Snowball Income Sharing Group

Income Sharing How We Do It

We have an open income-sharing pool. You can live anywhere and don't have to be involved with other members outside of the income-sharing pool. Personal circumstances are less important than being in the spirit of income sharing [Also see Other Points below].

We meet regularly [usually fortnightly]. We sit round a table for convenience.

People take on the different tasks of calling, recording, adding up, etc.

Anyone who cannot attend will have sent their details by phone, letter or fax beforehand. Someone attending the pool will stand in for them and present their information at the relevant moment.

CHECKING THE CASH

The cash [if any] left over from the previous meeting is counted and checked with the figure in the record book. It is then placed in the centre of the table.

Caller
Information is gathered category by category in the sequence given below. A caller asks each of us in turn to give our information for the particular category. The caller records the information on a Caller's Sheet and totals the columns when each category is completed. After calling all categories, the totals are used to complete the Balance - see below.

'Ins'
We say in turn how much we are putting in. We 'pool' our contributions in the centre of the table. All income goes in: wages, dole, child benefit, pension. Interest on capital is optional, see note on capital below.

'Outs': Basic
Housing costs [rent + bills]    ) amounts vary from person to person.
Food money                        ) Household £1 per week to cover consumable items in the home.
Bicycle 50p per week or £1 for heavy users to cover puncture repair kits, oil, tyres, etc.

'Outs': PERSONAL, SAVINGS AND LOAN REPAYMENTS
Up to £25 total per week [guideline for younger person, say under 18, is £1 per year old up to and including ten plus £2 for each year after that] for paying off a loan from the pool [see LOANS below], and/or saving with the pool, and/or spending on whatever we like that is not covered by one of the categories. Through use of a saving and loan facility, it is expected to cover larger occasional spending such as on gifts [for birthdays, national/religious celebrations, weddings, etc.], holidays and special events. Any saving or loan reduction amount is recorded in the Savings and Loans section on the member's Record Card - an example of what is printed on card to create the Record Card is given below

'Outs': PRIORITY SPECIALS
Medical needs. Some members are in a health care scheme which gives refunds on NHS treatment and some 'complementary' health services.
Travel to work. If you use your bike to get to work, this category covers major repairs.
National Insurance if self-employed.
Trade Union subs.
Childcare expenses.
Priority Specials are usually agreed without question

'Outs': TRAVEL ALLOWANCE [including Holiday Accommodation Allowance]
Up to £250 total per year for 'social', non-'political' travel, e.g. visiting relations, friends and going on holiday. This is recorded in the Travel Allowance section on the member's Record Card. Also this and other travel spending is recorded by type of transport used [bicycle, rail, bus/coach, car/van] on a Transport Analysis form to check how the pool is doing in using more sustainable forms of transport. Up to £50 of the £250 may alternatively be used for holiday accommodation expenses. This is recorded in the Travel Allowance section on the member's Record Card, but not added to the Travel Analysis form.

'Outs': SUBSCRIPTIONS ALLOWANCE
Up to £50 total per year. Some subscriptions are paid for by the pool, if all members agree.

'Outs': END OF MONTH
Pre-determined monthly payments, which currently include:
Contribution to phone bills for 'political' calls.
Corani Housing & Land Co-op member subscriptions.
Rusty Car Pool subscription and payment for 'political' mileage.
Bank Standing Orders for two charities, an ‘alternative’ bookshop, and someone’s Trade Union subscription.

'Outs': LOANS
The income-sharing pool acts as a savings and loans club. Loans can be taken out for spending we do not feel able to ask for as a special, or where the special has not been granted or only partly granted. Any loan is recorded in the Savings and Loan section on the member's Record Card. We repay as possible, often a small amount at each meeting.

BALANCE
When we have been through each category, we add up all the 'Outs' and check they do not exceed the available money. If they do, we may need to cut back or delay some items until next time. When we are happy with this, the record book is up-dated. It shows the amount of money put in, the amount taken out, and the amount left as cash, in the bank, or invested elsewhere.

