18/365 - Money and time
January - April 2010
My temporary contract with Harrods finished at the end of January. After three more interviews I was allowed to stay, but because of all the human resources procedures and slow communication I ended up staying at home for three weeks.
I knew I had a job promise from a reputable company - I could relax so, I went through this phase where I slept like a log.
We were finally told what we had to do to get our work permit. Pure madness! The education provider had to give us the rental contract for their new venue, a 92 page contract that we had to attach to our application. It could not have been as easy as the school and the Border Agency updating the register between the two of them, they practically did it through the applicants.
But we finally had the work permit and one year later, they allowed all Romanians access to work without restrictions.
I had a permanent, steady job now so, I could breathe. When I started to relax, my brain started kicking in - why not get some more hours at the restaurant? Silviu started working too at the beginning of April and then things started to ease up.
We were even going to go on holiday in Summer! Staying at a friend’s that offered us accommodation, but a wonderful time away nonetheless.
Looking back at those first eight months in London they were awful, financially speaking, but we also had a lot of time to kill. Getting off autopilot is hard when you are fearful but essential and no one taught us that.
That time has made us reach a conclusion that may be controversial, but we learned it the hard way - the people that complain the most about money, also have a lot of time on their hands. It is perfectly fine to have time, if you are happy with the money you have. Unless you have already a good financial situation, having both is off the table and that is the reality.
I am approaching this from a very common sensical, basic financial education perspective. I am not talking about early retirement, passive income, building wealth… no, no! Just my opinion on the most important and valuable commodity… time!
There is always something you can do to make extra income if you have time. If you are able bodied, mentally well and have the will you will find the way.
There is also the other problem, if you are solely relying on your salary as a source of income, you are one month away from being poor. I wish I would have been smart enough to say this first, but I learned it from a book and I felt it on my own skin. But this is a topic for another day…
“You cannot be successful if you do not survive!”
Take care of yourself and your family, stay well, stay calm. Focus on your plans and your aims. Silence the voices that tell you otherwise, you are not afraid to fail, because you will get back up and try again!
You got this!
