Money’s Too Tight to Mention

Day 13 of the blog challenge is to pick a song title and write a blog about it. I thought that Money’s Too Tight to Mention by Simply Red was rather apt considering the current financial climate.

People are finding that their disposable income has dropped considerably over the last few years, despite what the government tell us. There are all kinds of ways people can save money: changing supermarkets (we now shop at Aldi and have halved our food bill), walking instead of driving where-ever possible, don’t ‘eat out’ as much, cut down your mobile phone contract to a sim-only deal. The list goes on…

But how about ways to make more money? I’m not talking about over-time at work but setting up your own back room business. You may have skills to do something yet have never taken the plunge into going it alone. Working for youself alongside your main job is time consuming and your leisure time will decrease, but if you are working at something you enjoy then surely it’s worth it? And the extra money will always be helpful.

A few businesses that you could start up and run from your back room are:

• Artist – Caricatures, sketches, watercolours etc…
• Graphic Design
• Web Designer
• Greeting card design
• Author
• eBay Trader
• Mobile phone applications developer

I’m sure that there are others that you can think of that I’ve not mentioned – if so add them to the blog via a comment.

All of these home businesses could be set up for little or no cost at all. If you’re reading thing blog then I assume that you already have a computer, so you’re halfway there to trading on the internet. If you enjoy drawing or painting, why not try and turn some of your works of art into extra cash for yourself? The extra income may take the place of the bonus or pay rise that you didn’t get from your employer because they are having to save money too.

Don’t forget that you will need to register with HMRC if you do decide to trade self-employed. If you need any help with setting up and your financial affairs RS Book-Keeping can help you every step of the way.

I hope that this post has given you something to think about, there has rarely been a better time that now for small businesses to start up. So if you have the idea and the skills, what are you waiting for?

Blog Round-Up

The first few days of the 30 Day Blog challenge are now complete. Rather than forget about some of the post I’ve already made, here are some of the more popular posts from the past few days, including a guest blog by Telford Wills & Probate.

Tax Return Fines Set to Rise

Ways to Save Money for Your Business

Bookkeeper in Pontefract

Why Do I Like Bitsy?

Last Will & Testament; have you made yours?

Tax Return Fines Set to Rise

You may or may not have seen the news that HMRC are now going to bit hitting people who file their tax return late (or not at all) a lot harder. To read a little bit more about it see this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12997974

At the moment I doubt that any of us have money to burn, so the easiest and quickest way to avoid these fines is to get your tax return filed as soon as possible. If you do not have the time to compile it yourself it will save you a lot of time, effort and now money to employ someone to do it for you. For a comparitively small fee you can give them all your documents for the tax year and let someone else have the hassle and stress of preparing the tax return for you. All that is left for you to do is pay your advisor and the tax due to HMRC, how simple is that?

You may be surprised at how many people there are in your local area that will offer these services to you, so it should be quite easy to get a few quotes to choose from. If you cannot find anyone nearby who you wish to work with, some businesses (RS Book-Keeping included) offer to work remotely so geographical differences are not longer an issue.

There really are no excuses now if you file your tax return late and the severe fines which you will face are a clear indication that you need to sort out your tax return sooner rather than later.