I’m in a year 9 class, writing this while they’re doing their work. I’ve been having a lovely time, running into year 9 kids who were my wriggly puppy classes in year 7 and catching up with other teachers.
“I NEVER thought I’d see you here again!” said one woman. I laughed and said that it was Tom30’s wrestling videos that have driven me to it.
I’m at the new campus, which has just under 1,000 year 8s and 9s. It’ll take a few days to work out where everything is, but it’s a nice place to work. Everyone seems really happy.
Where I’ve been: in the Staffroom.
It was lunchtime. I caught up with a few friends and heard how everyone was going. There was even a spare desk to put my bag on. Luxury!
Where I’m going:Mum and Dad’s place.
After work I have to drop in on my parents to pick up some medical stuff that they hired after Dad has his hip replacement. I’ll return it for them.
It’s nice that I’m in the area already instead of having to take an extra trip.
What I’m watching:a boy trying to drill a hole through his ruler with a pair of scissors.
This is a Stephen King novel in a collaboration with someone else. I’m enjoying it, though I’m sure I’d be ripping through it faster if I’d read the first two in this trilogy. Annoyingly, the library has the first, but not the second one.
Just… why? Ugh.
What I’m listening to:A couple of boys playing Fortnite instead of reading through their slideshow on circuits and electrical currents.
I’ve given them the death stare, then mentioned that Fortnite “is so two years ago.”
They’re back on task now.
What I’m eating:Home-made bread roll with home-grown lettuce, ham and cheese.
The ham and cheese aren’t home-grown, just to be clear.
Who needs a good slap:The neighbours who are complaining about theachers parking in their streets.
The Government, in their infinite wisdom, assigned 9 car parking spots to a school with over 50 teachers. I was warned to stay away from certain streets, which meant that I probably got my 10,000 steps before I even entered the building.
What I’m planning:which Dad joke to put up on the board when period 6 starts.
So many options…
What has made me smile:Max.
Max walked in late and stopped, staring at me.
“Where do I know you from?” he asked. To be fair, I’m wearing a mask and I’ve stopped dying my hair.
“I taught you English in year 7, you doofus!” I said.
He asked if I’d been to Antarctica, then when he went to his seat I heard him say, “She’s only the best English teacher ever!”
Dad joke of the day:
What is it called when you have Grandma on speed dial?
Whenever anyone talks about the risks/benefits of early retirement, the one thing they bring up, almost without fail, is that if conditions change, you should consider going back to work if you need a few extra dollars. Even in my early(ish) retirement, especially being a teacher, I knew I always had that option tucked away.
September last year the VIT registration fees came up. It was the expensive one because it included the working with children police check thing. I paid it, more as insurance than anything else. I had no intention of going back to work… but you never know. As my friend Blogless Sandy said, “You may as well pay it. You’ll kick yourself if you wanted to work and couldn’t do it.”
Then in 2022, things shifted slightly in the Jones household, as well as in the wider world. Let’s go through them one at a time.
ONE:
As you know, around a month ago Tom30 abruptly moved back in. There was a fairly tumultuous week of driving back and forth from Ormond to The Best House in Melbourne, getting all of his belongings out. After 7 years away, that guy had a lot of things, including a huge elliptical machine. There’s no denying that it adds a certain something to the decor in the Man Cave.
Anytime a new person moves in, the household dynamic changes. Tom30 is a communicative person who gets excited about what he’s interested in. As Ryan27 said a couple of days ago, “I kind of admire how Tom30 gets so enthused about things. I wish I could have such a simple life!”
It’s true. I’ve learned so much about the worlds of wrestling and gaming – he plays different games to Ryan27 – and I would have learned a lot about American politics, except I’ve put a ban on discussing this. It’s a good thing I did this – it’s saved a lot of bickering.
Tom30 works from home 2 days a week. He likes to have wrestling vids, sporting shows and angry American men podcasts playing while he works. So there’s a different vibe here 4 days a week.
Ok, so that’s a bit of a whinge. Honestly, I’m happy he’s back because it’s allowed us to reconnect again. There’s no better way to deepen a relationship than to share the same house with someone. It’s coming up to a month and the new Jones household is settling into the new normal.
TWO:
Having another adult in the house raises the expenses. Now before everyone goes crazy —- YES. I’m charging both boys board. They pay me $50/week each.
My choice is to put that money aside for them and let it build up in a bank account. Tom30 is saving for a house deposit and Ryan27 will no doubt be doing that too one day. I can’t be the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ like so many people can. I can’t merrily hand over thousands of dollars to help get a deposit together for my 4 kids. I figure the least I can do is to feed and house them when they’re under my roof, then hand their board money back when they need it. (Tom30 has no idea that this is going to happen, by the way.)
