Officially 1 month post-employment.

This weekend it is almost a month since I finished with Pfizer and to be honest it feels pretty good at the moment.  I'm not missing it all!  Far from it!  If someone rang up and offered me my old job back on a higher salary I would probably say "thanks but no thanks".   The last few bits of money from shares and bonus have been trickling in and the on-line saver is looking very healthy.

We have been keeping ourselves pretty busy since the last post, mostly getting Capsaicinoia up and running.  We have actually reached the point where we have opened the shop to family and friends so that they can check it out, try it out and even buy something!  The plan is to keep it open for a couple of weeks before we go up to Scotland, get feedback on what works and what doesn't and make the necessary tweaks and improvements before we launch officially to the Chilli Loving British public in April.

After our last post we went back to the Spring Fair at the NEC http://www.springfair.com/ and bought our first load of stock.  The orders have been coming in thick and fast and we have been furiously trying to get the web-site up and running and so far so good.  We still have lots to do.  My "to do" list fills a sheet of A4.  If you are reading this please check it out and let us know what you think?

http://capsaicinoia.com/

We seem to have found a great accountant http://angelaccounting.co.uk/ who is on our wave length and  is very down to earth and jargon free as well as offering what appears to be a good value service with no hidden fees and expenses.



Not much has changed with regard to the Bed and Breakfast side of things.  The Scotland trip is still on track and we have several businesses lined up to look at.  We'll keep you posted as and when we see them.  We are now heading up to visit with a friend of Mike's from Pfizer for a couple of days.  We head up to the West Coast where we will spend a few days viewing businesses and getting a feel for the area.  We are planing to spend a weekend visiting my friend Jane who manages Inveraray Castle on Loch Fyne. http://www.inveraray-castle.com/ and then head over to get Mum and Dad.  From there back up to the West Coast for more B&B viewings including one belonging to my Mum's cousin.  Couple of days in Lochiniver, couple in Bonar Bridge, one night in Forres and a couple in Aberdeen before heading back down to Edinburgh.  We then have another few days visiting various friends and family before taking Mum and Dad down to my sisters in Harrogate where we are having a bit of a family get-together to celebrate their 55th Wedding Anniversary.

The even bigger deal for me will be that we will be meeting up with Fi in Harrogate.  Our daughter who has been "down under" in Oz for a year and is coming back for a 3 week holiday!  Can't wait to see her.  She arrives back when we are still in Scotland but is going to make her way up to Harrogate to meet up with us there.

So what else is new?

I suppose we should mention that immigration to Barbados is still on the cards and has moved up the ratings recently due to the property prices in the main.  Our attorney out there Dennis Chandler is still beavering away trying to get Citizenship by Descent for Mike and to be honest if that comes through before May we are pretty sure that we would top all our other plans and just go there!  We have seen some properties there that we could buy for cash and still have money left over that include apartments we could rent out for holiday accommodation!  It's rapidly becoming a bit of a "no brainer"but would not work without the Citizenship for us and that is not a straightforward as you might think - another story for another time...

Oh!  We had a great night out for Valentines.  We went to a burlesque night at the Hare and Hounds in Kingsheath.  http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/A great little venue with some fantastic burlesque performances!

Danny de Milo http://www.dannydemilo.com/
Felicia Noir http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000102109047
and
Twinkel Pink http://www.facebook.com/pages/Twinkel-Pink/149924488372785?ref=ts&sk=wall

All brilliant but my personal favourite was Felicia Noir, gorgeous, sexy, funny and a natural red-head like my own lovely daughter.

I have had to stop my own burlesque classes for the moment.  The big focus was on the next show and I probably won't be around for it.  Besides, there seems to be so much going on at the moment that there is not enough room in my head for burlesque and especially not getting ready for a show which I found took up a lot of time and energy before.  We have put our ballroom on hold for the same reasons.    We can pick it all up again when things begin to settle down and take shape.

My shoulder has also taken a turn for the worse making everything single thing I do very difficult and painful.  It looks like I'm just going to have to get the surgery over with if I am going to be able to live my life to the full in the future and be able to do all the physical tasks involved in running a B&B.  I have an appointment with the GP next week to get the ball rolling with that one.

Todays the day....

Today is my very last day with Pfizer.  It's been a long time coming in many ways but in others the 11 years have flown by as have the 2 months since we found out what our fate was to be.  We have been racing round and round through the change curve like a roller coaster lurching from positivity and excitement ones day to despondency, anxiety and despair on others.  We have been angry and sad, confused and focused and often all at the same time.  It has been reassuring to know that this is all perfectly normal and so are episodes of fantasy and denial.

It is strange trying to discipline ourselves to have some sort of routine - it almost feels as though every day is a Saturday or Sunday which is good in some ways but then when the weekend comes along it just feels like any other day and has lost its sparkle a little....

We have been making cost-saving almost a new hobby and it has been sort fun to see how much money we can NOT spend.  We went into Birmingham Market and saved a fortune on fruit and veg and meat and fish.  Sadly, we then rewarded ourselves in Starbucks with coffee and muffins setting us back almost as much as we saved...............!!!!!

I have had a couple of lovely lunches to say goodbye to my lovely Pfizer colleagues.  It is the people that I will miss most of all.......the East Midlands Team bought me a beautiful necklace (which I was not expecting given that so many people are leaving all at the same time) and lots of people have called or texted or left messages on Face Book to say goodbye.

Yesterday the car, phone and computer all went back.  The upside is that I am working only on the Mac now instead of flitting between the two and that I have "had to" buy myself a new iPhone.  That has made me very happy, at least for a moment or two!  My last payday has come and gone but the upside of that is that we paid of all the little bits and pieces and are totally debt free except for the mortgage.

As far as the B&B plans are going, we are slowly but surely making progress.  The house is now officially on the Market with Melvyn Danes.  www.melvyndanes.co.uk  We have a number of businesses lined up for viewings in March and some local ones this week to get a feel for the process and what we will get for our money....The Scotland trip is cloming together nicely.  We have looked really carefully at other locations and always return to Scotland on grounds of value for money, location and business potential.

Now that the USA Trip is off, it's hard to find interesting things to write about but I will keep going with this as things could get interesting again very soon.....

The biggest thing I can do now is share this blog with my Face Book friends which has been something I been reluctant to do until this stage in the process.

We'll keep you posted........and as ever any feedback, ideas, criticisms or comments are always welcome......

Redundancy Update

For those of you that are following the progress and process of the Redundancy a quick update on what has happened this week.  It very busy being made redundant.
On Monday we had the meeting with the Solicitor and finalised the  legal side of everything.....can't say anymore than that on that one for legal reasons!
On Tuesday we went to the Apple Shop in Solihull and took part in an excellent workshop on "how to make the most of your Mac. http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/touchwoodcentre/
They are so helpful in there and it was great to find out a bit more about how to use our Mac Book to all the things we currently do on our PC.  Actually when you get your head round it I think it is more intuitive and generally easier to use than Microsoft.  We also got some great advice about what sort of phone to buy and whether to get a contract or pay as you go etc....It seems that of you have cash it is better to buy a phone outright and get a sim only contract especially of you are thinking of travelling between countries. 
We also spent a lot of time working out our finances in detail so that we know what will be going out, what will be coming in and what will be in the pot as the year progresses...
I have had to get a letter from the company car leasing agency about my driving history for insurance purposes when we get around to buying a car.
I have cancelled our Home Alarm System Servicing contract as it only increases our insurance payment by about £1 a month compared to almost £30 a month for the ADT Contract.
I have ordered some books on setting up a web-based business.
We are going to a workshop on Setting up Your Own Business in February.
We are having a joint session with a financial adviser on Monday and have had to pull together all sorts of paperwork to take to that.
The list of tasks seems to be endless but I have 3 weeks complete them.......its busy doing nothing!

Oh and another thing....

Forgot to say that my request for Employment Seeking Leave has been turned down.  Charming!  Not the end of the world though.  That means that my last working day will definitely be the 31st of January 2012.  Should have all the money in the bank by mid-February when we will be able to start making some actual bookings!!!!!!

Progress update...things are starting to come together....

Well, its been a busy week.  Being made redundant seems to be pretty hectic.  Tuesday I had an admin day and spent the whole day on the phone or the computer sorting stuff out for work and some stuff for the future. 

The Camper van estimates are coming in thick and fast but we keep coming back to the "Highway Camper" offer and no-one else seems to be able to beat it.  Rudolf is the guy we have been communicating with and he always answers all our questions quickly and the feedback had been great from previous customers.  So at the moment it looks like we'll be going with him.  When we have the Visa we will book which is likely to be early the New Year.  Excited....

Good news is that I rang the Tax Office about my £2000 underpayment for 2011 and it turns out I have almost paid it already as they have been taking it out since last April!  BOOM!  Great surprise but it does explain why I have been feeling a  bit short most of this year and just thought it was due to the extra pension contributions I have been paying.  Result!

Wednesday we had a couple of redundancy related meetings in Birmingham.  One about Out-placement Support and we are probably going to take advantage of the "re-focusing" stuff which helps you to work out what you really want to do and what motivates and fulfils you.  This should help us decide what we might want to do when we get back from the USA.  We also had a financial awareness session and it was reassuring that we have already covered most stuff with a few minor exceptions such as topping up our state pension if we will fall short of the 30 years of contributions needed for full eligibility and making sure we do a Tax Return on the 6th of April.

On Thursday evening we had a appointment at the Apple shop in Solihull who, after we increased our memory space, upgraded our Mac Book for us to the new Lion operating system.  We are going to book in for some workshops about how to get the most our of your Mac as we have been working with PCs for so long we don't really know how to move around the Mac and do the same things that we do on the PC.

