OberonSH's DFW Diary Thread - 1 Woman, 1 Toddler & A Whole Lotta Debt!

chevalier

We are doing ok here Obi. Still waiting to go to New Zealand, but seems it will take forever to get sorted.
Glad to see your futre FIL is on your side, but what about the MIL from hell?

OberonSH

Hello you lovely lovely people. Things are a bit hectic right now, trying to get Little Taste of Home (dot com) off the ground. Don;t bother heading over there, cos theres no products up yet, just an idea of what it'll look like. Trying to fit in a normal life (the cooking, washing, tidying etc) plus the other bits that running a business entail. The paperwork, the headaches and fending off malicious buearecrats who keep trying to give me more paperwork....

Debt wise had a hairy month, lots of money to find in a short space of time, but so far so good. I'm getting worried about how crazy £2 coins make me, but hey, thats part of being a DFW. Not sure how wearing my pants on my head and screaming 'Give me all your £2 coins or the bunny gets it' fits in there though.......

But things are good, teh FIL has moved out of our house, and into Cloud Cuckoo Land (so it seems) - big man, big plans, big hole where his money should be. Still, at least MIL has kept under her rock. We bumped inot her in the Post Offuce, and she basically ignored LF, who was a bit miffed. But no muss no fuss. Not sure what that means but I heard it on Buzzcocks and have been trying to figure out how to work it into a conversation.

Just about to pay off the deposit on the holiday, we're using Pigsback vouchers. Just the 1 so far, but I have a £10 Boots voucher that I'd love to swap for a leisure voucher, so if you're interested, PM me. It all helps.

Well, enough warbling from me, enjoying a brief respite from the shop for a minute, but any moment now the hordes of rabid pensioners will come pouring through the door, like a bunch of bobble-hatted cockroaches. Ewww.

Molanole

We were going to have to sent eh Debt Assassins to come get you

Wha??? Somebody called??

chick-chick

Any updates? I enjoy reading your posts!

OberonSH

Hello Debt Free Chicks!

I apologise for the lack of postings, it's been mental. I'll start at the beginning.....

First off, we've both decided we want to emmigrate, and soon. So we've put the shop up for sale, and started a new business selling British goods to the ex-pats in America http://www.littletasteofhome.com it's going very well, and the plan is to move over, and ship the stuff over in bulk to supply the businesses in Central Florida, maybe open a retail shop and cafe ourselves.

LB Lost his job, so money is waaaay on the other side of tight. He got 'fired' for a minor thing, so he's having to take them to a tribunal as they're witholding his pay from JANUARY!!!. But although we're really struggling, he's a lot happier, he's trying to set up a business selling gaming and hobby supplies to fellow nerds. We have a possible buyer for the shop, who knows the score ie. that the price I ask is what I'll accept, no lower. And once it sells that's the end of our money trouble, as it'll wipe out our debt and give us enough money to get our business off the ground. I can't wait.

I'm trying to lose a bit of weight pre-wedding, bought my wedding dress from a friend for £100 and going to get it altered as it's a puffy sleeved type, makes me look too much like Sarah from Labyrinth (in the ballroom scene).

MIL from Hell is keeping her distance, think she's realised that she's lost the fight and pushed everyone too far. FIL still has his feet firmly rooted on cloud cuckoo, but at least he's happy and not causing me any problems. Life is genreally good - I have a court case next Tuesday to take a lass to court for rent she owed me from a few years ago. I've given her every chance to pay it and she's tried raking up all sorts; she was illegally evicted (until I whipped out the letter she wrote me telling me she had moved out), that the landlord of the building didnt knwo anything bout her (and why should they, it was in my commercial lease to sub let the flat over the shop) and generally trying to make me look like an evil landlady throwing out a preganant girl. Naturally she didn;t tell the court about the needles I had to clear up,, the dirty underwear and the 8 weeks of back rent owing when she left the flat under cover of night....) Still, Hopefully that will come back to me, which will really help.

Got a hearing date for the bank charges case against Barclays, so firing off a letter today (copied to the court, natch) asking for my statements to be supplied before the court date as evidence. Hopefully this will trigger the inevitable 'here's your money now bog off' call. Let this be a lesson - do the bank charges thing by the book, I accepted a total given to me by the bank themselves over hte phone, and now they claim they haven't seen any evidence of these charges - surprising, seeing as THEY'RE THE BANK!!'. Honestly, they'll try anything.

So I hope you're all doing well, getting there and saving the precious £2 coins.

*zippy*

Hi Obie

Good to hear that things are going well sound like you are having a real fresh start :T so many people dream of doing things like this, good on you for going for it.

Good luck with the shop sale and new business, hope you get a nice quick sale, I bet you didn't imagine you would be in this position a year ago :beer:

Hows the book going btw

zippy x

Pobby

Hey Obi,what a great idea.We hope to take an early retirement tio Spain in the next few years.When I was last there,there is a chain of shops selling food to ex pats.Got the impression that they are doing rather well.

Out of interest,how do you source your products.I assume it from a cash and carry.

Anyway,I do hope it goes very well for you.I am in wholesale myself and over the last few years I see a massive shift from traditional ``bricks and mortar`` trading to the net.In particular e-bay shops.

OberonSH

Yup, we bob down to the local cash and carry, sometimes tescos for odd bits. We're finding the worst part is working around teh American inate paranoia - the paperwork is absolutely endless. Prior notificatio of foodstuff arrival; you know, in case you try to poison the whole of Detroit with a bottle of HP sauce, or smuggle anthrax over in a Fray Bentos steak & ale pie.

We're earnestly looking at ways to get our visa quicksticks, as it's fairly obvious that shipping out smalltime like this is tedious and timeconsuming. So hopefully I can slip the London Embassy a packet of terabags and get our visa not too long after paying off the debt with the proceeds of the shop, oh what a joy that will be.

Can't wait to send off my cheque to Rossendales - hah, no more money from me you nasty little bloodsuckers...

*zippy*

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Mindy_2

I can't believe I've just sat here for nearly two hours!!!! reading all your posts.

What a lovely way to spend a day off sick from work, sniffing and sneezing all over the place. Perhaps I ought to get dressed now as DH will be home from work in 20 mins and I've still got my nightie and dressing gown on.

You give me so much inspiration, and judging by the other posts, I'm not the only one.

You really have achieved a lot, well done Obi!!