WITHDRAWAL
We take out of the pool on the table our individual amount and keep it on the table in front of us. Mistakes can be made at this stage, so the money has to stay where it can be checked. We may ask the person on our left to count it. Member's can use the Record Card to record their individual amounts, which someone may cross-check using the Each Person's 'Outs' Checklist.

The remaining amount in the pool is counted to check it agrees with the amount recorded in the record book. When it does, it is bagged up. Then we can each 'pocket' our amount

Gifts
For example from relatives. Provided these are occasional, cash gifts up to £50.00 may be declared as income and taken out again as an ordinary special if finances allow. More than £50.00 may be treated as capital and not put in.

There is a Children's Fund into which money gifts to our young members are placed. The Children's Fund is used by them for special events or requirements, e.g. attending a Woodcraft Folk camp. Details of the Children's Fund and its transactions are recorded at the back of the record book.

Capital
This is considered 'frozen' while a person is a member of the pool, so it cannot be used to supplement income. It may be used for capital transactions but not spent as income. Most of us do not view the interest on capital as income to go in the income pool, but choose to accumulate it as new capital. When joining you are asked to allocate your capital in the categories - 'personal', 'social', 'housing' and 'trustee' - as applicable:
- Personal capital is allocated to be spent on oneself in exceptional circumstances, e.g. a 'trip of a lifetime', a visit to a relation overseas, paying for a course not related to your work or political/social/charitable/spiritual activism. On these occasions you are encouraged to pay into the Capital Fund a similar amount to that being spent on yourself. The Capital Fund provides personal capital for special events for those members with no capital or those with little capital needing a 'top up'. Details of the Capital Fund and its transactions are recorded at the back of the record book.
- Social capital is reserved for supporting political/social*/charitable/spiritual activity, e.g. large donations/ guarantees/ benefactor loans to charities, political and religious organisations and supporting the development of others. It is not generally used for your own activist expenses. *Social defined as 'concerned about society and its organisation', not as 'sociable'.
- Housing capital is used to provide your home.
- Trustee capital is held under the legal definition of Trust and, if it can be withdrawn, there are conditional terms for its withdrawal, which generally make it very inaccessible.
Exceptionally, there could be other categories. Two existing members each have an additional category, each particular to them.

To ensure we keep thinking about capital and the effect it has on the pool and our lifestyles, we have a 'Capital' Policy, which is given below.

There is a separate capital-sharing pool.

Benefits
A brilliant aspect of an Income Sharing Group is that it can support members without finance from the State. It is the policy of this pool to minimise dependence on the State. Any member considering applying for benefits needs to get the agreement of the pool first. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis. Although a flexible attitude applies, there is an expectation that any member receiving benefits [except a pension] will stop doing so as soon as possible.

Joining and Leaving
You are welcome to come and watch an Income Sharing meeting. You can come to further meetings if you are still interested and you can participate on behalf of a member who is absent [when the money is withdrawn from the pool, it is to be given to a member at the meeting who will check it and pass it on to the absent member]. If you wish to join it is important to get to know and be known by members of Snowball.

When you have decided to join and the Group is still open to that happening, you need to prepare and discuss with the Group:
- a statement forecasting your annual Ins and Outs in as much detail as possible;
- a statement of any anticipated changes;
- a statement of anyone else who is or could be dependent on the Outs;
- a 'Capital' statement [see 'Capital' Policy].
These will be discussed with you at a pool meeting, only with existing members present, and treated as confidential. If it is agreed that you can join, a date will be agreed with you to be the start for all income received by you to be paid into the pool and the date of the first pool meeting when you can start taking out. Although you can then participate fully, your involvement will be provisional for the first six months. If this period is successful, you will be invited to become a member.

If anyone decides to leave the pool, it is expected that they will pay off any loan first.

Other Points
We try not to make too many hard and fast rules, but rather rely on people's consciences, their consideration of the financial situation and the needs of others, and the general principle to live as lightly/modestly as we feel able to.

As well as giving us an opportunity to handle large amounts of money, attending an income-sharing pool meeting gives us time to be together [we usually eat together first] and to share financial and other issues affecting our lives. New ideas and changes are always being considered.

Other groups that income share do it differently to us.