I know what you mean about finances being unpredictable! I haven't had any income for three weeks and suddenly all a bit scary. I've made a firm commitment to attend as many events as possible, even if the money is tight. Still not 100% sure about going to Nashville but all the others are a definate.
The way I see it is that these events, whether you compete or not, make the rest of the yearly slog seem worthwhile. You get to meet up with others in the same boat as you and it helps to remove any doubts you may have about this business.
You may have not got on too well with your boss, and you could always blame him when things weren't organized properly. Now you have no one to blame but also no one to tell you how your doing or thank you for your efforts. The more weekends away the better, but I guess you have wife and kids to think of also.
Not got a new chipper yet. Still not sure what to do. 11.5K for a new one is a bit scary. My local arborplant have a second hand one <100hrs on it for 9k and they are considering px for my bandit.
You in need of a cheap solid chipper then steve? 3.5K buyer collects.