Rainy Days

Debbie Harris
May 2024  •  2 min read

Can anything good come of the cost of living crisis?

Writers block hit me hard today.

Any of you who have ever communicated with me will know, I rarely struggle with this!

So I did what any self-respecting chatterbox would do … I took to the internet!

My working title for this blog post was ‘has anything positive come out of the cost of living crisis?’ and despite a very specific search, ‘the Google’ had nothing positive to say about the cost of living crisis whatsoever.

As an aside – I got distracted and went down the proverbial rabbit hole and happened upon ‘the 100 most googled questions’ – THAT deserves a blog post all of its own to be perfectly honest; but for now, the answer to the question “why were chainsaws invented?” will have to wait. (FYI – more than 200,000 people a month on average google that question worldwide!)

So anyway … I had to return to my own thoughts and reflections about the cost of living crisis and (as an eternal optimist who can find a silver lining in most grey clouds) try to figure out why I even thought this working title would give me ‘stuff’ to talk about!

And after much deliberation I am pleased to tell you that from my own personal experience of the cost of living crisis (which I do realise isn’t quite over just yet); there are indeed some positives (if you look hard enough for them!)

So here goes – my list:

  • An increased awareness of my own spending (and waste)
  • Re-evaluation of my priorities and those things I class as ‘essential’ (fewer ‘things’ than you might think … although ‘coffee’ stays!)
  • Finding creative ways to save a few pennies – ‘rainy days’ is my latest exercise … I shift £5 to my savings account every day it rains … since the beginning of this year alone, I have set aside more than £200 (which says more about climate change than my saving-savviness I think!)
  • Being resourceful in finding costs to cut and ways to cut them
  • Fixing things rather than replacing them – less waste; better for the planet; a little self-righteousness (how clever I am to glue/stitch/tape this xyz back together!)
  • An appreciation for all the things we DO have
  • An attitude of gratitude to be in gainful honest employment (doing a job I love by the way!)
  • A genuine mindfulness and concern for others who have been hit much harder than me by the cost of living crisis and a commitment to help friends and family whenever I can
  • A sense of community and connection with others in a shared experience.

If you can think of any others, we’d love to hear from you!

Rainy Days2024-05-24T15:40:51+01:00

A HOLIDAY IN CORNWALL

TODAY’S BLOG

A HOLIDAY IN CORNWALL…

Most mere mortals are creatures of habit – we like routine; we relish familiarity – often even our ‘spontaneity’ is planned in advance (think booking day trips whilst abroad).

This year – like every other year for the last two decades – my family is looking forward to our annual visit to a little tiny village in deepest darkest Cornwall.

It’s not just routine that keeps us going to the same place – Gorran Haven is home to several of the most beautiful beaches in the UK, rolling hills and fabulous cliff walks. The sound, smell and feel of the place is what keeps us going back there.

It has now become a tradition for all three generations of my family. At most, there have been 17 of us holidaying together – playing cricket on the beach, or boules (even swingball one year!). The kids (now all nearly adults) cannot remember not ‘doing Cornwall’ and most of them still venture into the very cold sea at the first opportunity.

I am very aware that I am exceedingly lucky and blessed to count my siblings and my parents as my friends – I know so many families who can’t take more than a few hours in the company of some of their relatives let alone an entire week; and so I do know that my situation is rather unusual.

Anyway – I digress – our annual beano now is always tinged with a little sadness as we reflect on the one very precious family member who will always be missing and also on the fact that there will come a day when the top tier generation will no longer be with us.

It’s important that we embrace all these moments when we can. And to do that in a beautiful place like Gorran Haven … priceless!

Debbie Harris
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on our blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to us about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

A HOLIDAY IN CORNWALL2023-12-01T12:12:47+00:00
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