Join in if you are self-employed and work from home

Horace

Happy New Year folks - I am back at work proper today:D

Eventually received some christmas presents: 2 large bars of chocolate from The Dolomites (1 with nuts and 1 without), a bottle of Italian Peach Vodka (it needs a mixer) and a spy pen (it has a radio, MP3 player, 4gb memory stick and it can be used to record conversations)

Mudbath

Happy New Year to you all. My sorting out business/house plans are on hold for a few days because I've got a sickness bug. I'm just hoping the children avoid it because it's DS's birthday on Saturday. So, today is taking it slowly and just dabbling in a few bits xx

emski1234

Happy new year everyone! I've not posted on here much, but hope to be much more active this year! New start and all that. I have my first client, and am doing some work for them at the end of this week. Have therefore had to book the days off at my temp job (have holiday to use luckily). Hopefully this keeps up and before long I can get rid of the temp job altogether!
Here's to a prosperous new year to all us self employed moneysavers!!
(And hope you feel better soon Mudbath).
x

Horace

Hope you feel better soon Muddy - I don't envy you being ill. Its a busy week this week - 4N breakfast tomorrow followed by meeting which may produce some work for me, quacks on Wednesday followed by a meeting at some serviced apartments (I may get commission for sending folks their way).

ben500

Have skived a tremendous amount over the festive period the grindstone and nose are missing each other now.

Amber_Sunshine

Hello everybody.

I occasionally look at this forum because I like to see how well people are doing with paying off their debts and how they manage to achieve it (okay, I´m nosy ...) and came across this thread. I´m self-employed and although I never thought of myself as being in debt, I finally realised, who am I kidding? I have an overdraft of approximately £350 and owe £1,900 to my mum.

I'll gradually work my way through these 122 pages, but wanted to introduce myself and my situation. I live in Spain, and for many reasons freelancing is the best way of working for me.

• My main income at the moment is working on adult chatlines (technically freelance although working for a company). This just about covers rent and bills, but nothing more.
• I also do occasional copy-editing for an academic publisher - this pays well and I've built up a good reputation with them, but the work is irregular.
• I also have qualifications in Indian head massage and reflexology. For various reasons, I haven't practised it but am now thinking of doing so at home or mobile.

The chatline job is good for regular income, but let's face it, you don't get rich working for someone else. So I'm trying to come up with other ideas to generate further income. I've thought of doing tarot/psychic readings by email, and Avon. I'm just not sure how to get myself noticed in the vastness of the Internet, and am also getting to grips with a lack of confidence in myself.

So my aim is to increase my income considerably and pay off my debts. I'm prioritising the overdraft (just paid 110 off it which feels like a start!), but would like to start paying my mum off as soon as possible, and start saving as well.

Anyway, that's me!

monkeymonkey_3

Hi everyone, and Happy New Year! And "get well soon" to everyone who's feeling poorly.

Wondering if anyone can advise me - I'm trying to do my online self assessment and have become a tad bit puzzled about a few things. My official self emp start date is Sep 2008, so therefore this is my first return. I'm confused about the whole basis period / accounting period thing (there's a bit to tick if your basis period is different to your accounting period). I wanted to keep things simple for myself, and have my accounting year be the same as the tax year - can I do this from the start? I ask because that would mean that the expenses I enter on this return would therefore be for a period of less than a year (Sep 08 to April 09). Or do I have to have my accounting year be the anniversary of my start date? And my next question is, how does the 'basis period' fit with this. I've read and re-read the guidance notes several times to try and get my head round this, but my brain just isn't taking it in

I also had another question, but now I can't remember what it was :rolleyes: Thanks in advance, if anyone can help I'd appreciate it.

moneymabel

Hi Amber-I've seen you on the 100-10,000 thread :-) I'm still trying to find something to buy!!

Hi Monkey-no idea on the tax I'm afraid but hopefully someone else will-good luck with it

Horace

Hi all

No advice Monkey - I employed an accountant so that I don't have to faff around with doing my self assessment online, she will do it for me. As I understand it (I am no tax expert by the way) you can have a 6 month return if you aim to have your year end as being the tax date in April so it is possible for you to submit a return for the period September 08 to April 09. If you are having difficulty, then give them a ring - they're user-friendly on the self employment line.

Got up at 6am today as I was intending to go to a breakfast meeting but then saw the weather forecast so at 6.30am I was ringing the guy who I was due to have a meeting with today to say that I wanted to postpone our meeting because of the weather - as expected the snow started falling heavily here at around 9.30am:eek: My visitor is trying to make his way to Worcester and then will be travelling back to London - yesterday he bought around £20 of shopping for me and gave me a portable dvd player as my other one is broken. He left here at 10am and the snow is appalling as are the roads, it is so bad that an ambulance on an emergency call cannot get up the road opposite me and the main road outside is horrendous - white with darker tramlines where the cars have been - it is also a slippery as hell as I discovered when I went to the bank to pay in £20 mystery shopping money (this will go towards my insurance).

Amber - the way to get your website up the rankings is to use key words in your site (dont pay anyone for google ads) also by posting on here and joining the online forum 4networking.biz which is a business networking forum (they also have breakfast meetings here in the UK).

I think I might take the day off today - I don't feel much like work.

Amber_Sunshine

Hi Mabel, I haven't got started yet either on making any money for the challenge!

Horace, are you suggesting I start a website for tarot readings?

Stay safe everyone if you have to go out (hopefully not so much if you're self-employed!). At least it's just cold here.