Rising costs of being a mobile Technician

[Gilly T]

Hi Geeks

I have been watching the news with interest this morning as a convoy of heavy goods drivers in Wales set off to hand a petition in to reduce the cost of fuel by 20p per litre.

I was just wondering what impact the rising cost of fuel is having on mobile technicians as I am hoping to be mobile once I qualify.

Also, I have noticed that quite a few geeks use facebook. There is a group on there that have set up a petition for parlaiment to reduce the cost of fuel. I have signed this and I think it would be good for as many people as possible to sign it also.. whether it is the tax that is reduced or pressure on the oil refineries to cut their profits, I think something needs to be done.

If you're interested, the link for facebook is below. You don't need to join the group to sign the petition but there is a link on there to the government website. You will need to complete the info on there and then wait for confirmation email. Once you get this, click on the link in the email and your signature will be registered.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14305125747

 

[sj1973]

The cost of fuel,electric,gas and shopping is having an impact on everyone who has bill's. It's very hard now to live,so i myself,and finding that i am cutting back on EVERYTHING. It must be hard for mobile nail tech's , hairdressers and beauty profession's aswell as people who have to drive to work.

I hope they take the tax off the petrol or people are just going to stop working because they WILL be better of on benefits.

 

[Amethyst_Angel]

I have to admit the fuel prices increase is potentially going to have a real impact on my mobile biz. At the moment my clients are few and far between, but I was hoping to seriously market myself this summer in the hope that I'd get a few more peeps. However my car is a real gas guzzler (Golf V6 4 motion!!!!) and I'm lucky if I get 20 miles to the gallon!

As such I'm considering putting my prices up to compensate. It's not something I wanted to do but I simply can't afford to do it any other way. It's now costing me nearly £100 to fill the tank!!!!!!!!!

I remember commenting to peeps once the fuel prices had hit £1 a litre that it would just snowball from there price-wise. It just seemed that once it broke the £1 barrier it would just increase and increase after that. It's absolutely terrible! I'm going to be priced off the road and priced out of business!!!! :irked:

 

[pazzy]

As I use a Zafira for work (need all the space I can get) - I am going to be hit quite hard with the road tax (my clio was a bargain for tax and insurance).

I also find that as a mobile nail tech and therapist - the wear and tear on my equipment is crazy. (packing and unpacking 5-6 times a day).

I have gone through loads of uv lamps - my mobile desk lamp snapped - the top off my nail glue - ran all over my e-file - so that is now kaput. Equipment cases brake easy and of course the wear and tear on the vehicle. So if your busy - it can be very expensive replacing things.

xx

 

[pips]

Between gas, electric & petrol increases im having to find a extra £100 a week. Its had a real strain on our day to day living, only saturday i got a letter from british gas saying my gas was been increased from £50 to £80 a month and my electric from £75 to £100 a month I dont know where im going to get extra funds from as what little we had left over each week has had to go in petrol as hubby travels over 30 miles a day and his weekly petrol spend has gone from £40 to to just over £60 a week.

Things are that tight ive been surfing job sites and sending off cv's for jobs that are paying more than what hubby earns at the moment.:irked:

 

[Gilly T]

Come on then guys, get that petition signed then. They won't do anything if we don't shout about it. Every penny we can get back counts.

The government are proposing a further 2p tax increase on fuel!!!

 

[Gilly T]

Well my last two gas bills amounted to £620 so I have signed the petition to reduce the tax on fuel because I need every penny I can get and I just think it's getting out of control.

Apparently the last petition to the PM about the road charging worked because they changed it! Maybe we can do the same with this and not just stop the proposed further 2p tax increase on fuel but try to reduce the existing tax on fuel.

Come on Geeks, get signing..

 

[Amethyst_Angel]

Well my last two gas bills amounted to £620 so I have signed the petition to reduce the tax on fuel because I need every penny I can get and I just think it's getting out of control.

Apparently the last petition to the PM about the road charging worked because they changed it! Maybe we can do the same with this and not just stop the proposed further 2p tax increase on fuel but try to reduce the existing tax on fuel.

Come on Geeks, get signing..

I have signed the petition! Fingers crossed they will do something about it. I was horrified this morning as I watched the news saying that this 2p on fuel they're planning this October is to cover the 2.7 billion (or something like that!) that they have spent trying to reverse this 10p tax thing that they messed up with! WHY DO WE KEEP HAVING TO PAY FOR THEIR MISTAKES?!?!?!?!?!

I'm also feeling the squeeze with the energy prices going up and up and up. We got hit with an extra £400 gas bill at the end of last year *DESPITE* paying what *THEY* said we should be paying for our gas supply!!!!

Gits.

 

[Amethyst_Angel]

Also I'm quite concerned that with everyone tightening their purse strings with all these prices going up people won't be wanting to spend money on 'luxuries' such as nails, etc.

