OV9

ZedLeg wrote: Tue Dec 31, 2024 9:56 pm Apparently I wasn’t posting here last new year.

Any plans I had for the year were curtailed by being made redundant right at the start.

After losing a job that I was very good and successful at, I struggled to find anything at a similar level, presumably due to my lack of formal quals and quite broad skill set.

I ended up taking a job doing similar to some of the stuff I had been doing at a lower level along with a hefty pay cut.

Job’s starting to get better as I’m working on quite a large project now but I’m really struggling to make ends meet.

Main focus in the new year will be more money, whether that’s a promotion/pay rise or a move remains to be seen.

Apart from that we’ve been ticking along ok.

I’m studiously ignoring some health issues as I just don’t have the head space for them just now . My mental health has been up and down this year, mostly due to the aforementioned job issues. The christmas break has been just the ticket though, feeling pretty refreshed for going back.

Oh and I passed 5 years sober last week, which I’m pretty chuffed with.

Still at the shite job that doesn’t pay enough, had an interesting interview last week though. Smaller company and logistics manager role so more money. I felt like the interview went well (even though I was on my christmas break so had festive glittery nails ) and should hopefully here from them next week.

It would be a good start to the year if I got it.

Generally feeling in a better place than last year. My partner and I are doing alright, just ticked over 15 years together and I’m now 6 years sober. Another year is always a little thrill

Next year if I get this job is to try and get back above water financially and if not keep looking I guess.

V8Granite wrote: Tue Dec 31, 2024 10:40 pm quote=V8Granite post_id=198320 time=1703784006 user_id=151]

V8Granite wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 12:45 pm No need to look back, I only have 2 plans….

Fix my body, I fractured my kneecap, broke a bit of bone in my foot, torn shoulder muscles and trapped nerves in my left thigh. I intend to fix them all.

Get nicely set for what I believe will be a harsh few years. Broaden my shares and start investing much more. Open more savings account and generally be ready to jump on a forever home by 2025.

Dave!

Right shoulder fixed, left leg better but not fixed, kneecap all sorted, foot sorted but now my left elbow is giving me a lot of pain. It feels like the muscle is torn but it can’t be. Physio lady who fixed my shoulder is on the case in Jan.

Shares and investments are doing well, not a lot of money but a reasonable lump which is great.

Strength, weight loss all great. Marriage is better than ever and genuinely couldn’t be happier in that regard.

Kids doing great, it was hard work job wise but at home it’s better than it’s ever been with the family.

2024 I’m trying to run the biggest job the company I work for has ever had so am going for the hard sell. If it doesn’t happen and I’ve tried I’m fine with that but need to try.

Carry on fixing body, teaching my boys what I think they need to know to be young men and generally trying to enjoy the ride.

Dave!

The big Nigeria job is in limbo due to funds from China, not sure what is happening there.

Work going well so need to keep cracking on.

Kids doing great still, my eldest is fast becoming a wannabe teenager but luckily a nice one.

Bought a house which wasn’t on the cards, shares doing better than I expected and on track for our retirement plans. Just need to keep the motivation and stay on course.

This year is all about paying off a little debt we have, adding to savings as we have none.

Both excited about the new car, will be fun to want to go for a drive just for fun again.

Dave!
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A bit stressful but some big milestones hit.

I hit my dividends targets 2 years early, got a few jobs done on the rental, kids doing well despite some challenges with a huge jump in workload for the eldest.

The Clio is just what I needed, we have done over 10,000 miles in it and I've had a few great drives which is good escape. I never managed to sort the Defender but I have access to a lot of free wood now so need it back on the road, a few people will get a lot of free wood so I need to be on it by the spring.

I just got a promotion at work so have a pay rise starting January which helps for the next targets.

Wife being bombproof, incredibly lucky man.

Left shoulder sore so more money to my lovely physio.

This coming year....

NC500 with the wife as I couldn't make it happen last year.