So that’s all warm and fuzzy and lovely, but when prices suddenly rise, due to Putin, the pandemic and the floods, then that’s something that as a good FIRE person, I have to take note of. I can’t see prices subsiding any time soon.
I could choose to take their board money and use it for bills, or I could choose to pivot. (There’s that word again...)
THREE:
Ever since I learned about Sequence of Returns Risk, I’ve kept it in the back of my mind as something to watch out for in the first 5 years of retirement. I took the above chart from this article, which explains it in a bit more detail, but the chart gives a good TL;DR summary.
At the moment the market is a bit panicky and has slipped a bit. I’m not breaking out the cat food tins for dinner any time soon, but it’s something that I’m keeping an eye on. The share market has been rising steadily for the last 10 years or so. It can’t last forever, so retiring at this stage, I knew I’d need to keep in touch with what was going on.
We can prepare for many things when we retire, but we have absolutely no control over Sequence of Returns Risk. The market is going to do what the market is going to do, regardless of who is retiring when. I’ve set up my finances to mitigate against this by having several layers of investments, so intellectually I know that I’ll be alright.
One of the best ways to insulate my investments from being tapped too harshly, too early in a market downturn is to have a bit of extra income sliding in.
Can’t hurt and it might help!
For a few weeks now, I’ve had a niggling feeling that it mightn’t be such a bad thing if I earned a little money on the side. Maybe that was why I took so long to make a decision about tutoring because it felt wrong to be knocking back income – but I’ve learned that if I ignore that niggling feeling I do so at my peril.
I definitely didn’t want to do tutoring, as I wrote “When you’re happily retired and you get offered a job”, but CRT (Casual Relief Teaching) is a different kettle of fish. Basically, a CRT supervises classes when the regular teacher is absent. You unlock the door, let them in, mark the roll, direct them to Compass where their work is set, then for the rest of the lesson you keep them quiet and on-task.
Basically, for a CRT, a boring day is a good day. When I first started working again when Evan25 was Evan5 and he’d started primary school, I did CRT work for a year. When you’re VERY VERY INTERESTED in what’s happening in the classroom, it’s either really good or really bad…
Last week I went into my old school and put my name down for CRT work. I could have gone to schools closer to me, but I know my way around the Main campus and I know that the kids are lovely, which makes a huge difference to a CRT’s day. A feral class is absolute misery for 48 minutes. It’ll also be nice to see people on staff and have quick catch-ups.
The catch-ups will have to be quick. Schools get their money’s worth when they hire a CRT – you work all 6 periods and do 2 yard duties. I’d better wear comfy shoes!
The daily pay rate isn’t bad – just over $380 – but as an early(ish) retiree the flexibility is what is really appealing to me. I have the freedom to say ‘No’ if I’ve planned something on a day that work is offered. Tutoring doesn’t offer that luxury.
Yesterday I was offered 2 days’ work – tomorrow and Thursday – so it’s Game ON!
Speaking of games, you know how I like to gamify my spending and paying for my rates. Of course, I’ve drawn up a list of things that the CRT days will ‘pay’ for.
I’ve put asterisks beside the things I’ve already bought. Once I knock them over, then I can start chipping away at the big expenses. Woo babayyyy – I like a list and I like to see progress. If anything will keep me motivated; this is it!
Of course, if I decide that I hate it and it’s sucking the joy out of my retirement life, I can always stop. That’s the good thing about being financially independent.
I’m fully aware that the feeling in my waters about the benefits of having a bit of money coming in is definitely because of the struggle I had when the boys and I were newly single. It took nearly two DECADES for us to recover from the financial aftershocks of the divorce. I love the freedom of being the only captain driving the financial ship, but it comes with the downside of being wholly responsible for navigating it safely through choppy economic waters. I don’t have the luxury of knowing that I’ll be able to nestle into a partner’s super fund in my old age.
So I figure that a few days’ work here and there that will help Past Frogdancer Jones sleep better at night isn’t too high a price to pay. I’m glad I chose to work in a field that can offer such flexible options for people who want to work in a different way than the typical full-time allotment… and who knows?
Oof. I love the freedom of retirement. God, how I love it. I wrote about how I knocked back a tutoring job a few weeks ago and it was absolutely the right decision.
Well, yesterday I went into work and filled out all the forms to apply for work as a CRT (casual relief teacher.) I KNOW!!! What’s going on? Have I run mad?
Am I filled with the joy at the thought of being around the kids again and enabling them to gain education?
Not particularly.
