Putting My Life Into Order

catandy

ok so review time from yesterdays start with the business and other stuff going on:-

• final figures from yesterdays stint at the business working is we made 52.50 in about 2 hours. the company concerned were disappointed in this as they usually make 3x that (or they used to with their previous provider) that said they cut the hours short by x3 and they started off 'half cocked' ie not everything in place. gut feeling from me if they got it together they would be making more than they used to and our product is stable secure and fully functional basically it works as it is meant to.
• got to find out if they are going to carry on and if so make the necessary changes with them. last night was less than 1/20 of what they plan to do with the system so they are going to take some organising to get it working properly. I dont think they will just quit after one half hearted attempt but stranger things have happened!
• i learnt something big yesterday as well when doing boring domestic stuff - do not take anyone with me when I go and do the food shop cos pester power is still alive and well even when the kids are 'grown up' my usual shopping bill has been 30 to 40 quid max since i took control of it, add one teenage son into the mix and its 55quid and ive still got to get some meat to add to meals:o
• interest payments going down on the CC's have made me a whole £10 better off each month which will again go towards repayments. This snowball principal works doesnt it? just takes time to become apparent.
• got to do some work on home job today and get my work for main contract into the proper format to send off tomorrow morning. apart from that nothing else planned today.

catandy

ok things are looking up:-

• we had a conversation with the company using our software to see if they were happy with the 'trial run'. That's what they referred to the first go at it and they are more than happy with the results they got and plan to step up their roll out plan up to the xmas break. which technically means our business is in business - that also means that this is going to work:T
• ive got 3k offered from family to 'sort me out' with 12 months to pay it back and no interest. this will be a life saver and clear 3 of the highest rate CC altogether - thanks Mom ur a star!

catandy

second trial run of the business last night and again went well - and we've got some proper figures to work from for what the company makes from this one contract - £25 odd profit for each hour they use the system. they will be live perhaps 60 hours maximum per week when they are up to full speed so we know they will make us enough to cover running costs/ advertise and take a salary. timescale for this to be in place realistically is march or april of next year.

so now we rinse, lather and repeat with other clients doing exactly the same thing to fill more hours. and from January I get myself organised to work out how to start selling the second software product we have and when ive got it fine tuned i take on staff to do it for me. ive done it before so i know the pitfalls and what i did wrong first time round.

in the meantime im making the small extra payments that i can and waiting for the BOM to payout to make a dent in the running totals. I'm also doing what I can to make some extra on top of my usual wages:-

started ebaying
used music magpie
menu planning
tax rebate is showing as pending so thats another couple of 100 to throw into the pot
cut contract on S2 mobile in February so that will be another 15 saved each month as well
surveys/ swagbucks
money off tokens when im shopping


im not really going to start making headway into my balances till jan of next year as its going to take that long to take anything out from the company but im just chipping away in the meantime. every £1 not paid in interest charges or bank fees feels like a victory - yes thats how sad and OTT ive become about this.:o

millysg1

Glad to hear business plans are going well! Im still lurking and reading. Keep up all the hard work. :j

catandy

I've decided to give myself at least 5 things to do each day to save money. it just feels that everything is starting to slip and i need to keep on top of things and feel like im getting somewhere with all this. and im a great one for lists cos i like the satisfaction of seeing things ticked off!

• get ex to cancel his experian report (DD comes out of my account this was supposedly done already) - not done but to be fair i didnt give it to him to do today
• do invoice for last months work and get it sent off - done
• contact work for a new contract - what project am i moving onto? this usually takes 2 days for them to organise... - looks like there is nothing till 12th - WHAT!!
• cook dinner from supplies - done
• surveys/ swagbucks/ post myself on Fiverr and see if I get anything that way. - work in progress so half done

ok thats the plan for today - better get on with it!

catandy

yesterday worked out ok with my 5 things so im going to keep doing the same thing

