The Five Year Plan, Well Sort Of*

I wanted to share that I have finally tried to put together a 5 year plan. I had no idea where I wanted to be in 5 years. Alive, of course but aside from that, who knows?! So I’ve broken down my aims into four categories, hopefully in 5 years time I’ll be able to come back and see how much I managed to achieve.

This is clearly the big one. Being a single mother is hard work and is expensive. I won’t lie, every month I end up using my credit card something I always swore in the past I wouldn’t do. So in five years time I would like to be able to make ends meet every month. Of course I hope in 5 years time I will have met someone and we will live together and be able to split the rent, bills, food shop, insurance.. I know in a real world finding a guy who wants to do that is easier said than done, I’ve lived with two in the past, one young and one older and neither of them wanted to take responsibility for their money. Even when we both worked full time! But that’s my aim money wise. I just want life to be a little bit easier in that area.

If i’m perfectly honest, I still expect to be in this house in 5 years. Yes, it’s in my hometown and if 5 years ago you told me I’d be back here, I’d have been horrified but here I am. If this was a 10 year plan I’d be adding that by that point I’d want to be back to city living so at least my daughter could go to a much better school. Since this is a five year plan, I want to have at least managed some home improvements. I have mentioned in past posts how because I moved in in such a hurry that there is still things I want done, but of course for this aim to happen I need to have achieved the money aim. Of course if I lived in Australia I’d simply need to apply for a loan with BOQ and I’d finally be able to get rid of that horrible blue carpet in my room… but since I’m in England I’ll simply have to save save save. Number 1 on my home improvement list is a garden shed.. well, second after curtains that fit my sitting room window!

As a single mother, I want a job that fits in around my daughter’s school time at least until she’s old enough to be home alone. My parents still work full time and I assume in five years they will still do so so full time childcare while I’m at my 9-5 is out of my price range, even with government help. My first option would be a school office, I get holidays and school hours. Second would be a classroom assistant. Not a teacher as I know first had how much paperwork goes with that from my mum. Failing that, self employed. Either as a writer full time, or own my own business. I have a few ideas in mind that I’d enjoy, failing that, I could be an accountant. At least that way I could work what hours I want but still give my daughter all the attention she deserves. She is my number one priority. I know these days it’s so hard to find a job that you enjoy but I’m going to try my hardest. I’ve worked way too many unpleasant jobs purely because I needed the money. Thankfully at the moment I get a little bit from my blog, but I’d have to work like crazy to make it livable from.

 
Life

This is the bit I have enjoyed planning. In 5 years time I want to have visited Barcelona, Italy, Ireland and Amsterdam. They’re my top choices for travelling after Florida. I want to see more of Europe and soon Little Miss will be able to enjoy breaks with me. As I mentioned in money, I’d like to have finally met someone, maybe even be living with them and maybe even considering another child. It feels a little bit hopeless even thinking about this, but 5 years is a long time. I’d like to still have cosplay as a hobby, but I hope to have learned to sew by that point so I could make my own costumes instead of relying on other people. I hope that I’ll have at least given driving a chance, whether or not I’ll have passed my test is a whole other kettle of fish! I’d like to no longer be an insomniac that has to be medicated, I’d like to have mastered my anxiety and probably the most farfetched of all, I’d like to have had something published.

At the moment, I don’t feel as though I’m organised enough to achieve any of these! I feel like I should invest in an Erin Condren life planner as they seem to be the in thing to get your life on track. Oh well, I still have ages to go yet.. I hope.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?