Now any of you that have seen my facebook page, know I am obsessed with Christmas (countless Christmas/Winter themed posts in the last 24 hours). However, there is one aspect about Christmas that I dread; working an obscene amount of hours.
My main job (the one that makes enough to pay the bills) is running a Dental Nurse agency. I started this business about 30 months ago, and quit my then job to work at it full time almost two years ago. The main reason I started the agency, was because I had worked my way up to the top of my career by the age of 22 and had been stuck in a working environment I hated.
When I initially quit the 'day job', we had just suffered our first miscarriage and I believed that the stress I had been put under at work may have been contributory. I did something I had never done before, I left a secure job and headed into the unknown - I had no idea how we were going to pay the mortgage and I was sure that Nursing at my agency would be a stop gap measure until I found full time employment.
After a few months of barely scraping by, a strange thing happened; Dental Practices loved the fact that they had the owner Nursing with them and it wasn't long until my reputation grew. 6 months in, I was finally making enough to cover the bills and had enough work to take on additional Nurses. Fast forward to two years later - Although we are still not making the salary I used to, I have a wonderful job that gave me the flexibility I craved. The goal posts were moved, I now wanted to be able to work from home and be able to focus on my creative side.
My only stumbling block with this is finding reliable Nurses. The biggest headache with running the agency has been trying to find a Nurse that can work so I can focus on running things behind the scenes.
Usually when Christmas approaches I have to leave the house to Nurse more then usual. We all know that Christmas isn't cheap and so sacrifices have to be made. This year I had managed to save plenty of money, that would enable me to have a relaxed approach to the festive season. Sadly fate has intervened.
I am a proud owner of an original Smart ForTwo. I have had this car since January and she has been an absolute angel. Sunday, for the first time ever, she refused to start. After my Father in Law kindly called the AA out to investigate, we found the culprit - a dead starter motor.
Any one that has had any experience with these little cuties, will know that mechanics hate them. The only mechanics that will happily work on them are either Mercedes dealers, or German Car Specialists. Two guesses as to what that means - £££
So my entire Christmas budget has been wiped out by my tiny little car. We are paying out just under £1000 to have it repaired, the bold tyres replaced, and re-newing the MOT and Tax. That is if it passes it's MOT with no faults - I am yet to have a car pass it's MOT first time. Many would tell me to ditch the car and buy something cheap, those that suggest that have obviously never owned a Smart car ;)
This unexpected (but thank goodness covered) cost means I am going to have to work like mad to replenish the Christmas fund. I am very, very grumpy about this.
This is my last day of freedom before the 45-75 hour weeks begin, from tomorrow right up until Christmas :( My festive spirit has taken a beating today.
My main job (the one that makes enough to pay the bills) is running a Dental Nurse agency. I started this business about 30 months ago, and quit my then job to work at it full time almost two years ago. The main reason I started the agency, was because I had worked my way up to the top of my career by the age of 22 and had been stuck in a working environment I hated.
When I initially quit the 'day job', we had just suffered our first miscarriage and I believed that the stress I had been put under at work may have been contributory. I did something I had never done before, I left a secure job and headed into the unknown - I had no idea how we were going to pay the mortgage and I was sure that Nursing at my agency would be a stop gap measure until I found full time employment.
After a few months of barely scraping by, a strange thing happened; Dental Practices loved the fact that they had the owner Nursing with them and it wasn't long until my reputation grew. 6 months in, I was finally making enough to cover the bills and had enough work to take on additional Nurses. Fast forward to two years later - Although we are still not making the salary I used to, I have a wonderful job that gave me the flexibility I craved. The goal posts were moved, I now wanted to be able to work from home and be able to focus on my creative side.
My only stumbling block with this is finding reliable Nurses. The biggest headache with running the agency has been trying to find a Nurse that can work so I can focus on running things behind the scenes.
Usually when Christmas approaches I have to leave the house to Nurse more then usual. We all know that Christmas isn't cheap and so sacrifices have to be made. This year I had managed to save plenty of money, that would enable me to have a relaxed approach to the festive season. Sadly fate has intervened.
I am a proud owner of an original Smart ForTwo. I have had this car since January and she has been an absolute angel. Sunday, for the first time ever, she refused to start. After my Father in Law kindly called the AA out to investigate, we found the culprit - a dead starter motor.
Any one that has had any experience with these little cuties, will know that mechanics hate them. The only mechanics that will happily work on them are either Mercedes dealers, or German Car Specialists. Two guesses as to what that means - £££
So my entire Christmas budget has been wiped out by my tiny little car. We are paying out just under £1000 to have it repaired, the bold tyres replaced, and re-newing the MOT and Tax. That is if it passes it's MOT with no faults - I am yet to have a car pass it's MOT first time. Many would tell me to ditch the car and buy something cheap, those that suggest that have obviously never owned a Smart car ;)
This unexpected (but thank goodness covered) cost means I am going to have to work like mad to replenish the Christmas fund. I am very, very grumpy about this.
This is my last day of freedom before the 45-75 hour weeks begin, from tomorrow right up until Christmas :( My festive spirit has taken a beating today.
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