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Thread: Worthwhile economies in the current straitened circumstances.

  1. #1
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Default Worthwhile economies in the current straitened circumstances.

    The effective total loss of income from the Disco has made life tricky here, but fortunately I have a wife with an income stream, and some day job work providing an income, so I haven't put the family silver on Ebay just yet. I know some others are not so fortunate, so I wondered what economies could safely be made without being counter productive.

    I'll chip in a few, and feel free to add yours, or ridicule mine if you feel they're a bad idea.

    1) Vehicles. Can you SORN the van, and put the insurance on suspended risk?
    2) Music. Cancelling subscriptions. We're not playing them, so why buy them?
    3) Selling old/spare kit. That's not going to raise much, buyer's market I reckon. ( Although I haven't seen anything I'm desperate to own going for peanuts lately).
    4) Web presence. I'd say you daren't cut this. The whole world is living on t'interwibble currently, so you've surely got to keep paying whatever bills arrive for this. ( Hey Marc, I am up to date aren't I? Don't want to be a hypocrite).

    That's all I can come up with for now, let me know what you think of my ideas, and add your own. The current situation is all about communal help.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

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  2. #2
    Jim - Scotland's Party DJ's Avatar
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    Neither of our jobs are effected thankfully but lifestyle wise we're saving a packet.

    She's saving all the money spent on fancy coffees on the way into work.

    I'm saving a frankly ridiculous amount now the pubs are shut and that's even with my wine guy keeping me going.

    Eating out too. That's at least £100 per month saves. At the very least.

    Holidays will be the most noticeable saver as we go away a lot and usually to some pretty far flung nice spots.

    Saving money on takeaways now too. I love cooking, my wife not so much but even she's started trying things out in the kitchen.

    Not bought any needless online either.

    Business wise I can't see where I could skim anything in ff except the petrol im not using.

  3. #3
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Not desperate (yet). Liz works, we have a little in the bank in the way of savings (we've always lived like misers to an extent), and there's bugger all to spend it on anyway

    But....

    Being as I went full time self employed on 18th April last year (until then, the business paid it's way but made little in the way of profit due to investment in better PA and lighting, advertising, marketing etc. just trying to build things up ready for full time)....there's none of help from Mr Chancellor this end. Tax year 2019/20 and indeed 2020/21 looked soooo much different from previous years. It's actually like having the rug pulled from under my feet!

    So, cuts are being made where possible.

    * Online marketing (i.e. Facebook ads) - gone. There is a consensus that we should be "visible" online at the moment but the web throughput via Google search etc. really isn't backing this up to justify it. People just don't appear to be planning anything with any form of seriousness at the moment from what I'm seeing.
    * Consultancy such as SEO, marketing and the little bit of web design I subcontracted - gone (although all monies owed have been paid up)
    * PAT Testing - suspended until I need it
    * PLI - again, not renewed until needed (the kit IS however insured as it lives in a lock up). A note on this, I have permission in writing from the local constabulary to periodically visit my lock up to check on things to make sure all's as it should be and they're happy to put that down to a necessary work trip so long as I don't take the Michael
    * Trade memberships and subscriptions - NADJ is still there but at a reduced level, AMPDJ has sadly had to go, Add2 aren't getting any money from me no matter how cheaply they offer their credits.
    * Equipment - nothing I need and can't afford it anyway. Selling kit off isn't an option - it won't make any money worth while.
    * Van maintenance - started doing it myself again out of necessity - my local garage was FORCED to closed by a load of local busybodies that considered him to be a non-essential service, despite being officially listed as such.

    Away from the business side of things

    * Drinking a much cheaper brand of red wine
    * The overpayments we were making on our mortgage - gone.
    * Pension payments - gone.
    * Amazon Prime - gone
    * Now TV - gone (although Netflix remains for sanity)


    I'm considering scrapping the subscription to PromoOnly - it's not being used at the moment but he don't make it easy. Whether I'm going to need half the tat that's coming in through there or whether it's just worth downloading the new bangers after all this is over - I'm not yet decided (I really don't play much of the stuff that comes in via the pools).


