Budget Wars - A New Hope (with apologies to George Lucas)

Bobarella

Hello All

Pooped. Woke up later than usual but had one of those nights full of anxiety dreams. One I remember was my baby somehow ended up in her pushchair on a train track. And I couldn't get to her because there was all this deep thick mud to cross. Horrible.

I went down to the business first thing to sort out my black cloud. I found what I needed and hope that will be enough to sort that situation out. Whilst there I also had to wait for an engineer who was coming out because the battery on my alarm has been low. It runs off the mains but also has 2 back up alarms and the battery was low on both.

Met my husband and the kids in the playground and we stayed and had a picnic lunch till about 2pm. It was really nice to be out in the fresh air.

Came home to a letter telling me that the way they work out business rates is changing and to log into a site to check what my bill will be for April 2017. Hideous. They have put my annual bill up from £9,100 to £14,750. So of course I rang the council. Who referred me to the valuation agency which is part of HMRC. I needed to understand how they were banding the various retail zones. Anyway I think they have overestimated my floor space by loads. So I need to get it measured again properly and resubmit. Talk about a scare. It would roughly speaking put my rates at £450 a month. And they wonder why SMEs fold all the time.

I felt really tired after that so we had a cuppa and tried to relax.

Dinner was real scrapping the barrel fare as our account is on fumes till Tuesday. Egg on toast and oven chips for me. Leftover mini sausages and chips with bread and butter for DH. The kids had fish fingers and pizza respectively. Well DD doesn't like the crunchy shell so she had the fish anyway.

I'm a bit miffed as I wasn't paid for something I should have been. Again I don't think some people realise how small business isn't like big business. We don't have huge availability of funds and when people don't pay up it hurts...
However 2 enquiries converted to bookings today and both say they've transferred funds so I should have a bit to be getting on with tommorow. I really hope so anyway. Have about £20 to my name till 25th.
But all I can say is I will have managed the month with no borrowings and debt repayments made. Which is not to be sniffed at. Especially as we had to pay dance class termly fees this month which is £120 and I have £55 in lost cheques somewhere in the ether (one has been replaced so I can pay that in on Monday, waiting on the other)

I am planning a very early night which is good as it's nippy.

Night all

Bob

PurpleFairy26

Bob glad it's looking like the black cloud is sorted, they're horrible aren't they. I can't believe that hike in business rates, that's not even inflationary in any way. It's truly shocking, hope you manage to get it resolved.

bookings still seem to be coming in, long may it continue

Bobarella

Thank you PF however this morning's correspondence suggests it hasn't entirely gone away. Need to work through that.

I am really peed off today. I have £50+£100+75 all promised to me for work done/due as deposits. Plus as of this morning another enquiry has turned into a booking which means another £75 now due. And I am sitting here completely and utterly skint. I spent my last £12 in the supermarket today to get food for today and tommorow. OH has £10 to get him to work Monday. Until any of that lot lands I am utterly broke.

Every time we have a crunch point like this I tell myself never again and yet here we are.
Yes we have lines of credit open but I REALLY don't want to use them. However I just noticed the cat has no food so unless I can find a £1 somewhere I might have to.

I don't know what the easy answer is to this problem. If only the money I was due midweek had gone in I would be fine now. I thought I had been as clear as I could be on terms.

Ah well. In balance we have food. Heat. Netflix and I even paid £30 in today that DD had been given for her birthday. It's just that feeling that choice is completely removed and although we all finally have time to be together and good health to enjoy it. We can't afford to enjoy ourselves.

kirtsypoos

I'm so sorry things are so tight Bob. Hope all the promised amounts land soon so you are a bit less brassic.

Loving the positivity though. It's a struggle at the moment but you know what you are grateful for and that's a gift in itself

hugglemonster

Oh my lovely I absolutely feel for you, it's a situation that's repeated month after month but all respect to you for not dipping into the credit. I think sometimes people need to be reminded that they need to pay for the service, you wouldn't walk out of a shop without paying so we would you do that when hiring a facility. I truly hope they pay up sooner rather than later and you get the other cheque sorted.


Enjoy your family time, those memories are the ones kids remember not how much you spent on them.


What a pain with the HMRC, thankfully something that can be sorted which I'm glad about.


Enjoy your weekend, H x

crazy_cat_lady

Lots of love to you Bob - I would be so stressed in your situation but you just keep plodding on with it all. I really hope that the black cloud is nothing more than a bit of drizzle, and that the people that owe you money cough up!

Sanchsoot49

Been there Bob and I feel your pain x

[Deleted User]

Hugs Bob, that's a big hike in the business rates, hope it's sorted soon x

Bobarella

crazy_cat_lady wrote: »

Lots of love to you Bob - I would be so stressed in your situation but you just keep plodding on with it all. I really hope that the black cloud is nothing more than a bit of drizzle, and that the people that owe you money cough up!

Thank you Cat. Very kind of you

Sanchsoot49 wrote: »

Been there Bob and I feel your pain x

Self employment? Or brokeness? Thanks for your kind words Sanchsoot.

Deleted_User wrote: »

Hugs Bob, that's a big hike in the business rates, hope it's sorted soon x

Cheers I hope so too!

Bobarella

kirtsypoos wrote: »

I'm so sorry things are so tight Bob. Hope all the promised amounts land soon so you are a bit less brassic.

Loving the positivity though. It's a struggle at the moment but you know what you are grateful for and that's a gift in itself

That is so true Kirsty. Thank you.

hugglemonster wrote: »

Oh my lovely I absolutely feel for you, it's a situation that's repeated month after month but all respect to you for not dipping into the credit. I think sometimes people need to be reminded that they need to pay for the service, you wouldn't walk out of a shop without paying so we would you do that when hiring a facility. I truly hope they pay up sooner rather than later and you get the other cheque sorted.


Enjoy your family time, those memories are the ones kids remember not how much you spent on them.


What a pain with the HMRC, thankfully something that can be sorted which I'm glad about.


Enjoy your weekend, H x

Thanks Huggle. Really appreciate your words. Next time I will sky write my terms in metre high letters! It is all part of the huge learning curve I am on TBH.