Cautious optimism!
Welcome to the first update of 2019. Apologies for missing December’s update, but it’s always a busy time both professionally and socially. I did not make time to post an update.
The MB3 family had an enjoyable Christmas, and that in itself is a good sign that life is good. Arguments and tensions with family at christmas time is usually a signal of some kind of underlying discontent.
Body:
The end of 2018 saw me do a lot of running. So far in 2019 I’ve been swimming more and running less. I’m enjoying the variety, and will wait and see if the swimming has any effect on my physique.
Speaking of physique, I have always scoffed at the idea of ‘sculpting’. However, a combination of vanity, and reading about the importance of resistance exercise as we ‘mature’ has led me to purchase some dumbbells over t’internet. They are in transit as I write and I look forward to finding out whether a) I use them and b) the degree to which they help shape my body. I’ve also seen a lot about how weightlifting helps release good chemicals in the brain, and I’m therefore interested to see if they help with general mood and vitality. What I cannot deny is that I finally seem to give a shit enough to be keen to show a bit of muscle through the old work shirt. There, I said it. I am vain!
The less good news is that Xmas saw us eat and drink more and differently than usual and despite running a lot of miles over the period I managed to gain some weight. I’m not too bothered because I know I can lose it. The other thing this weight gain tells me is that as they say ‘a sixpack is made in the kitchen, not the gym’; I’d successfully kept my weight in check for a good couple of years and a christmas ‘blow out’ really did have an effect despite keeping on top of the exercise VERY successfully. So, the research is done for you – keep off the cheese, readers.
Mind:
As mentioned above, I feel like we had a good, stress-free christmas. We’re all getting older, and with that maturity brings increasing tolerance and emotional control. I’m also convinced that the health of the business and associated lack of immediate concern about cash is a contributor to our sense of equanimity.
Further evidence of a quiet mind is that January has been relatively quiet at work, and I’m managing to enjoy the rest (lots of swimming, and quality time with the kiddies). This time last year, I had a quiet January, and Mrs MB3 tells me I was less relaxed about it than I am this year. This represents great progress as far as I am concerned, and the kind of thing I love hearing from her.
I am quite concerned about what 2019 will bring for the business, what with the Brexit and all that. But, so far the pipeline is filling up reasonably well. More on Brexit planning in the next section.
Bank Balance:
I did the end of year calculations and frankly they are not especially exciting. The key financial news of 2018 was that I successfully paid off some mortgage for the purpose of getting overheads as low as possible. The second most important news is that there’s close to 12 months of living expenses in the business, so that
IF I WIN NO WORK FOR THE NEXT TWELVE MONTHS, NOTHING BAD WILL HAPPEN.
That is a nice sentence to write. So nice, that I did it bold and centre! I decided to save up the cash rather than either buy shit or invest it in my pension or mortgage because a) I believe it prudent to have a good chunk of cash as we head into brexit-related business uncertainty; and b) The portfolio is a little bit light in cash; and c) if the work doesn’t dry up, I think it might be a good opportunity to invest in some equities around the Brexit date. Now I am very aware that I do not have the capability to time the market, but I am making the call that it is right for me, at this stage, to carry more cash. How that is used over the next twelve months depends on a few things, but I am super-grateful to have the option in play.
Crypto update:
It was a bad idea.