But I’m not hating the idea either. This deserves its own blog post on another day, so I’ll tell you in more detail later why I’ve decided to pivot and earn a little extra money.
Where I’ve been: Costco.
When I take the car out, I like to layer several trips in one – especially now that petrol prices have gone through the roof. So I did a big circle, going to Spotlight, my parents’ lace, the school, Costco and the library.
It was a Tuesday, so I didn’t think CC would be busy. When I drove up, the petrol section was jammed with cars, the queues spilling out onto the street and going way back. I’ve never seen it so packed, even on the days before public holidays. Inside the warehouse, it was very busy.
I went there because I was running low on the raw meat patties I feed the Little Woofs on top of their grain-free dry food – also from Costco. The dry food comes from the States, the patties from Queensland. What with the war and the floods, I thought I’d better make sure that we had enough for a while.
Ryan27 asked me why. I said, “Global supply chains aren’t an issue – until suddenly they are.”
While I was there I picked up 2 big bags of flour, some mince, a couple of slabs of tinned tomatoes and some sugar; all of which we’ve been warned we may be running short of in the coming months. Costco didn’t have any Bakers Flour, so I had to settle for Plain flour instead. After I got home I went to Aldi and picked up more pasta and rolled oats – again, because wheat products etc will be getting very pricey, thanks to Putin. The pasta packets had gone up 20c, I noticed. There were significant gaps in the meat section.
Cauliflowers were $8 each at Aldi. Yikes! Toilet paper was very limited at both Costco and Aldi, with gaps on other shelves being common. Someone on the Simple Savings forum observed that electrical goods such as washers, dryers and fridges would probably be in short supply due to the floods in Queensland and NSW. Imagine the thousands of appliances that would be wrecked and would need to be replaced? I was so thankful I bought Evan25’s new washing machine when I did.
Pandemic, floods and Putin. What a brave interesting new world we live in.
Where I’m going:To the beach.
The Little Woofs deserve a treat.
What I’m watching:Shameless season 11.
My sister put me onto Shameless years ago. I can’t believe they’re up to season 11. I’m still enjoying it.
Of course, I’m also watching Killing Eve, Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Survivor (both the US and Australian seasons) and I have many far more worthy shows waiting in my watch lists. I guess I’m in a frivolous frame of mind right now.
What I’m reading:Catriona Ward.
Stephen King recommended Catriona Ward on Twitter a few days ago, so I jumped online and put a couple of her novels on hold. I’ve read her first novel, Rawblood, and her third, The Last House on Needless Street.
Wow. I’ve been blown away by how original these plots are. As, you know, I read a lot of books, but these two have been living on and on in my mind. I loved them – couldn’t leave them alone. Highly recommend.
What I’m listening to:Jeffrey snoring.
It’s a WHOLE lot better than hearing the stupid wrestling shows that Tom30 likes to listen to when he works from home. Kill me now.
What I’m eating:Pizza again!
My cousin is dropping by for lunch, so we’re having pizza. This new pizza oven has a definite learning curve on how to launch the pizzas in. I ‘accidentally’ made calzones the third time we used it, so we’re experimenting with different doughs and levels of toppings.
So far, using a bit of polenta on the base seems to be doing the trick. The polenta acts like little ball bearings and it helps to roll the pizza off the paddle and into the oven.
Who needs a good slap:Apart from Putin?
No one.
What I’m planning:when I’m going to give my cousin the quilt I’ve made for her.
Before or after lunch?
I hope she likes it.
What has made me smile:The dogs.
As I said before, yesterday I went out for most of the day, When I got home Tom30, who was working from home, told me that the dogs had spent the whole day waiting for me to get back. When I raised an eyebrow and said, “The WHOLE day?” he showed me a photo he took at midday.
Scout had the brains to wait for me on the couch, where it’s comfy, but the cavaliers stayed right at the door for the whole time.
I love my Little Woofs.
Dad joke of the day:
I don’t often tell dad jokes but when I do he laughs.
Call myself a frugal gardener, yet I bought apples a week ago to make rhubarb and apple, but I still haven’t walked out to the back yard to cut the rhubarb.
That’s it! As soon as I press ‘publish’ on this post, I’m going out there to get this job done.
Where I’ve been:Mum and Dad’s place.
Yesterday I drove down to Mum and Dad’s to take Dad to his surgeon’s rooms for an appointment after his hip replacement 2 weeks ago. After that, I went to Aldi to do their shopping.
It’s strange to think that if I hadn’t have made the geoarbitrage move down here in 2015, I would have been in a classroom and he would’ve had to have taken a taxi there. Mum gets dizzy spells so doesn’t drive anymore, so until Dad’s hip heals, they’re essentially stuck at home.
