our forever patch challenge

sammy70

it was the quietest sunday ive had in the cafe- the heat kept a lot of people away as im quite a walk and it was extreme heat for doggies..
will have to see how this weekend goes.. its so difficult sometimes to work out which way to go with stock/predicting footfall when everything is dictated by the weather..

sammy70

another hot /quiet day..
Cheered myself up by doing all financials for August/ transferring cash to cover savings/direct debits etc, and made a £500 overpayment plus 1st Augusts contractual payment, so new balance of mortgage is £ 183,918.33 
i will now re-set my bill savings account and start saving for Septembers outgoings- i borrowed next weeks wages from my £1000 emergency fund pot to allow the early money shuffle- so that will be re-paid next thursday when hubby and i get paid..

sammy70

Cafe had a decent weekend, so im happy with that..

Made a few account tidy o.payments this week, so new balance has gone down to £183,898.36, only a small reduction but every little helps! 
this weeks pay will be going to repay cash borrowed from my £1000 emergency fund account, so only maybe another account tidy o.payment will be made rest of July..
Cant believe its a year already since i got my redundancy notice, my little doggy had to be put to sleep, and my sister lost her battle with cancer, time has flown by.. how life twists and turns...

sammy70

couple of crappy rainy days meant footfall has been very light in my little cafe, hope weather picks up for the weekend..

ive been doing lots of money saving, got a lot of yellow sticker items this evening at morrisons, got a lovely fancy curry on as a treat after my soggy day.. paid £80 saved from grocery spends to premium bonds/savings..

sammy70

gosh where did August go! 

ive been opening my cafe 6 days a week to try and take advantage of the summer hols , and increased footfall. so really busy at the moment.
my only day off- monday- is taken up with morning- taking care of shopping/medication supplies/ admin, for my mother in law who has althzeimers but is currently in her own home, and afternoons are cash and carry/ supermarket for cafe and home. So at the moment im just work, and caring for animals etc.. im loving the cafe though, and of course the animals and wildlife we get here, so its ok..

before i know it winter will be here, then i wont be opening much if at all, so im making the best of it now, trying to put money aside for the lean months..
ive made plenty of overpayments, in July totalled £589.85 , August £738.36!! again, these increased payments wont last when our winter income kicks in, so im doing my best to make as many as i can, along with saving for winter, as i can now.

Well must dash, and get set up for the day in my little cafe..

LadyWithAPlan

Just read through your diary over the last few days. What a journey. Very inspiring. My sister has chosen a live like yours except even more animals she loves it but I realise I am far too lazy! 

Well done on your new business. 
Can your cafe trailer move? As maybe in the winter months you could do events like weddings with ice cream  or hot rum toddys or local exhibitions.
Do you have home made produce you could sell throughout the year such as chutneys and jams? 

sammy70

Hi Ladywithaplan, thanks for taking the time to read my mumblings!
I will be keeping going into the winter, at least weekends, as im hoping now we have seating under gazebos, at least the regulars will drop in.. Its going to be trial and error this year.. im continuing 6 days a week until the end of september, then i will re-assess.. 
Had a great month for saving and overpaying!
The figures for this month are as follows-
Overpayments in August - £748.70
Intrerest for August= £ 448.90
Daily - £14.48
New mortgage balance as of today- £ 182,840.98 

We have saved £2,000 in to premium bonds this month, this is to cover my wages for any weeks im closed over winter due to weather.. i will continue saving as long as the cafe is open for this..

Had another busy weekend, lots of sunshine too!! my first day off tommorow for 2 weeks, as i worked bank holiday too.. im ready for it 

sammy70

Good start to September, just bought £150 p.bonds for winter wage fund, and paid £1340.48 to the mortgage, leaving it at a nice rounded balance of £181,500  this payment includes the monthly contractual payment, as i dont pay by direct debit anymore. I find being in total control of payments means im driven to pay off even more somehow..
and today is my day off!!
mucked out and fed the fur and feather babies, done a load of washing and washing up, off to mother in laws soon to do her shopping and sort her meds.. Happy monday everyone! 

sammy70

September has flown by, managed to overpay a massive £1151.96!!! 

The weather is turning, poured down with rain today and really windy, so cafe closed- this will happen more and more as we go into winter, maybe just opening weekend if weather permits, if it pours with rain no one comes, as im so rural.. this means from October onwards money will be tighter, and overpayments a fraction of what ive been doing over summer..

Ive managed to save a bare monthly amount for my wages  over the main winter months, though im going  to try and avoid using this if i can, but it is all dependant on weather/ if i can open over the autumn/ winter months..

in pet news, we lost 2 of our chickens to illness, so that left one- hubby decided to get 5 new young chickens, the older chicken isnt happy with them at the moment... then, iy was our 8th weddind anniversary on monday, and our son decided to surprise us with 10!! rescued battery hens, so our last few days have been hectic, poor hubby spent two days in the rain building another chicken hut. 
They arrived last night, and are a sorry sight, hardly any feathers, poor girls.. they have a warm dry bed, and snacks, as they are a little scared to go out in their run, but im sure with some tlc they will pick up.

sammy70

well, the new chickens have settled in, and are enjoying the freedom and being able to do whatever they feel like. Ive been treating them to lots of treats, and they are quite friendly, cupboard love i think!

Last weekend has been one of the busiest ive ever had in the cafe, i think people are making the most of the last sunny days, so a few pounds extra to save for the winter survival fund, and a little extra overpayments 

Im planning to go down to opening friday, saturday and sundays, weather permitting,from 1st November, hopefully i  should earn enough to prevent me having to use the emergency winter savings too much.. time will tell..