Matt's mission to be MF!

RevolvingDoor

edinburgher wrote: »

Little and often, falling off the wagon doesn't mean you should give up :beer:

:T I agree. Reading these diaries keeps me motivated too and it's normal for us to slip up sometimes. Just keep going.

Matt_The_Chippy

And happy new year to you also.

Sound advice there, its good hearing it from people who are in the same boat. I'm certainly not going to give up but a re-focus is in order. I've done a couple of days work last week but I think once I get back into a regular work routine again, things will fall into place for making overpayments. I think it was just Christmas that threw me off for a few weeks. Happy that I made a small overpayment even with no earnings coming in for a couple or so weeks.

Thanks again for taking the time to help.

edinburgher

Being self-employed, I suppose it's very easy to step back a little bit during the periods of the year when you don't traditionally work?

Maybe you could treat OPs as many contractors etc. treat their tax bill and save up for it gradually over the year? I.e. you could set up an OP savings account, save lump sums as and when, but OP a set amount once a month? I'm definitely not alone on this board in finding the momentum of a steady drip-drip of payments helps - it's just that little bit more complicated for self-employed people to organise :eek:

Matt_The_Chippy

You're right about taking it easy in quiet times. Last year I didn't start back working til mid Feb! 6 weeks off, the first few due to no work but then started enjoying the time off and didn't want to work! Once money started to be an issue, I snapped out of it and dragged myself back into work. I've worked solid all through the year which was good. Now I've had a couple of weeks off, I'm ready and raring to get back to being busy. Luckily I started a job a week before Christmas, I'm starting back there on Mon for a month or two.

As I contract to companies rather than the public, most weeks the tax is taken out. So this end of year tax rebate is most welcome.

You're also right about the drip drip action of regular overpayments. I'm running at £244 per month. This really gives me a good platform to save more. Its been working for the first three months, so fingers crossed this year will work out well.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi Matt, my advice would be to post regularly. Whilst I appreciate we are all busy, just taking 5-10 minutes to capture what you've done and what you intend doing keeps the focus going - this is just my opinion and we all have different ways of coping

You've had a lot of expense with your van but looks like you have a good plan to get back on track again.

Best wishes Tilly x

gallygirl

I agree with Tilly and others, posting regularly keeps your target in mind and will help keep you focused.

Good luck :j.

lexington013

Hey Matt, a lot of great supportive posts (i wavered for 6 months) like you i could be MF in 8 years if i stick to my plan. I have started to repost as a focus for myself. Keep it going, one day you will be glad you did and we can all celebrate with you!

Matt_The_Chippy

Hi Tilly

Thanks for your kind thoughts. I see the sense of regular posts on here, I did that upto mid Dec and not so much after. That's when the focus went, not saying it was due to lack of posts but as you say, it keeps you thinking in the right way.

I'm not too concerned about the cost of the new van as it was way under book value. The seller didn't even clean it for selling. It looked a right state but half a days washing and wax with a mate got it looking gleaming! When I come to sell it, I would be able to ask for more than I paid. I didn't use all the money on the van, I needed to keep some back to pay for materials on a job. This can be paid back as soon as I'm paid from that job. As its an extra job, I'll try to pay all the labour amount into the offset as well.

Cheers for the encouragement guys an gals.

Matt_The_Chippy

Thanks also to Gally and Lex, you posted as I replied to Tilly.

It means a lot.

pavlovs_dog

Happy New Year Matt.

Agree with the others. Why not set some goals to give you something to focus on?