Show work they haven't just made a big mistake

Hit my next dividend target as I'm still really enjoying the process.

Defender back on the road to collect loads of wood.

Some progress on the 500e but no idea how I'll be doing it.

Keep the wife and kids happy.

Dave!


Be better at quoting

Be better at quoting
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If you can dream it you can do it!

Be better at quoting
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If you can dream it you can do it!
[/quote]

You didn't come this far, to come this far.

My current grant runs out at the end of May this year so the primary 2026 plan is to get a job.
I have applied to the British Heart Foundation and Wellcome Trust for another grant and am also working up an application for an associate professor job (click if you are interested, or if you just like clicking). Of course the idea is to carry on doing the research I find interesting but I have to package this in a way that brings money to the hospital.
And of course I'm bored of the Tesla and I want to buy a fun car to properly indulge my silly car hobby.

It's hard to see beyond that in terms of planning.

Jobbo wrote: Thu Dec 28, 2023 10:19 pm It is always instructive to look back and remember that whatever plans you make need to be adaptable since things change. Despite that I can say that a lot of what I wanted to do in 2024 came to pass:

- Did not lose any more cats, because we moved house and keep them indoors now with some outside space accessible: the catio we had built. One of the previous outdoor cats does not want to go out at all into the catio. There are probably more whoopsies in the house now despite the 6 cat litter trays.

- Holidays were nowhere near as good as 2023; we had a long weekend in Anglesey just after moving, a week in Salcombe and a week in Malta and that was it (though my wife managed a week in Vegas with my stepdaughter which was a promise for when she had turned 21).

- I didn't just move house myself; I sold two houses so moved both of their contents, and I spent my birthday moving my father from two houses into one, then my wife's birthday moving my stepdaughter out and into her own place. Only one of these had the assistance of a removal company so a lot of hire vans were used.

- Didn't cycle that much but a bit more than 2023. Finished the year finding the rear tyre of my eMTB was flat when I opened the garage door - fortunately not to go for a ride - and I haven't fixed it yet. Need to do that. It feels like a new bike might be the required stimulus to get out a bit more.

- Did manage the forum drink and a Beefy Boys with Jimmy and Charlie. Have managed a few more Beefy Boys burgers since. I probably ought to lay off them; definitely put on a few pounds and feel less fit than this time a year ago. I think moving lots of stuff around early in 2024 meant I simply sat down for the second half of the year Moving to a new GP surgery has been a bit of an eye-opener; the GP I've seen is very keen on me becoming fit for the Olympics in 2028 as far as I can tell, so he's going to be massively disappointed. But hopefully taking just a little bit of his advice will be beneficial.

- Didn't really plan any car purchases after a bit of an extravagant 2023 but for anyone on this forum that's always subject to change, isn't it? So I tried a few (Alpine A110 and Emira most notably) then bought the first car I thought of. Looking forward to a bit better weather in 2025; 2024 seemed to have a pretty rubbish summer. The Porsche experience at Silverstone with Jimmy was a bit of a highlight too, and cemented my desire for a 992. Hopefully I'll get one this year, but I am happy to bide my time; the Cayenne arrives to replace the Macan some time in March (hopefully) or April (hopefully not, because it'll cost a fair bit more in first registration tax - but I'm resigned to that). Also fancy something electric; whether that is a depreciated Taycan wagon for commuting to work (seems a bit silly when I wouldn't want to sell the S6) or something like an i3 for trips to the chippy and the station. We will see.

- Work stayed busy; recruiting has had some success and some failures and this investment for the future did hit profits a bit compared to a bumper 2023. But we're at the end of my first 5 years running the firm now so the next 5 year plan needs to be made, and I have to target a nice round number for profit by the end of the period. Just got to work out how to get to that

- The one thing I said I should do in 2023 and 2024 and really failed was to catch up with friends more. My excuse for failing to do that was moving house, which really becomes a burden in your second half century (can't believe I used to enjoy doing it). But now we're settled I am optimistic that I can resolve my failure a bit in 2025.

