£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Can you share your social media on here ? I'm sure enough of us can help you share it ?

Just on a practical note (always) What do you put as your occupation for say, Car Insurance??

TBH, I'd keep here and there completely separate. Too much personal stuff shared here to risk it. Even with those you "know" here, it only takes one crossed post and the genie is out the bottle.

I class my self as self-employed (small business with 3 directors but only two of us working in the business and getting paid). It's bloody hard as we are constantly looking for new business as our repeat business/small contracts only cover about 50% of what we need. I have two small children - youngest starts school this time so trying to make the most of our time together. I in theory work 3 days but do extra on an evening/weekend. My oldest goes to after school club twice a week (youngest has 3 days in a private nursery) and this gives me the opportunity to work proper full days. Is this an option a couple of times a week? I know there's a cost and with 3 children it's more expensive. it may free you up on another day to do personal non work related stuff. I also work from home & you have inspired me to make one of my business goals this year to making enough money to get an office/desk somewhere. I get sucked into doing jobs at home cos I can't settle without a clutter free working space.

I am also lucky in having a supportive DH and we have a good split of housework. I do the washing/drying, he does the ironing, I do all the cooking & life admin (this job is not to be underestimated but it is!), he does all the garden/outside stuff and we spend a couple of hours on a Saturday morning doing the cleaning its not perfect but works for us and most weekends we get to spend a good chunk as a family

Good luck - you will get there xx

Hey TOPM! I don't know if you remember me, I went silent about six months or so ago (largely because I was spending too much time on MSE and put it on my blocked-during-the-day list so I couldn't).

Anyway. I always recognise a lot of myself in your posts, and your change-of-direction post was no exception. I am contemplating a change of focus this year towards increasing income rather than saving money, and it'll need some investment, and it's terrifying. So thank you for your continued frankness.

And on a far more banal note:

Something that has been really interesting is that every time a domestic job has cropped up (ordering a new coat for DC1, emailing the builder something, calling Sainsbury's energy re our RIDICULOUS DD increase etc etc) I have added it to a big list in the kitchen that DH and I are sharing, and it's really showing me how many domestic things I was doing during my working day. There's hours and hours of work held within that list, and if I'd been getting on with it all I wouldn't be doing any work for my business at all. I think DH is quaking slightly about us now both sharing the responsibility for all of those things!

One of the best things I did near the end of last year, which is when all the household admin ramps up sharply, is download a to-do list app onto both of our phones. I use Wunderlist, but there are loads. And every time I think 'oh, must ring the dentist and change my appointment time' or 'did I check if the girls need new hats for summer?' I put it on the to-do list, and it made a little beep on DH's phone. And every time I did a thing and crossed it off, he got notified of that, too! Highly, HIGHLY recommend for making the invisible work visible.