Northern lights, life and campervans

Aurora_emma

Like everyone on here I have a tale and I have a journey. Life moves on and brings forth more challenges and fun along the way and we can chose whether to passively spectate or engage and do something about it can’t we?

A bit about me:
I have lived on these Scottish Islands since 1984, where my folks moved when I was 12. They bought a business, lost it, separated, my mum married again and my dad moved back ‘down south’ to Somerset. My mum went on to have more children up here, who are now grown up, so I am surrounded by lovely family that I am really rubbish at finding time to see.

I left school at 16, joined a theatre group, had a fab time, got pregnant, had a baby just after my 18th birthday and I think that gave me something to push against. I’m not particularly clever but did courses/nightclasses and finally an Open University Degree in environmenty stuff, with some technology and psychology along the way. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up but I now work from home as a manager on a big UK website. I love it and I love the fact that it means I can sit in my house, looking out at stunning views, taking time off to walk the dog and pretend to do housework occasionally.

Fast forward and 3 kids, 1 divorce and 1 new relationship and a new business later and you get where I am today. I have just doubled my mortgage to do housey stuff and taken out a 0% b/t credit card to borrow 5k to expand my business. This is the same time as my partner has moved in and I have lost £600 a month of tax credits. He is on a protected trust deed (2 years left), so isn’t able to contribute too much to the household at present (£400 a month), but he does pay for some stuff and fills the car (Stu) up sometimes, as well as working hard helping me gain control of all the work that is needed on my rambling old house.

I have been using this site for more years than I remember and it is my third most visited website (after the one I work for and facebook probably.lol). I am a bit of a money saving obsessive (not sure it is possible for me to make a purchase without using quidco), I have stoozed in the past, managed to get savings put aside and before the breakdown of my marriage we were set to be debt free including mortgage within 6 months. (silly life getting it the way of finances – how dare it?)

If I can sneak in, grab an earl grey and a comfy seat in a quiet corner here, my aim for this diary is for it to be a place I can keep a public eye on my proceedings and talk to like minded souls in a similar headspace. I whitter on about rubbish (for which I apologise in advance), don’t have nearly enough time to see the few friends I have (let alone use more time up on a diary), but the time feels right so I’m going to give it a go.



I'll post some money stuff soon once I have got my littlest monkey homeworked and off to school.

elantan

I really hope I don't loose your diary i think it's gonna be a good read ... Good luck on your journey

Aurora_emma

elantan wrote: »

I really hope I don't loose your diary i think it's gonna be a good read ... Good luck on your journey

Thank you. :beer: Not sure it will be a good read but we will see. I just got mega cold feet and if there was a delete button my first post would be gone now. This is scarier than I thought for some reason...

Aurora_emma

Thought it was time to post a bit of debtish waffle...



Business:
£5000 on a 16 months 0% balance transfer cc. (only applied for right now, so hope this card will let me write a cheque to my bank account like others can)
Monthly repayments: £320 a month
I injected 13k of my own money into the business to set it up in January. I haven’t redone my full finances since June (been too busy running the business. The season is now over so the time has come to do these things), but I believe with this additional 5k investment I should be able to pay myself my 13k back by year three and then we should be able to take regular drawings from the business which we can put aside for holidays, further education for the children, hobbies including vehicles (we love our vw campervans, motorbikes and oh has a thing about Minis) and generally the future. I also intend to then invest the 13k into pension type old age stuff as I currently have nothing (and I am 38). Ideally I would like the business to support paying back half the repayments, but I dont want to go overdrawn so we shall see. I am running the business from a seperate personal account (not a business one)

Personal:
Became debt free apart from my mortgage about 5 years ago (woohoo). However have just increased mortgage to £68k so that we can built a garage, replace the 20+ year old kitchen, build a tiny back porch so we can have a back door and generally do a bit of decorating.
Monthly repayments: £400 a month

I need to do statements of affairs’ for both my business and my personal finances. I know my personal ones aren’t great right now – we have spent loads on a family holiday trip around the UK, just bought silly, beautiful engagement rings, accidentally bought a much nicer car than we intended (I had a bonus at work) and we have been spending far too much on weekly shopping. My health has been suffering due to my weight though (I am a midgetous 5 foot 2 and can’t be above a size 12 and function properly or get my bike leathers on. My size 12s are currently too tight. This is another subject altogether though – see, I said I whittered on!)
Back to shopping – last week I started meal planning again and what a fantastic difference it has made. We managed to go to Tescos when it was quiet on Sunday without the kids (which helped loads) and I have been excited about cooking instead of feeling stress every mealtime.


