EH is Back - and going Onwards, and Upwards!

EssexHebridean

Hello! Been here before, but currently guilty of some shameful neglect and lack of focus, so first of all, apologies to all those whose threads I have been MIA from for a few months, I have no excuses!

Right then, the reason for the return. I have somewhat unexpectedly found myself out of work. I won't go into the reasons, here is not the place, (and I can't anyway "legal reasons" as they say on the TV!) but suffice to say that it was my decision to resign, but that I was not really left with any other viable options. So, as from 7.39am this morning I am jobless. Thankfully OH remains in what is hopefully fairly stable employment, for that I am eternally grateful as that will enable us to keep our heads almost above water.

We are fortunate in that other than the mortgage we are free of any other debt, however, I want to keep it that way. I also want to be able to keep overpaying the mortgage - we've worked hard at that, and it is also as some of you (assuming anyone is reading this......hellllllooooo?!.........) may remember it is also the first step on our future "Grand Plan" of moving to the Outer Hebrides. They may have nicked a good dollop of my confidence and a healthy dose of my self esteem, I will NOT, however, allow them to steal our dreams as well! :rotfl:

So - the plan is:
1) Work out exactly what money we HAVE to have coming in per month to meet everything that is going out - IYSWIM
2) Grocery challenge, Grocery Challenge, Grocery Challenge!
3) Work on a plan for a self-employed business - the idea is there, but it needs work and will then need marketing. Thanks to the fantastic MemoryGirl's thread, I think I may have the confidence to have a go at this now
4) Refocus on cutting costs where we can - cutting electric use, maybe getting a water meter fitted (interested in feedback from anyone who has gone down the water meter route by the way)
5) Refocus on making money where we can, so eBay, cashback sites etc. Off the back of this I am planning to become an Avon rep.
6) Meal planning to make sure I make the best use of what we have, and also the best use of gas etc.

So, a new stage in my MSE journey begins, and one thing I know from the past is that I will get endless support, ideas and positivity - all of which are going to be very much welcomed! I seem to remember the first post of my last diary ended up with something along the lines of "hold onto your hats....." for this one I will add "it's going to be a bumpy ride!!"

yukkibear

**waves***

Good to see you back. Sorry to hear about the job, but you're sounding positive for the future. I read Memory Girls thread but it moves too fast for me to keep up and get stuck in with the posting. Good luck with Avon, I've been toying with that recently as well. Look forward to seeing how you get on, but have no doubt you'll be fine.

moo2moo

Fab to see you back!

As for Avon.. if you treat it like a well paid walk its fab but as a get rich quick scheme it sucks. You have no control whatsoever over sales. I did it for 2 years when DD2 was in a pushchair which was far easier than lugging the books around. Some months I'd sell £600 of stuff, others I'd barely manage £50. Five years on I'm still using up the freebies. Its also worth noting that not all customers take up the offers and you can usually combine several customers orders to aquire extra bits and pieces. Equally you can order from two different brochures when you place your order which means if the customers paid full whack thats half price or bogof in another book no one is any the winer but your pocket is much better off. It is time consuming though but you've nothing to lose by trying it, especially in the run up to x-mas. Its October, November and December that are the biggest earning months so if you're going to try now is the time to do it. Just don't expect any income in January as sales will be pathetic.

EssexHebridean

Hi YB & Moo!

Handily my Mum has been doing Avon until recently, so I have a ready made "tutor" on the subject! I figure if I work on the basis that it earns me pocket money then anything over and above that will be fantastic. Frankly, your comment about it being a paid walk is pretty accurate for the way I'm looking at it - all the walking will give me some much needed exercise at least!

se999

EH there's a special Avon thread on MSE have you spotted it? I know your mum's been a rep, but there's lots of help there if you need advice on how to do things and on how to minimise costs and maximise profit from current promotions. I'm not a rep but at times looked into a few of these things. Hope it works out for you.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2764694&highlight=avon

hypno06

Sorry that you felt the need to resign, but hurrah for the wealth of opportunities that await you

Wordsmith

Welcome back! Been away myself for a bit. It's like coming home, isn't it?

Well done for jacking in your job. It does nobody any good to be in a job they hate, and if you don't absolutely have to be doing it then you are doing yourself a big favour in leaving. I bet the relief when you walked out that door for the last time was enormous.