Also last week I sorted out all my evening dresses from the loft most of which cost a small fortune and have been worn once or at most twice.  They are all now on EBay and if they sell we will have a few more dollars in the pot.  I'll know by Wednesday how much they have gone for (if at all). Fingers crossed. 

Saturday night we spent with some very old friends and had a lovely evening.  We have managed to catch up with more people these last few weeks than we have for ages.  Its shocking how when you are totally focused on work you let the important things slide............no longer.....

So, its Sunday now and we are cleaning a tidying up a bit to show the house in the best light when the Letting Agents call tomorrow.  We have a few booked in and are interested to find out what they think we might be able to get in rent.  Lots of questions to ask about the whole process so by end of play tomorrow we should have some answers.

Quick update.....

I had my first individual consultation meeting today and it turns out it might be possible for me to get Employment Seeking Leave too just in case a secondment opportunity with the company comes up before April that I could take and defer my leaving date until I reach 55 and then I could take Early Retirement too.  Not sure how I feel about this as I have lost the heart for it now and my head is already in the Camper Van...... On the other hand it would make a massive difference to the finances and make the trip a lot more comfortable but much further away.

Let's see what happens!? 

Have got a referral sorted for the shoulder specialist and a date to see him in a couple of weeks time.

Have rung the mortgage company and the lower monthly payments will start in January

Mike has started the quest for Early Retirement and sent off all the various emails requesting the Employment Seeking Leave and approval from the Trustees.

The adventure begins.....

Friday 9th December 2011
So, its Friday and we are beginning to get our heads round the fact that we have both been "deselected", are "surplus to requirements" and about to be "outplaced".  Together we have given 25 years of "devoted service" to our company but this has suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly come to an end.

We heard the news on Monday but have been anticipating it for the last 3 months when we were notified about the huge "down-size" and the company entered the 90 day  period of collective consultation.  We just had to wait for the final decision which was complicated because both of us were involved and a number of different scenarios were possible from both of us being retained, both of us being redundant and everything else in between.

Its sad and its almost impossible not to feel hurt and let down, rejected, undervalued, angry, bitter, scared, confused and a myriad of other emotions. BUT - we are going to make the best of a bad situation, seize the opportunity and have the adventure of a lifetime!!!!!!

So its no more talk of the past, only the present and the future!  We have got to get over it big time!  Close the door on that chapter of our lives and literally hit the road.  Yippee!  USA here we come.....Our plan is to rent out our house, head off to the USA, buy a camper van and travel the USA for a year.

We have decided to keep a record of our experiences over the coming year for many reasons, the main one being simply to capture everything we do for our own memories, but came to the the conclusion that a blog might be the best way to do this as, when we are away, our friends and family will be able to follow our progress and share our adventure.  Also, we thought it might help others who find themselves in a similar situation work through the practicalities of dealing with redundancy and even planning a year out or extended road trip.

We are "mature" in years and have never "blogged" before so this is our first attempt but so far so good....thank you Google for making it so easy!

So, what have we done so far to make the fantasy a reality?

I have created a little spreadsheet to work out the finances and see whether we can even afford to do it and so far its looking good.  Mike will just qualify for early retirement by a couple of weeks and, although his pension will be considerably smaller than we were anticipating had this not happened, by paying his severance money into the pension it will boost it a bit and reduce the amount of tax he has to pay.  So from Mike's pension and renting our house out we will have small income.  To boost that even further we have decided to reduce our mortgage payments by extending the term from 6 to 11 years which essentially halves the monthly payment.  We need to firm up all these figures over the coming weeks but estimate that we might only eat into the severance "pot" by £20,000 or £30,000 over the year.

This week we have started the process of getting visa's for travelling in the USA for more than 90 days.  We are hoping to get them for a year but are aware that this might not happen and we may only be able to stay for 6 months at a time.  The plan if this is the case is to drive into Canada for some of the time.

Mike is clearing his half of the office of all work-related material and I will begin this process next week.  Today I am going to ring the mortgage company to confirm our decision around this.  I have my first individual consultation meeting at 10.30 when they'll tell me how much money I'm getting.  Before that I'm off to see my doctor at 09.10 to ask for a referral for a second opinion on a shoulder problem I have.  I need a joint replacement but am not sure whether to leave it until we come back when I will no longer have private healthcare.  This also raises the risk that the trip could be spoiled if my shoulder deteriorates while we are away.  Even if it stays the same I still have a lot of pain and some disability and will need to find a way to get a years supply of my prescription medication for pain relief.  The alternative is to have surgery in January which will be my last month of employment when I will still have healthcare cover and should be fully recovered before we go in May.  Big decision that is important to get right.

May is the planned date of departure because in order to qualify for retirement Mike will take Employment Seeking Leave from the 31st of January for 3 months and remain employed until the end of April when all his money will come through.  I on the other hand, will be on the Pay In Lieu of Notice option which means I will finish work on the 31st January.

So, that's the scene setting done.  We'll keep you updated on our progress......