-£99,152 net worth - scary figure

enthusiasticsaver

Those are healthy profits. Don't forget to keep some aside for tax, NI and any pension he has set up. A business buffer is always a good idea to protect against sickness, bad months etc and budgeting for the lowest income rather than the highest.

Working_Mum

I am self employed and I put away my VAT and a further 15% into a separate savings account to ensure I have the bases covered for when HMRC call for their money.
Sounds like your hubby has made a solid start.
I keep receipts for everything (drives my kids mad whenever they shop with me!)
I use QuickBooks online for my accounting - ensures I am compliant with the HMRC requirement of do everything electronically and chase bad debts and know what I owe!
Sounds like you e made good progress recently, well done

charliedavis

Thanks @enthusiasticsaver, yes this is where we have to aim next, building up a business buffer. Also means when we go on holiday we will have money put away to enjoy the holiday rather than struggle when we get back!

Thanks @Working Mum - that's a good idea about the separate accounts. We opened one with Aldermore but haven't started using it yet. I am training OH to get receipts for everything!

We won't have to pay any tax for a while in the business due to tax planning - whereby we are "selling" the sole trader business to the limited company, so we have some capital gains due instead. We've set up a weekly payment to go out to HMRC for self-assessment that will cover that. So in effect we are prepaying the tax.

We're also on Quickbooks via our accountant, I really like it! OH likes the fact you can photograph receipts.

James1968

Depending on which sectors your businesses are in, you may well have seasonal fluctuations in your incomes.

This makes it harder to accurately budget.

Good luck with reducing your debts.

charliedavis

Have updated YNAB with all the dates, debt amounts and net worth. Net worth shows as -£83,725 versus -£87,845 in October so have got out of debt by £4120 so far.

I wasn't using YNAB when I first starting paying off the debt so I can't add in the original £5,000ish of payments I'd made since I started this journey which is a bit annoying.

But still really good to see the figure coming down and at least now I have a concrete figure to work with each month.

charliedavis

In other news, I've managed to drop 3.5 lbs in 3 days by sticking to a very low calorie diet ready for going out this weekend in a little dress, am nearly back where I want to be. Also lost an inch from my waist and my hips. I couldn't keep this up long term as it's very restrictive but it's okay for a few days.

My diet has looked like this:

Bacon & egg (170 calories)
Roll with 1 slice of beef and horseradish instead of butter
Chicken and veg or similar for dinner
Snacks:
5 cups of tea with skimmed milk
Satsuma or raw carrot
Yesterday had a glass of wine and a fun size twix and still lost 1.5lb.

charliedavis

Feeling super guilty today. DS (age 17) is supposed to wear a suit in to sixth-form tomorrow. We've tried to borrow one but can't get hold of one. His Dad suggested I buy him one - pointing out they are "only" £80 in River Island when I asked if he had one he could borrow.
I cannot see any alternative but to keep him home tomorrow, as he is so conscious of what he wears and hates the fact we're on a budget.
Old me would have given in and gone and bought one - that he would have worn once then never again! (he is growing extremely fast at the mo, probably has another 3 inches in height to go yet).
I think this is SO unfair of the school.
He also got mugged of his phone on Saturday by a gang of 15 who punched him. I emailed in to the head of sixth form to let them know he was feeling unsafe, as his friend was also then mugged at knifepoint 30 mins later so he's quite freaked out as you can imagine! They also didn't reply then either except to send him a leaflet for victim support.
He's so demotivated at the mo, I feel so sorry for him. Please excuse my moans feeling worried for him today.

charliedavis

Feeling a bit happier today. DS fitted his older brother's suit - surprising considering there is a few inches of height between them so he's going into school today.

DS's dad also gave him an old iPhone and I got him a replacement sim from EE so he's not sulking anymore about his phone lol!

Off for the weekend so excited about that - and best of all, we're spending money we have saved towards it not sticking it on a credit card - yay!

Have a great weekend everyone.

charliedavis

Feeling a bit scared at the mo - all this christmas spending feels wrong, even though I am spending less than before. Spending at all feels out of control - anyone else get that?

No change in net worth or debt levels since the last update, as no more debt DDs have come out yet. Haven't made any overpayments and thinking that December is probably not a good month for being able to make those! I am due a payment of £295 from insurance for a car accident a few months back, an Uber receipt we claimed back where our parked car was hit so that will be paid into the emergency fund.

I have added £113.06 to our emergency fund in the last few days already. Being self employed is pretty scary as I worry what happens if either of us has a bad month so I want to get that built up as high as possible.

Most debt overpayments will happen in August when we are £1500 per month better off on rent, and an extra £200 or so on bills. That will bring our DFD day so much earlier! Cannot wait.

enthusiasticsaver

Awful response from the school but I guess as not on school property they think it's nothing to do with them. Did you report it to the police?

A suit for your DS for interviews and so on at some point will be needed but as you say if he is still growing that is a total waste of money. Good he fitted into his brothers suit anyway.