I Wanna Be Rich! :D

Icewytch

Well, what I really want is to be comfortably off, which means not worrying myself sick about being able to pay basic bills, having enough food in the cupboards, being able to heat the house without having to wear so many layers of clothes I have to roll myself from the livingroom to the frosty bathroom....:D
So I saw that others keep a `debt free diary` and thought it might be a good idea to record my progress or lack of it, so I can see what I do right or wrong and how it works or doesn`t.
Um....ok...that made sense to me...:o

As I stand now, I`m around £3000 in debt, most of that to the bank but also catalogues, local haulage firm (coal, stock delivery for my business, etc)
and because I`m permanently in overdraft I can`t afford to buy anything, really.
My business is self employment making sheepskin rugs but thanks to the brilliant folks on here, I now have other idea for making other products (which I`m going to list here) which are cheaper to make and sell and hopefully might appeal to a wider range of customer.
It took a lot to admit I`m in trouble....I`m one of those older folks who still feel being in debt carries the stigma of shame, and for the months it began to pile up and affect my life, I hid it and worried so much I literally became ill with it.
But finding this place has been a godsend, and the wealth of advice, and support, is helping me to stop wallowing in self pity and pull me socks up, so to speak. I was in that `paralysed` stage where I couldn`t see what to do or which way to move, but felt so trapped by the situation it felt smothering.
Pretty damn scary.....:eek:

So...baby steps first...
Thanks to the good folks on here for these ideas, as well as keeping making the sheepskin rugs (which folks can`t really afford to buy at the moment due to the recession)
I`ll be making...
ipod covers....little sheepskin ones, cream wool inside and soft caramel suede on the outside with perhaps little duffel coat style buttons to keep it closed...
mobile phone covers, pretty much the same thing as the ipod covers..but bigger!
Dog beds and coats (starting by using my own elderly but bouncy border collie as the first template )
wrist warmers and back belts...soft sheepskin belts like those boxers and wrestlers wear, held around the lower back and waist with velcro, especially handy in cold weather I think!
Insoles for wellies and boots.
Crafting packages of sheepskin squares and patches for folks who want to make their own stuff.
Driftwood packages ditto.

And anything else that crops up I will try.
So today I start on the first of those, the ipod covers. Doing so gives me hope....it keeps me busy, I`m always doing the sheepskin rugs but they have become so `routine` now that even when I`m working them, I`m always still worrying.
The ipod covers are new..I`ll concentrate on them. Might sound silly but such a wee thing forces me to look towards the future with hope, to be more positive.

I`m sitting here typing this early in the morning. I`m an insomniac and always wake around four am.
But right now, the dawn is rising outside the window, over the fields of the island. The sky is soft rose bleeding into slate blue. The winds have dropped and the isle is hushed and peaceful.
I`m the only one up.
It`s quiet and peaceful, and flocks of wild geese fly into the fields outside for their morning feed.
And for once, after such a long time feeling nothing but despair and hopelessness, I feel hopeful and resolute, and pretty much ok.

ani*fan

Good morning Icewytch :hello:

I've got a touch of insomnia too and keep waking at silly times and not able to get back to sleep. I don't mind too much...it means I can trawl this site 'til it's time for work.

I'm about to go self-employed too and am nervous beyong belief. I handed in my 3-months notice yesterday and now the race is on to find enough sessional work to pay the bills. It feels like the most stupid time in the world to be doing this, what with a recession about to hit (or are we in it already?) but I just couldn't stand my employers one second longer.

So, you're idea about expanding your product to pull in a wider market sounds great. I'm thinking along those lines too. Do you have any other tips for a newbie self-employed person? My biggest worry is that I sit on the couch eating biscuits all day and don't work because no-one is telling me to...I think I have more motivation than that but winter in a rural area really is spent trying to keep warm most of the time!

Anyway, any advice you could offer would be great. Thanks.

