What are you all up to
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Just my view Malc, but I would have gone for Brighton. After extra fuel is taken into account it only works out about £10 a week more expensive. Given that you would get about 10 hours a week more leisure time, put less wear and tear on the car and more importantly yourself, I would consider that a bargain.
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Are you keeping a fuel log? ( You should be recording your business use for tax purposes anyway.)
I would be extremely surprised if you got anything like the sort of MPG you are mentioning, in real life this sort of figure is probably only attainable in Holland, or East Anglia, on a long trip with little other traffic on the road,
We have a very similar Smart to yours, just 3 years older, and I do record miles driven and litres purchased. Tootling around town, as you do when making deliveries, or shopping, you will do well to get 45mpg. On longer trips, as in your commute, you will achieve a better figure, but as soon as you start with any hills that will reduce the mpg considerably.
Yes, much more economical than the Shogun, but take the claimed figures with a large pinch of salt or you will be disappointed.
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If I remember correctly, Malcolm has probably been there since sometime in early November, so well over the 28 days, assuming a CS has the same rules as a CL?
Malcolm....be sure to use the advised route to Alderstead Heath exactly, there are some very narrow roads in the area and the locals take no prisioners!
We have used the site 3 times, it is a bit out in the sticks, but quite a few NT places to visit......if they are open right now. Chartwell is very interesting.
For next year, assuming you are remaining in the area, once you leave your seasonal it would it not be better, if you want to use the CS, to check the rules and move for a few days to Brighton every so often, as required? That way you can plan ahead and book your pitch in good time.
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My wife went through this procedure several times to get a job at minimum wage and failed everytime. She tried for a job as care assistant, then as a checkout operator for Tesco. She was refused both times. Beggars can't be choosers! The job on self-employed basis with dinner2go is better than no work and no earnings at all!
Anything worthwhile in life takes tenacity. Failure a couple of times is no reason to give in, you need to look at the major long term benefits that will be achieved for a little bit more effort. If you both had minimum wage, 5 day a week jobs your life would improve dramatically.
As the advert says "Just Do It"
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Malcolm
I have been following your many posts on this subject over a period of time now and somehow when I collate all your cost and earning information that you have freely communicated I can't help thinking that the amount of return viz a viz any monetary reward does not seem to add up to any worthwhile amount. I just wonder whether you have sat down and produced a spreadsheet of the incomings and outgoings over the course of a year to see how worthwhile all this effort that you put into this job is worth. You have to ignore any pension entitlement. Not that I wish you to make the figures public but it would be reassuring to know that you make a sufficient return to make it all worthwhile.
With regard to a fixed job and the lack of success. Firstly you have to keep at it. One thing did occur to me. It seems you use a relation as a permanent point of address. If that is some distance from the jobs applied for that might set alarm bells ringing with potential employers. Just a thought.
David
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Good post David, I have often though the same. He also needs to consider any possible unpaid Income Tax that will be due someday.
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A wonderful gentle spring day here in Essex. The winter box smells delicious. I've made a cake and am blitzing upstairs in a spring clean fashion. One bedroom decorated but another two to have a freshen up I've decided with my blitz - hubby quite happy to oblige. Might as well add in the bathroom then it's all sorted. When are we going to get away??? Still well be glad it's done!
Playtime over cakes cooked that's my excuse for few minutes on here whilst it finishes.
Hope you're all enjoying your day 😃
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A lovely day here, and have been for a nice walk around around the lake at Clumber Park. Good demonstration of the herding instinct. Parking was in a huge field. When parked we were on our own, when we came back we were surrounded, with the car to the left of our XTrail close enough to make it awkward for OH getting in.
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Started out with Mrs.WN this morning to go for a walk. 2 hours later we still hadn't left the village. Every man and his dog was out and wanted to have a chat. Took us 30 minutes to get out of our close. So we called in at the paper shop and pottered home for a late morning coffee. Will sneak out the back way tomorrow.
This afternoon spent tidying the garden and, I know you'll be jealous now, cleaning down the 2 garden refuse recycling bins out before starting to fill them again.
Lovely sunny day that is now clouding over.
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, The day started a little dull weatherwise ,but now bright and sunny ,13 degrees.Grounds tidy up at the B/Yd today,burning dead branches and leaves.Soon be strimming the grass again at this rate .OMG !! 
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Nice to catch up with folks but frustrating in equal measures 😃. Would love to be gardening but our Essex clay too wet for that, be too dry in a while too. We have a large ceonothaus (spelling?) That requires digging out been there 20 plus years looked sad so nurtured it a couple of years ago but alas it is no more. I have something from our containers to pop in so it won't be a hole for too long once we've exercised our bodies removing it.
