LBM in 2003.. What have I been doing since??!

*Robin*

grannyx2 wrote: »

Glad life is treating you well, it's heart warming to see such upbeat posts x

^^^ Seconded - sounds like you had a lovely weekend, Brizzle.

Another vote of confidence for soap nuts; bought a pack years ago which is still going strong. I do add a little commercial washing liquid when tackling oily or ordure-encrusted jeans.
To replace conditioner; a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar plus ten drops of a favourite essential oil (vinegar also helps kill any bugs when using a low-temp wash ).

kerri_dfw

Good tip on the soapnuts DFW, I'll give them a try when the fairy runs out.

Sounds like you had a lovely weekend Brizzle

brizzledfw

Ooh lots of visitors...thanks everyone for dropping by:D

Well couldn't resist a 20% off code from N@tural C@llection so am shortly taking possession of 1kg soap nuts. Thanks guys, will let you know how I get on and thanks for the tip on any tricky items, Robin. Not one to let a good deal go from one of my favourite suppliers, I am also getting 180 loo rolls and 98 kitchen rolls, no less, at the same time!!! :rotfl: :rotfl: Think that should suffice for a while!

Used a MOV in the C@op for a few bits as well today. Made Rocky Road..yum. But it takes so much dark chocolate, blimey it was an expensive dish. Dinner will be Cheesey Veggie Bake (using up scraps from bottom of fridge) and the LO chicken from last week.

Best get a shimmy on for the last shift of the day

NoOneAround

brizzledfw wrote: »

Ooh lots of visitors...thanks everyone for dropping by:D

Wel couldn't resist a 20%off code from N@tural C@llection so am shortly taking possession of 1kg soap nuts. Thanks guys, will let you know how I get on and thanks for the tip on any tricky items, Robin. Not one to let a good deal go from one of my favourite suppliers, I am also getting 180 loo rolls and 98 kitchen rolls, no less, at the same time!!! :rotfl: :rotfl:

Good deal on somewhere or expecting trouble?
x

brizzledfw

:)we always buy in bulk as it's cheaper and then we stash the boxes in the loft. But 20% off means I may have gone overboard..

Reckon it's a years worth!!,

brizzledfw

Oh and well done on the sig, NOA. You are on your way!!

peaceandfreedom

NoOneAround wrote: »

Hi P&F, I have been thinking about de- registering myself as the returns are a pain in the ...head;) and we no longer earn enough to have to do them. Was it easy and straight forward to do?

It was a while ago now but I seem to remember it being very straightforward. You have to fill in a form and return it to HMRC along with a proposed cancellation date. You stop charging/re-claiming VAT after that date. Details are here:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/managing/change/cancel.htm

I don't know what VAT scheme you are using but it might be worth your while checking out other ways of calculating your VAT rather than having to do a detailed return - there is a flat rate scheme for example.

For me, because my clients changed from being big business to smaller ones, it made sense to de-register because it made my prices lower.

NoOneAround

Thanks for that P& F,
I think having lower prices will help us as we are sometimes undercut by non vat registered businesses. Its really tricky knowing what best to do - as there are some other clients that don't take you seriously if you aren't registered!

peaceandfreedom

NoOneAround wrote: »

Thanks for that P& F,
I think having lower prices will help us as we are sometimes undercut by non vat registered businesses. Its really tricky knowing what best to do - as there are some other clients that don't take you seriously if you aren't registered!

Perhaps do an analysis of your clients, seeing how much money is coming in from those that don't take you seriously if you are not VAT-registered versus those that would prefer you not to be as they themselves are not registered.

Despite the hassle, I would have stayed VAT-registered if I were still working for larger VAT-registered organisations. I liked having the extra cash to hand for a few months and of course I could reclaim any VAT paid out.

On a related note, when/if I ever return to self-employment/contracting, it will be for big businesses - they just have bigger budgets and deeper pockets.

NoOneAround

Seem to have gatecrashed your thread with VAT...sorry Brizzle:o

P&F - I keep hanging on for the same reasons, we have a tricky balance - one big job for the VAT rated client type generates similar income to lots of little jobs for non-VAT registered clients, but we get more little jobs. No way of predicting from year to year:(- the little jobs are the bread and butter, the big jobs the icing on the cake, with current situation.