Icewytch

Have you applied for Working Tax Credit?:) I receive that, and recently due to the recession when my orders for sheepskin rugs dried up, that was what I survived on, it was my lifeline in effect.
I became self employed because I live in a rural area too....one of the outer north islands...and the only real work here is farming or fishing, none of which I could get into...this island is only twelve miles by six, all the farming land is taken!
I would say go for it, definately. The sense of achievement I felt when I officially became self employed was fantastic, more so because in rural areas I think it can be harder to go self employed as there are often factors to consider like simple lack of local customer base (for myself, well, there are less than five hundred folks on the island, I can only sell so many rugs to them, hee..:D)
I`ve found this place to be wonderfully motivating, so any time the biccies beckon, log in here and get some inspiration.
Or start your own `diary` here too if you haven`t already, to keep track of your progress.
What kind of thing are you doing?:)

Icewytch

PS meant to add, although there are organisations that are supposed to help newbie self employed persons....here, for example, there is Orkney Islands Enterprise...I would be wary of them. If they do decide to help out with grants or loans, they can make you jump through hoops for it, and afterwards for a limited time they actually have a say in how you run your business! So I didn`t go for that once I found that out. It`s MY business, not theirs, and sink or swim, I wanted to have control over it.

ani*fan

I'm hoping to provide music services...instrumental tuition, music therapy, a bit of teaching at a uni nearby and anything else that comes along. I have some clients and pupils lined up already but it's not enough by half to pay the bills so I really need to generate more work very quickly.

I fortunately have a good friend who is helping me out whilst trying to set up her own business so I'm not alone. And OH is hugely supportive. And there's always this site too.

I was really hoping to be rid of my debt before taking this step but it wasn't to be. Still £3,000 to go and counting...

I unfortunately need to go and get ready for work now but best of luck with your business and I hope your new plans all work out well.

hypno06

Icewytch, that is fab - and ipod covers ready just in time for Christmas stocking-fillers? Perfect timing!

ani*fan - good luck with the music! I am more the "sitting on the sofa eating biccies because no one is telling me to work" type, hence the fact that I am now back in paid employment! So my top tip would simply be to be disclipined - act as though you are still employed!

Good luck guys!

MrsTinks

Icewytch as well as dog beds... what about cat beds As I am owned by 1 dog and 2 cats i can easily tell you which I'd buy a nice creamy sheepy bed and it AIN'T my part hippo, part kangeroo, part dog... It would be the snuggly prissy kitties And I can imagine they'd love it as much as my old sheepskin rug bough many years ago that they used to kneed like mad

Glad you're starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel - I'm sure you'll find a wide variety of ideas on here - if you want to branch out then have a look for crafty ideas on the celebrations board All manner of crafty ideas on there

I'd also look at any possible childrens items - it's amazing what things for the nursery cost just because it's "baby" related

boredofbeingathome

Hi icywytch, i reckon you will be quids in with the cold weather..what about some funky draught excluders would look good if they matched the rugs as well.
I love sheepskin rugs! I really just wanted to wish you good luck and to say debt can hit us at anytime of our lives..just over a year ago i was looking to overpay my mortgage, this year is a different story..but i will be back there.

BOB X

Icewytch

I have flu. So it irked, a little, to log on to find yet more excessive bank charges for being in the overdraft...a whopping ( to me) forty quid.
So I wrote them a letter, hand written as I have run out of printer ink and can`t afford to buy any. Best handwriting. Hope they can read it
and have requested a refund of the past year`s bank charges and a stop put on their excessive charges until I can get out of the overdraft.
I have no idea what they`ll say...am not hopeful, in truth...but I gotta do something... I can`t get out of the overdraft because I don`t have enough money to put into the account to get past the ruddy charges...any money in gets immediately swallowed up.
so fingers crossed....
going back to bed now. Some days, doncha wish the world would just !!!!!! off?

Cinny91

Icewytch. If you do decide to make cat beds could you send me a PM to let me know please? Been after a good cat bed for ages! (all my cats love sheep skin)

Good luck with getting debt free! Sending lots of nice thoughts your way. hope you're feeling better soon.

beaujolais-nouveau

Icewytch wrote: »

I`ll be making... Dog beds and coats (starting by using my own elderly but bouncy border collie as the first template

Good luck with everything but I wouldn't spend too much time on dog beds because you'd be trying to compete with the artificial fleece (Vetbed) which can be put in the washing machine and comes out clean, no matter what state it was in when it went into the wash, dries quickly and lasts for 10-20 years.