If you already own your own home it's a no brainer.
KITEand more KITING.

But do you want a more interesting job?

If not, why do you need other people's opinion?

Dont listen to people who say you don't work hard enough.

Do what makes you do this

Whats it all about if your house is all paid for and you live 600m from the beach?
Youd have to be insane not to go kiting ?
I worked since i was 7 yrs old....
After 40 yrs of trade work and a son who has 16 people working for him
Im f$@ked if im gonna make the gov any richer.
Im no longer a mouse in the economic maze

Today i live by the wind.....

There's 2 graves
Both hold someone of the same age
Difference is ones put work before life
We all end up in the same spot of dirt
I'd like to think I'm the other bloke
I've been a grafter all my life, but I'm bringing my kids up with a different attitude, as I'd live my life in a very different way today, doesn't matter what you've got when your toes are pointing to the sky

windreams said...
work to live...

not

live to work...

But think of the reality, I've lived in 7 different countries looking for that perfect, life , work ,location mix, I'm afraid to say I've not found it

Can see why most people in the surf seem to be tradies kite247 - flexibility is important. If I can get in a few sessions each week, a real job is ok. I should clarify no mortgage = renting so I prob should earn more while I can so I don't have to bludge off my kids later.

First world choices!

cauncy said...
There's 2 graves
Both hold someone of the same age
Difference is ones put work before life
We all end up in the same spot of dirt
I'd like to think I'm the other bloke
I've been a grafter all my life, but I'm bringing my kids up with a different attitude, as I'd live my life in a very different way today, doesn't matter what you've got when your toes are pointing to the sky

There is some wisdom...

Hmmmm...... oh dear I might have a seriouse response.

Can you go for option 3? a more flexible full time job?

Working part time just getting along is pretty good for the Peter Pan lifestyle. But when you have kids its not all about you anymore. Is working a part time job allowing you to give your kids good life experiences? Holidays, epic adventures, sports hobbies? If so then carry on. if you don't have the money to take your kids on holidays, enrol them in things like sport, music etc then you may need to reconsider what is most important.
Give your children the best start in life may be more important than that extra session each week.

On not owning a house side of things and renting. What a horrendous waste of money. Do some hard yards working for a few years and buy a house. The mortgage will be the similar to rent. 20 years later you will own a house and be a lot more financially stable,,,

I've tried the last 4-5 years to have my cake and eat it...

Get work with flexible start/finish times. That didnt mean it had to be tradie work, it was actually very highly paid office work....

The best thing about a seabreeze is it usually happens in the afternoon from 4pm.... therefore, I start at 730 or earlier!!

Hey Rollo, do you think you'll enjoy this job? Some of us actually do.
Mine, well I'm going through a mid-life crisis and wishing I did something else, but when I sit quietly and contemplate I know I still enjoy it.
When it's time to work hard I work hard, when times are slow I let the boss know where I will be... and that's generally OK if your peers can see you're pulling your weight at work and not leaving anyone in the lurch.

So, if you think you'll get some joy from the job, then do it mate. Kiting is good, but like everything else, it needs balance with other stuff for it to stay being good.

to be fair the current job covers all, modest holidays included. Agreed Plummet; absolutely more concerned with (and enjoy) giving the kids a good start than my sessions. That good start includes time. More time with kids than private school for me.

Office work: The flexibility is there, I find setting that expectation up front is the key. Put in the effort, produce the results and set a pattern from the start (out the door early and or working from home some days). It's just that some jobs can be all consuming at times.

on the house side: in boom times; capital gains less interest > rent. In these times, capital gains less interest << rent. Put it another way, if I were to pay interest on the property I rent at todays incredibly low rates of 4% it would cost me $33K plus rates, insurance and maintenance so call it $37K. Capital gains zero to negative. Rent for the same is $28K. So just now I would rather pay rent to my good sorts Australian land lord than even more money for the same address to Bankers.

hey rollo

definitely reads in your other posts like you are fairly across it all, and are just looking for any divergence in opinions or for discussion. i reckon the full time job, and set the flexi-time type expectations up front. i have absolutely no issue working full time, i seem to get out swimming, paddling, surfing or kiting 4-7 days a week conditions determining. i get out more mid-week then some of my friends do on weekends. i had the epiphany the other day that my balance is pretty bl00dy good, even though i'm not necessarily living in margs/exmouth/gero which would be my dream, due to the work requirements. But i have my finger on the pulse for whenever an opportunity to get there ever comes up.

if it is work with the chance of "full-on periods" or working away, i try to set up the situation so that my time off either in those places or when home, has maximum chance to do fun stuff. so the bosses are aware that there is a board (and usually 3 kites) under the suitcase in the work vehicle, but i don't take the p*ss and ride when there is work to be done (usually haha, 25kn and 2m, or 4m and offshore can be tricky), and they see me fresh, taking ownership of all the issues that come up and never complaining about trivial things like work hours and expense claims etc.



disclaimer: mortgage. no kids. not married but have a solid long term GF. state gov employee so not on mega bucks and is a more rigid system than private work

Sounds like you have the work/life balance pretty good at the moment. My advice would be to flag this particular higher paying full time job that take you away more from your passions and family. After all that's what life is alll about. Family and your passions. Remain the status quo and perhaps look for a more flexible full time job later on.

Nobody sits on their death bed wishing they worked more... or died with more money.....

But.... The other part of the triangle is setting yourself up for when you are old and don't want to work anymore. To do that you really want to own a house and be mortgage free. The sooner you start the sooner you will pay off the mortgage. Or you will have to continue to work to afford rent. At the moment you piss $28k down the drain every year. For an additional $9k per year you can eventually own that house. When you retire you simply have to fun the $5k of insurances etc.

No matter how much I kite it's never enough I always want the next fix. When I wake up I'm thinking about kiting, when I'm at work I'm thinking of kiting. If I had a part time job I would be a better kiter but the feeling of not kiting enough would still be there....I think.

Dave Whettingsteel said..
Yup, I have a fairly challenging full time job but I made it clear from the start that I do early start, early finish. So I can always get a couple of hours of kiting after work.
The other lesson that I have been very slow to learn but I reckon is super important is your location. Where I live in Gero its no more than 5 minutes to everything. Work, all the beaches, school, shops, gym, medical etc. It just gives you so much more free time and flexibility.

I have at least 12 hours a week more free time that when I was travelling to Perth for work.

I need to sack up and either talk to the boss about my schedule so I can have more time in the afternoon or one day off a week. It's not even just about kiting either. It's also about mountain biking! . (and more time with girlfriend, puppy, friends, errands and chores.)

Or start my own business. I'm always thinking/talking about my own business but I doubt myself I have the drive / commitment to actually make it work and earn me money.

Dave Whettingsteel said..
Just a tip but starting your own business can result in an extended period of no free time and no money. It can take a lot to build a business to the point where you have flexibility.

Sounds too hard. I give up.