Hush tricky no one's told our grass it's OK to grow now.
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It may take tenacity and perseverance but at our expense. It takes time to fill in application forms which we don't get paid for, it also costs money in fuel to get to and attend interviews which also take up time which is not paid for. So whilst all this time of ours is being spent for the benefit of the employer for no pay, where is the money going to come from to pay the bills?
As the saying goes, 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.' Working for dinner2go on a self-employed basis is giving us some income which is better than nothing at all. It's also better than wasting time chasing work at minimum wage that is unavailable to us because employers have plenty of other applicants that are seeking similar work.
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It may seem like the boss at dinner2go is taking advantage over pay and working conditions and he threatened to get rid of me because I was ill. However, his bark is worse than his bite. In the end he relented and made concessions i.e. shorter working hours and one day off per week. He decided that it was preferable than carrying out his threat to get rid of me and employ another driver and he hasn't objected to us having time off to attend the National at Sandringham followed by a further two weeks off for a touring holiday in Scotland. He would have difficulty recruiting another driver for the obvious reasons that the pay is too low, the unsocial and long hours of the work and no days off or holiday pay. These are not terms that are attractive to recruiting other drivers.
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Malcolm , I'm giving up. If you want to continue working for a pittance for an employer who should be reported and prosecuted just carry on.
Can you not see that you and your wife have as much chance as anyone else in securing a job.
I'm sure whilst you are hanging around waiting for a delivery you could visit many establishments and the put the word around that you are available.
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Macolm, he probably can't get anyone else to work for the pay and conditions that you accept.
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My eldest daughter lost a good paying job a few years ago working for a travel firm where she was booking hotels, arranging flights and coaches, dealing with clients. She was not too concerned as her house is paid for and she has around £200k behind her.
She worked for around 9 months as a carer visiting various old folk and showering them, changing colostomy bags and other tasks including sorting out meals. She really enjoyed it and also enjoyed the folk that she met. She gave it up for two reasons. One she has, like her dad, some joint problems but also poor consideration from several different employers.
Following that she did various jobs, packaging tropical fish for an importer, working on reception at various places, packaging etc. Latterly she worked for several months in an office 9 to 5 where she was stuffing envelopes. She was offered a full time job but decided that it was so tedious that she turned it down and left to work at a hotel. As work prior to that had been sporadic with a few weeks here a week or more off, 3 days somewhere else she had started working part time at a local hotel where she had worked part time 25 years ago for the owners mother. She was washing dishes initially and then also doing starters and some deserts and when the chef was taken ill producing a buffet with help of another for 100 people and the owners were helping and doing dishes. The hotel owner offered to pay for an accountancy course that my daughter had embarked upon and she is now working there as she likes the atmosphere. She works (nominally) 35 hours a week at only £8.50 but does pick up around £20 to £25 a week as a share of tips.
So it does take perseverance these days. Last year I was offered, out of the blue as I had not worked for 8 years, a job at £35 an hour for a 4 day, 30 hours a week job which I naturally turned down as I have no desire to work. It is sad that so many are struggling in many areas to find a decent paying job or indeed any job other than through agencies. Many of the places that my daughter worked at had more Eastern European workers than British.
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Malcolm, like me you are self employed ,so any time taken during the year filling out paperwork regarding jobs etc ,or any fuel used getting to and from interviews can be put down as business expenses when your accounts are submitted to HMRC for tax purposes ,so to say you are out of pocket is stretching the truth a bit .
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Searching for other jobs can surely not be counted as a business expense or can it?
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I don't usually hang around in town waiting for the next order in between deliveries. We usually make use of the time to do shopping or housework (caravan chores) whenever we have any such spare time.
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Don't think probably comes into it. It's been proved others have come and gone sharpish.
Malcolm I can't decide whether I feel for you or not.
If you are self employed and I think that has been firmly established that you receive no benefits from being employed by a boss who you bend over backwards to help ANY EXPENSE incurred in trying to obtain work can be claimed. Out of sheer principle I would not do anything for someone who spoke to me the way he has to you even before your illl health. He needs you more than you need him, if need be use it to your advantage.
Sorry I won't be commenting again as it seems however much people offer you help you do not appear to heed it. I do hope that you have sorted your self assessment for tax purposes? As I fear you may have some more nasty surprises.
However all that said I do wish you well and hope that your health issues are resolved.
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I am already registered with HMRC as self-employed and submitted last years online tax return on time which was accepted. So no problem with that.
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Yes but that is an advantage for me in that it makes my job more secure!
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