To Work or Not To Work ?

Well Huwy's show finally went out last week. It is a good rock show. Huwy's taste in rock music is very much on the heavy hardcore side and that comes through in his show but he also plays some more commercial and classic stuff. It should now be a regular show on Wednesday evening from 7pm to 9pm on 91.5FM.

Gil's break from work has been a short one. He is going back to the North Sea today. We have done a few little drinking sessions but nothing too heavy. This week has also been go-live for my work project in England. It all seems to have gone well and they are going to start using the system today. There will be a few more pieces of work for me to do to finish the project off but I think this is basically the end of the work from England.

All this work talk brings me to a quandary that has been at the back of my mind for a while. Do I want or need to find new work? I saw a couple of job advertisements

The work from England has been fantastic for me. It is part time, working from home and mostly at times that suit me. It was always my plan that once it was finished I would just live off the money I get from renting out my flat in London. However, it has to be said that the cost of living in Thailand has gone up considerably and looks like it will keep on going up. What previously looked like a comfortable financial situation is now much tighter. In addition, we now have the extra cost of educating the kids and I have to think that if they are to go to university then I will need to find this money for the next 20 years.

I can still live in Thailand well enough but I don't have the spare money to do a lot of the extra things I would like to do. You also have to consider the unexpected such as health problems or other unpleasant surprises. I have always paid our hospital bills as we go and they have never been a problem. Still I do feel a little exposed without some proper health insurance and I would like to have the family covered.

So there is my quandary. It is a quandary many other ex-pats in Thailand also face. How do you balance your quality of life with your money needs and long-term financial plans. I love not working. I have such a great lifestyle in Thailand. I love the time with my kids, going out and enjoying all that Phuket has to offer.

On the other hand, you have to be realistic. I have the time to enjoy Phuket but not always the money to do everything I want. I am still at the age when I should be trying to make money. It is no use waiting until I am in my fifties and then suddenly realizing I don’t have enough money to educate my kids.

Then again, if I do go to work, I have the money but I don’t have the spare time to enjoy it and I don’t have the same time or energy to spend with my kids.

It is a tough one to call. I need to spend a bit of time doing my sums and decide just how badly I need to work.