Starting over...

ladymay

Evening!

On dry land for a couple of hours so just catching up on reading diaries and having a pint of cider (you can take the girl out of the Westcountry...)

Quite a lot has happened in the past week - the company I work for on a freelance basis on the ships has lost the contract for next year, so as of January I'm out of a job! I was planning on going part-time anyway, but it does mean my back up is gone which is sliiiightly terrifying. Also, the guy I've fallen head over heels for has left work for the winter (he works on the ship that I will no longer be working on) so that left me feeling rather bereft. And then my mother was locked in her flat because someone was stabbed in my home town... Suffice to say my anxiety has sky-rocketed - I had my first panic attack in quite a while but I've been feeling better the past couple of days. Pretty tired and looking forward to a break from the ship...


I'll do a full financial update next week when I'm home. In the meantime I'm just planning away for 2019 - here's to The Year of the Learning Curve!

scoobysnax40

Sorry to hear about all the bad news that has been coming your way recently. Keep your chin up. The lack of job come January might be the push you need to focus more on your singing career.

Btw, came across your diary recently and have been reading with interest. Sorry to hear about the move back to the UK. Cork's a beautiful part of the country. Hope the ex didn't turn you completely off Irish guys!!

ladymay

Hi scoobysnax! I'm mostly ok with everything now, moving home was definitely the right thing for me to do. Whether it's put me off Irish guys for life I'm not sure, but the second I hear that a man is very close to his mother I run a million miles :rotfl: I never want to deal with an Irish Mammy ever again!

Back home for nearly six weeks now, I've given myself an absolute ton of work to crack on with, both for actual work next year and life stuff.

Bit of a downer on the budget front - I'm pretty sure I'm going to be over budget by the end of the year. I didn't allow myself enough contingency considering I have a friend coming to visit (which will include a trip to London) and I'm going on a mini-break next month. I just can't seem to get to grips with budgets at all. Being freelance and a sole trader means I don't have a regular monthly income so maybe I need to come up with a way I can pay myself enough wages for the essentials plus £x.... Might go on a hunt on the SE section of the forum to see how other people deal with it...

On the upside, I bought a gorgeous winter stole which will be perfect for my winter gigs (bonus: I'll only be using it for work so it can go on my expenses) for £15 in my amazing local charity shop - it has a huge vintage section which makes me SO happy - and all the shopping is done so with the exception of parking/bus fare, taking the Mothership out for Sunday lunch, and my Irish tax bill, I shouldn't need to buy anything until Halloween is done and dusted. I've also signed up for a bookkeeping course that starts in January and am on the hunt for a general business and marketing course!


Plan for tomorrow:

- Work out
- Sort out and learn Halloween music :j I love halloween!!
- Social media posts for music pages
- Meal plan for the week
- Go to my friend's book launch (so excited!)
- Blitz flat

Time for some relaxing with a good book and a glass of Chenin :cool:

It's so nice to be back home....

wishingthemortgaheaway

My hubby is self employed. So running the finances can get 'creative' at times. We use ynab which helps but this is basically what we do.
20% of all income goes straight into a savings account, this is the 'tax account' Becuase you don't pay tax on the first £10k and expenses reduce profit there is always a surplus in this account come the end of the process. The surplus is then either transferred into 'long term savings' or used to purchase capital items for the business, and therefore reduces the next year's tax bill.

The rest of the money is deposited into a current account from which a monthly 'salary' is drawn. He tries to keep a 3-6 month buffer in that account, then anything over that gets swept into a longer term 'personal' savings account.
It took a while to get into the pattern and to build up the buffer. But it does work. He bought a new car, outright, last August using his 'longer term' personal savings.

Works for us, may not be your style.

ladymay

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

My hubby is self employed. So running the finances can get 'creative' at times. We use ynab which helps but this is basically what we do.
20% of all income goes straight into a savings account, this is the 'tax account' Becuase you don't pay tax on the first £10k and expenses reduce profit there is always a surplus in this account come the end of the process. The surplus is then either transferred into 'long term savings' or used to purchase capital items for the business, and therefore reduces the next year's tax bill.

The rest of the money is deposited into a current account from which a monthly 'salary' is drawn. He tries to keep a 3-6 month buffer in that account, then anything over that gets swept into a longer term 'personal' savings account.
It took a while to get into the pattern and to build up the buffer. But it does work. He bought a new car, outright, last August using his 'longer term' personal savings.

Works for us, may not be your style.

WTMA, that sounds like a good aim for me to have. I think the first few months of next year will be survival mode while I try and replace my main work contract but once I'm on a more even keel I think paying myself a 'salary' is the way forward. Thanks!

ladymay

- Work out Done
- Sort out and learn Halloween music I love halloween!! Nearly there
- Social media posts for music pages Done
- Meal plan for the week Done
- Go to my friend's book launch (so excited!) Done
- Blitz flat Kitchen and bathroom are both spotless!