Well I did manage to do the NC500 and Wild Atlantic Way, bought an EV and caught up with quite a few people (May from this forum) so 2025 definitely felt like I achieved my aims.

Work however was a shitter of difficult clients and difficult employees - we are still busy and I have some firm plans for this year but there was a point later in 2025 when I spoke seriously to a broker about selling the business just to get away from the strife. But it’s all part of running a business and I’m not old enough to retire.

Biggest realisation as I turned 52 in 2025 was that your body is not as resilient. I’ve cut my alcohol intake because I don’t like to be aware the next day that I’ve been drinking and even a couple of pints now noticeably slows me down. I have had a tender Achilles for a couple of months and I need to lose some weight. I bet that’s going to be harder than when I last dieted about 10 years ago

Plans otherwise:
Change the Jimny for a Touareg or similar.
Cycle more.
Prevaricate further about a 992. I don’t think this will be the year I buy one. I only want one when I don’t resent how much it costs.
Extend the warranty on the S6 as it reaches 3 years old in April.
Start doing some things to our house - decoration, add more interest in the garden etc.

At the end of 2026 it’ll nearly be the 10th anniversary of meeting my wife so I’d like to think we will plan something special for early 2027.

Jobbo wrote: Wed Dec 31, 2025 4:45 pm Work however was a shitter of difficult clients and difficult employees - we are still busy and I have some firm plans for this year but there was a point later in 2025 when I spoke seriously to a broker about selling the business just to get away from the strife. But it’s all part of running a business and I’m not old enough to retire.

This is a fear I need to address. I need to have more people working under me and supervise more but I am so worried about being lumbered with someone unreliable or who creates work.

2025 not been great with the missus suffering from life-threatening cancer yet again. Surgery complete and 2 chemo's left - one right now, so currently babysitting my disabled daughter on craggy island while waiting to be dad taxi to my lad who's working nye at the pub. Depressing nye achievement unlocked.

2026 aims, maybe a new job as at a dead end on that score really - just need to get her well enough that I can work on the mainland hybrid style. I'm the fattest I've ever been despite huge amounts of exercise - thanks, middle age. So off the beer and onto the rabbit food from tomorrow. Yay. Cars don't really bother me much these days. If a Celica GR arrives I could be interested, we'll see.

mr_jon wrote: Wed Dec 31, 2025 8:23 pm 2025 not been great with the missus suffering from life-threatening cancer yet again. Surgery complete and 2 chemo's left - one right now, so currently babysitting my disabled daughter on craggy island while waiting to be dad taxi to my lad who's working nye at the pub. Depressing nye achievement unlocked.

2026 aims, maybe a new job as at a dead end on that score really - just need to get her well enough that I can work on the mainland hybrid style. I'm the fattest I've ever been despite huge amounts of exercise - thanks, middle age. So off the beer and onto the rabbit food from tomorrow. Yay. Cars don't really bother me much these days. If a Celica GR arrives I could be interested, we'll see.

That sounds like your family’s had a real rough year. All the best for you and mrs_jon.

Had 8 months off after redundancy, but really enjoying the new job. Got bathroom finished. Gave back Leaf and bought an i3S which I’m still really enjoying (even if the kids hate it).

Stepwgn is fine but could do with some tidying and I still have some sketched out ideas for a basic camper setup which I want to build.

I have the import itch again but I’m not sure what. Maybe a S660, maybe upgrade our family bus, maybe replace our runabout with a kei box. Plenty more auction browsing to do.

2025 was a busy one at work, still finishing the current project off, so a few more months of stress. WBD buyout got us a little nervous too, Netflix don't care/want the games division, Paramount owners don't fill me with confidence either.