It’s a strange thing to see your parents with their wings clipped.
Where I’m going:Apparently, to the back yard.
See above.
What I’m watching:The wind in the trees.
It’s a sparkling day today and there’s a beautiful breeze. I love how this house catches the wind – just open the front and back doors and the breeze flows right through. Luxury!
What I’m reading:Same as last week.
Yes – very unusually for me, I’m taking more than a week to read a book! I’m still on Cloud Cuckoo Land and I only have 20 pages to go. I’m loving how all of the different times are entwining together.
What I’m listening to:Mum’s Boppin’ Bangers.
I’ve started cutting up the fabric for the quilt with over 5,000 squares. I whinged about the cost of the specialised ruler I bought to help me with this, but now I’m absolutely LOVING it. $100 well spent! It’s allowing me to fly through this stage, because I can cut 3 layers of fabric with absolute accuracy at a time. That’s 163 squares at a time. Today I just have the ‘lights’ to cut up, and then I’ll be done.
I’m so appreciative that Ryan27 shared a Spotify account with me. Cutting squares can be tedious but being able to belt out a song as I work really helps. Every now and then on ‘Mum’s Boppin’ Bangers’ a song will come on that I swear I haven’t heard for decades, yet I still know all the words. Loving it.
What I’m eating: A homemade bread roll.
For breakfast, with butter and peanut butter. Yum.
Who needs a good slap:Me, for eating that breakfast.
What I’m planning:A road trip.
May as well.
What has made me smile:The homemade bread roll with butter and peanut butter.
Last week my sister Kate rang and asked if she could spend the morning with me, as her car was being serviced and she couldn’t get a ‘loaner’ car. Of course, I made room in my hectic schedule (heh heh).
“We could go and grab a coffee and maybe take a walk around K-Mart,” she said.
Dear God in heaven. Does she not know me at all?!?
I decided to whisk her away to grab a coffee in a place that was far more interesting than sitting in a mall or on a city street. I hardly ever buy coffee when I’m out, but for her, it’s one of life’s pleasures. So we drove to Dromana, to the gardens of Heronswood.
Heronswood is one of the gardens that Diggers operates. It’s perched on a cliff overlooking the sea, with both ornamental and working vegetable gardens and orchards. They specialise in heirloom plants, which means that you can save the seeds from plants you grow and then use the seeds next year.
I’ve been a member for a while now. I don’t mind supporting them because I think they do really important work. Seeds should be able to be saved.
Lots of different sunflowers were planted around one of the veggie patches. Look at the bees in the middle of this one!
Along with the huge gardens, there were also little ideas like this planted around. I still think most succulents are ugly, but over time I’m warming to some. I thought these ones looked nice.
As we wandered around we came across this citrus orchard. The huge terracotta pots have rosemary planted all around them.
Here’s a close-up. I like the way the pots are positioned not in straight lines, but so they look appealing from the steps above.
We liked this espalier – it’s so well-established that the support wires have been taken off and the branches stand outstretched on their own.
The gardens are full of little outdoor ‘rooms’ like this.
We stopped at the nursery on the way out and I bought some Evening Primrose plants for my hanging baskets. According to the gardeners, this plant is “as tough as nails” so let’s hope they’re correct. Four of the hanging baskets are in full sun all day and the petunias all curled up and died.
I was happy with this Little Adventure. It was only a short one, but it was by far more memorable than a gallop around K-Mart!
Tom30 works from home 2 days a week. Now he’s here in the mornings he uses the time he’d normally be commuting, to walk on the Backyard Beach. This morning he posted a pic on FB and it looked so good, I decided to switch it up a little and take the little woofs to the beach before breakfast instead of doing yoga.
Safe to say that they approved!
It was beautiful there – bright and sparkly without being too hot. It was so nice that I actually went paddling *gasp*! Normally I’m happy to stay on the sand. The Cavaliers shrugged their shoulders and went, “Ok, if we must,” and followed me in.
Scout, on the other hand, was delighted. “Mum! You’re joining me! Yay!”
We were only there for around 20 minutes and on the way home we bumped into the young Mum of the baby I mentioned yesterday. She was walking with her friend who also has a new baby. We had a nice little chat and then went on our ways.
This happened during what would be period 1 at work. (I may have sent the top photo to some friends at work who are planning to retire next year. )
To anyone who’s a little nervous about “what will I do all day if I retire”… it’s truly amazing how so many little things pop up to do during the days that you never think of when you’re stuck at work.
Well, the situation in Ukraine is too, but I have nothing to say about Putin etc that will make the least bit of difference, so let’s go with the yoga.
