I've finally made one of those big decisions: a definite date when I'm going to finish at my job. I moved from being an employee to a consultancy role (same work, different conditions) two years ago, planning to leave this March.
Now isn't quite the right time as we shall be re-applying for two elements of our core funding in the next few months. Once we have submitted those proposals, it will be the ideal time for someone younger who can see the work through the next five or six years to take over.
I've really enjoyed what I do and I still get excited by it and feel it is worthwhile, but it definitely takes a toll in physical stamina. Interestingly, working remotely and spending all day in online meetings is as tiring, if not more, than traipsing to London for face-to-face meetings!
I've been prevaricating for a while now, but the final decision was made in an instant over a silly thing (in itself) but brought home something I had gradually been coming to realise over the past few months: some things are not going to change.
I have a meeting next week with the person I work for and I've written the draft recruitment pack and process for my replacement to take to the meeting. I've also planned my leaving party at the end of September!
Of course, the big personal worry is money: will there be enough? Especially as I'm sitting in a half-finished house and every job still outstanding seems to come with a £5,000 price tag.
On the other hand, if we are due an increase in value for HIVE, there are some decisions to take which both alleviate the anxiety and require some planning. I spent half an hour talking about my plans to an independent financial adviser which helped (see note below).
Worst case scenario: I have an emergency fund in place that would cover living expenses for a year and replacing the car. (Message to lizard brain: stop worrying about whether there will be enough money).
Giving up an income half way through the year would leave some margin under the 20% tax threshold to accommodate any surpluses I was able to withdraw from HIVE, and I've also reduced income from my pension for the first six months of the year to increase the margin a little more.
So I have a plan, and I always feel much happier when that is the case!
Note: people's experiences with financial advisers seems to vary and I've heard some gruesome stories. I've worked with mine for about fifteen years now, possibly longer, because he orginally helped me get a refund for an endowment policy I was mis-sold. It's important to check who you are working with and to feel comfortable with them. It is also important to do your own research.
With regard to HIVE, I'm still struggling to let my account reduce from 140,000 HP, even though I have a HIVE plan and to bring it to fruition will require powering down to 100,000 HP.
I've a side hustle going on until the end of this tax year where I'm putting together a kitty of about 6,500 HIVE. Much to my amusement, I have to bring the account back to 140k HP every week after the power-down. I'm sure it will all work out, and the HIVE price will surge to .65 USD to make it all worthwhile!
If not, then there will be a nice power-up to the account on 6 April.
My two big Hive savings objectives are growing my EDSI holdings - I'm basically following the plan I set in place at the beginning of 2024 - and, a new one, I've changed my plans for SPI.
SPI is set up along UK Investment Club lines, I guess you could say it's a partnership or a mutual, where the token, SPI, represents your share of the fund. Originally when it first started, my plan was to hold 10% of the fund, which I have done for several years now.
A few months ago, there was a draft proposal for the longer-term development of the SPI investment fund which I found very exciting - not least because of the opportunities it would create for learning new things.
Since then, I have decided to increase my holdings to 15% of the fund, which will probably take me a year or two to realise.
I am also starting to look around at other opportunities, getting the research in place for after the bull-run.
And then there's the One Bitcoin Club!