Car wise, sold the Civic to MattH (he's putting the K20 in his 306Gti), and the EV goes back in March. Am looking at buying a dad mobile to fill the gap, CRV most likely. I'll see what EV deals come up but am not rushing into anything. BIke wise, no new bike in 2025 (cos two new ones in 2024 felt like enough) but I'm eyeing something up - if I can keep the CRV costs down it'll make that choice even easier.. if I can find room for it in garage.

Bike adventures wise, we had a good trip to W Scotland, did a rallybook rally in Kielder (500kms over two days) and didn't fall off once?! T7 still giving great service, Z900RS still gorgeous and so satisfying to ride. Fazer passed 96k miles earlier this month, hoping to see 100k next year.

Health wise, am still doing my nightly pilates stretches so my back has behaved itself over all, just the occasional twinge to remind me. No big ilnessess thankfully, although watching my mate dealing with his wifes dialysis/transplant complications has been hard.


House wise, finally decided to get the loft insulation/cavity wall sorted. Then probably look at PV/House Battery options again.

mr_jon wrote: Wed Dec 31, 2025 8:23 pm 2025 not been great with the missus suffering from life-threatening cancer yet again. Surgery complete and 2 chemo's left - one right now, so currently babysitting my disabled daughter on craggy island while waiting to be dad taxi to my lad who's working nye at the pub. Depressing nye achievement unlocked.

2026 aims, maybe a new job as at a dead end on that score really - just need to get her well enough that I can work on the mainland hybrid style. I'm the fattest I've ever been despite huge amounts of exercise - thanks, middle age. So off the beer and onto the rabbit food from tomorrow. Yay. Cars don't really bother me much these days. If a Celica GR arrives I could be interested, we'll see.

Screw 2025, stay strong and hoping for a 2026 full of wins!

Dave!

V8Granite wrote: Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:25 pm

mr_jon wrote: Wed Dec 31, 2025 8:23 pm 2025 not been great with the missus suffering from life-threatening cancer yet again. Surgery complete and 2 chemo's left - one right now, so currently babysitting my disabled daughter on craggy island while waiting to be dad taxi to my lad who's working nye at the pub. Depressing nye achievement unlocked.

2026 aims, maybe a new job as at a dead end on that score really - just need to get her well enough that I can work on the mainland hybrid style. I'm the fattest I've ever been despite huge amounts of exercise - thanks, middle age. So off the beer and onto the rabbit food from tomorrow. Yay. Cars don't really bother me much these days. If a Celica GR arrives I could be interested, we'll see.

Screw 2025, stay strong and hoping for a 2026 full of wins!

Dave!

With bells on!

Please can I have:
- continued good health (knee send left shoulder notwithstanding)
- room for friendship and enjoyment
- no redundancies this coming year
- time to build our savings up again
- a change to make my contract open term (currently fixed for a year, they want to change it, but awaiting budget)
- the opportunity to move to a bigger house.

duncs500 last year wrote: Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:37 am 2025 plans:

I think until April we're going to be pretty stressed, I've got some big stuff going on at work and with the wife's course I think we're just going to have to grit our teeth and power through, it's not going to be easy. After that I think we'll start to settle into a rhythm a bit more. I've got no real work plans other than to keep learning my trade and being good at what I do with a view to building my contacts. I'm more or less as senior as I can be without being a director and I have zero interest in that (basically BD and HR, dull) so I'm kinda at a bit of a ceiling, which is absolutely fine by me.

No specific plans family wise, maybe find some sort of hobby that the little one and I can get into and enjoy that can then make it easy to give the wife more space which she needs I think. All change when the little one goes to school, but I'm sure we'll soon settle into the new routine. I do want to focus on my health a bit more, obviously the usual plans to exercise more and keep in shape, but I've got a health MOT later in Jan and I just want to keep a closer eye on my health as I worry about it a lot after losing some friends too young, I don't want to be another one to add to the list.

Car wise, it'll continue to be hard with the family commitments, but again try to finish those last few niggling jobs and have it running nice a sweet, use it as much as possilble, maybe even a road trip would be nice. Pray for nice weather for a change.

Other stuff, got this sourdough course so want to hone my craft with that, more bbq and more garden time (less big DIY jobs this year, so should be possible).

Hopefully a nice stable year and focus on enjoying it... so inevitably it won't be like that!

2025 review:

I guess the year largely went to plan / as expected. The 'big stuff' at work I was expecting to wrap up in the early part of the year actually went on all year and is likely to not get concluded until late next year... that's large infrastructure for you! I've managed to dodge most of the management stuff at work, and pretty much put the word out there that I'd rather stay away from it which is making my life better whilst probably damaging my potential in terms of how I'm seen by the upper echelons. I really don't care though, right now I'd rather just hone my technical skills and then see what I do next even if it's somewhere else. Money is not a high priority for me at the moment.

Little one went to school in September and after a shaky start it's going well, happy with the school and her progress. We never did find a consistent hobby to do together, but we still get on well most of the time. I have done better with taking care of my health, I've done a load more exercise than previous years and kept it going all year. It's a bit frustrating that after a year of doing lots of exercise I don't feel like I've made much progress in terms of being able to run a long way etc, but that's probably just a function of my age and my preference for not pushing it too hard (for fear of putting myself off). Having said that I think I am fitter and healthier even if I don't always feel it. Going to try and keep it going, get back to focussing on a blend of diet and exercise in Jan.

I haven't had time to focus on hobbies as much as I'd like, car hasn't done too many miles and the last few things I wanted to get done haven't happened. Took it for a drive yesterday and reminded myself that I still love driving it. Did a bit of bbq, but not as much as I would like. My sourdough game really took off after the course early in the year though, I've got into a good rhythm and usually manage to turn out one or two loaves a week, the only thing I'd like to do is experiment more and be a bit more creative with it, but haven't had time.

The wife has had a flat out busy year, she finished her course and after a break has started to make a little money from that. Alongside that around spring time she conceived a business idea with a friend which they've been gradually working to get off the ground ever since. After a few disappointments it looks like it might start to properly start to happen imminently. We've had our difficult moments, but we're still happy and strong together.

All in all, it feels like 2025 has been a very busy year just with life, never enough time to really savour it but definitely positive.


2026 plans:

The wife's business is probably going to kick off straight away, and it's going to be a huge change for all of us. So I'm expecting 2026 to be busy and stressful, it feels like for the first time in a long time the future is pretty hard to see and really I'm just relying on my belief in her and in all of us to make it ultimately rewarding and enjoyable.

Work wise, considering the big change for the wife, for me it's just about stability, keep the money coming in. We may need to tighten our belts, do lots of financial gymnastics for a while and just make it work by hook or by crook. I'm just going to focus on being the best I can be at what I do and keep learning. If / when my wife's venture stabilises that will be the time I start to consider my options, but that's probably not going to be in 2026.

Not much more to say really, 2026 starts with way less planning than other years. It's going to be a case of reacting to whatever happens. The only certainties are that I want to keep my exercise up, do as much of my hobbies as time will allow (not as much as I would like inevitably), and try to enjoy each day without getting too stressed about it all.

@mr_jon wishing you a better 2026 for you and the family, think it's well deserved judging by the last few years that you've mentioned in these topics!
@Jobbo despite the fact that business is successful for you, after dealing with many owners/directors in my last job I do wonder why people do it. Sure, financially it can work, but many of them work insane hours with critical stress levels and I used to wonder if the money made up for the loss of a 'life' and the health impact. Always worth considering early retirement if you can make the finances work, although I appreciate it's a family business for you so not that simple.


For my '26, I don't really talk about my personal life, but once again I'm feeling pretty blessed. Got some money in my pocket, great family, friends and (barring a shoulder injury that's taking it's time to heal) I've also got my health. Not really much much more to ask for.

