Looking forward - Debt Free in 4 years

mizmir

Ali-OK wrote: »

The more I read from you and Steph about YNAB, the more I want to try it! No room in my budget this month though :rotfl:

They have a free trial for 34 days so you could have the whole of Feb before you had to pay anything!

mizmir

Karmacat wrote: »

Thats excellent, miz! You've already had the hassle of finding a buyer, you don't want the hassle of getting it repaired and finding *another* buyer.

True enough - you and Ali are right. Better to get it away and have the money. All time spent trying to sort it out.

Ali-OK

mizmir wrote: »

They have a free trial for 34 days so you could have the whole of Feb before you had to pay anything!

I know, but looking at Feb/Mar/Apr, there won't be much spare based on average income months and I've a horrible feeling February is going to be very quiet workwise.

Just glad Jan is turning into a bumper month as I'm heading into the months of 2 x car tax, insurance and servicing, plus 5 close relative birthdays, Mothers Day, booster jabs for doglet No.2, both for grooming.. a starter for 10 :rotfl:

Spreadsheet budget says I won't need to dip into my £3k buffer if I have average months income...I shall wait and see.

Do I need it or do I want it?

mizmir

Ali-OK wrote: »

Do I need it or do I want it?

Good question Ali. I've decided I need it!

I spent yesterday trying to get my accounting books for this year in order - realised papers all over the place, books not completed, so set about going through it all. I want to know in advance this year what our tax bill is so we can budget for it. What has emerged is that so far this year I have made an average of £1200 a month from the self employment - and I have only been doing it full time since September so there is a lot of scope for growth. That is really encouraging and makes me feel it is viable. :j

Meal plans done - now a trip to Ald* - hope I am up to it - will be my first real trip out into normality again. If I survive that then I will attempt to take the dogs out - poor things have been stuck at home with me. To be fair they hate the rain so haven't been that keen to go out (except our big lad) and they have been sooooo well behaved in spite of their confinement (thank goodness for a big garden - even if it is a mudbath.

After that it is sorting out the last arrangements for the my course which gets underway on Sunday. Hope I'm not overdoing the first day back....

mizmir

And three things to be grateful for:

1. Having a decent garden for the dogs to play out in.
2. Threads and websites with tasty but cheap recipes - determined to stay in budget next month too.
3. Having over £400 left in the overpay pot as we get toward the end of the month. Will be leaving it there for now as February could be tight but it is good to have.

mizmir

Right my personal challenge for February is going to be make £1000. So far I have no advance bookings and no new courses starting so that is looking challenging. But I need to make this to keep things on an even keel - so whether it is through the business - or outside it - it has to be done.

Ideas:
1. Matched betting. Get going again with this - starting from scratch I should be able to get a few hundred quid in a month.
2. Get a couple of new clients - put out some local publicity - have focused on social media but I also need local. This is the biggie - if I got one a week it would be a big chunk of what I need.
3. Create a new online course - this might not bring in much this month but is looking ahead.
4. Plan a March workshop and presell - this could - done right cover it!
5. Ebay some more stuff and try Zapper. Every little helps.
6. Stick to budgets and keep a tight rein on spending!
7. Look at our gas/electric and mobiles and get better deals.

Ali-OK

Fantastic news on income for Year 1, here's to growth :beer:

I'm a bit OCD with keeping on top of the Accounts, I've got a set of spreadsheets with everything in and I update it daily. Expenses I do as I go along too, though tend to print my record and reconcile with the receipts at month end and then put them in a plastic wallet that is filed under the relevant month.

I've got a sheet on the end of about 5 (in one excel file) which tells me my gross,expenses, income tax, NI and then nett - I tend to take my 'personal drawing' from that figure and am generally about £50 out a year (usually the Accountant finds something that gives me more back).

I dread the thought of a nasty surprise tax bill and if your tax payable goes down and HMRC have requested more, it can be changed early enough if accounts are in quick. My Year End is 5th April, tax return is usually submitted by early May and payments changed if needed for the one due in July. It does mean keeping on top of stuff like interest on savings accounts, pension payments etc, as those yearly statements never seem to arrive until July!

Hope the shopping went well and be careful you don't overdo it - you need your strength for kicking your course off. Sure the doggies will enjoy a walk, but sometimes the garden has to suffice and same here with a mud-bath - my two still play outside alot even with two good runs off lead each day in fields and woodland.

A bit like YNAB, I actually believe I need artificial grass

mizmir

Ali-OK wrote: »

Fantastic news on income for Year 1, here's to growth :beer:

I'm a bit OCD with keeping on top of the Accounts, I've got a set of spreadsheets with everything in and I update it daily. Expenses I do as I go along too, though tend to print my record and reconcile with the receipts at month end and then put them in a plastic wallet that is filed under the relevant month.