1. cook all meals from supplies - planned so will happen
2. get ex to cancel his equifax report - this is a must do today
3. have a blitz and collect some more bits together to put on Ebay - in progress
4. apply for some projects via the freelancer boards or at least have a look to see if anything fits - in progress
5. do end of year accounts for co with companies house (got to be done by next week so im leaving myself plenty of time to avoid a fine).

catandy

finally got the refund thru on my vanquis CC so thats a huge 179.99 off of that this month plus my normal payment - finally seeing some headway!!

catandy

had a quiet weekend and not a lot going on MSE - wise.

ive earnt £15 from the home based job so far this month and used £37 odd of vouchers to do a weekly shop with just £20 to top it up so all good there

i've also had a blinding flash of reality - or something like that lol :rotfl: I'm being charged by my bank to use all of my overdraft but have £500+ of it ive never used. I've also got CC that I'm making minimum payments or just over on that im being charged interest on at eye watering rates. so I'm thinking of using some of that spare OD to wipe out my lowest balance CC completely. it will save me the monthly interest im paying each month plus free up £25 in payments on that card and not cost me any more from bank for using it.

i sometimes scare myself with how slow I am about these things though - ive not used the full amount of overdraft because i thought it looked better to the bank if its not all used - but they're charging me for it anyway!!! Doh

catandy

just a bleugh day all told today -

DD's gone out or at least the first monthly tranche of them so now my bank balance looks feeble again. have checked balances on cards etc and they are coming down but its so slow.... oh well better than going up i guess.

another sale for business yesterday so thats starting to tick over nicely would be nicer if it was faster but at least its starting to happen

DS1 has been offered a summer job for his wrestling that he does - putting on exhbition matches across different venues. he's absolutely thrilled as he's been working really hard at what he does (I dont get the grown men in tights throwing themselves on the floor bit myself but each to their own), he also feels 'grown up' ok I know hes going to be almost 18 by then so technically will be an adult but he's always going to be my baby. I'm pleased for him but scared that I'm losing him and will miss him like mad - he's going to touring Germany, France and Spain for 10 weeks which means I will be lucky to get one phone call a week (if im lucky) and a big bag of washing when he gets home!:rotfl: I want him to be happy but im going to miss him soooo much!

apart from that life just moves on the same - ive got to chase the company I get work from and hustle for some work I cant sit on my hands till next week waiting for them. ex is moaning about the business and how this that and the other needs doing (so shut up moaning and do it perhaps...) and i really do need to go and visit my mom at some stage again who is not too well, thats a round trip of 2 hours or so each way and petrol money I can ill afford really but its got to be done at some stage. and cant be this weekend cos ex has the car and he's away for the weekend so I'm stuck again. I'm actually regretting getting rid of my car - I hate feeling beholden to him by driving his even though I pay my way on it and resent being told that im damaging his car with the way I drive/ park / breathe (sorry not the last one but you get the idea). 4 months till freedom seems a very long time at the moment....

catandy

so not a lot has happened over the last few days...

• still no work from the company i freelance for - am back in business from next week till the end of the month so will be ok just! :S
• went to visit my mum yesterday who is quite poorly and im getting concerned about her. plan to nip over to see her again over the weekend to see if she has picked up at all
• company we have signed up for contract did the first 'full proper shift' last night and it went great. our system stood up fine to the battering they put it through and ive got no concerns about it working or not. last of the development work has been finished as well so now its just lots of testing and fine tuning so we can pay the final amount outstanding and then try and start making some headway with promoting it like crazy.
• CC balances ive not even checked on - im not spending anything on them so they are not going up and not got anything at the moment to throw at them to bring them down so just staring at the figures doesnt make them change either (i know ive tried it);)
• doing a job lot of posting on Ebay over the weekend - i want to start clearing some of the 'rubbish' we have in this place and hopefully earn some £ to boot - who knows it may work.

thats about all thats going on tbh - boring isnt it?