u/Global-Field-6092

Had a few drastic life changes over the last few years that mean I'm not quite where I expected I'd be and decided it's time (while the sun is shining metaphorically and actually) to start taking stock and planning for the future again. Because really, I'm not in a bad position if I can just stop regretting what could have been.

May I ask how people come up with 'their number' for Lean Fire?

I'm in the position that from 65 I would be very comfortable (taking a defined benefit pension a few years early), but it's the gap from 50-65 that I need to figure out (maybe meaning part time or lower paid work or being frugal) and at the same time I need to balance actually doing some work on the house ideally before I retire.

The problem I have is balancing the two pulls on my income of investing enough and early enough so the funds have time to grow to bridge the gap vs getting work done on the house so I'm not trying to fund it from a fixed/limited income.

Okay, so I know what 99% of the responses to this are going to be... but I could do with some advice/opinions.

I'm an SEO that's been working in a policy area for about 5 years. I very comfortable here, I like and get on well with my stakeholders, and I'm doing good/meaningful work. As an EO/HEO I worked in the wider area so I've known some of my stakeholders and the systems I'm working in for more than 10 years.

My boss left about a year ago and I've been on TP into their job as head of policy area - doing it well/getting good examples and feedback. In anticipation of his job coming up and getting it as substantive Grade 7, I recently started applying for other jobs - getting a few interviews and some good feedback... I just got offered one.

The recruiting manager seems lovely, but it's in a completely different policy area that I know nothing about, and it's a busy area/with Ministerial interest so I'd need to get up to speed quickly. And I don't deal with change/stress/the unexpected well (I'm autistic).

My first instinct was I didn't want to leave, and my Director's response was she would try to keep me (not prevent me from taking the promotion, but if I wanted to stay then she'd go through the process of trying to make me substantive in my current post off the back of passing the interview at grade).

Reflecting on how I feel about it now I still don't feel any positive pull towards the new job - it's all dread and feeling sad about losing my policy area/current job, but at least part of that is the uncertainty.

It's taking a while and I need to make a decision by close on Thursday or the offer will be withdrawn.

And I do think my Director is trying to push it through, it's just a non-standard thing so there's no guarantee (she's needing to get approval to fill the post substantively outside of the standard resourcing process and that involves several directors)

My main motive for applying wasn't to 'get grade 7' but because I'm bad at interviews/ out of practice and I'd be upset if 'my' job had come up and someone else had gotten it.

So absolute worst case scenario (to my mind) is that she manage to make it happen, then I need to either wait and apply for my job when it does come up (which is what I had intended anyway) or apply for a different Grade 7 job when I do feel ready to make a significant change.

Thoughts/views?