7 days. The 18 wheels and a dozen roses can’t come quick enough. The Winnebago is nearly ready but after a couple of years on the beach, I will have to come back to work.
Work 4 on 4 off , fairly good balance . No commitments/debts , youngest son will finish college at Xmas and will more than likely move to the city leaving just the boss and myself . I rarely use all my vacation entitlement and will probably keep on turning the rubber for a good few years yet, consider myself semi retired already . Good lifestyle so far, and hopefully with good health permitting I don’t intend to rock the boat soon.
Odd it maybe , but I’m usually ready to go back to work after days off
puggy:
I am sending this from my yacht based in the Ionian islands, Greece. Flew out in May, home in October.
Genuinely not being flash with the above comment, I have worked and planned for this life. No kids, small terrace property paid for.
To pay for this, come home, limp all the hours I can work legally( 2016/17 was with Royal Mail till 2nd week Jan, two weeks off, not through choice, then tramping till May) earned me enough for this year’s beer tokens and bills.
Works for me, it’s not for everyone. Work to live, not live to work, never a truer word written.
Good on ya mate
Thanks.
It’s not all utopia though by any means. Temperature forecast at the end of this week? 41 degrees Celsius. Ok for a fortnight’s holiday, can get a bit wearing when you live here.
Also, August is Italian month, hundreds drive over with inflatable boats towed behind the 4x4 playing the " my engine is bigger/ more powerful than yours" game, and, of course, these boats only have two settings, stopped and flat out. Convoys of them race between the islands.
Coupled with the fact the driver needs both hands off the wheel to talk, and wants everyone within 200 metres to hear what he has to say and some interesting scenarios can happen.
Coming over here, full of life, enjoying themselves and having a good time, bah Humbug!
( Hope no one thinks I’m stereotyping that would be terrible)
Juddian:
We’re all different, don’t do finance cos i believe the only thing one should (i as a working class employed bod) ever borrow money for is the roof over one’s head, flash cars expensive holidays designer whatever don’t interest either of us.
My earlier years were spent working me socks off to provide for home and family, but i’d fallen into the trap many others do and almost become part of the machine, we paid the house off at age 53 but i was still in that constant work mode and to be quite honest i’d near enough burned meself out, i couldn’t see it but my good lady had and said to me one day ‘‘i do not want to be the richest widow in the town’’, that was a wake up call and luckily the company welched on a long term agreement over something relatively trivial 3 weeks later and i put me notice in that day.
Best thing i ever did, minced around as a limper for near enough 18 months then landed where i am now and never been better off in real terms, both money for hours worked and hours/days worked, home every night and the shift pattern gives me plenty of days and weeks off, treated with respect, lucky.
I often think what would have happened if i’d been in relationship with someone previous, probably like so many other blokes i knew in that industry pushing too hard too old for too long and now pushing up daisies before their time.
Would i do things differently, well yes of course, we all would, i’d have found my good lady 25 years earlier than i did and found happiness soonest, but work wise yes i’ve been happy on the lorries, still am if truth be known, and yes i’d have worked me socks off to provide cos thats how we wus brought up and to do any different would have disappointed my dear old dad, who even though he’s been dead nearly 30 years i still have to keep up his work ethic because even if they’re dead and gone they are still with you in spirit, i would however have knocked on the door and begged meself in where i am now some 20 years earlier.
What i have learned is that the day you pay that house off and become totally debt free is the most liberating day of your life, they don’t have you by the ■■■■■■■■ any more, it doesn’t mean you become any different at work, i’m still 100% reliable and don’t pull sickies, but if the job disappoints or you find you no longer enjoy it then there is nothing at all keeping you from walking, finding another job before you do that is no longer that important.
Each to their own though, we all have different ideas wants needs and desires.
In a nutshell.
+1
Paid my mortgage off when I was 46, with the interest rates being so low seemed like the right thing to do.
Not nice being a slave to the machine thinking you’ve got to earn as much as possible and doing all the hours possible to achieve it.
I’m 33 and earn low £20k per year in an office (only one who deals with transport in the company). I’ve got £30k worth of debt which is manageable, stemming from buying a house with a 100%+ mortgage just before the house price crash leaving massive negative equity when we had to sell.
Yes, I could earn more money driving and pay the debt of quicker BUT I’ve got 2 kids under 8 and working 40hours Mon-Fri means I get to spend every night and weekend with them. This is my choice and something I have no plans on changing anytime soon.
The way I see it is me been with them is more important than having the extra cash for flash cars or the massive house and once they are grown up I can always get behind the wheel and earn the extra cash if needed.
Each to there own I suppose, what works for me won’t work for others and vice versa. You’ve just gotta be happy with the decisions you make and if you’re not change it.
Drift:
I’m going 4on4off in three weeks, I think I better drag some old hobbies up or get an air fix kit
Are those your airfix kits? I have a couple of “boys toys”. A big rc monster truck and an off road car. You had to build them. Quite good fun. Scares the neighbours dog
Speaking of hobbies I want to start to get into making short films again, not YouTube style, more Vimeo. Kit is so expensive though and the skills needed for post production are beyond me at the min. Good fun though.
Drift:
I’m going 4on4off in three weeks, I think I better drag some old hobbies up or get an air fix kit
Are those your airfix kits? I have a couple of “boys toys”. A big rc monster truck and an off road car. You had to build them. Quite good fun. Scares the neighbours dog
Speaking of hobbies I want to start to get into making short films again, not YouTube style, more Vimeo. Kit is so expensive though and the skills needed for post production are beyond me at the min. Good fun though.
The Centurion is a Tamiya kit, the Vosper is the 1/35 scale Italeri kit. I’m very lucky, seeing how the present Mrs Donkey supports my hobby, she’s the one buying me the big boats There is a Schnellboot with my name on it, in Santa’s sack this year…
Drift:
I’m going 4on4off in three weeks, I think I better drag some old hobbies up or get an air fix kit
Are those your airfix kits? I have a couple of “boys toys”. A big rc monster truck and an off road car. You had to build them. Quite good fun. Scares the neighbours dog
Speaking of hobbies I want to start to get into making short films again, not YouTube style, more Vimeo. Kit is so expensive though and the skills needed for post production are beyond me at the min. Good fun though.
The Centurion is a Tamiya kit, the Vosper is the 1/35 scale Italeri kit. I’m very lucky, seeing how the present Mrs Donkey supports my hobby, she’s the one buying me the big boats There is a Schnellboot with my name on it, in Santa’s sack this year…
Neat, I have a Tamiya Rc monster truck and a Tamiya rc buggy. It’s got a brushless motor in it, goes faster than my real car . My misses bought me another Tamiya rc truck kit for Christmas ! She complains there’s too many now. I’ve just joined her gym and she’s got a month free as a result so can’t complain. Shhh. We better keep quiet now, we’ll have one of the mr miserables along
thank you. 
There is a Schnellboot with my name on it, in Santa’s sack this year…