    That just leaves the cost of the van (tax and insurance already paid for the year), storage costs (£120 a month), G-Suite (£4.40 a month), DJEP (£8 a month and can't really cancel that as there are couples planning next years weddings and beyond on there), web hosting (£10 a month) and my 4G wifi dongle (£15 a month and can't cancel until August)

    Van SORN - not an option. I use it as a personal vehicle too and am actively looking for driving jobs as well. Having had it nicely sign-written the week before the lock-down, it's also a nice little advert every time it goes out on the road

    My biggest monthly expense is my storage unit sadly. Security etc. comes at a price, and at £120 a month (which is cheap compared to what a lot of people pay), there's nowhere cheaper or more convenient I can move the gear to other than my garage, which really isn't an option (not secure and gets very damp and cold, plus because of the construction of it, the insurers won't cover it with kit in it).

    SO, running the business is going to cost me money personally this financial year (because I can't see us going out much this side of Christmas, possibly later than that in my heart of hearts). If we can come back before the end of the financial year, I can hopefully break even. Either way, we can "survive" for probably 18 months under the current conditions before things get desperate.
    Last edited by Imagine; 20-04-2020 at 10:49 PM.

  4. #4
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim - Scotland's Party DJ View Post
    Neither of our jobs are effected thankfully but lifestyle wise we're saving a packet.
    And THAT Jim, is the case for many (even those on the job retention scheme at 80% salary).
    I've spoken (socially distanced and responsibly) to a lot of people over the past few weeks and they're sitting pretty. They're being paid to sit at home whilst not having anything like the usual outgoings because other than food, there's not really a lot to spend it on. The luxuries like cinema trips, takeaways, meals out....they're all gone. They're actually all claiming they're better off!

    And THAT is the reason I've actually raised my prices for next year already

  5. #5
    Jim - Scotland's Party DJ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    And THAT Jim, is the case for many (even those on the job retention scheme at 80% salary).
    I've spoken (socially distanced and responsibly) to a lot of people over the past few weeks and they're sitting pretty. They're being paid to sit at home whilst not having anything like the usual outgoings because other than food, there's not really a lot to spend it on. The luxuries like cinema trips, takeaways, meals out....they're all gone. They're actually all claiming they're better off!

    And THAT is the reason I've actually raised my prices for next year already
    I put my prices up a good bit in January so I'm just keeping them at that.

    RE: spending dough. My first proper teaching job was in Saudi Arabia. £15k salary, dog on paper but no rent, the school was literally 100m outside my front door, 3 square meals a day made for you and I learned quickly how to make 5 gallons of wine for a couple of quid. I came home after a year with more money saved on my hip than friends I've got who have worked in Dubai for years on really good money because it's too easy to spend it there...

    I've already told my wife that 2021 we're going a REALLY stupid expensive holiday just because we can.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    * PLI - again, not renewed until needed (the kit IS however insured as it lives in a lock up). A note on this, I have permission in writing from the local constabulary to periodically visit my lock up to check on things to make sure all's as it should be and they're happy to put that down to a necessary work trip so long as I don't take the Michael
    Our local PC - quite handy as he is my next door neighbour lol - has said I am allowed trips to my unit as the guidelines are you can still work if safe to do so and can't work from home. Going to PAT my equipment there next week, never anyone else there at the moment so social distancing will be fine and at least one less job to do when we can start up.

    Think I must be one of the few who rely totally on my DJ income to not have made any changes. I have taken a temp part-time job, but as far as cutting back goes I haven't really done anything - yet !
    Semi-Retired Multi Award Winning DJ

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  7. #7
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Interesting thoughts, Wayne and Jim. Not sure I agree wholeheartedly with everything, but that's no surprise. Back later.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

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    I've turned off all of the costs I can, but that basically means SORN'ing the van and not a lot else as pretty much everything else is contracted in one way or another. That leaves me with:

