Light the fire...

woodfired

What a difference a sunny morning and a new month make.  

I had a very productive day yesterday, woke up feeling very motivated and made the most of it.  I tackled the house, 3 loads of laundry washed and hung to dry, clean washing folded and put away, house tidied right through, hoovered right through then out into the garden where DS and I cleared all of the remaining leaves and debris from the drive (a full tonne bag no less) swept the drive and trimmed back the overhanging ivy & other plants from the low walls right round.  Took almost 2 hours but it looks so neat and tidy now, ready for spring.  One thing that is driving me mad is that I cant find my knapsack sprayer to treat the algae/moss growing everywhere.  We are under some enormous trees - hence the leaves - and everything turns green every few months.  I spray a product called wet & forget which treats it and keeps it away for ages and is much kinder than bleach type products but I've lost the damn sprayer grrrr. 

This morning has been a slower one, DH has taken DS to his football match, I've pottered round and then I'm off out for a walk and catch up with the girls in an hour or so, should be nice in the sun.

Happy Sunday x

woodfired

Hello Diary

Just popping in with a bit of an update.  We are doing well in our new roles in the shop, the new range of homemade pasta salads are selling really well and some friends persuaded me to try selling my homemade sausage rolls, which have also proved a big hit.  Alongside the homemade sandwiches and other lines the shop is booming and us working there is working out better than I could have hoped for.  I'm very thankful for how it has turned out.  We have lots of free time in the afternoons, although, we are often tired from early mornings and busy shifts so we are perhaps not getting as much done in the house and garden as I thought we might but the balance is lovely and we are appreciating being home from 12 every day now the weather is warming up.

Financially, all is ticking along fine.  We sold our machine and the industrial unit we own is up for let.  The van was sold along with the car and replaced with a 4x4 that allows us to do bigger shops at the wholesalers when needed.  I am overpaying the business loan and the family loan on the unit and should have both cleared in the next 3 years which is a huge goal that I am desperate to tick off.  I am also building up the savings across a few different accounts in the hope we may be able to replace our en-suite and renovate our bedroom later in the year, fingers crossed.  
The mortgage stands now at £209 608
Business loan on shop, £30 967
Family loan on industrial unit, £29 000
They are all heading in the right direction.

lucielle

Glad things are working out. I’m sure the loans will be demolished as quickly as possible. 

L

woodfired

September update as I always feel like this is the start of a 'new year', a hark back to my teaching days I suppose.

We have had a quieter month at work due to school holidays which has made me a bit cautious, when the business is our sole income I get a bit jumpy when it goes quiet.  It is picking back up a bit now the schools are back thankfully.  Hopefully we will be back to more normal levels in the coming weeks.  We are still working towards paying off the loans , starting with the business loan which is now just under 9% interest following the latest rate cut.  We had some cash saved towards re-doing our bedroom and non-functioning en-suite, however, DH suggested postponing the work until next spring so we paid off a lump sum of £6500 last month, bringing the amount owed down to £22500.  I don't think our bedroom is ever going to get done, I'm too easily persuaded to overpay!
The family loan now stands at £25000 and our mortgage is £206 560.

I believe we are fairly on track to have both the business and family loans paid off by Christmas 2027, that is my new goal and it will be amazing if we can manage that.  On that subject though, we haven't had much luck in renting the unit out.  We have reduced the price but still no takers and we are considering marketing it to sell.  I didn't want to go that route but we are covering the overhead costs personally whilst keeping up with the £1000 per month loan repayments so it isn't helping our financial situation really.  Local businesses just seem to be so quiet and, therefore, cautious about spending.  This government is causing more harm than it realises to small companies, it's a shame.  I've asked accountant SIL to advise on the tax implications of selling so we are waiting on those figures before making a decision.

woodfired

I hope everyone is ok following the stormy weather.  We have hunkered down this weekend and enjoyed a very slow and quiet couple of days by the fire with lots of good, homemade food and a bit of wine.

We had planned to go to our local and watch my cousin sing last night but just couldn't muster the enthusiasm, the weather was horrific and the fire was blazing, there was no contest really.   It seems to have calmed down now and DH is getting itchy feet so is out pottering in the garage.  I have submitted one of my VAT returns and done a few other financial jobs but I'm staying in the warm whilst doing so.  I have shuffled some money about, paid this month's family loan installment, filled in a form to convert DD's CTF to a JISA, messed about on the overpayment calculator and completed aforementioned VAT.  I love a bit of money shuffling!  

