Leaving tax money in your company account...

[ferret]

I mean - as a permie, if I got paid £3k a month, I'd think of all that as mine too...even though a grand has to go on the mortgage, £500 to cards, etc etc.

You lot are wise like owls, and I must learn from yous.

The £500 a month on cards suggests you spend more than you have. Ever tried looking at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com?

Spending less becomes a bit of a game after a while! We are saving £500 this year by cancelling Sky. £500 extra in our pockets at the end of the year

[The Lone Gunman]

If the tax man ir35s me then monthly divvies looks far too much like personal income and they could say my incorporation is a sham and all income is earnings regardless of contract.

If I spend it all and dont get another contract then how am I going to pay the tax bill? I think there may be legal issues too.

As far as being organised for annual divvies, then the credit goes to Mrs TLG. She runs most of the money side of the business, and mostly deals with banks and accountants. Hence I was pissedoff with the S660 suggestion that most wives don't contribute to the business. Mine does and it allows me to concentrate on working instead of worrying about the admin stuff.
I will pass on your praises.

I am quite lucky in that I was self employed abroad so could push a lot of money through my personal account before coming back to UK which then meant I had enough to live off while I built up a reserve in the company.
My wife can be tight with our budget until she is sure we can afford to splash out.

[Bagpuss]

Yes! £37k per year is a huge amount of cash. If you are overspending and having to dip into money that is not legally yours then this is called "living beyond your means".

I try to cheer myself up by imagining what may happen if disaster struck. If I could not get a job for 6 months, if my arms dropped off and I could never work again etc.

Surely best to squirrel (no pun intended but may mean we get a comment from AtW) some money away now while earning a good amount. If things go tits up you have a cushion, if the money keeps coming in then can have fun later.

Well said, this contracting lark could end at any time, especially with the rise of the Chinese and Indian economies, who knows how long the market as we know it will last. You have two options, spend like it will last forever or be comfortable but cautious, if you get used to 'living it large' it will be all the more hard to adjust to the changes in the market that will happen.

Spending HMRCs money well that's just asking for trouble, what if you run out of work with no money in the account?

[oracleslave]

Well said, this contracting lark could end at any time, especially with the rise of the Chinese and Indian economies,

We aren't all on the support desk.

HTH

[Bagpuss]

We aren't all on the support desk.

HTH

They don't do Oracle in China?

[SallyAnne]

The £500 a month on cards suggests you spend more than you have.

Those weren't real figures - it was just an example.

[MrRobin]

Well I have just ammended my banking spreadsheet to show what my account balance would be just as if all VAT, PAYE/NI and CT that was due in the future was instead paid at that moment and I'm happy to say I never once went into the red . Came bloody close tho - double figures I shall keep an eye on that derived balance in future rather than the real one.

Still wondering why I have to do this rather than my accountant.

[dude69]

The £500 a month on cards suggests you spend more than you have. Ever tried looking at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com?

£500 is not a lot on a credit card surely?

I spend about £2k/month on my card.

[ferret]

Those weren't real figures - it was just an example.

OK £1,000 a month on cards then

The fact that you take this into considerations suggests you have them. If you want more money to spend on yourself instead of feeding the bank's coffers then take action. Cut up your cards. Work out how much you have coming in a month and work out a budget to pay off all of your cards and loans if you have them. Once these are done you will have more coming in each month than ever before!

If you have a big spending habit then it may be that you have lots of stuff you never use, gadgets, clothes etc. Stick them on Ebay instead of taking them to charity shops, amazing how much you can make for your old tat!

[Ardesco]

Using a credit card doesn't mean you are living beyond your means, using a credit card and not paying off the entire balance every month means you are living beyond your means

HTH

(I use credit cards for all online purchases I make, more chance of getting the money back if something goes wrong, if you use a debit card they could clear out your bank account before you have had a chance to cancel the card and you just try and get the bank to pull that money back.....)