I need reminding that I function best with lists and plans (even though I get laughed at for being surrounded in them)

Aurora_emma

A different kind of weekend this weekend. We hire out VW campervans and have just managed to buy a new one. (A good time of the year to buy and plenty of time for us to get it ready for next years' hiring out. This is the best time of the year to buy). Trouble is it is way down in Englandshire (Birmingham) so oh has to get 2 planes and leave Sat morning. He should be back with the van Sunday evening.

Plans for today:
Find cheque books and pay bills - urgent!!
Take car to garage to have new bonnet catch put on
Fit in 7 hours' work
3 x 10 mins of stretches/exercise
walk dog
put clothes away
pop to town and take out £500 cash for oh to take with him to pick up van
empty vans and do washing from them
July and August expenses into spreadsheet

Anyone up to anything exciting?

Aurora_emma

Plans for today:
Find cheque books and pay bills - urgent!!
[STRIKE]Take car to garage to have new bonnet catch put on[/STRIKE]
Fit in 7 hours' work
3 x 10 mins of stretches/exercise done 2 lots - jogged back from taking car to garage and then jogged to post box
walk dog
put clothes away got them as far as basket now
pop to town and take out £500 cash for oh to take with him to pick up van
empty vans and do washing from them took in washing and box of food.. moudly courgette.. ooops. Pillowcases and towels in machine, then sleeping bags next
July and August expenses into spreadsheet

sparkleisshopping

Hi Emma *waves*

hiring VW campers for a living sounds like a great job! Two of my friends have VWs and they are beautiful (one has one of those lovely split-screen jobbies - gorgeous!). Is there much call for hiring campers in the scottish highlands though?

Choc-addict

Hello!

Loved reading your opening post so please continue....sounds like you have an idealic lifestyle

Loving the campervan hiring - you'll have to set a link up to website! OH and I love things like that so you never know may be a customer one day

Have subscribed so will pop along again soon x

lellybun

Hi Emma, love your thread title, and content. Carry on posting! Have subscribed, good luck!

Aurora_emma

sparkleisshopping wrote: »

Hi Emma *waves*

hiring VW campers for a living sounds like a great job! Two of my friends have VWs and they are beautiful (one has one of those lovely split-screen jobbies - gorgeous!). Is there much call for hiring campers in the scottish highlands though?

Hi there *waves back*. Oh, I would love a split screen van, or even a bay window. We specialise in the T25s, which are the most practical for hiring out (easier to drive and handle, plus most space in them)...
We started this year and were pretty much fully booked up until beginning of Sept. That was with us only really deciding, buying second van and doing our website in March.. Is hard to juggle with us both working full time and 2 busy families, but have decided to go for a second year..

Aurora_emma

Choc-addict wrote: »

Hello!

Loved reading your opening post so please continue....sounds like you have an idealic lifestyle

Loving the campervan hiring - you'll have to set a link up to website! OH and I love things like that so you never know may be a customer one day

Have subscribed so will pop along again soon x

Hi there Choc addict.. I like your name and may well suffer the same affliction (food addict of all types really )
The lifestyle can be lovely. I wouldnt swap it for the world (been here since 1984). Winters can be long and wild though and i miss my family in Englandshire.

If you google orkney and campers you will find us.. for we are called Orkney Campers
Would be honoured to have you as a customer one day. Everyone that has hired a van so far has been ace, I think it must be that only nice folk want to hire them out