War chest Almost Depleted and Getting Desperate

[FrontEnder]

Retain quick as a scrum master / agile

PM roles are dead - I know good people out for a year now !!!


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No need to re-train. Just rename all your project manager gigs as "delivery manager".

[psychocandy]

OP - Now my opinion is always a bit contentious and its been a good few years so the rules/law may have changed. Also, the horse has already bolted maybe for you.

Before anyone has a go, remember when I did it, it was all legal - THIS MAY HAVE CHANGED. If you don't want to do it then UP TO YOU....

1. Pay out all dividends/profit left in company. To be honest, I used to do this every quarter anyway - potentially doing it AFTER you become contract-less is possibly a bit dodgy.

2. Have a look at your savings and see if its worth using to pay off cards/loans etc. Again, doing this AFTERWARDS is probably dodgy.

3. Even though you are still director of a company you are "temporarily without work" and eligible for Job Seekers Allowance IF you have done the NI bit, and there's probably now a lower limit for how much savings you can have.

Would I do it again if I "knew" I'd be without contract for a month. Probably not. Its a lot of hassle.

Would I do it if I thought I'd be on the bench for 3-4 months (like I was years ago). YES I would. Its not a huge amount £75 a week(?) but 13 weeks = close to £1000. Better than a poke in the eye. BUT you have to decide at beginning - they wont backdate it.

Check the legality of what you do though. Morally - each to his own (but people on here don't agree with me)

{{tin helmet on}}

[WordIsBond]

So the 31 days starts from the day you pay the loan back rather than from the date it is due?

Correct.

Obviously, what I've suggested doesn't solve the big problem, but it keeps the loan due date from being part of the problem.

[heyya99]

After my first contract ended, I was in a similar position to you. I was benched and getting desperate. I ended up doing one perm interview but not getting it. I just persisted and finally after 5 stressful months I got my gig. It started the ball rolling for a few very lucrative years to follow. If I hadn't of persisted, I wouldn't be in a comfortable position I'm in now. I just kept plugging away. What got me through it was my conviction that I wasn't going to return to perm (I probably wouldn't have taken that one perm I went for). I knew what i wanted and nothing was going to stop me. Horrible 5 months but as I say, worth it. I got my gig just as my warchest was drying up.

My advice is to stick with it (if contracting is really what you want) but also look after your own health. That's priority.

[northernladuk]

No, I won't be. I've accounted for tax and the loan already so taking the loan out again after 31 days sounds like a viable option. The only outstanding payment will be for POA - personal tax to be paid in July. I
would hope that I have secured a gig before then... although I have learnt the hard way to always expect the unexpected. I'm speaking with my accountant next week so I'm hoping he might give me some advice also.

Oh excellent. I was a bit worried you didn't have an accountant. Advise them your plans of going permanent. They may have a more efficient solution to manage your money as paying wage might not be the best method of extracting funds if you are going to go perm for example.

[Tractor Trace]

From when you pay it back. Its the new bed and breakfasting rules. Stops you taking end to end loans that HMRC will see as icome. Don't be taking loans from money you owe the tax man though.

No, I won't be. I've accounted for tax and the loan already so taking the loan out again after 31 days sounds like a viable option. The only outstanding payment will be for POA - personal tax to be paid in July. I
would hope that I have secured a gig before then... although I have learnt the hard way to always expect the unexpected. I'm speaking with my accountant next week so I'm hoping he might give me some advice also.

[northernladuk]

So the 31 days starts from the day you pay the loan back rather than from the date it is due?

From when you pay it back. Its the new bed and breakfasting rules. Stops you taking end to end loans that HMRC will see as icome. Don't be taking loans from money you owe the tax man though.

[Tractor Trace]

Pay the loan back now. Then you can borrow against it 31 days later if you need to.

So the 31 days starts from the day you pay the loan back rather than from the date it is due?

[Tractor Trace]

Retain quick as a scrum master / agile

PM roles are dead - I know good people out for a year now !!!


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

I've heard that too. Worth looking into... seems to be no end of UX researcher/ designer roles out there as well.

[GhostofTarbera]

Retain quick as a scrum master / agile

PM roles are dead - I know good people out for a year now !!!


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum