2010: New Year, New Flat, New Plan.........

WELSH-DRAGON_2

hiya Emily :wave: haven't been on MSE for awhile but stopped by to see how you were doing, hope your ok and the self-employment is going well.

I had a little boy 8 months ago and have gone part-time in work so been looking at ways to boost my income

keep posting

welshy xxxxx

ehallett

Hi everyone (and Welshy - congratulations on your baby boy)

I guess I haven't posted on here as I haven't really felt like a DFW recently. I have been self-employed for nearly 2 months now. I was due to go back to work at the beginning of June but have managed to extend my time off for another month.

The money side of it is harder than I thought. I am finding it hard to make as much as I did in my job plus the £300 a month I need for my DMP. Don't get me wrong, I am making enough to live on (rent, bills, food etc) but I was paying nearly £700 on my DMP a month.

However, I have found that the up-side of being self employed (and this is a major plus for me) is that my health has improved no end. I went to the hospital just 3 weeks after stopping work and all of my stats were the highest they have been in over 3 years. My nurse and doctor were amazed. My weight has also gone up to over 8 stone and still rising. I feel better than I have in a long time. I actually managed to walk to my local shop and back the other day without getting a massive coughing fit from it. I still get bad days when my cough is a bit worse etc but not every day is a bad day now.

I am due back at the hospital at the end of June and that is another reason for me extending my time off until July. I want to see if my stats have imrpoved again or stayed the same. If they have, it's bye bye job forever.

However, I had to decide what to do about my debts. I spoke to CCCS and explained my situation to them. They have put my account on hold for a couple of months but said if I don't make a payment in June then they will end the DMP (which will happen as I don't have enough for a payment in June). I proceeded to write to all of my creditors and explained my situation. Most of them have agreed to accept £5 a month for a few months and then will review my situation.

I do want to clear my debts, but I can't work myself into the ground to get enough to pay my DMP and live on. Some months, I will have more money so will be able to save that money for emergencies and debt and when I get enough, I will clear one of the debts.

As for work, I really don't miss it. I worked in an office which was as !!!!!y as hell. I can't tell you how nice it is not to be moaning and !!!!!ing all day long!

The work I am doing now is mainly AQA but I have started mystery shopping again too. My aim is for half AQA and half MS a month. My aim per month is £900 at least which pays all my bills and payments to my creditors. I then live off my DLA which is £70 a week. This gets me food, petrol etc. I am looking into other ways of making money and am trying to win some prizes too (without much success just yet).

I will try to keep this diary updated. Enjoy the sunshine everyone.

Emily x

postingalwaysposting

:T Thanks for the update Emily. I am so pleased to hear not being at work is doing amazing things for your health. I do think that if your health has improved that much you should leave work, its not worth the stress and problems it brings to you. With regards to the debt have you thought anymore about bankruptcy? I don't know the costs/implications to you for doing this but maybe its something to speak about with CCCS? It would mean then you income will only have to cover bills etc and thus will free up more of your time as you won't feel the need to aqa all the time.

Please keep us updated on any progress Take care :A

beanielou

Great to hear from you.
Am so pleased your health has improved.
I too think you should look into bankrupcy.
Your health is so much more important than repaying the debt.
Take care & keep posting.
How the car going? xxx

babyhead

So nice to read your update

Pleased your health is improving. Are you not entitled to any housing or council tax benefit? I would have thought you would be entitled to some help. Just a thought - might be worth looking into.

ehallett

Hi everyone

I am back and my new diary is here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2544861

Emily xx