I did 40+ days in a row of the ‘Yoga With Adrienne’ online classes but then I hurt my left wrist. I took 5 days off, then did a class and felt ok, but in the middle of the night I woke with a slight pain in that wrist again. I gave it another day off, then this morning I did another class.
It’s funny. I thought that with such a long time off I’d never go back, but I’ve found that I quite like the morning rhythm of sneaking in a yoga class before breakfast. Poppy and Scout now lie on the floor watching me. They know not to come over until I tell them that they’re Very Good Girls. Seems a shame to forego the yoga when they’ve just learned to do this, doesn’t it?
So I might as well keep on the path to becoming more bendy.
Where I’ve been: Linacre Hospital.
Yesterday, at 11AM, when I would have been in a classroom in my previous life, I was able to quietly drive to Linacre Hospital in Hampton to pick up Dad. He’s just had a replacement hip put in. I felt really pleased that I was in a position to help him.
Then, I went and did a bit of grocery shopping for them and did my own at the same time. When I was at home unpacking, I saw a litre of lactose-free milk among my groceries.
Oops.
Luckily, my sister Kate is seeing them today so she said she’ll buy some on the way through, so Mum won’t have to go without.
Where I’m going:Evan25 and Jenna’s new place.
A little while ago Evan25 and his girlfriend Jenna moved into a flat over a pizza shop in a suburb in the west. Due to conflicting schedules, it’s been hard to arrange a time to see the place, so Jenna invited the whole family over for dinner on Sunday night.
David28 and Izzy are looking to move out on their own soon, so I’m sure they’ll be taking it all in. 🙂
What I’m watching:My solar torch shining.
A while ago I was reading a blog where the author was talking about preparedness. I was already doing a lot of the things she was talking about, but one idea that I liked was to buy a solar torch and just leave it sitting on a sunny window ledge. If ever the power went out, there’s always a light for you to scurry around with and find where you put away the candles and matches.
“But we have our mobiles,” Ryan27 said.
“Yeah, but what if the batteries are getting flat?” I retorted. Plus, unlike the phone batteries, the next day the torch will simply recharge itself by the sunlight on the window ledge. It also comes with a crank to manually recharge it should the battery run low before daylight.
They say once a month to switch the torch on and leave it running to empty the battery, then let it fill itself up again. I do this at the beginning of each month. I forgot yesterday, so today’s the day for March. 🙂
For twenty bucks, I think it’s a good buy. It’s one of those things, like insurance, that you hope you never have to use but it’s damned good to have when you need it. THIS IS WHERE I BOUGHT MINE.
What I’m reading:Cloud Cuckoo Land.
‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ by Anthony Doerr is the latest from the author of ‘All The Light We Cannot See’, which I think everyone in the world must’ve read. Apparently, it’s been 7 years since the last one – lucky it was such a huge hit, hey? Otherwise it would’ve been hard to pay the bills!
I’m only 50 pages in, but I’m enjoying it. It has characters ranging from far into the future to way back in the past, with the theme of the importance of stories seeming to tie them all together.
What I’m listening to:Casefile – the Zodiac killer.
I’ve been listening to the podcast ‘Casefile’ for years now. Currently, the Anonymous Narrator is onto episode 4 of the Zodiac Killer. OMG – what a terrible person. He just killed people at random… and lots of them. His victims were absolutely in the wrong places at the wrong times.
What I’m eating:Pancakes.
When the lockdowns started, we began a Sunday morning tradition of having pancakes for breakfast. This morning I remembered that there was some leftover batter in the fridge. I thought it’d be a bit past it, but by some miracle it was fine. So pancakes in the middle of the week it was!
Waste not; want not.
Who needs a good slap:David28 parking in a Clearway.
Sometimes people have to learn the hard way. He visited a music shop in Brunswick st and came out to find that his car ad been towed.
Only cost him around $400 to get his car back and I’m pretty sure he’ll get a $180 parking fine as well.
What I’m planning:My day.
Hmmm. What to do? I have a quilt to finish, some hanging baskets to plant, some dogs to wash and (maybe) a nap to have after lunch.
Might get in some reading, too, before I decide what we’re going to have for dinner.
OH! The freedom!
What has made me smile:Hearing the baby next door.
I have young families on both sides of me. One has 4 kids and the parents have a slightly more ‘relaxed’ attitude to parenting than I did. Hence there are a lot of tantrums and getting to school late, etc.
The other side has a young girl and they’ve just brought home a new baby in the last few weeks. As I’m typing by the open window, I can hear the baby cooing at her Mum on their verandah. Now, I’m not nearly ready to be a grandmother – I’m far too youthful and dewy for that! – but it’s lovely to hear, nonetheless.