Good day today - went to the library to see my friend do a workshop with her book. I bought a copy for my cousin's little girl's 5th birthday, a signed hardback copy for a tenner. Also paid £1.50 for parking.

Cleaning and work out are all done and a bit more work has come in for November! One more gig and that'll take me over my original budget target :T Meal plan is done til Monday and I've made a nice batch of veggie chilli for the next few day's dinners.

Up at the crack of dawn tomorrow - I'm going to one of those "business breakfast" events... I'm so nervous! It'll be a good chance to network and get my name out there, which is now more important than ever!

I think over the next few weeks I'm going to try and get a bit of a routine going where I try and get at least one thing done for life stuff, current work, and future work.


So, top priorities for tomorrow:


Life: pay Irish tax biil (rip of the plaster!)
Current work: Finish learning Halloween songs and put together set for gigs
Future work: Look at possible showcases in January - my friend and I are looking at putting together a duo for cruise ship work...

I want to get a workout done as well, but other than that anything else will be a bonus. The list for next month is ridiculously long and I really want to crack on

ladymay

Brrrrrrr, there's definitely a chill in the air! I'm in my big fluffy dressing gown and my hands are like ice - I've been resisting turning on the heating but I might have to cave today...

Mixed day yesterday - my gig got cancelled last minute due to the bar not being able to pay me :eek: so even though I got some extra work confirmed, I'm still a gig away from my original earnings target. I've still got some times available for the first week of December so it should still be fine.

The Business Breakfast was really worth going though - great value for a tenner: the breakfast itself was very nice and I made loads of useful contacts, and I also found out about a local business advice counsellor (completely free thanks to Government funding). I'm not generally a fan of networking but I'm actually looking forward to the next one.

I've got a one-hour gig down the road and other than that I'm free so hoping to get quite a bit done:

Life: Blitz bedroom and give everything a place (money transfer hasn't confirmed yet in my Irish account so I can't pay off my tax bill until hopefully Monday)
Current Work: Learn a new song
Future Work: Catch up on all networking from recent events

Rest of list:

- Order poppy pin badge for Rememberance Sunday
- Research business courses
- Sort phone storage
- Create address book on computer - I'm so sick of hunting for them everywhere!
- Work on social media strategy

Happy Saturday, everyone!

ladymay

Had a lovely gig yesterday, I really love Halloween!! I have now perfected the art of using my black eyeliner as lipstick :rotfl: And I picked up that extra gig so my earnings are back on track

Another gig this afternoon for a returning nursing home, hopefully I can convince them to take a Christmas show as well so I can be ahead of my earnings target for once!

I'm working in a slightly strange way (or me anyway) at the moment - instead of completing tasks in one go, I'm flitting around doing bits and bobs of different jobs. Whatever works, I guess! My sleep is so much better than it has been in months - dare I say it, but I think the exercise and healthy eating thing is doing me some good. How dull

I think I may have to invest in some better wi-fi - it's included in my rent as I'm a lodger but it's patchy and hugely frustrating when I'm working and it decides to disconnect... Need to have a look at what deals there are around.

That's it for now! Happy Sunday everyone!

UncannyScot

I have found that the best performing broadband / WiFi is Virgin Media, no other provider comes close.
PM me if you want to know more about their £50 off each other's bill "recommend a friend" deal

Looks like you have discovered the "Hit it while it's there" approach to mastering task lists. I do this as well as prioritising them and find it wipes out the to - dos very quickly

You are doing grand missus

ladymay

Oooo, I'll check them out and see what my landlady says. I'm more than happy to pay for it if it means I can get my work done without effing and jeffing about the wifi

And thanks so much Uncanny. My anxiety can really get the better of me at times (terrible for someone with zero job security!), but paradoxically once I was over the initial :eek: about being out of a job as of 3rd January I've been much calmer and focussed. Maybe having that option taken away was a good thing!

Anyhoo, nice gig today - a lady said that I brought back a lot of memories for her which is what it's all about - and I forced myself through another tough workout. Insanity is aptly named! Made myself a lovely big stir fry and am now relaxing with a nice hot choc in a big fluffy dressing gown Top tip: put baking flavours in hot chocolate. Salted caramel is my favourite!

Plan over the next few days is get my gigs done and work my backside off on everything before a few weeks off work which includes one of my best friends coming to stay for a week, a free cruise (bunking in with a mate who works on board), going to see Dita von Teese :j:j:j, and starting some research. I was listening to a podcast the other day about what would be in your perfect day, and it got me thinking... so on Thursday I'm going to do whatever I want! I'm thinking of heading up on Dartmoor to walk and have a cream tea, baking something, doing a spot of writing, drinking some really nice wine, turning my phone off so nobody can bother me :cool: If I daydream about work I'll let my mind wander but I'm NOT DOING ANY WORK!

Well, I think that's it! I'm going to toddle up to bed and have a nice early night.