Do you have a decent lifestyle?

[StreetwiseHercules]

Don't really get out much because of the wee one. We don't have any family close by so there's no help/babysitters, ever really. but I don't really mind. Once you've been on 500 or more nights out, you don't miss it.

We also aren't bothering too much with holidays while the wee man is very small because what's the point and we did loads before he came along. The odd holiday cottage or the odd trip to the Hebrides to see grandparents is all we need for the foreseeable.

[StreetwiseHercules]

One thing about lifestyle and earnings etc that I just don't get is the 'keeping up with the Jones' mentality. Quite a few of the guys I work with get so boastful about their stuff - one guy is getting a new car and went on and on about it for weeks, making me watch a YouTube video of people revving the engine of the car. He also boasted about having six TVs in his house, despite only him, his wife and his two daughters (who are 3 and 1) living there. Another guy said to me that he just couldn't get a Kia (I have a Kia) because he needed to keep up face with a Merc or something like that.

I mean, spend your money on what you want, if you like cars, get a nice car, if you like tellys and stuff like that get one in every room. But why is it important to people what other people think of their car? It's something I just genuinely don't get. You work, earn money and then allow how you perceive other people will react to what you have dictate how you spend your money? What a waste of time.

These kind of people will never be happy. Comparison is the thief of joy.

One of my mates is like this and I take his joy when I can, even though it means nothing to me. He bored us all rigid a out his new sound bar and send us pics of it. I had just had Sky W installed so I asked him if that was retro sky he had on his telly before proceeding to tell him about SkyQ and how good it is. He was gutted. Good.

[Le Tout P'ti FC]

Funny thing is I knew shit all about accountancy a year ago apart from the stuff you get at higher but I have a maths degree and just applied en masses to a load of grad schemes and here I am today. Only thing is because I didn't do accounting at uni I need to start from the bottom whereas some of my contemporaries are already part qualified

This will stand you in better stead. Pass rate for non-relevant graduate intake is higher than for relevant. Perhaps because accounting at uni is rather abstract (the Higher covers a lot of the applied skills you will need to do basic accounting in practice), and also no doubt the students coming from other degrees are bringing other critical skills which gives them an advantage. Because of this, our firm now puts all trainees through TC at ICAS irrespective of degree subject.

Overtime is manageable at trainee level, it's the qualified staff who put the real hours in. What you shouldn't underestimate though is the hours of study you will need to get through TPS in particular. That is a hard slog.

Good luck with your training, it is probably worth it ultimately!

[throbber]

I have a good lifestyle but i feel i have been held back over the years from being around too much money as somewhere in my mindset i knew that if i didn't put myself out there i would still not be poor. Work wise i have always enjoyed being out there and working but always did job that were below my level intellectually. Would say i was now cruising through uni but did no extra curricular activities to help myself through relative experience and basically did the bare minimum and still managed to get higher grades most others on the course. A few low achievers on the course have found themselves getting placements etc for the summer whilst i didn't do enough and will have to do some brainless shite work again over the summer whilst turning 30 in the process.

 

Agree with what ICT Chris says about keeping up the Jones types and I'm the same, i would have no interest in letting anyone know how much money i had or how successful i was or bragging about anything just to show off but know plenty of people like that. Maybe if i was that way inclined i would have more to show at this stage of my life but I feel that i am undeserving of being quite well off as i have done nothing for it myself. 

[Rugster]

Money most definitely isn't everything. I took a 6 grand paycut and gave up a company car to get out of a job that I absolutely detested and it's the best decision I ever made. 3 years later and I'm now earning more than I did in the previous job which is just a bonus! I also took a lease on an absolutely shite basic car, but that's finishing soon and I will be in a position to upgrade. These were conscious sacrifices and I dread to think what mindset I would be in if I hadn't done that. Wife was an absolute rock through that time for me too, kept me going.

 

The job is relatively stress free too, but still challenging and enjoyable, as opposed to the previous one which had me dreading going in every day and when I wasn't at work all I could do was think about it!

 

We don't go out much, but when we do it's expensive as we like to treat ourselves to a really good meal, but I'd rather that than be out every weekend pissing money away.

 

In my younger years I was a bit daft with money, and there were many times I ran out of cash well before payday, nowadays the only reason I ever check my online banking is to make sure there's no fraud going on.

 

Baby on the way, which just puts the tin hat on it.

[Duszek]

I moved to where I live now (nice town in the French Alps) for the lifestyle. Lake, mountains, forests, sunshine. It's an amazing place for young kids to grow up.

 

But... I spend 3+ hours commuting to/from Geneva each day, leaving home at 6.20 and getting back around 7.15. But... I'm earning much more money than I earned previously. Don't know how many more years I'll manage this routine, but I'll keep plugging away for now.