Dad joke of the day:
I posted this to my FB page but it didn’t get the recognition it deserved…
It’s funny how my perception of worthwhile purchases has changed since I reached financial independence, (FI). The latest thing I’ve bought – the pizza oven – is a perfect example of this.
I’ve always made pizzas for my family. Firstly, I married an Italian, so I learned to make pizza, pasta and lasagne very quickly after I moved in. I was brought up in a Skip family in the 60’s and 70’s, and Mum’s repertoire was pretty much meat and 3 veg with tinned fruit for dessert. The Italian cuisine was definitely a step up!
Then, after the divorce, when the boys and I were living off the Sole Parent’s pension of around 18K per year and, (for the first few years when I wasn’t teaching), $20/month child support, pizza, pasta, pancakes and mince were my best friends. You can feed an army with those items and, with 4 boys, I practically was.
Back then, the only pizza ovens that were around were in pizza shops. But if domestic pizza ovens were a thing in the 1990’s/2000’s, there would have been NO WAY I would’ve even considered buying one.
So what if the taste of pizza made in a proper pizza oven was superior? I was baking perfectly adequate pizzas in my regular oven, thank you very much.
So it only takes a minute to cook a pizza, as opposed to around 12 – 15 minutes in a regular oven? That sounds good, but really… it’s dinner time. We’re already in the kitchen where we need to be – a few minutes saved isn’t that big a deal.
And of course – the clincher:
They cost HOW MUCH??? Are you KIDDING me? Who in their right mind would pay hundreds of dollars to make a pizza taste better and save a few minutes? Not this little black duck! I have far better things to do with my money.
And Past Frogdancer would have been correct. She DID have better things to do with her money, such as pay off the house, send the boys through school, buy braces and glasses for whoever needed them etc etc. I called myself a ‘little black duck’ a few sentences back and that’s a pretty apt description for how life was back then. My little webbed feet were paddling furiously under the surface to make sure that the boys and I stayed afloat.
But now that I’ve reached FI?
It seems that the rules have changed a bit.
The second pizza. We need to practice launching them into the oven a little more!
When I first saw that Thermomix was selling pizza ovens, the first thing I thought of was how fantastic entertaining would be with one of these working with me. I realised this was something that could definitely make a positive difference in my life. Safe to say, I was interested in finding out more.
But hey, let’s not get crazy here! The next thing I did was check out the price. I haven’t changed that much! There’s no point fantasising about owning something if it’s impossible to pay for.
Fortunately, the price was reasonable.
It’s interesting though. Unlike buying a thermomix, I won’t be using this pizza oven nearly as much. There’ll be weeks that go by when it won’t be touched. Granted, it’s not as pricey as a thermomix, but even so. The cost per use won’t be nearly as good.
But for the first time, that wasn’t the important part. The major tipping point for me was the thought of seeing my boys, my wider family and my friends gathering together and having fun, enjoying good food – because who doesn’t like pizza? – and it being something that everyone could look forward to doing.
In other words, the emotional draw of this product trumped (ugh – hate that word… I wonder why) the financial considerations.
This is the side of practising delayed gratification that we don’t often hear of. Everyone talks about front-loading the sacrifices to get to a point where you can loosen the reins and start indulging yourself. Not many people talk about what it’s like once they reach the point of being able to relax and reap the rewards earned by being disciplined with expenditure for so long.
Well, I’m at that point. I don’t want to run crazy, buying every shiny new bauble in sight, but it’s nice to have other things be the deciding consideration, rather than simply “How much does it cost?”
The decades of frugal living have left their mark, but in ways that I really like. I live a life filled with simple pleasures that don’t cost a lot, if anything. I love to go travelling – fingers crossed Antarctica can still go ahead this year – but I’m also extremely happy puddling around at home.
I spent years and years living on the knife’s edge of poverty when the boys were small, determined not to fall off. My theme song was Bon Jovi’s “We’re Halfway There”, except I changed the line to “It DOES make a difference if we make it or not.” I went without many things and made probably thousands of little sacrifices that, while I obviously noticed them at the time, have mostly faded into obscurity over the years.
All of those little daily frugal habits have brought me here. I hope that there’s someone reading this… maybe someone who feels like they’re stuck in the boring middle ground of FI when it seems like you’ve optimised every expense and now you’re just plodding through… someone who can catch a glimpse that it’ll all be worth it.
After all, the time will pass, regardless of whether you’re using the tool of delayed gratification or not. But it can make a huge difference as to where you’ll be when you’re older.
