Self employed - time to be smart

Krayzee

I happened across this thread by pure chance (as well as StepChange/CCCS) so rather than go this alone, I'll take a leaf out of all your good books and chart our progress.

Intro - been self employed window cleaner 8 years after redundancy. Great timing at the time as we started a family and I got to be around a lot and I love being a dad. We were also unaffected by the huge economy crash as I'd worked hard and built a large round of loyal customers.

Being self employed takes a lot of motivation to get out there and make sure the monies are rolling in. Mine continued to wane as our debt continued to slowly creep up and only minimum payments on our 4 credit cards were being paid.

In June 2012 I damaged my lower back and then tore a muscle in my glute in December 2012. Over the next 18 months I underwent physio, both NHS and private, in a bid to get fit and get back to my previous work rate, all the while debt increasing.

In the end we maxed out the cards, hit our overdraft limit and had nothing left.

In January I changed the way I carry out my job in a bid to regain my full strength and to provide a decent, regular income, and still see a physio from time to time as the need arises. I'm trying so hard to work that I'm having issues with RSI, oh how the irony is so painful.

Many of you on here will already have experienced the insomnia, loss of appetite and weight, panic, anxiety, dark dark thoughts so I shan't dwell as I'm trying to stay on the up side of the curve. PMA as my mother says!

I don't think I'll be able to reach the desired potential with my business so am looking for a full time job that not only will provide me with a good, stable income, but that I can progress within the company, make a career out of it, and give my children and family something to really be proud of me for.

I have previously discussed with a company about getting an IVA, but it wasn't for us, so I have been talking with the companies who bought the debts from our credit card companies about a repayment plan. I was very (pleasantly) surprised at just how friendly and helpful they have been, it has been a relief to say the least. As I said, I have also found the StepChange site to look at a DMP, although I will have to look at how to factor my self employed income, as it changes from one day to the next and doesn't take into account income tax as I won't pay that until the end of the tax year. And therefore won't know how much tax I'll owe! Ah the conundrum.

Without the help of our families, I fear we would've lost our humble home by now as we recently missed a mortgage payment.

I have just downloaded the budget planner and will use it to update the budget we prepared some time ago but haven't updated since. It was naughty, but I'm hoping these threads on here have given me and my wife the motivation to stick to this.

Barclaycard: £12,960
Halifax: £10,860
Tesco: £7,730
M&S: £5,669
Overdraft: £1,500

I turned 33 two weeks ago. This is our debt. And this is the start of our journey back.

K

Krayzee

Just under £2000 of expenses for April, wow I am shocked. Though that does include our daughter's birthday bits (annual), new battery for my van (hopefully not annual) but doesn't include potentially weekly cash purchases of bread, milk etc from the (usually more expensive) convenience store or any cash purchases of petrol.

I can try and do the same for May, but will list EVERYTHING for June. It's the only way this can be taken control of.

Looking at our guaranteed income, it does give me an idea of the minimum I need to earn to cover the costs, so I can strive to earn more than that each day and give ourselves a buffer - pay back the overdraft, start having an emergency fund, pay back the debt.

K

MrBloater

Good luck mate - those CC figures look very familiar to me - keep reading the diaries on here and keep plugging away the best you can. I've often times got sucked into the belief that you have to be chipping away at the figures each month whereas in reality sometimes staying afloat is the best you can do. You've made a giant stride by coming on here and putting it out in the open - best decision I ever made was doing the same back in 2011 - am in a far better place now than I thought I ever could be back then. Wise folk on here, and I'm sure some will be along with some wisdom soon. In the meantime, welcome.