BLOG: Money (Don't Worry I'm Not Asking For Any!)

Hello!

How are you all doing? I hope you all enjoyed "Cousin Emmy" which recently ended. I have a few thoughts to share about it. Firstly, it was a challenge to write and took quite a while. I was pushing some limits in some ways. Normally my stories fall into either "humiliation-focused" or "sexual-focused", now most have both elements to differing levels but for whatever reason I didn't find them easy to meld in this one.

I've received feedback on it, some positive and some negative, I appreciate all comments. It's important I know what people want to read after all! Not all stories are going to be as popular as others or push the same buttons but we move forwards.

In other story news "Sam's Vacation" is nearing it's ending as well. I'm very happy with it has been received. Whilst it will soon be over I want to reassure everyone that there will be more Sam. I have another Sam story lined up to start right after the current one ends, a sequel to "Sam's Flight to Babyhood" and I'm sure Sam will make more appearances in the future.

Now, on to the main reason I'm making this post...

So, I just wanted to share some stuff that's been going on in my life. Good things! I'm going to start talking about UK tax rules! Exciting, right? No? Don't worry I'll be brief.

In the UK we have a system called National Insurance which you have to pay to receive a state pension. You need to amass 30 years of credits. Normally, when you're employed, the money gets deducted from your pay check, or if you are on benefits it is paid for you by the state. Yes, the state pays itself.

Anyway, Because I am self-employed I, up until last year, elected to make voluntary contributions. So even though I wasn't on benefits or receiving a wage I was still getting credits towards my pension. Simple, right? Apparently not.

HMRC, His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, have a lot of jobs and one of them is collecting taxes and National Insurance. Last year, for the first time since I left my last job, I earned enough through writing to pay taxes. Not a problem, I did exactly that... and then HMRC's computer freaked out and deleted ALL my credit. 10 years of National Insurance disappeared.

After trying for months to get them to take a look at it they finally fix it. Then a few weeks later I get a letter saying I have overpaid National Insurance and I'm due a refund. Great. I fill out the form and wait...

Now, before I go on I should say there are different classes of National Insurance. The important ones for us are classes 2 and 3. Class 3 are voluntary (what I was paying) and Class 2 are for people who are self-employed but don't make enough to pay tax. The important part is that Class 2 ones are much, much, MUCH cheaper.

So they refunded the difference in the years between 2019 and last year. £3,300.

To say this was welcome is an understatement! Especially as I continue to try and recover from Patreon's purge. It turns out it was well worth harassing HMRC every couple of weeks. The craziest part is I didn't even know I had paid too much, I never asked for it. They told me and then paid me. Not the way you expect the tax office to operate!

What am I doing with the money you ask? Well, I've spent a bunch of it on a new computer. One that will hopefully be good for a long time to come. My last one was ten years old and... struggling. I've also upgraded from Microsoft Office 2016 to Microsoft Office 2024. We are yet to see if the new software results in better stories!

The rest of the money. I don't know. I'm happy to spend it but I haven't quite decided what to spend it on. So how about some suggestions... If you had a not insignificant amount of money to spend on something Little or kink related what would you get?

I need to get some more nappies, for sure. I've been running low for a while. But I'm looking for something a little more... interesting!

Anyway, that's what's been going on with me. I hope you're enjoying the stories and continue to do so in the future :)

Stay Padded!

Elfy