Another day, another dollar! I look back with fondness, on my former office life. The office was my solace, the quiet place and the break I needed. Then Coronavirus came along and ruined it for me. Two enjoyable parts of my life were suddenly merged. Now I'm stuck working from home, whilst simultaneously parenting our two boys. What a long and arduous journey it has been. All things considered; I've done well, but bloody hell, it's been tough! In the news recently,  Goldman Sachs boss David Soloman branded working from home as an "aberration".  I think I'm with Dave on this one! Give me a 'kid-free' day in the office any time!  No generation of 'working parents' were ever tested like this. Pat yourselves on the back mums and dads, you've earned the stripes. The 'Working From Home' Myth Right, lets set the record straight! All employees expect a certain degree of productivity, so when you work from home, you don't "get away...

The handsome geek! I have worn glasses, on-and-off (literally), for about twenty-years. I am a reluctant wearer of the spectacles. Glasses are a social stigma (or astigmatism in my case!) that has never sat comfortably with me. I can't be alone in this predicament? In optometrist terms I sit around -1.75D, which makes me slightly short-sighted. According to the NHS website, anything under -3.00D is considered mild myopia . It is more than mildly inconvenient; I can tell you that! Without glasses, I can struggle through TV, unless it involves reading. My vision gets progressively worse when I'm tired. This forces me to squint, much like I'm holding a fart. Which is ridiculous right? Who holds a good fart? Even for the Queen. I'll try to keep this post mature, please bear with me.......... All I Want, Is 20-20 Vision I first noticed my sight was failing at secondary school. In classrooms, I would sit at the front. The teachers mistook it for youthful enthusiasm, but in tr...

Always remember the card! Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.  Once again, the pandemic obliterates our happiness. No fancy restaurants or dates tonight. No chance of packing the kids off to Nana's. No peace and quiet. Thank you Mr Covid! In these dire times, be grateful to have retained love in a pandemic. According to latest sources,  the pandemic has caused an International spike in relationship break-ups .  Sadly, it doesn't surprise me. The present strains on parents and relationships is next-level. Tonight I seek solace with a "Dine In" meal from  Marks & Spencers . Where no doubt, as usual, we'll find ourselves drunkenly reminiscing about the night we met and stories of early dates.  Contrary to popular belief, men enjoy the occasion too. Even exhausted dads like myself! So if you can, for one night, embrace Valentine's Day and park the bullsh*t to one side. Chill, relax and treat the better half with some gifts. Read on, for my views about love ...

Show me the money.....Dad! Are you saving money for your children? If not, I would urge every parent to get organised and start building a nest-egg now. If you have started already, great, but read on.  I have saved for my two children since they were born. A modest direct-debit goes out each month. Already I have four-figure sums saved for them. By the time they hit adulthood, I would hope to have grown this more. I am not doing anything ground-breaking.  You would be surprised, how much you can grow money in an eighteen-year period. The power of compounding (more on this later) means you can leverage time, by saving regularly and growing a decent return. In this post, I'll show you my approach and what I believe parents can do to save. I am no financial advisor, just a parent, trying to save for his kids. However, this approach would also work for parents wanting to save for themselves. These tips are aimed mainly at British parents, but some of the principals can be applied...

Many people committed to 'Dry January' last month. The annual event where people (try to) go alcohol-free for January. Recent events made this one tricky!  Look at me, I'm alcohol-free! The pubs may be closed, but the lockdown stress is real. A day of home-schooling can transform many parents into seasoned boozers. And  according to the British Liver Trust, there have been a 500% rise in calls regarding alcoholism. Aside from two days, I abstained from alcohol for most of January. I managed 29 days out of the 31. Having killed off dad-bod last year ( see here ), I was desperate to avoid slipping back into the kingdom of Dad-bodsville. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy a drink, but the health benefits from sobriety outweigh my enjoyment of it. At my age, a hangover feels like I've done 12 rounds with Tyson Fury. I need all my spare energy, to play with the kids. Right now, life is overwhelmingly stressful. It is easy to reach for booze. I don't judge anyone and I...

Fifty Shades of Dad-bod! The global pandemic was disastrous for my waistline. The stress of the situation led to some serious gains, but not the welcomed kind! I soon amassed a spare tyre and was heading for oblivion. Many have gained weight during the pandemic, but you can reverse the damage. The reality is, I'll be homeworking for the foreseeable. But home-working requires great self-discipline. Many home-workers are now considerably less active than they were pre-lockdown. Too often I was raiding the cupboards, for biscuits, sweets or whatever I could find! My wife has a proper job in the real world, so she wasn't home to motivate me with encouraging words like "stop eating you fat b*stard!".  Shamefully I gained 2 stone (12 kg) between March and July. It wasn't just the food, I started drinking more alcohol. Partly  through boredom, partly through pandemic-stress.  Proudly I fixed this situation and here is my journey out of planet dadbodsville. The Realisatio...