Was also great to catch up with a few of you at the end of last year, especially having not seen some faces for many years!

Regarding car plans, I'm kinda stumped. The QV was a massive disappointment for me, although I think it was more on my side than the car. I've been tucking money away for the last 10 months and the Emira is now achievable...but I'm not sure there's much point and whether I want that much money tied up in something that I'll rarely use - I enjoy owning cars more than I do driving them at this point I like the idea of having something in the garage when I'm going somewhere nice, or to a car show...but otherwise, driving something nice seems to stress me out as I've got older, as more and more people seem to be inconsiderate fucks - it's just easier to use a small car that I'm happy to park anywhere without worring about it. I've looked at cheaper stuff (MX5's, early Elises) or going to a single more exciting car (Yaris GR) but there's not enough appeal there. So I don't know....given how fucked the economy seems to be at the moment, maybe it's worth waiting a bit anyway.

Simon wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2025 11:10 am It's taken me a while to get around to this thread.

My post from last year:

Simon wrote: Sat Dec 30, 2023 9:36 pm Looking back at my wish-list for 2023, it basically said 'improve our financial situation'

I've been working on that, but more on that in a bit. Seems that '23 can mostly be summed up in achievements. We brought new life into this world with the birth of our daughter in July. Her and my son have bonded amazingly. He's a brilliant big brother and loves her to bits. Looking back it was so definitely the right thing to do. No more though, despite the wife saying that if we had more money she'd like a third. Sod that!

In June I passed my AWS certifications, and last week passed my Azure ones too. Maybe I'll do Google certs in the new year just for the LOLz. Yeah, I'm pretty much bored of work now, but it's paying the bills. The more it feels like I'm phoning it in, the better my reports seem to get at work. There's even talk of promotion in the air. Whatever.

Deb did her life in the UK test in November and we've just finished her Indefinite Leave to Remain application, so we should hear about that in the coming weeks/months. 4 visa applications in, what with solicitors fees, NHS fees, visa fees etc, I'm in for about £20k for the whole lot. And we've still got citizenship to go. Anyone who things coming to the UK is cheap or easy can FRO.

So, money. I've never wanted to retire doing what I do now. I'm pretty much done with IT already, after nearly 27 years, but have never been able to put my finger onto what would replace it. This time last year I knew our daughter was on her way, so I thought a lot about the next few years and what it needed from me and it really focused my mind. We will need our larger forever house, both cars will need replacing soon, we need to buy a place in Brazil for my mother-in-law (and for us to stay in when we go over there), we'd like a place in Portugal too, and of course there's the usual children costs. Finally I want to retire in 10 years or so, and my friend has a venture I'd like to invest in, and I want to do all of this off my own back and without falling back on an inheritance or two, so for new year '23 I created a commitment to myself to get our second source of income flowing. Those of you who are really observant will have noticed that my post count has dropped significantly this year and that's because I'm working hard on upskilling my new income. I'm not saying what it is yet, but if all goes to plan I'm looking at an exit to 'employment' within the next 12-18 months and then a few years maxing out my new income stream(s). And no, it's not crypto.

So, 23 was largely a win, but as I noted elsewhere it feels like my parents (or at least my Mum) are really getting old. Dad is 80 soon, yet only just wound up his practice and retired so seems fit enough, but Mum's been through the wringer a bit of late and is a bit blind and very slow on her feet. Poor old Mum. So that worries me, but doesn't seem like there's anything I can do to help them.

Hopefully '24 will bring a bit of better health for her and I can start to make them feel proud of me whilst they're still around.

I'll tackle them in order. Kids - Noah still besotted with his baby sister Sienna. It doesn't matter what shit is going on in the world, when I see how they interact and the joy they bring each other I can forget everything else. A few days ago they were sitting next to each other on the sofa with their breakfast, watching TV with a blanket pulled up over their legs. I caught Noah turning to his sister, getting a huge smile on his face and then giving he a gentle kiss on the cheek. Pure love.

