Caz counts it down

DebtFree2012

Good luck - you will do it x

Mara_uk7

Caz, Just a thought, but have you got a franking machine ? The rate for second class letters is only 32/33p compared to 50p for the stamp. Would a lot of your stuff go thru at a letter rate ?

Kaz2904

Caz, have you put together all your valentines packages? How about an Easter marketing drive?
Not very helpful, I know but trying to cheer you along from the sidelines

cazmanian_minx

Mara_uk7 wrote: »

Caz, Just a thought, but have you got a franking machine ? The rate for second class letters is only 32/33p compared to 50p for the stamp. Would a lot of your stuff go thru at a letter rate ?

Franking machines work out much more expensive than a Royal Mail business account, unfortunately - the postage is as cheap as I can get it up here. Just the jiffy bag is 5mm, so everything has to go large letter. Thank you for the thought though

Kaz2904 wrote:

Caz, have you put together all your valentines packages? How about an Easter marketing drive?
Not very helpful, I know but trying to cheer you along from the sidelines

Not much I can do in terms of packages - the majority of my customers are people making stuff to sell at craft fairs, so they'll buy different components from lots of different places. I'm going to start doing selection boxes, but it's getting enough stock together to do it - and everywhere's shut now until the middle of February for Chinese New Year, not that I've got the money anyway :rotfl:

But the good news is that the charm bracelet order will be arriving on Tuesday or Wednesday and I've got people waiting for them. Plus it's got the new range of vintage-style antique bronze chains and findings in it, fingers crossed they'll do well....

cazmanian_minx

Right. Operation Make Dosh is starting right now (a bit later than intended, but Merlin had a brakes failure in the bottom field overnight and went through the electric fencing into the one remaining piece of ungrazed field - by the time I'd sorted that out, trundled round with the wheelbarrow and taken the dog on the beach, two and a half hours had gone by...).

The bad news is that the £801 needed has become £822, the good news is that's because I found a compatible ink cartridge for printer number 2 in Tesco yesterday afternoon Which was very lucky indeed, because the replacement laser still isn't here - apparently Highlands is 3-7 working days delivery, so it might not get here until Wednesday. Bit odd that they've always managed 48 hours in the past, but hey ho.

So, dosh needed: £822.
Incoming credit card payment: £43.62
Current PayPal balance: £73.80

Left to find by Tuesday night: £704.58

LAM2011

Grr to naughty ponies breaking fencing - I bet he had fun running around though

I hope you manage to reach your target x

cazmanian_minx

LAM2011 wrote: »

Grr to naughty ponies breaking fencing - I bet he had fun running around though

I hope you manage to reach your target x

No running round I don't think, they just got their heads down and ate, judging by the amount they left there for the wheelbarrow He's obviously got a taste for breaking out now, I went to feed them at 4 and saw a muddy yellow bottom hiding in next door's gorse bushes :eek::eek: He'd leaned on the stock fence between our fields, flattened it enough to step over it, scrambled over the dyke wall and old barbed wire on the other side and started munching his way through my neighbours' resting field He let me catch him easily enough, but threw a paddy when I asked him to walk under a lifted piece of electrical fence so I had to take him up their fields, up their drive, down the road, down our fields and back to where he should be.

He looked very smug as he tucked into supper this evening

cazmanian_minx

Dosh needed: £822.
Incoming credit card payment: £43.62
Current PayPal balance: £208.92

Left to find by Tuesday night: £569.46

It's been a slow weekend I've been listing stuff, but haven't sold any of it yet. I still have that £140 in the offset, which I'd rather not use. Mr Minx has said he'll lend me the money if I'm short, but I'd rather not do that either. Fingers crossed I get a few orders from my regulars tonight...

cazmanian_minx

Right, I have been sensible. I've transferred £550 out of the tax bill savings to the business account, so the Royal Mail bill is covered. After the charm bracelet order gets here tomorrow or Wednesday, sales should pick up a bit.

What's really annoying me is that after the VAT paid on that order, HMRC now owes me £2603 - yet I still have to pay them three more monthly payments of £810 before I get a refund in early April. I could really do with a) having that money back now and b) not having to make the other three payments, but hey ho, their rules and it means the monthly payment is going to go down dramatically next year.

Remember a few days ago I was musing about transferring money each month into the First Direct savings account for annual bills like car tax etc. and saying I'd start doing it after the current flurry of bills was over? Well, I reviewed the list of spends this afternoon and realised that I can start doing it straight away. I've transferred £130 and now have £200 in that account...though I think I may have made a mistake with the car insurance renewal, it might be February, together with the car tax, in which case it might need topping up a bit next month. Though last year I got the insurance for £159, so that plus £140 car tax is £309 and once I pay in another £130 in February there'll be £330 in the account. Fingers crossed.

cazmanian_minx

£220 banked this morning, so with the £140 that was available from the tax account, if I can bank £190 tomorrow then technically I've made it. But I still have to find the VAT money and my drawings, which is going to be very, very tight.

Fortunately my charm bracelet order arrived today - I've got them up and listed and still have a load more stock to put on, some of it new. Fingers crossed that it starts moving quickly.