Are you planning to leave?

I often speak to clients about their exit plan, or how they can leave to do something different.

Are you thinking about leaving?

Whether that's leaving your job and moving to something less stressful,

Leaving the town you are in and moving somewhere more relaxing or closer to family,

or leaving the FIFO lifestyle and working locally to be home with your family each night.

It can be a leap of faith to have this discussion with your partner.  That you are unhappy or ready for a change, especially if they are enjoying what they are doing, and are content with life.  You don't want to upset the applecart and disrupt their life, so that you can feel better with yours.

It always starts with a plan.  And this plan can be long term or short term.  It can be set up for several years, and often what I see when moving out of a regional town to a bigger one is that the timeline is set up for kids going to high school.  Your town might be great for younger kids, but not ideal for older kids, and that's the reason why you want to think about this early.

Generally, initial thoughts will be something like this... What is it going to cost to move? What are we giving up?

Often as humans, we hate giving things up, even if we don't like them. It's called LOSS AVERSION. We don't want to let go of things, because we currently have them.  We call this the golden handcuffs - and it's why so many people who earn great money working on the mines get stuck there continuing to earn the money and spend the money.  We don't want to give it up, so we will just grin and bear it.

What are you gaining?

But sometimes, giving things up means that we can move forward to something even better.  

You might feel tied to the job because of the great income - but what about the stress and the hours, the loneliness and the travel? But what if there was something else out there, that is better?

I love a good Pros and Cons list. 

One that outlines all the good and all the ugly, and then think about money after that.

A good Pros and Cons list will always look at the WHO, WHAT, HOW, WHEN, WHERE and WHY of a decision.

For example:

Leave small town and move to the city:

PROS:

WHO - whole family to move

WHAT - better opportunities for good school, better access to fresh fruit & vegs so can live healthier, cheaper public transport, can get rid of a car to save costs, can see family more often, can decorate a house as we choose

HOW - would get a removalist to help, then drive the car and tow the caravan

WHEN - move in time ready for new school year - ideally December so there's time to settle in and explore

WHERE - a suburb that's close to this school, close to the city, close to the beach, within 30 mins drive of family, within 30 mins drive to airport, to a house with land to garden, walking distance to a grocery store

WHY - settled, healthy, see family more, cheaper living

CONS

WHO - will uproot younger children's primary schooling

WHAT - go from cheaper rent to more expensive rent, leave friends and support network

HOW - getting a removalist is expensive 

WHEN - It's expensive to move in December - need to lock it in early

WHERE - haven't lived in this area before - should we do some recon first?

WHY - sad to leave friends, miss out on good income

Money is always a factor, but it shouldn't be the only factor.

When you have decided that you really want, then you can work out:  -

- what buffer do you need? 

- when did you want to leave?  

- what do we need to set up now so that we can feel comfortable when it's time to go?

In the case of the example above - what research can you do for the area?  Trying out B&Bs in the area, or visiting shopping centres in the area can help determine if this place is right for you and you can see what it's like to live there first before you commit.

Are you ready to make a decision to leave?

Having a third party can be useful to have a discussion with your partner without the emotion being involved.  Coming up with a solution to fit everyone in the family is what's needed - and if you need help with this, set up a quick time to chat to see if I would be of use to you, to help be your mentor in this situation.

For an obligation free meeting to see if I can help guide you, please book here: https://calendly.com/intentionalmoney/15minzoom