Noah started school in September and turned 5 a month later. However, he's really struggling. As a SEN kid the school do amazingly with the resources they have, but really we need his EHCP to come through and the extra support that'll bring. He still isn't attending full time - just a couple of 'full' days a week and the rest are mornings, and even when he has a full day he comes home for lunch because the noisy lunch hall is too overwhelming for him. We got his autism diagnosis early in the year and are a few weeks from completing his ADHD and ODD diagnosis. Aside from the paperwork, what that should really open the door for is medication to help him navigate through the day. We didn't want to go down that road originally, but actually now think it's probably the best thing for him. With the family history of the above we watch Sienna very closely for any signs she may exhibit!

On the job front, you may have seen that I left my role in December and am now looking for something new. My side-hustle is starting to pay though, so now the question is can I ramp my side hustle quickly enough to not need to go back? I've a couple of years of savings to see if I can make it work.

I'm not really _wanting_ another employed job, but will do what I need to do to put food on the table. Also it really helps being at home with Noah and his additional needs through the day (and I was officially full time WFH from 2020 anyway as they closed our office). Will see.

So 2025 is basically trying to speed up my 'side' income so I don't have to work again, getting my son medicated, and starting Sienna at nursery in September. With the free time I have right now I need to do some bits around the house so I don't feel my time is wasted!

Again, late to this thread. However, tackling them in order.

My boy Noah now in year 1. He had a 1-1 teacher start work in January, soon after the above was posted. He's really bonded with her and she is fucking awesome. She supports him amazingly and we're so lucky to have her in our lives. Even though, being a 'regular' school, it seems like their expectations for him academically are much like the other kids, and I'm not sure he's going to reach their level. We're having discussions around whether we need to move him to a specialist school. I really don't want to, but we'll see. On the plus side, after trying 4 different ADHD medications for him it finally seems that we've found something he'll tolerate. There is a trial I never want to go through again. Just ramping up the level now trying to find what's right for him, and we'll see what kind of impact that'll have on his schooling before making any decisions. He continues to be awesome/beautiful/hard work/son of satan/amazing/impossible etc etc.

My daughter started nursery in September. Again, like her bruv did, just 2 mornings a week to get her into the habit of being out and away from us for a bit and with friends. She is awesome. She has some major sass, her speech is coming on well and she won't be bossed around by anyone in her life. Good for her.

I'm still officially 'between roles' - those of you on my LinkedIn will see I'm still 'open to work', but a) the market remains crap and b) I'm still ramping up my side gig. I'm hopeful I will never have to go back, but never say never eh?

The thing that is troubling me mostly in '25 was my parents. Mum collapsed back in April and she was blue lighted down to the hospital. Lots of tests later and it seems that there were more questions than answers about what was wrong with her. Then in early December she had a fall whilst out with Dad. She spent 3 weeks in hospital, including Christmas day, which i am gutted about. We've moved a bed down to the dining room so she doesn't have to go up and down stairs anymore but her mobility is really poor now and her memory isn't what it should be either. She seems confused and frail. Hard to see one of your parents like this.

So 26 will likely be making a decision around our son's schooling, make or break for the side hustle, and consequently firming up our moving plans as a result of both the above.

Car wise I'm barely driving my car now so may well sell it soon and just use the Yeti as and when. Will see what needs we have in the coming months.

jamcg wrote: Wed Dec 31, 2025 9:00 pm

mr_jon wrote: Wed Dec 31, 2025 8:23 pm 2025 not been great with the missus suffering from life-threatening cancer yet again. Surgery complete and 2 chemo's left - one right now, so currently babysitting my disabled daughter on craggy island while waiting to be dad taxi to my lad who's working nye at the pub. Depressing nye achievement unlocked.

That sounds like your family’s had a real rough year. All the best for you and mrs_jon.

Jeez - that. Wishing you all strength.

As above! All the best for you all.