350,000 quid

I really can’t get enough of Dear Jeremy, the career advice column in The Guardian. Reading about other people’s work problems (from petty office politics to tedious career choices) is a good way to remember the Great Terror from which I narrowly escaped. It can only keep me on my toes, eh?

This week’s column features a most escapological conundrum. A fellow wants to escape his day job with £350,000 of assets. He plans to invest it in a new business of his own devising: a bed-and-breakfast hotel.

While his adventurous spirit is admirable, a friend really should take the chap by the lapels and say something along the lines of “ARE YOU CRAZY? THREE AND A HALF HUNDRED GRAND IS THE ESCAPE FUND OF A LIFETIME! SEVERAL LIFETIMES IF YOU’RE FRUGAL!”

To have raised such a handsome battery of wealth (and presumably to be debt-free) seems to be a case of “mission accomplished” to me. I certainly wouldn’t invest it in such a financially risky and time- and energy-consuming endeavor as a B&B. Hasn’t he seen Fawlty Towers? Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

I suppose it depends on his overheads: the affluent consumer lifestyle is an expensive commitment. I’d just curb my consumer desires, retire at once, and spend the money slowly on top-notch cakes for the next fifty years.

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