I've got a sheet on the end of about 5 (in one excel file) which tells me my gross,expenses, income tax, NI and then nett - I tend to take my 'personal drawing' from that figure and am generally about £50 out a year (usually the Accountant finds something that gives me more back).

I dread the thought of a nasty surprise tax bill and if your tax payable goes down and HMRC have requested more, it can be changed early enough if accounts are in quick. My Year End is 5th April, tax return is usually submitted by early May and payments changed if needed for the one due in July. It does mean keeping on top of stuff like interest on savings accounts, pension payments etc, as those yearly statements never seem to arrive until July!

Hope the shopping went well and be careful you don't overdo it - you need your strength for kicking your course off. Sure the doggies will enjoy a walk, but sometimes the garden has to suffice and same here with a mud-bath - my two still play outside alot even with two good runs off lead each day in fields and woodland.

A bit like YNAB, I actually believe I need artificial grass

I need to get more on top of the accounts now that it is my main income rather than a second income. Up to now I have simply paid whatever was owed by January - as most of my income was PAYE I didn't have to make payments on account. I suppose this will be the first year where I might have to as I stopped PAYE in August? I haven't used an accountant before either since it was only a few thousand extra a year. But methinks it is probably time to do it properly. One more reason for getting my books in order. I don't want nasty surprises either!

I like your use of monthly folders for receipts - I think I might do that too. I will spend the next three months getting everything in order then find an accountant to look at it all. I have a friend who isn't too far away who is a tax accountant - it might be that she would do them if I promised to get them to her early!

Managed the shopping but now sore again so am going to make the dogs some of your gravy biscuits to compensate for no walks. I'll make sure they get out properly tomorrow before they go stir crazy!

Ali-OK

Good stuff.

One tip my Accountant gave me (and to keep his fee down for time) was to categorise expenses as you go along and stick to them. In turn, all he has to do is filter my year's expenses (which are done by week/month) to get each category together and the totals. It's easier for him to check and also to put onto the tax return (he completes, sends it by dropbox to me so I can electronically sign off, return and then he files).

I use an A4 folder through the financial year - Wilko's colourful one, an Index of 1-12 in quality plastic :rotfl: for the months and a 25p pack of plastic wallets - one in each section for expense receipts.

Each month end, I print the months cashflow sheet, YTD cashflow, Expenses, another one which has exact income/outgoing by day for the business on one side and bank account activity on the other side - so it reconciles end of month at the bottom on both sides and they all get filed in the Month with the plastic wallet.

It might sound a bit OTT, but the Accountant's view (and he's very strict and quite scary sometimes!) is run it like HMRC are going to come and audit/investigate and cross-reference as much as possible.

Little things on my expense sheet include a column for how I paid for it - so Biz Bank Acct, Credit Card, Cash, Paypal) and Receipt Type (till receipt, online receipt, invoice) and Receipt Y/N - Yes if I've got a physical one, No if it's something like 'Home as Office - % of council tax' - that is Bank Statement (as paid out of Personal Acct - DD). I put a copy of the annual bill in the April expense wallet though.

Each new financial year, I buy a colourful box file and move eveyrthing from the A4 one into that (with wallets), move the electronic spreadsheets onto a USB stick, await end of year bank statements, interest statements, etc and put those in. Add in a printed copy of the tax return and shove it in the loft! :rotfl: Job done!

I'm sure all SE people do it differently, but if any bit of info helps, that can only be good. I found it was a work in progress for a while and I've honed that to be quick and easy for me and the Accountant

I think first tax payment is about 18 months into SE, then balancing payment and POA is where it starts to be critical that you have saved and know what you should be paying.

Hope the doggy biscuits have turned out well and they enjoy them

mizmir

Thanks Ali - that is REALLY helpful. I am using a Mac program called "Tinybooks" which allows me to set categories and record income and expenditure against them. I can then print out monthly records. So that should work as long as I have the right categories and the receipts! I know I don't have receipts for all my clients - I do them now - and am going to start doing them electronically and sending with their reports - but early in the year I don't. But it is income - and presumably they wouldn't think I would make it up for the sake of it! I do have receipts for all expenditure!

Dog biscuits worked brilliantly and have gone down a storm. I added a bit of garlic granules and rosemary on top when I rolled it out - and they seem popular. And so MSE. I worked out that I can make these - even without using "leftover" gravy - for about £2.70 a month - whereas buying biscuits for them is nearer to £8 a month! Healthier too. So thanks for the tip! :T