So, I now have it on good authority that Mr Hammond wanted to increase the NI contributions from the self employed AND also put their benefits (sick pay, holiday pay, bereavement leave, mental health days) on an equal footing with those of PAYE workers. But someone higher up in his party vetoed the whole equality…
Is ethical renting the way forward?
The property market in south east England has a reputation for being prosperous – unless you are trying to rent, in which case it can be a minefield, with agency fees and extortionate rent prices. I spoke to Jennifer Elliott, who recently founded Silver Birch, about how they are trying to change the current landscape…
How I’m dealing with set backs
I once went to a workshop organised by the brilliant FEU about this very thing. The image that sticks in my mind is our trainer explaining how we are all born with resilience, reminding us that, as toddlers, we learned to walk despite falling over and hurting ourselves hundreds of times. I found it useful…
Spring is here, spring is here, life is skittles and life is beer
The birds chirruping, the sweet smell of blossom, that tickle of hay fever, and the large bright thing in the sky that has been elusive for months. Spring is well and truly here! When this season begins, there’s a sense of new beginnings akin to New Year. I have rejoined the gym and started waking…
Networking: make it a breeze (and not tumbleweed)
For the girl who started youth theatre because she was acutely shy, networking as an adult actress 18 years later can be the stuff of nightmares. It’s something I have tended to avoid in the past, but I made the decision a couple of months ago that this avoidance was holding me back. I will…
How will the 2017 budget affect self-employed people?
Currently, self-employed people making a profit of over £11,000 and under £43,000 pay 30% tax on each tax return every January. That’s 20% tax for the financial year just gone and 10% tax for half the year ahead. This is projected, as the taxman assumes you will earn more each year – as all self-employed…
Financial security vs personal integrity
As rents, property and travel fares rise, so does the pressure to earn more money. But what are the costs to your integrity when you do? How much are you worth? One of my temping agencies woke me up the other week asking me to work on reception that day. Within seconds, I was pulling…
Brexit means…what, really?
‘Brexit means Brexit’ doesn’t really mean anything that I can make sense of. Like many, my heart sank on hearing the result of the EU referendum. For losing our union membership and all the ties with our European neighbours, for what it might mean for people from Europe who have made the UK their home and…
How might a maximum wage work?
One of Jeremy Corbyn’s proposals hit the headlines last month – a maximum wage. It stands to reason that the public would be behind this idea, in theory. The world’s richest eight people (all men, by the way) own as much wealth as the poorest 50%. The 4th January this year was known as Fat Cat Wednesday.…
Speculate to accumulate: part two
First things first, I have a confession. Whilst I have been running every week for the past month or so, I am yet to buy new trainers, as I had promised – having an advert and two films cancelled in short succession does that to you. But, I recently took a much bigger risk than trainers. Last…