I'm feeling like my business is going to be dead before it's even started... :irked:

 

[hayls]

For me, the fuel prices arent yet affecting me! They are affecting my hubby though and alot of our mates, 1 in particular who has a fleet of lorries, he was in the protest today. Its getting out of hand tbh! If things keep going the way they have been over the last few years, it wont be long before people just cant afford to travel!

 

[Kittensgotclaws]

I've signed the petition, i hope they do something about this as the price of fuel is just getting silly now!

 

[BessieBoo]

I agree totally! I know we have a large car, but it now costs us approx £120 to fill the car up! At the moment, we are spending approx £200 a week on bloody diesel! What the government doesn't seem to realise is that although we have a larger car, we buy more petrol and therefore pay more tax already! We paid more to earn the money, to spend the money to fill the bloody thing up, to tax and insure it! Aargh! x

 

[Susie H]

Paul and I are really lucky because we live in a terraced bungalow so our gas and elec are quiet cheep but I just want to let you all know that my gas and elec have not increased for the last 2 years We are with Southern Electric I highly recomend that you switch, when I did they took over the balance from my last provider and I paid it of monthly. I have never had any problems with them. My phone and broad band are with Talktalk and again no problems and I get the pair for £20 a month.
We are actually talking about getting rid of our car. We have the motorbikes
I pay £47 a year road tax £100 fully comp insurance and a tank of fuel is £10 and thats about 100 miles and all the bike parking is free. Bad weather? Buses and if we have to do something with a car it will be cheaper for us to hire one. But I'm not a mobile tech I have a home salon and again thats one of the main reasons, no car wear and tear for me, so I haven't got to raise my prices to my clients.
I read on here about how hard so many of the geeks are finding it to make ends meet and my heart goes out to you, my kids are grown now so we don't have the pressure that so many of you have:cry::hug:

Petition signed !!

 

[sj1973]

Paul and I are really lucky because we live in a terraced bungalow so our gas and elec are quiet cheep but I just want to let you all know that my gas and elec have not increased for the last 2 years We are with Southern Electric I highly recomend that you switch, when I did they took over the balance from my last provider and I paid it of monthly. I have never had any problems with them. My phone and broad band are with Talktalk and again no problems and I get the pair for £20 a month.
We are actually talking about getting rid of our car. We have the motorbikes
I pay £47 a year road tax £100 fully comp insurance and a tank of fuel is £10 and thats about 100 miles and all the bike parking is free. Bad weather? Buses and if we have to do something with a car it will be cheaper for us to hire one. But I'm not a mobile tech I have a home salon and again thats one of the main reasons, no car wear and tear for me, so I haven't got to raise my prices to my clients.
I read on here about how hard so many of the geeks are finding it to make ends meet and my heart goes out to you, my kids are grown now so we don't have the pressure that so many of you have:cry::hug:

Petition signed !!

OMG Susie,you are so lucky to have cheap bills and out goings. Thanks so much for the southern electric tip,i shall be ringing them tomorrow.:hug:

 

[tinkywinky]

We used to have a lovely sports car then decided to get two smaller ones, with a lower engine as it is cheaper to run. As a mobile therapist yes it is hitting me hard. For example, I did a job 35 miles away, which I had a good amount of money for - but by the time I'd paid petrol (£20) I'm like - it's not that much profit. THen of course, I get home and have to fill up again!

It's driving me mad. And all my work seems to be getting further away!

 

[Terese]

In todays expensive climate, it does pay to shop around and do some research on your own individual circumstances...I speak for myself here, but if I am going shopping I spend a little more time reading the prices on the shelves...take for example...Alpen...tescos had 2 for £4.00, for 700g....now if you bought the 1.5kg bag for £3.10....you saved 90p, You really do have to look at whats on the shelves

diesal is at least 9pence cheaper at sainsburys at the mo so thats where I am for now doing my shopping and my fuel costs have gone from £32 a month in jan/feb to £43 in May....we can be sure of one thing...they wont go down below the £2 mark for quite a while if at all!

As a mobile therapist...it is very quite..yet around here there seems to be no let up with people going into beauty salons for treatments....so much so I spent last week looking at premises.again...the rent is working out on one premises to be cheaper a week than my petrol! I know there are other factors and I have taken these into account, but this is a government that wants us to become more environmentally friendly and keep out of our cars....im glad I moved just outside of a town rather than in the middle of the country...they have no choice with limited bus/transport..it really isnt funny anymore,

 

[aliceellen1974]

i only travel 5 miles to clients home its just not worth going any further without charging more - i charge 40p per mile on top of 5 miles.

i have to use hubbys car as its cheaper than mile but yes i have noticed a difference.

 

[lucy_locket]

we are taxed for what ever we do ! thank god the air isn't taxed!

petition signed!

 

[Ditzy]

petition signed!

 

[Lil Linz]

Petition signed and forwarded to all my friends of fb (even those who don't drive because it affects them too).

When I got my micra nearly 4 years ago, it took £20 to fill it full. If I put £20 in now, it takes it to just over half full. Its ridiculous how much we pay for our fuel compared to what people pay in other countries in the EU.

Lets hope this petition achieves something.