I have been doing a bit of research and have applied for a business cashback credit card.  They pay 1% on any purchase and I'm planning to use it to pay my main supplier, which is usually between £33 - 45k per month.  I pay them weekly as it is so I'm hoping I have enough credit limit to allow me to make most of those purchases on the card as that is a good chunk of cashback.  Even if my limit is low, I should be able to clear the balance pretty much immediately to re-set the credit limit, it will just involve a bit more work.  I have sent off the requested info and will see if I'm accepted, it was a bit more difficult as we are a partnership and lots of the companies only deal with Ltd companies but I'm hopeful that we meet Barcl@ycard's criteria.

woodfired

Just popping in with an update.  I don't keep up with this diary very much these days but I love looking back through it to see where we were at certain points and it is very motivating to see how far we have come.

I feel like I've gone backwards this time though, sadly.  Our industial unit was on the market for 11 months before we found a tenant which has been a huge strain financially, especially given that our income downsized when we shut down DH's business in late 2024.  It's been a tight year.  We sold much of the machinery at a loss and some still had finance to pay - still taxed on the sale figure though as the tax relief had been claimed on it at purchase - so then came a massive tax bill just when we were running on empty (well, on the emergency fund to be precise).  We have had to refinance our other business premises to consolidate and to clear some tax which I tried  *really* hard to avoid doing.  It's so frustrating when we had made so much progress but we simply didnt have the income to support 3 properties and the overhang of machinery finance from a closed company.

However, in more positive news.  The unit is now rented, the first rental payment was made on Friday.  Thank goodness.  A 3 year lease at almost £1000 per month will be a big help.
The new loan on the shop is £51000 over 10 years and because it is now fixed it is 2% cheaper than the prior loan and has been used to clear another (machinery) loan that was 2.5% higher, so my payments haven't increased as much as they might have done and it all feels much more manageable.

The corporation tax is paid and I have a shortfall of only £1500 now before I can clear all of our SA tax at the end of this month.  I do have some income expected that will cover a chunk of that and have been hustling to find the extra which has worked quite well so far.  DH bought me some waterproof trousers as part of my Christmas present but I didn't love the fit so they went back - £40.  DH didn't need the coat I bought him (even though he had been hinting at it) so that was returned - £120.  I got some perfume from Mum last year that I didn't have the heart to tell her I didn't like so that sold on ebay - £32.  I've also found an unopened aftershave I think MIL bought for DH last year so that will be listed shortly too. All bits to add to the pot and I feel happier working towards our goal.  We have a had a very frugal Christmas and January so far, no eating out at all, and we worked a lot of Christmas so that kept the wage bill down, we are getting there.

Going forward, the payments are consolidated and at a cheaper rate.  Next year's tax is already being saved for weekly by standing order. We have the extra income from the unit and we can begin to rebuild.  I've halted all OPs for now, which kills me! but we need to replenish our EF and savings and get back on our feet, so to speak. 

greent

A temporary blip, I am sure - you have always amazed me with the progress you have made over the years and your energy. And you have a plan to get you through this leaner time - I am sure that all will be well x

woodfired

Thanks Greent!  I hope it will be simply a bad memory in a few months time, I just hate feeling like we are going backwards!  Thank you for popping by x

greent

I totally get that - but a small blip (in the greater scheme of things) will be a distant memory in time. 

It's sometimes good to look at where you started and see just how far you've come x

woodfired

Thanks Greent, I know you're right!  Thanks for the encouragement x

Ah it's a damp, cold, miserable day today.  I'm at work, sat by the heater!
Another refund came through yesterday so £140 into the pot. 

We have been going through our monthly direct debits and trying to cut costs, we have drastically reduced our sky TV package and taken the price down from £113.50 to £66 which I'm really happy about.  I cancelled Disney + that DD signed up for the reduced 3 months then forgot to cancel. We've also swapped 3 phone contracts onto Lebara which is £2.99 for 3 months then £7.95 thereafter.  This has saved us around £38 per month.  The economy drive is going well and its good for the mindset to feel like we are making changes and will soon see progress. 

II have paid DH's tax bill and cleared the machine finance, the only outstanding item now is my SA tax.  I will pay as much as I can next Friday then chip away at any remaining balance as fast as I can over the following couple of weeks.