How would you deal with a drop income or being out of work?

[MarillionFan]

[QUOTE=SallyAnne;1293283]

Ah I love it when you have a go at the females, while not being able to get your quotes right

No. I won't lend you a tenner. Don't PM me again!

[MarillionFan]

Would now be a bad time to mention this morning I just made £2 grand on a 1 hour stock market trade on Yell and I'm planning to go out and blow the lot on shoes???

Yeah. Probably. Just between us girls then.

[PAH]

My contracts tend to last years rather than months (I think the shortest has been a year with the longest almost 3 years) so I use that time to build up a war chest then take time off before the next contract.

One thing I'm wary of nowadays is how quickly you can burn through a war chest if you have lots of large regular outgoings, particularly if you overlook any large upcoming bills (e.g. tax) as I once did. My dream of being able to afford a few years off if I wanted soon turned to reality and within a year I was practically skint and had to get back into the contracting game before I started living off credit cards.

My approach now is to either keep the outgoings as low as realistically possible, without moving into cardboad city (quality of life is the key for me), or to build up a bigger war chest before hitting 'sleep mode'.

[SallyAnne]

[QUOTE=MarillionFan;1293285]

No. I won't lend you a tenner. Don't PM me again!

Ah go on man - I saw these lovely shoes...

[SallyAnne]

Would now be a bad time to mention this morning I just made £2 grand on a 1 hour stock market trade on Yell and I'm planning to go out and blow the lot on shoes???

Yeah. Probably. Just between us girls then.

Damn it - you beat me on the shoes comment!!

[alreadypacked]

My contracts tend to last years rather than months (I think the shortest has been a year with the longest almost 3 years) so I use that time to build up a war chest then take time off before the next contract.

One thing I'm wary of nowadays is how quickly you can burn through a war chest if you have lots of large regular outgoings, particularly if you overlook any large upcoming bills (e.g. tax) as I once did. My dream of being able to afford a few years off if I wanted soon turned to reality and within a year I was practically skint and had to get back into the contracting game before I started living off credit cards.

My approach now is to either keep the outgoings as low as realistically possible, without moving into cardboad city (quality of life is the key for me), or to build up a bigger war chest before hitting 'sleep mode'.

I find moving a lot helps me keep down the spending, because if you are living out of a suitcase, you don't buy so much stuff.
When you go to buy stuff, you ask yourself do I really need this, do I have room in my suitcase for this, usually the answer is no, and I don't buy it.

Everytime I think about buying a big house, I think about the big bill that come with it, and I stop looking.

[mondraker]

That is a great attitude to take on the contracting game, and on working as a whole, but I think it's easier said than done. If you were married, and/or had kids, then it would be a whole different story - responsibilities such as these will bear heavy on your lifestyle choice. My income runs the house; it allows my wife to spend time with the kids and not have to work. My kids (...and wife) are a growing expense and so I need to plan for future costs. If I was a young single lad and earning this money then I would be laughing (not that I want to be single!).

Given my technology stack, the decline of the UK, and the rate of offshoring, I certainly don't expect my contracting career to be this successful for much longer. So I need to maximise this rate while I can get it.

Sometimes it's not even about whether I want to work or not work - I just feel 'trapped' into working... yes that's an odd thing to say, because I would rather be in work than not, but it's been non-stop since 1996 and I would love to be able to appreciate some time out.

Got to agree with the comments on lifestyle and cash!....My approach is "warchest, warchest, warchest"..always live on a specific budget (comfortable not tight!) and still do the treats that we all like as contractors but don't go mad!

Leave the Overfinch Range Rovers and Maserati's until the chest is healthy or at least buy used...many many contractors I know buy them and moan about depreciation.

I learnt from family that prudence is the key! Remember that when all the gigs are done and it's time to pull back and reduce days or stop altogether..life will be easy!

Most of us are playin' this game to sit back and relax in retirement and not have to penny pinch on rubbish pensions

I must say that I did go thro' a period of expensive meals/wine and stayovers at "michelin" rated spots but then you stop and think....if work dried up would I be ok? bank on a budget and ask yourself each quarter how many months (without skimping!) could I live off the chest...it becomes a good way of measuring if you can really cope :0))

Leason over!

[lukemg]

Some good advice on here, in amongst the usual dross...
As an addition - you have to get your money working for you, compound interest is a beautiful thing. Nothing against BTL and expect long term that will be a winner but it's shares and funds etc that are getting my rainy day cash. Have to hold your nerve in the dips and dives but it's lovely when the're heading in the right direction and to be earning while sleeping...

[SueEllen]

Would now be a bad time to mention this morning I just made £2 grand on a 1 hour stock market trade on Yell and I'm planning to go out and blow the lot on shoes???

Yeah. Probably. Just between us girls then.

******* hate shopping for shoes and clothes.

It should all be done on the internet or via catalogue then you don't have to fight around those stupid people who don't know what they want and queue up for changing rooms.

[Bagpuss]

I've been contracting about 8 years, and the longest I've had off (even during gigs) is 2 weeks. I tend to leave a gig on a Friday and start the new one on a Monday.

But....I'm utterly sh*te with money. I've never got any. I always take too much out of the company, and then panic at the last minute when the Corp tax bill comes in.
I'm late with VAT, late with PAYE...just utterly hopeless.

If I ever got unexpectedly laid off, I'd be up sh*t creek.

I have no war chest.

So you get a mixture of stories on this board...

You must have at least spent some money on assets? IIRC you were on a good rate and must have earned the best part of half a million as profits, even the most extravagant person would have a reasonable fraction of that in the bank/housing/stocks/pension... surely?