It’s 11:34 AM on a Tuesday. I’m about to get up and plant some new flowers into some hanging baskets, before making some bread rolls for lunches and then finishing off a quilt for my cousin. Tom30 is working from home and I can hear him singing in his room. Luckily, he has a beautiful voice! As I’m typing this I’m throwing a ball for Polly and Sout to chase, while Jeffrey is snoring beside me.
In an alternate universe, 11:34 AM on a weekday would mean that I’d be either in a classroom teaching 28 kids, or at my desk in the staffroom marking papers or preparing lessons. Not a bad life, granted, but I know which one I’m very happy to be living!
(In the comments last week, Maureen asked me for a review of the Ovana. Here’s the link, in case she missed it.)
What’s top of my mind:Finishing a quilt so I can start cutting out squares for another one.
I’m making a quilt for my cousin and it’s very time-consuming. I’ve been chipping away at it over the last couple of months, but then I saw a pattern and a ‘Quilt Along’ for the quilt pictured above. I saw the quilt in real life when I went on my Little Adventure back in June last year.
It’s made from 1.5″ squares and there are over 5,000 of them in the quilt. As Kellie says, “This quilt is easy to put together but it takes stamina to finish!”
I ordered a ruler that is hellishly expensive but will shave hours off the cutting time. I know I’ll be using it for years to come, so it’s not an expense – it’s an investment, right?!? It arrived today, so I’m planning to get Robyn’s quilt finished by the end of the weekend, so I can dive in and start getting organised. The quilt-a-long starts in the middle of March! There’ll be a lot of cutting of fabric between now and then. 🙂
Where I’ve been:on a Little Adventure.
With my sister. Stay tuned…
Where I’m going:Into my sewing room.
See above.
What I’m watching:Killing Eve.
I’ve been meaning to watch this show for a couple of years now and when I saw it was on Stan I was on board. I’m really enjoying it. There are 3 seasons so far (I think) so I have many nights of viewing pleasure ahead of me.
What I’m reading:NOTHING.
Yes, really unusual for me to not have at least one book on the go. I finished book #19 for this year and I have a couple of holds waiting for me at the library, so I might go and pick them up today.
What I’m listening to:The dishwasher running.
See below.
What I’m eating: PIZZA from my new pizza oven!!
Tonight is the night that Ryan27 and I fire up our new pizza oven and see how it performs. I bought this one along with all the extras. I bought a gas bottle, my sister Kate and Ryan27 put it all together, the pizza dough is proving on the bench and we’ve given the oven its first warm-up.
Tonight’s dinner is going to be EPIC!
Who needs a good slap:Putin.
What a wanker.
What I’m planning:to get my dining room table back.
Tom30 has moved back in, but he has SO MUCH STUFF. I said that every single piece of kitchen equipment he owns has to be put through the dishwasher before we pack it away.
There have been many dishwasher loads-worth of stuff and all of it is now piled high on my table. It’s doing my head in. I can’t wait until he has the weekend free to pack it all away.
What has made me smile: Tom30 trying to get Scout to drop the ball.
What’s top of my mind: Congratulating myself for my forethought.
A big part of being attracted to the Financial Independence/Retire Early idea is that we are all people who are actively using forethought. We can see that although we may like what we’re doing for a living now; we may not want to be still doing it a few decades later.
Part of the reason why I bought The Best House in Melbourne was the overall design. One of the neighbours told me that a daughter and her Dad built it. It’s perfectly designed for adults to share the house without having to trip over each other all the time.
Here’s the house plan from the sales brochure:
The only shared spaces are the kitchen and the laundry. I knew as soon as I saw the listing online that this would be a perfect house for Boomerang kids. You know, adult kids who move out for a while and then move back because they’re either wanting to save money for a deposit or because something unexpected has happened.
Ryan27 boomerang’d back home about 3 years ago and now it’s Tom30’s turn.
He’s been out of home for 7 years, living with a friend from school. They’ve known each other for around 15 years. Anyway, on Saturday night this housemate broke one of the most fundamental rules of the Bro Code, so their friendship is over. Tom30 is moving back in with us for the next few months.
I’m so very glad that I have the space to be able to offer my boys a safe haven when things turn dicey. This whole ugly situation would’ve been far worse if he’d had nowhere to go on a moment’s notice. This way he can move in, catch his breath and work out where he wants to go next, without being forced to grab the first thing that’s offered.
Where I’ve been:David28 and Izzy’s engagement party.
Yes, six months after popping the question, the engagement party finally went ahead. Izzy comes from a very large, exuberant Italian family, so my family was definitely in the minority! We ended up sitting outside because my brother, who had a very serious stroke a couple of Christmas Days ago, was worried that if we stayed inside he’d be at risk from covid. He’s booked for a procedure in hospital next week and he didn’t want it put off again.
I hope we didn’t look like snobs…
David27 and Izzy are very much in love and they were both so HAPPY! But gee, David27 is a good brother. He left his own engagement party early to drive back with us to Tom30’s place to help move things back to my place.
Where I’m going:For the next few days – nowhere.
And I’m happy with that. I really like puddling around here at home.
What I’m watching: the red light blink on my aircon.
*sigh*
That red light blinking means that it’s going to be expensive, I’m sure.
I don’t know where I saw the recommendation for this one, but I’ve had it on hold for ages. I finally finished the Murderbot books, (thanks to whoever it was who recommended them to me in the comments – I really enjoyed them!), and now I’m reading this as a change of pace.
The plot is that it’s set around 2030 in England and there’s a horrifying virus/bacteria/disease that is making otherwise normal pregnancies end up with a baby who refuses to take a single breath. The stats for these pregnancies is slowly growing. Pregnant teen mothers are disappearing and society is becoming more repressive as people’s fears grow.
Of course, the protagonist is a pregnant teen.
I’m only 100 pages in so far, but it looks ok. These dystopian novels set in the near future are interesting.
Now that I’m commuting, podcasts are taking longer to work my way through. I mentioned this one a few weeks ago – a journalist investigating a cold case of a young woman brutally murdered up in Queensland in 2012.
I was slowly working my way through the episodes, but then WHAM!!!!! The most shocking development I think I’ve ever heard of has happened and I was gobsmacked. I’m a couple of episodes behind, but with all of the to-ing and fro-ing from Tom30’s place to mine, I’ve been able to listen to quite a few episodes so I’m nearly up to date.
This is the sort of project that gives journalists a good name.
What I’m eating:Homemade bread.
Now that Ryan27 is working, I’ve been making bread rolls for him to take for lunch. For those of you with a thermomix, I’m using THIS RECIPE. The rise on the dough is amazing and the texture of the bread is really good.
I make a batch and put them in the freezer for him to work his way through. Every now and then I leave one out on the bench to defrost for my lunch.
Yum.
Who needs a good slap:Tom30’s flatmate.
‘Nuff said.
What I’m planning:my next Little Adventure.
A friend of mine from work suggested a place for me to take a little holiday in the country and I’ve started to look into it.
What has made me smile: the adaptability of the Little Woofs.
So far (touch wood) I haven’t missed a day of my morning yoga practice with Yoga With Adrienne. I finished the ‘Move’ series and now I’m working my way through through the ‘Breathe’ series.
Part of being successful with new habits is creating a routine around when you want to do them. My ironclad rule is that I can’t have breakfast until I’ve done my yoga.
Most mornings, unless it’s going to be really hot and I want to water the gardens early, is that I’ll feed the dogs, then unroll the yoga mat in my room while they’re outside. When they come inside, I lift them onto my bed and I start the day’s practice.
Jeffrey and Scout have now started to come inside and then go straight to my bedroom, waiting for me to lift them. Poppy always optimistically goes to the kitchen in case some rump steak or a cow carcass has suddenly fallen to the floor while she’s been out for 5 minutes.
It makes me smile to see Scout and Jeff sitting by my bed, wagging their tails. They have no idea why I’m doing these weird movements every morning but hey. They’re more than happy to have a snooze while they wait for me to finish!
Retirement Reading Quest – Reading my way to ‘free’ council rates.
I’m on a quest to borrow and read enough books to, in effect, cancel out the cost of my council rates per year.
It’s outlined in this post.
Years 8,9 and 10: 2016/17/18 – $5,400
I may as well continue back-tracking. I moved here in 2016, so I’ll chip away at all the rates I paid up till then. I’ll need $5,400.
Running Total – $2,400.
Year 7: I’m already a year ahead on my rates, so I’m taking a reader’s suggestion and I’m going to go back and start covering the rates from the year before I started. I may as well.Â
Year 7: Total needed: 2019/2020…$1,800
Finished! 12/12/2025
Year 6 (2025/2026) $2,590 AREADY COVERED!!!!!!
10/08/2015 – I won’t have another rates notice until August 2026, so I have time to kill. Let’s knock over a previous year’s rates, just for fun.
Year 5 (2024/2025) $2,339 and dog rego ($63) = $2,435.
Finished it before I even had the new rates notice ready.
Year 4 (2023/2024)Â $2,413.
Success! Not sure exactly when I passed the total, because I was waiting on the dog registrations to come through. But yes – I blitzed it.
Year 3: (2022/2023) $2,350
12/01/2023 FINISHED! Not working gives me heaps more reading time – I recommend it!