    - Web hosting - £45/month (dedicated server and I sublet to others, so this actually pays for itself - though I'm waiting to see if some of my tenants keep up the payments in the current climate - one has already asked me if they can pay for some work I did in Jan in installments as they're in a similar position to me - but with much bigger overheads)
    - Mobile phones - various - handset payments are fixed in for 3yrs, but contracts have been re-negotiated (they're all flexible).
    - Yell.com (£50/month - biggest mistake I ever made and will be ditched in Nov, but not paying isn't an option as their collections team are a bunch of )
    - Other small ads on various sites
    - Van insurance (I could technically drop or amend the insurance, but it's not a lot and the amendment costs mean it doesn't make sense)
    - NADJ is paid up for the year
    - Needadisco is due - still debating what to do about that one (monthly DD seems the most likely choice at the moment)
    - Pay per lead sites don't cost anything if there are no leads to buy...
    - PAT isn't due til July so I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, that's not big money anyway

    I don't need to spend any money on any kit (I have everything I need to run this years bookings). The kit itself is all stored securely somewhere that doesn't cost me money month by month.

    Myself and my wife still have our jobs, but they don't actually cover all of our household bills so we run at a loss every month without the disco income (even without essentials like food). All of our debts have been paused for 3 months which will allow us to run in credit and build up some reserves to keep us going for a few months after they restart. We were about to restructure all of the debts anyway (luckily I set this in motion and did the credit checks back in Feb before this all kicked off and it's still set to complete 1st July) which will save us about £800/month(!) and will mean we can afford our monthly bills with just our salaries so we should be OK. Obviously pausing payments on debts means we are storing up some problems for the future...

    At the moment our outgoings are low (this is what happens when my wife isn't allowed to leave the house ) but the challenge is going to be what happens if things start returning to normal, but the disco income doesn't restart. A lot of my household costs will return (school buses, travel to work, lunches, uniform costs, etc) but the income might not.... We might have to look hard at how we choose to spend our money.

    The most bizarre thing is that, at the moment, I'm not missing the discos. I'm still finding jobs around the house and garden that I haven't had the time to do in the last few years or I would normally have to pay others to deal with (5 weeks worth so far!!) and I still have a fairly lengthy list to deal with (which will be even longer if I can find suppliers that will sell me emulsion).

    Julian

    EDIT: Oh, on the plus side, my kids have mobile contracts that I'm still paying and I've managed to re-negotiate all of them and get some stunning deals with new handsets for less than they were paying!
    Last edited by DJ Jules; 21-04-2020 at 09:17 AM.
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  9. #9
    Web Guru Marc J's Avatar
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    Like some, I'm actually saving money by my wife not being allowed out She works for the NHS but on the IT / admin side so is working from home (she did quite often before this hit, anyway). The savings on ridiculously priced "artisan" coffees are already mounting up, not to mention the saving on shoes / bags / coats / haircuts / eating out etc.!

    We have spent more on stuff around the house and garden, but I don't mind that.

    On the subject of website hosting during this time and trimming running costs... I was thinking what I could do to help out... how about free hosting for any mobile disco websites until the lockdown is lifted? It would be on the assumption / condition that you stick around as a paying customer afterwards (if still in business)... I haven't thought it through, just thinking aloud really. Maybe (hopefully) the lockdown won't last long enough for people to go to the bother of moving hosts, so may be a moot idea anyway. Opinions?
    Last edited by Marc J; 21-04-2020 at 02:11 PM.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Jules View Post
    - Van insurance (I could technically drop or amend the insurance, but it's not a lot and the amendment costs mean it doesn't make sense)
    Looks like I choose lucky - my Van insurance is with Admiral https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52367030 - here's hoping others follow suite.

    Marc - on the subject of web hosting, I'm getting bombarded with emails from companies talking about "what they're doing to help during the pandemic", but I haven't seen any other hosting company offer to suspend payments. They're more focused on reassuring me that they can keep the lights on as the world turns to the internet and home delivery services for shopping, socialising and key government services like HMRC/DWP/etc.

    Julian
    http://www.bristoldiscohire.co.uk - Quality Disco and Equipment hire for Bristol & Bath
    Weddings, Birthday Parties, Kids Parties, School Disco's and more
    https://julianburr.co.uk - Wedding, Family, Portrait and Product Photography

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