[Ross.]

I'm somewhere in the middle on this one.

 

I probably spend too much time in the office, but the money is fantastic and it means when I do have time off I can easily afford to do all the things I enjoy outside of work. I'm probably a bit too careless with my money but I can get to the football regularly, go to the concerts I want to go to, live in a flat I love and generally take advantage of the things Switzerland has to offer.

 

Only thing I don't really like is the 60 to 90 minute commute to work, particularly in the summer when the weather is tremendous. Also struggle at times with how rigid the Swiss can be in planning things, there is very little scope for spontaneity or doing things that are slightly off the agenda.

 

I'm happy at the moment, but as I don't have kids and my missus works similar hours, I don't really have to rush about and the time constraints caused by work and traveling aren't an issue. The working hours and traveling would definitely be an issue if I had a family, though I think that might be more of a problem for her rather than me...

[throbber]

The more i think about it - i am an actual idiot and my life is a joke. 

[throbber]

Just dont think about it then.

 

Is that how you get by is it?

[Grim O'Grady]

Web cam porn stuff?

 

it's quality though, not kleeneze-sleeze at all. It's a free sign up merry month of May, get in whilst you can.*

 

Grimbo

*I am not on any commission.

[stimpy]

The big minus in my lifestyle is working shifts. Tomorrow for instance I'm on sleepover so I start at 8am and finish at 11pm, sleepover at work, start at 7am and finish at 8am. Next day is like a day off if you don't count the fact you're knackered.

Everything else is pretty good, if I get a Monday to Friday job it would probably be a day centre and would result in a big hit in pay. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.

[Deeboy]

You do a sleepover for a 1hr shift?

[Gaz]

In an old job I used to design childrens' playparks for a living. The money was poor, but the hours were good.

Swings and roundabouts.

[Honest_Man#1]

Just finished being a student and the lifestyle is incredibly easy and enjoyable. Able to manage your own time and basically do whatever you want most of the time knowing you can work late at night to make up for it. Basically you get to live like a complete bum for 4 years. I'm not surprised that there's people who just can't give up the lifestyle and do numerous degrees to try to avoid actually getting a job forever (I know one guy who's just finished his 3rd consecutive undergraduate degree, so spent 12 years so far studying without working).

Got a graduate job with a high salary (in graduate terms) that gets significantly higher after the 18 month programme, but at the same time it moves locations routinely so I'll only ever be based in one place for 5/6months at a time. So I'll essentially know nobody in each place and just as I get used to the people and the job, I'll be moved on again. Coupled with being away from family and my girlfriend who's still at Uni, and having to move out of a shared flat with mates into a one bed in a city where I know nobody isn't exactly the most exciting thing.

[Mr Bairn]

You do a sleepover for a 1hr shift?

 

Very common in the personal care industry. My mate cares for people who require round the clock care, and some of the shifts involve basically what the poster above says. Signing on at 8am-ish and caring for a patient all day, sleeping in their house then getting up to feed, wash and dress them before signing off around 24 hours after starting.

[killienick]

Like Rugster said, it's not really about the money for me.

 

I gave up a job a couple of years ago and took a couple of thousand pay cut. I also handed back the keys to my very nice Mercedes company car but the hours I was working and the time spent away from home and the kids just weren't worth it. I did some extra qualifications and moved to an office job 15 minutes from home with a 9-5 Mon to Fri and I'm actually now earning quite a bit more than in my last job. (I drive a Peugeot now though unfortunately but the Mercedes is the only thing I miss)  

 

It's the extra time with the family which is most important to me and is ultimately the reason why I took the huge risk of leaving a comfortable job.

[throbber]

Yes.

 

Best way probably - I'm just having a weak moment right now.

[heedthebaa]

Web cam porn stuff?

😂😂 afraid not at my age, money lending

[stimpy]

You do a sleepover for a 1hr shift?

It's more about having overnight cover in the service, I'll be the only support in the building if anyone of the 5 tenants needs anything of if there was an emergency.

The hour in the morning is just getting someone up for day service before I finish.

[Bobby Skidmarks]

I work for the Railway in a pretty secure and relatively decent paid job, it has great benefits and I spend a lot of time doing nothing, which pleases me. My partner is a Solicitor in a large firm in town, she enjoys it and is due to get a promotion to Associate soon.

 

Financially we are doing okay, money in the bank, our cars about 2 years old and don't have a large mortgage. The biggest expenditure per month is probably my daughters nursery, she's in for three days a week at £56 per day.

 

I've reached that age where I don't give a f**k about going out as much and only really spend money on clothes when I need to. My next biggest expense will be a security system to stop throbber scaling our wall and looking through the windows.