Who's earning less this year than last?

[Colin In Perth]

I dare say there are plenty of people in Scotland earning less this year than last, but I thought it might be a good idea to all be miserable together about it. A problem shared does help. And if a miserable state of mind can be encouraged to be positive then we all might benefit. My income is down on last year and my costs are up - I don't need to tell anyone about rising costs, I know. My situation would not be much of a problem were it not for the fact that my Bank is now demanding a 100% increase in monthly loan repayments or pay off the full amount immediately. Comments and discussion from anyone on here about this will be welcomed by me. I like to get a perspective on how everyone is doing.

 

[Wills]

Earnings are definitely up on last year on a month on month comparison, we are about to feel the wrath of supply chain increases that cost will end up being passed on to the client which in turn may cause a downturn next year. I'm in the process of analysing the impact and projecting where we may be depending on how hard this current scenario grips.

I gauge a lot from the big supermarkets they have been rising prices like there is no tomorrow then cunningly drop them about 50% of the rise saying every little helps using price hikes as a marketing tool as usual.

 

[Idea15]

On the flip side of things, a credit crunch is the perfect time to start your own business, so I have a lot of enquiries coming in now. When people have job insecurity and decreased spending power as the everyday norm, starting a business somehow seems less scary.

 

[Colin In Perth]

I agree with you idea15 that the best time to start is when the Economy is depressed or just not doing as well as it could be doing. I say that if a new business can establish during such times then it is on a stable footing for the future and when things are good then that is a bonus. Start a business during an economic boom and a false sense of wellbeing may develop with that new business stretching itself too far too soon. When things take a turn for the worse the business then cannot weather the storm. My problem is that I provide a service of a kind which people can do without if they need to cut back on spending. It's not like selling food or fuel - gardens can always wait until next year.

 

[Idea15]

With food prices going up as they are, though, it's a great opportunity to help people rediscover the joy of a backyard garden. Sadly living in a flat I don't have one, so I'm left to shake my head in the supermarket on discovering that I've just picked up vegetables flown in from New Zealand or Chile. I am thinking of annexing some of the building's common back garden in the springtime to declare it MY garden and that's that...

 

[abs]

Is it really a good time to start your own business? I left a quite well paid job because I thought businesses in Scotland were ready for Virtual Assistance, but that is definitely not the case.

I think perhaps most people don't understand the concept and I am trying very hard to get the word out.

Still, it's giving me plenty of time to grow those yummy vegetables!

 

[jimbairn]

My problem is that I provide a service of a kind which people can do without if they need to cut back on spending. It's not like selling food or fuel - gardens can always wait until next year.

Took the words right out of my mouth.... (must have been while I was sleeping)

 

[Colin In Perth]

It would be a good idea if everyone learned the skills of growing their own vegetables. Those skills used to be a way of life from an early age, but
we have over the passed 2 decades got used to cheap food and grow your own went out of fashion. At 44 yrs old I was growing up in the 70s when food prices were very high in proportion to income. The average family spent 1/3rd their income on food then. Now it is 1/10th but increasing and likely to carry on that way. In the 70s I remember it was quite normal for people to have vegetable gardens or allotments. It is just a case of people adjusting and learning the skills. It would be healthy too and recreational. Why waste precious money and energy at a gym when the body beautiful can be achieved by getting exercise doing what is after all basic survival. Problems we are beginning to face like land being used for biofuel instead of growing food could be solved by some lifestyle changes if the will is there in people and governments. Fuel use could be reduced if people didn't eat food which is flown half way round the world. If the culture of people not living anywhere near to their work, but instead commuting for huge distances was replaced by more work from home jobs and taking jobs locally then there would be enough land for both. It is unlikely that I would benefit financially by more people growing their own food as the idea would be to save money and although I'm sure many would take up my free advice, I doubt many would be calling on my paid services. This is starting to become more like a sermon than a thread so I'm going to shut up now. haha sorry sometimes I don't know when to stop. Thanks for reading - Colin

 

[Idea15]

Sermon most definitely welcomed and appreciated, Colin.

Abs, one thing I learned is that the summer is a bad time for business services - no one's thinking of sorting their office in the middle of July. Don't lose heart - business WILL pick up.

 

[polr]

I worked full time last year so def. earning less this year. I wouldn't change it for the world though, being back to this time last year is the stuff nightmares are made of! To put it another way (and trying to put it in as least a cheesy way possible) in the last 6 months I can truly say that I know money doesnt equal happiness! I also agree that when we do see out this patch, we're on a much stronger ground for the coming years.

 

[TomB]

I also agree that when we do see out this patch, we're on a much stronger ground for the coming years.

I couldn't agree more

I'm the same i was full time last year with my business as well, and now I am three days a week with my business as well as contracting for Collective ID, so i technically have 3 jobs if you like I was planning to give up the three days a week fairly soon but judging by the current climate i think i might hold on to the monthly salary and build up a bit of a rainy day reserve.

On the positive though my business has been takinf off lately and I haven't actually noticed a downturn, I'm hope that it stays that way!!

 

[Colin In Perth]

I worked full time last year so def. earning less this year. I wouldn't change it for the world though, being back to this time last year is the stuff nightmares are made of! To put it another way (and trying to put it in as least a cheesy way possible) in the last 6 months I can truly say that I know money doesnt equal happiness! I also agree that when we do see out this patch, we're on a much stronger ground for the coming years.