Good luck on the plans for self-employment. It's so exciting making a fresh start. Set aside some time to just enjoy not being in your job any more, and enjoy the luxury of having some time to get other things done.

I will look out for your progress reports.

Soubrette

I've always wondered if someone could be a superrep and walk round posting catalogues for 3-4 different companies.

It would be the same walk but obviously more outlay if you have to buy catalogues and more work processing the orders but it seems in the long run it should be more efficient.

gilligansyle

EssexHebridean wrote: »

Right then, the reason for the return. I have somewhat unexpectedly found myself out of work. I won't go into the reasons, here is not the place, (and I can't anyway "legal reasons" as they say on the TV!) but suffice to say that it was my decision to resign, but that I was not really left with any other viable options. So, as from 7.39am this morning I am jobless.

As someone in a similar situation a year ago, it took me a while to get my act together and was the thing that prompted me to start a diary. Fortunately thanks to this site, like you I was in a better position than I would have been otherwise.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

EssexHebridean

se999 wrote: »

EH there's a special Avon thread on MSE have you spotted it? I know your mum's been a rep, but there's lots of help there if you need advice on how to do things and on how to minimise costs and maximise profit from current promotions. I'm not a rep but at times looked into a few of these things. Hope it works out for you.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2764694&highlight=avon

Ta SE - actually a lot of the ideas they use on there are Mum's - she posts here as Elibee! You're right on that thread though - it's fantastically useful!

Gilligansyle & Hypno - thanks for the kind words - I am certainly looking forward to the challenge. That's the thing about MG's thread - makes you feel you can take on the world, and win!

Soubrette - I like your thinking! I guess it would depend on you managing to get the same territory for the different companies though, to maximise the advantage!

Wordsmith - glad to see you're still about! How are things going with you?

EssexHebridean

Ok - in the spirit of taking things one step at a time, the grocery budget has been the first thing to come under scrutiny. We eat well, on little money, in any case, although this had slipped a little of late. We currently feed £150 per month into a Tesco Clubcard Plus account, and are keen to keep this going regardless of how much I can trim the spending by. The thinking behind this is that the Tesco account traditionally acts as a bit of a savings account for spending money for both our annual trip to the Hebrides, and our now traditional visit to the Good Food Show in Birmingham in November. As both the deposit on the holiday, and the tickets and Travelodge rooms for the GFS are already sorted and paid, we are still planning to do both these things, hence these "hidden" savings are going to be useful.

I have re-started my spreadsheet - this works on a monthly basis and I enter everything in as soon as it is spent. I am also shopping around both "virtually" using mysupermarket.com, and in real time, to see and work out where things are the best value - ie, we try to buy British produce as far as we can - Tescos standard mushrooms are all from Holland, we had been buying the organic ones which were relatively local, however I have now found out that the Sainsburys Basics ones are British, and work out cheaper than the Tesco ones. Organic milk has been down-shifted to standard, and if I buy 2 x 4pt bottles I can get the two for £2 - then splitting my bottle of skimmed and freezing 2 pints of it. OH has full fat and drinks 4 pints in a week easily.

We have a nicely stocked store cupboard, and the two freezers are also well stocked. I know for a fact that there is a 300g & 2 x 200g jars of coffee in store for example, and OH also had enough coffee beans to last him for a long, long time! Those sort of things are a relief, as those are the items that make a heavy impact on the budget when replacements are required. Likewise, I have plenty of dishwasher tablets and a good store of washing powder. Toilet rolls are also covered as I bought a new 24 roll pack not long since and as yet it is untouched.

So - my aim is to knuckle down and spend absolutely the bare minimum on food/cleaning product shopping - so far this month I have spent £32.25 - which doesn't sound great, however, this does include a bag of cat food, the next two months will also show that spend as it was a buy 2 get 1 free offer and I have spread the cost over the three months. Also some stocking up on things like flour. I think this weekly average will drop significantly over the next couple of weeks. At the moment the daily average for the month shows at £2.69 for the two of us, plus her Ladyship the cat.

My iPhone is proving invaluable for keeping track of special offers and making sure I use vouchers as and when I have them - I didn't really forsee it having that kind of practical application when I bought it, but everything around here will have to be earning its keep from now on so it's for the best!