Saturday 27 September 2008

Good news/bad news

Well I just returned from a lovely weeks escape in the Traumuntana mountains in Mallorca - the lovely village of Deia is a magical escape for romantic thinkers and just wants to make you do less in life.

But on my return i received a telephone call from my agency that I have been given a weeks notice, i.e. my gig is coming to an end after next week. Well , the writing was on the wall and I saw it coming. Lucky I can live within my means. Lucky I didn't blow too much money on the holiday. Austerity is indeed a valuable quality.

So, I will be looking for another contract position. I have come to the realisation that I will probably never work another permanent job as I would have to take a significant reduction in pay. My priority is to accumulate cash.

Speaking of cash, we all need to live on a cash only basis. This is the way it should be. There is no credit. The banks haven't got any money. Lets really examine what is important and what is not. Lets learn to cook, buy our own beer, and brew our own coffee. Lets not spend £5.00 on lunch everyday. Lets make our own sandwiches etc. Lets make austerity the new buzz word.

Hoping all is well with you readers.

4 comments:

Jerry Critter said...

How about brew your own beer...

I tried it once but it is a lot of work and I am not sure you really save any money...unless you buy really expensive beer.

Jack said...

I'm with you. Getting to that point soon, I hope!

J

http://adventuresinvoluntarysimplicity.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that you had a lovely vacation. That sounds like the kind of place that I want to visit.

With the cost of taxes and insurance, do you really make more working as a contractor? I didn't.

That sounds easier than it is. I was never really a big spender except for when it came to food. Not eating out while working was next to impossible for me. However, as soon as we hit the road we stopped eating out, completely.

I hope you have better self control than I did. Good luck in your job search.

~jenn
Hitekhomeless.net
A couple of 30-somethings take the ultimate road trip

Dreamer said...

JC - I thought about brewing my own but sounds like too much hassle

Jack - Cash is King!

Jenn - it really depends I suppose, I think that the way I see it is that I can make more money in a shorter space of time as a contractor than I would as an employee - also I dont pay insurance, do you mean indemnity insurance, if so I am engaged via an agency and covered with their insurance, also covered by the firm's as an agent/contractor. I dont pay any other insurance...? Taxes well - I would have to pay the same tax as an employee, in fact I am thinking of setting up a Ltd company to trade through and this would mean i would pay on 18% corporation tax, so I think that certainly as a contractor there are mechanisms to minimise tax which you cannot take advantage of as an employee, as an employee you have not choice but to PAYE (Pay as you earn tax)22% - 40% depending on how much you earn

Well food - I refuse to buy food at work I go bring my own, and I have stopped buying coffee snacks etc, less money for the man more money for me