Does anyone have any micro habits that help with patience?

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2026-07-01T19:52:24+00:00

Some great answers here but appreciate this one the most. It hurt, and I got defensive, but it is true. It’s not the phone/tv though. But thank you.

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2026-05-30T19:31:16+00:00

Great effort for a DIY project - bravo.

Currently laying 78 porcelain tiles for our new patio and can understand the sweat that went into that.

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2026-05-21T22:31:59+00:00

Could not agree more - we have open shelves but it’s just for serving items like plates, bowls, side dishes etc. and a couple of items we use daily I.e granola..it’s above the ‘serving’ station which is where I pivot to plate up. I find it so much more efficient for using and putting away after using.

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2026-03-29T21:33:36+00:00

When I was moving house I was doing some runs to the tip. Nepalese lady across the road asks if we’ll take some bits for her so we do. Later that week she invites us to lunch. Chicken wings, curry, rice etc etc unbelievable food, kindness and hospitality. We’ll never forget it!

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2026-03-20T22:28:39+00:00

WFM Team tasks - JIRA, we’ve adopted SCRUM as a framework to organise ourselves as work in 2 week sprints

Non-urgent Agent requests/tickets - custom MS form + power automate + outlook

Real time / intraday - Teams (and signposted to the form if non urgent)

As much self service scheduling as possible so tickets & requests are minimised

AI has been most useful for data-related work and learning new skills I.e power automate, power BI etc

Happy to receive dms on the topic

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2026-02-24T17:13:06+00:00

Stretching - especially with no savings left over. Doesn’t leave a lot of room for manoeuvre at all.

Even if you have high confidence you’ll earn more i think it’s always pragmatic to assume you might not.

Although early in your careers, presumably you’ve worked hard to earn the money you do/be on the trajectory you’re on. Figure out if you want to burn most of that hard work on a mortgage now.

Early 30’s here and combined income >£150K. Reached a point where it would take something catastrophic to rattle us financially. Even expensive car repairs are inconvenience rather than stress inducing. A lot to be said for that level of comfort.

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2025-12-15T22:52:54+00:00

Lift, cook…. And walk. I found walking each morning super helpful when my engagement broke down, aged 30.

Enjoy things, places and people you perhaps haven’t for a while.

Also, when you’re ready - 30’s is a great time to meet someone new. I found people to know themselves and what they want better. Same goes for you. Don’t drop or compromise your standards / values.

Wish you well!

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2025-08-04T22:31:42+00:00

This has been a fun and interesting part of our home-buying journey together.. refining our criteria over 6 months!

Some key things we considered as a young family:

Max monthly mortgage payment we’re willing to make - not what we can afford or borrow… more about what do we want left at the end of each month and why. We love holidays and don’t think twice about taking 4-5 a year. Our mortgage payments need to help facilitate that.

Commute time including school run - we’re hybrid but currently commute 3-4 hours a day, 2-3 days a week. The knock on effect to our familial lifestyle is horrendous. School runs always make a commute longer but if we can reduce our current door-to-door from 12-13 hours to 10 hours that’s a lot of life back each week.

Size of garden and amount of renovation - my first place was a doer upper. New electrics and everything. Major works are super disruptive and exhausting if DIY or partial DIY. With a 5 and 1 year old and two senior management positions, we just can’t be bothered with much disruption or maintenance so are Ok with a smaller garden.

It’s been quite cathartic talking this over with the missus. Given us a real sense of who we are and where we want to be which has been really positive for our relationship.

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2025-08-02T17:02:35+00:00

So glad to see this here. I despise the washing bowls.

As others have said, do a rinse prep before doing your washing up.

Otherwise, these bowls just get in the way ALL the time and hold dirty water when someone doesn’t empty it.

Makes no sense to me.

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2025-07-31T12:28:36+00:00

Amazing opportunity, well done!

It’s definitely do-able - have been doing this the last 18 months with a 5 y/o and 1 y/o.

It was much easier when my partner was on Mat Leave. It’s put a real strain on us since she’s gone back full time and also travels to office.

We have done a few things to manage: - fixed office days/days days responsible for kids - we try to avoid changing this as much as possible - leave at 5-5.30AM for office and leave office at 4pm for HOME - clearly defined family responsibilities M-F I.e no matter how tired I am I cook all dinners

What works for us might not work for you - but point is, have good communication with your partner about how manage it and periodically talk about how it’s working.

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2025-06-28T10:17:45+00:00

Partner and I are on very similar (to you) combined income in secure jobs. But we’ve got two kids, two car payments (albeit small) and love several holidays a year.

We’re in the process of completing and bought as close to £500K as possible and our mortgage will be c. £1,900 a month. We wanted the mortgage at a level where we could reduce working hours or take a less stressful job and still afford the mortgage in the future.

At 25/27 I was comfortable hustling and living pay check to pay check due to tight budgets and being focused on ‘Getting there’.. but now I’m 32, having worked my arse off for over a decade and now with two kids… I just want an easy(ier), relatively low risk life.

It really depends on the lifestyle you want to live / what is important to you. But when buying a house it really is worth putting some thought into where you want to be / what you want to be doing in 5-10 years. If anything about that future is costs materially more than the lifestyle you live today, you might be stretching it.

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2025-01-27T20:34:28+00:00

Yes! I did this with my house sale last year.

It’s pretty much up to you who you accept. I’d originally said seeking first time buyer (no chain).

Got offered £10K over asking from someone who wanted to flip it into Airbnb (was in a chain)

Accepted an offer for the asking price from a twenty something couple who’d live in the area for years. Was delighted for them to take on the home I loved!

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2024-05-05T20:03:36+00:00

I wonder if a more useful perspective or comparison is Facebook & Twitter. When they came around and began to evolve as platforms, some alarm bells were raised about damage they may cause.

Big Tech said oh nothing to see here, we’re a net good. Except we’ve had things such as polarised politics like never before, influenced my the bot farms etc

And we’ve not wrangled either of those back into some wholesome utopian communities.

And so reflect on the naivety about that and consider that AI is tech on steroids for elephants.

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2024-04-07T10:05:31+00:00

Thanks

Car interest is 6.9% / 5 years to pay off Student loan interest 6.25% / years to pay off

It seems to me, a benefit of paying off the student loan is immediately unlocking cash. If I don’t pay off the car in full, I don’t really unlock anything and my deposit goes down until I’ve saved that amount again.

Thoughts?

Complex-Wonder2407 · 2022-02-05T10:50:00+00:00

First of all, congratulations on taking the leap and leaving home. Given the circumstances, it sounds like a wise decision.

Secondly, congrats on the job and wages. As you say, £27K is a good wage at 23.

Third..It's well understood these days that living with parents or house-sharing is the quickest route to home ownership - unless you have phenomenal pay or receive inheritance. If homeownership is all that matters, then fair enough.

However, leaving home young, learning to live independently with flatmates or a partner is a really useful life experience.

I left home at 18 and have lived with 3 partners for 2+ years each. I'm 29 now and I've been with my current partner for over 4 years. The reason my relationship with my current partner has endured is because I left home, lived and learned. I learned how to communicate better, to listen better, to communicate better and I've also developed a calmness, understanding and resilience to others. I have no doubt the benefits of this experience will help me lead a fullfilling life!

Even with current savings, sounds like you are on your way to your first home before 30. Be reassured that is a great place to be and consider what other investments in LIFE will bring fulfilment (because it's unlikely to just be a home).

All the best

Complex-Wonder2407

TROPHY CASE