Hugglemonster's homemade happiness diary

Evening all, not a lot to report - still waiting for expenses to be paid and pay day is on Wednesday. I have decided to swop over some planned expenses for July and August as when I get paid in August it will be a bit late to get dd's uniform so swapping that and the flights. I have a few bits of income from surveys to hit the account so will transfer to credit card when it arrives.

In own business news, I went went to see the advisor and he was fab - he explained that the direction I was originally heading in is a minefield in terms of legal paperwork and fees and has suggested I become a sole trader, this way I can still apply for the funding but I have full control over my business and what I want to do. I need to now get that bank account sorted and also get public liability insurance. I also need to get the website on the go, I already have the domain, and start booking the venue for a block of sessions.

No funds in the bank before pay day but we have lots of food and just needed milk and butter today. I have one birthday this week but the present and card are ready and will save on postage as my parents will see her at the weekend so they can take it with them.

I'm planning on going back to having cash for our weekly expenses i.e. food, fuel, spends - that way we can clearly see what we are spending. At the moment I have a £0 budget on ynab to try and reduce our spends, last month we did spend significally less but there's still a long way to go.

Back to exercise tomorrow as I've had a cold and sore throat for a couple of days, I told hubby on Friday that I didn't feel right and then on Saturday I felt lousy when I woke up. Better this evening though!

H x

Good morning everyone, I seem to be busier now it's the holidays - I did not stop yesterday between shopping with the kids, we went swimming, then our club night and up to the leisure centre to book some sports sessions plus book a block for my new business. The leisure centre staff are fab and they are going to sort me out with a special rate for the hall hire :j

Shopping went well, we have most of dd uniform, just need to order trousers but so far have spent - DD DD school uniform £100/£61.20

DD had her summer clothes/shoes budget £100 and she has £13 left.

DS shoes/trainers budget £50 - only spent £27.99

Food shopping is an ongoing battle but dh is getting better, need to do a menu today and go shopping. Also need to pop out to pass on some school clothes that don't fit ds and pick up 2 tops in exchange, a parent has organised an donation and exchange session, then pop to get some grow bags so I can transfer the tomato plants.

Payment made to credit card which brings the balance down to £1500 - current progress towards monthly target 16th July - 15th August £126.76/£267

Business jobs to do:
Waiting for bank account details then I can finish my grant application form.
Set up budget page on excel
Work on website with hubby this weekend
I took photos of a kid yesterday who will be the face of my company (with parental permission!) so need to sort photos.
Public Liability Insurance
Posters/small amount of flyers
Get t-shirt made with logo

Back later, H x

Morning all! Amazing how the time flies when you're setting up your own business.

Home things first:

I'm so embarrassed at how my house looks, honestly peeling wallpaper, really chipped wood work and things falling apart, I was a bit cross yesterday but then I had a word with myself as we're getting there and paying off debt so it will happen over time. Anyway yesterday I did a deep clean of the lounge and hallway, today it's the kitchen including behind the fridge :eek: It's an enforced day at home as I have a delivery coming at some point for my events and at present no schedule time.

No payments to credit card but need to catch up with surveys, I have submitted my expenses claim so when that eventually comes in I'll send that over. Spends already done for July August and still to do:

July pay - DD summer clothes/shoes done, DS shoes/trainers budget done, Flights £250, travel ins not much - moved to August/September pay.

August - DD school uniform mostly done - just need trousers DS birthday £75, Home insurance - planning to pay in full, current quote £85-100, Holiday £100.

We managed to reduce our food budget again last month but it's still way too high, I did pick up lots of reduced meat yesterday which is in the freezer so need to do a meal plan around what we've got.

Business:
Waiting for bank account details then I can finish my grant application form - still waiting
Set up budget page on excel - done
Work on website with hubby this weekend - nearly ready, just need to upload a few documents
I took photos of a kid yesterday who will be the face of my company (with parental permission!) so need to sort photos - done
Public Liability Insurance - done and paid first installment so need to recoup cost when I get some income
Posters/small amount of flyers - still to do
Sessions - first 2 block are booked so have started sharing the information, I will intensify this over the next few weeks.
Get t-shirt made with logo - emailed factory for prices - usual factory coming out expensive £7.50 for a plain white junior t-shirt! I popped into another company who can do it for £5.50 each.

Right washing needs hanging out, H x

Rant warning - just to get it out of my system - Car has gone in today for MOT and service, it's failed the MOT and needs new rear shock absorbers another £300 to pay out so that's £750 in the last two months. Fed up beyond belief at never being able to get ahead and dh is really cheesed off! Is it worth having a more expensive car on finance or just getting a second hand older car that if it starts costing loads to repair you just scrap it and move on?

My Dad has lent us the money to be fair so that is a massive help and although we need to pay it back he said not to worry about it at the moment.

Waiting for dh to come home from work, I know he's going to be so fed up but these things happen just makes me more determined to get out of debt.

I need to catch up on surveys, expenses have been authorised from work but not yet paid, business website is up and running hopefully will start to get bookings over the next few weeks. I also need to update ynab in a minute to make sure it's all straight.

Had a lovely day out with my brother and sister who are visiting for a few days, we took the kids and my nephew to a tree top climbing place and although a bit dodgy in places it was good fun. My brother paid for it so I did treat the kids to dinner.

H x