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I've been looking at my finances, and how I can make them a little leaner for the first few months of the Estate Agency, when the income column will be at zero, or just above. Family outgoings are a major concern of mine in relation to the cost of setting up an estate agency. I currently have a full-time income that covers all of these costs with a little left over at the end of every month. I would err on the side of caution with when the income starts to flow, and I think that probably 6 months is a good estimate for the process of-
- setting up the agency
- gaining instructions
- getting a sale agreed
- avoiding any fall-throughs
- completing the sale
On that basis, I have adapted my current spreadsheet as follows-
| Date | Who | How much | First few months of estate agency |
| 1st | Kids swimming lessons | £38.00 | £38.00 |
| 2nd | Income Protection | £21.44 | £0.00 |
| 2nd | TV licence | £12.18 | £12.18 |
| 3rd | Car Insurance 1 | £23.95 | £20.00 |
| 3rd | Water | £43.28 | £43.28 |
| 5th | Pension | £60.00 | £0.00 |
| 8th | Car Insurance 2 | £26.04 | £26.04 |
| 8th | Home Insurance | £15.80 | £15.80 |
| 9th | Critical Illness Insurance | £45.15 | £45.15 |
| 10th | TV & Broadband Package | £96.35 | £50.00 |
| 15th | Council Tax | £137.00 | £137.00 |
| 15th | Gas & Electric | £120.00 | £100.00 |
| 25th | Life Assurance | £15.32 | £15.32 |
| 25th | Mobile Phone Bill | £23.20 | £28.00 |
| TOTAL | £677.35 | £530.41 | |
| Plus- | |||
| Savings Account | £100.00 | £0.00 | |
| I S A | £100.00 | £0.00 | |
| Petrol | £80.00 | £80.00 | |
| Car account | £20.00 | £20.00 | |
| Sundries | £50.00 | £0.00 | |
| Total Extras | £350.00 | £100.00 | |
| New full total | £1,027.35 | £630.41 |
I can save on the extra savings I put aside, such as the pension, savings accounts and ISA, as these can be restarted when my income returns.
I can save on the TV by switching from the all-singing-all-dancing package I currently have to a more toned-down version or a cheaper supplier than Sky. Anyway, I hopefully won't have enough time for TV!
My sundries is for snacks, drinks and meals when I'm out at work currently, but with the home office, these will all be taken at home from the food budget (the wife's department!)
The savings of £396.94 per month will provide a cushion in the first few months of the business while my attention is elsewhere, and I won't want the worry of having to focus on the day-to-day running of the house.
I don't know how I feel about laying this budget bare on the internet for all to see (should they want to) but in myself it aids the organisation of my life around the business and allows me to move forward in terms of control and understanding of where I want to be and need to be to make this business as successful as I possibly can. It has also crystalised a discussion I had with my wife earlier today - I thought about opening the agency today, and then trying to piece it together as I went along. I now know that I want it to be opened fully up-and-running and ready to trade from day 1. So preparation is the key.
Budget Planners from Amazon
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