Absolutely right Lynne. I believe in getting a balance between work and free time. Its always tempting to never say no to work when it comes along but turning in a headless chicken does nobody any good and becomes a very inefficient way of working. This may sound cheesy but 'work smart' is better than 'work too hard'. Society blames premature death on convienient scapegoats like smoking, fatty food, lack of exercise because it happens to suit society to choose those scapegoats. Im not saying those thing are not bad for people, but it is my experience that people who have spent their lives stressed out and chasing money and position suffer more with poor health and early death than those who may have one or more of the standard bad habits but have learned to pace themselves and know when they have got enough in life without the need to be greedy. Business doesn't have to be about grab grab grab.

 

[Idea15]

As long as the bills get paid, the roof stays over our head, we can treat ourselves every now and then and I can go shopping , everything else is icing on the cake.

I tell a lot of people this - I strongly believe that if I was still in some miserable desk job, being underused and openly resented, putting myself through commuting hell, and coming home stressed and frustrated every day, then I would not be a good role model as a parent.

I didn't look up to my mother; I looked down on her, because she was always on her hands and knees scrubbing something as if her life depended on it, because she was never raised to be anything more than a housewife and a doormat. When she did enter the workforce, she stayed at the bottom of the ladder, always afraid to speak up for herself and always putting up with being treated like rubbish. She died without ever having asked herself, once, "What is it that I want to be?" I owe my daughter better.

 

[TomB]

I agree Colin there is a balance between work and free time, but in this climate i guess we can't be too picky when it comes to saying yes or no to work, you never know when it may the last bit of work you get for a while.

But i would rather turn down work that do a poor job because i've taken on too much.

I'm quite lucky that there is two people that do work for me on a freelance basis, and i trust them both entirely with the work which takes the strain off to allow me to do other things or business admin (the bit i hate).

 

[Colin In Perth]

I agree Colin there is a balance between work and free time, but in this climate i guess we can't be too picky when it comes to saying yes or no to work, you never know when it may the last bit of work you get for a while.

But i would rather turn down work that do a poor job because i've taken on too much.

I'm quite lucky that there is two people that do work for me on a freelance basis, and i trust them both entirely with the work which takes the strain off to allow me to do other things or business admin (the bit i hate).

I've seen poor workmanship done far too often because of the need to get the job done in a hurry. So often the customer is as much to blame by wanting it done yesterday. But in most cases it is the workman (person sorry haha) who has got themselves into the situation. Of course there are bad workman who could never do a good job anyway. I have never fallen out with a customer but have come close to it when impatience sets in. However when the job is finished and they are delighted suddenly all is forgiven and the wait worthwhile. Maybe if we all learned to let time take its course - that is us the business people and the customers we serve, there would always be enough work and more satisfied customers who keep coming back. Surely it is better to let a workman take a few days longer and do a good job than hurry him on and then complain about poor workmanship. I recently got very tired and that affected my state of mind towards my work. I took a chance and moved the jobs back down the calendar. The customers could have cancelled but for their sake and mine I did it anyway. Now we are all happy. My problem with earning less than last year is that the prices charged have had to stay the same but the cost price to do the job has gone up, so therefore less money for myself.

 

[abs]

Sermon most definitely welcomed and appreciated, Colin.

Abs, one thing I learned is that the summer is a bad time for business services - no one's thinking of sorting their office in the middle of July. Don't lose heart - business WILL pick up.

Thanks for the moral support, I appreciate the positive tone. I, like you, am sure that it will improve and and least it's giving me the opportunity to do things that I never had time to do before!

Theresia

 

[abs]

I agree Colin there is a balance between work and free time, but in this climate i guess we can't be too picky when it comes to saying yes or no to work, you never know when it may the last bit of work you get for a while.

But i would rather turn down work that do a poor job because i've taken on too much.

I'm quite lucky that there is two people that do work for me on a freelance basis, and i trust them both entirely with the work which takes the strain off to allow me to do other things or business admin (the bit i hate).

Tom, if you hate the admin side, why don't you outsource to a good Virtual Assistant?

Theresia

 

[Idea15]

Trust me, your best time will be the first two weeks of January - after everyone gets back to work fresh with New Year's resolutions, you will be booked solid! Just remember to advertise and network your little heart out in November and December.

 

[Dizzydiza]

Well my business is just a little hobby business but since the start of June I have been extremely quiet. I was busy from the start of January until then, which was really good. But going on previous years, my business is not usually this quiet until October. My niece was watching a breakfast programme about the credit crunch and she tells me that they were discussing the effects of it. One being house prices and mortgages but now it seems the next thing that people are cutting back on are their weddings. Girls are prepared to buy dresses second hand and borrow things like veils, tiaras and jewellery

 

[Colin In Perth]

I had more Soil Testing work in the Autumn and through to end of January, which is a period that can be regarded as out of season or at least off peek, than I had from February through to May, which can be regarded as peek time. Garden work locally has been consistent this year but there are no big spenders. The emphasis is always on how cheap can the job be done, with a string of compromises. This has to be down to high fuel prices both for travel and heating. I think rising food prices will not have had much effect. There are always cheaper options with food such as frozen food instead of fresh. In my area there is no problem with the housing market which remains stable or a problem with employment. Perhaps uncertainty and a touch of paranoia is more to blame. A previously stable and competent UK government for the past 11 years now seems to be way off track and this can't be helping matters. The future is so uncertain how can people plan ahead. It is a serious situation that over 1/3 of the adult UK population has less than