Today marks 6 months of me selling my business and wow what a ride it's been.
Firstly, I'm still working daily in the business (what else would I be doing during a pandemic). The pressure is definitely off in terms that the team around me and the responsibility I had for them and their families. I have slept better these 6 months that I have for the past 10 years.
We spent a little, invested a lot.
We started to live on our RE Budget. And are within 1k of that after 6 months. I'm super conservative on our withdrawal rate and for years 1-5 have set this at 2.75%. We pay ourselves a discretionary allowance and all bills are covered by this budget including some spendy luxury holiday deposits for next year. So far though we're bang on track and I'm comfortable in the knowledge that there's headroom to spend more, or that we could pull back if we needed to.
I sold my fancy jeep, bought a sensible second hand car. It arrived 2 weeks after the deal went public (has prompted a few conversations from loose associates about the reasoning behind the deal. I couldn't give two hoots about their impression of me or the reason we sold - it was a great thing for us btw). Genuinely I want to slide off unknown into the sunset and keep my motoring costs low. It's still a 20k car, but with only 40k miles, I'll run it for the next 10 years. I plan to drive to the mountains for extended ski trips next year so this new to me car will be a much more economical option
Old habits die hard though. From my discretionary spend I'm saving. Not so much for the future, but we've the perfect opportunity to ensure we never need to borrow for anything and so I'm putting little pots aside for things I know will come up (gifts, holiday spending money, car insurance). I've hardly been frivolous but I've spent a few cents on things I want. Mostly software synths and games.
We have however, spent/invested on things that will affect our quality of life. We built a home gym and a summer garden room to house it in. We're extended our living areas at home and put in a video games room / Studio. While a decent cost outside of our budget, they are also an investment in ourselves and our home, so I'm not one bit concerned. I've used the gym more this year than I've done in the past 3.
Yesterday was the best day of the year so far and I sat in the garden, spent time in the gym, all while enjoying the sunshine. It was worth it.
I've made music for the first time in 7 years and I'm enjoying it. I'm learning new production tips weekly and putting them to action.
I DO NOT TALK ABOUT WORK AT HOME - I took my work calendar and emails off my phone. Thats not to say I do not work hard. I put as much effort today as I did when I owned the business, but after hours, I give the attention to family.
I've started to think about what I will do when I finish work. I'm built to make money. Thats how I've been wired for 20 years. I will take some time off, I will work on my hobbies and I will play xbox flat out. I have earned it.
I plan to spend the next 24 months building relationships. Both family, existing friends and new. The pandemic has highlighted that while I have some great close friends, they don't share my hobbies, nor schedules that always match. So I will widen this out. I haven't had to make new friends in 20 years. Any tips?
At home, we are thriving by spending more quality time together. It's not always easy, but in life, what is? We're definitely a stronger family unit this past 6 months than we've ever been.
So far so good, the future awaits.