A Diary of Reinventing Ourselves

Poddly

I am enjoying your diary and really hope you can find a nice house to move into soon! Just a few comments - ironing seems to feature a lot! I only do my husband' shirts, and the boys' 'going out' shirts, no school uniform, no bedlinen, a few of my own clothes. 1 hour a week max.

Re. your car and numberplates, we once had a visit from a financial adviser in a very flash car with private plates, made us think immediately he was making far too much commission, he obviously had seen that reaction before as he explained it was from a motorbike accident compensation claim. So it can work against you.

greensalad

I have to agree with the number plate perception. Custom number plate to me reads that the person is probably a [insert unsavoury word here].

Forward_thinking

Getmore - actually, I'm really happy with a monthly £1600 rise! ; )). Not as grand as we hoped but definitely GREAT news!!!

Had a good morning getting things done. I have a huge list of things to do and not enough time. Must get that dreaded ironing done later!!! And get around to spending a couple of hours on YNAB. Then there's my follow up emails, etc etc. My father has just received a payment from an insurance company such as CPP. I thought it was too late but am going to investigate.

Happy Friday everyone. Not sure where this week went though......

Poddly - definitely don't have that problem. But you're right, I'll drive my car with pride, reg and all : ))

FalseEconomist

I'd be happy with a 1600 a year rise!
congratulations on the good news for both of you. You're both obviously really good at what you do

getmore4less

Forward_thinking wrote: »

Getmore - actually, I'm really happy with a monthly £1600 rise! ; )). Not as grand as we hoped but definitely GREAT news!!!

How much is going to hit the bottom line probably less than £1k.
that's if the black hole in the company accounts don't eat it.

Rebecca01

Hi FT
I have spent the last few days reading your thread and your diary. I agree with others you are an engaging writer. I am rooting for you.

The day I gave up ironing , was the best decesions ever. Life is too short. I wash clothes on a low spin: Shake and shake them; pull them straight, hang them on a coat hunger and pull them straight again. It does not take as long as it sounds and all the clothes are generally straight. The odd time they are not I find that most creases drop out within an hour or two with body heat.
I have even converted my Mam who used to iron knickers when we were kids.

I agree with you on the school front. Changing schools is not ideal. I also agree with cat lady who says OFSTED great schools aren't necessarily all that. I work in an RI school and I have worked in a few schools over the years. We have some of the best teachers I have seen, they have to be because of the huge pp " disadvantaged" number of kids we have. However your kids are happy at school I would fight tooth and nail for my daughter to stay with her friends. I think it is unsettling. Yes it happens and some kids cope. Some don't either. I have also heard ( not sure how accurate) that moving schools sets a student back six months.
Obviously if the school isn't right then thats a whole other issue but it seems that yours are.
What about traveling to school and just changing the clubs? They are usually an hour a week so not a whole lifestyle change.


My ex was a high earner and it is true that it is the spending that should be changed. We lived in Reading for a while. It was so expensive. Pay day loans were taken . We got further into debt. We then moved to the North East. Where I am from as I missed my family. We did not pay rent to my parents as they said just get yourselves sorted.

Did we? Well no we spent more. Went on better holidays. Ex drank and gambled alot. We did not save a penny.
We eventually split up for many reasons not just financial.

I am now a single mam on much less income but I have found I am actually better off a month than when we had exes income too. We simply spent too much. I am still not perfect. I have the same goal as you to eventually be a home owner.

Another view on the health insurance. I know you hate hospitals. I do to. My cousin died when I was a child of lymphomablastic leaukaemia. It was an awful time. However the doctors and nurses were brilliant. I am not accusing private practices of anything bad. Just the doctors in the nhs have a wealth of experience. They see many people a day. They know what they are doing. Not saying the others don't. This is just another way to look at it and save £300 a month.

I think you are doing amazingly well and fwiw have had your light bulb moment. You realise you could not carry on as you were. To go totally cold turkey doesn't mean you have not had it. Some people have different non negotiables than others. School is important to me. Not the school itself but consistentcy for my daughter.

Swimming is also a non negotiable for me. It is a life skill. Maybe not full on 100m individual medley but being able to jump in, float and maybe doggie paddle. To not panic in water and be confident.

I wish you luck and hopefully you find that perfect place soon. Also good work on the car.

Claree__x

getmore4less wrote: »

How much is going to hit the bottom line probably less than £1k.
that's if the black hole in the company accounts don't eat it.

Presuming he's the director of a limited company [which I presume to be the case with the info shared] it'll be a good bit more than if he was on PAYE. He'll need to be careful of the dividend changes coming in this year though but I'm sure his accountant will have had that covered with him - or at least I'd hope so!

getmore4less

Claree__x wrote: »

Presuming he's the director of a limited company [which I presume to be the case with the info shared] it'll be a good bit more than if he was on PAYE. He'll need to be careful of the dividend changes coming in this year though but I'm sure his accountant will have had that covered with him - or at least I'd hope so!

20% will go in Corp tax
Then there is the current personal tax on dividends of 25%/30.56% for high/additional rate tax payers

Even splitting the dividends 50:50 they will both be high rate, and if she starts earning all her income will be high rate one way or another.

They could retain income in the company to cover "between contracts" but history says that is not something hubby does.


That ironing is taking a long time

edit: All FT needs to know is how much will be available to run the house and target the debts, what happens inside the business so sort out the loans, tax diffidends etc. can stay inside.(it is begining to look like the money has been coming out as loans and once that converts to dividends there will be a fair bit of tax due)

Then she needs to know what her current personal tax situation is for her own income stream.

retepetsir

Really enjoy reading your diary (and followed your first thread too), you've made a lot of great changes.

I am obviously in the wrong job though, £200k a year! :eek:

Forward_thinking

Thanks everyone. And happy Monday. I have decided I am going to take a break from this diary. I am working tirelessly at getting new clients and juggling the house chores, financial records etc. There just isn't enough time in the day at the moment. Ironing all done - finished at 1am this morning : ))) I find I spend too much time on here procrastinating.

I confess that I am still unsure about the possibilities of being recognised on here and now that I have my first two clients! : )))) I am worried about writing my whole life story on here. I read one diary when someone had been recognised and it worried me. Other articles I have read about keeping on-line blogs also made me feel somewhat put off.

So for the moment, I am going to take a break. I will probably be back but at the moment all my efforts need to be on getting money in and building up a great reputation (not taking the risk of new clients finding out I am actually a cash-strapped, money ignorant, foolish person).

Thank you for all your wonderful help and moral support and see you soon!:wave: