I’ve been poring over my cash books and trying to make sense of the figures I’ve kept for the last twelve months. I’ve certainly performed a lot of weddings but I’m trying to see what I’ve done with the money!

I think I’ve paid my way through a year in Second Life, so that I haven’t actually spent any of my own money in a year. I think.

But I have to seriously consider my financial situation.

Let’s face it, I love Second Life and I love my job but I don’t want to spend a heap subsidising it especially when my Real Life costs are going up like billy-o.

Time to call for an expert. I called Agapantha Asano, whizz bang marketer and a handy dab with the old ledgers to have a look at my finances. She helped a great deal earlier on when Sarai and I were setting up our little clothing business. It was Agapantha who turned our Second Life store into the Real Life Kanga Group. And vice versa.

I’ve seen a few couples recently who are now sharing land, one partner selling the former plot. Curiously, it’s most often the men who sell and then move in with their partner, maybe she just has more flair with decor.

Sharing land makes sense in financial terms, why pay for two homes? All land payments go up in January too, it’s a good time to cut down.

We’ve been trading as Kanga since February 2007 and, over that time, have moved from resellers of budget womens’ fashion to our own designer label, Kanga Q, with my range of after-5 frocks. Sarai first indulged her passion for antiques and collectibles in a little packing shed on a wharf. These days her pottery, soft furnishings and ethnic artworks are spread over the huge open air bazaar of Tizzyland.

But now we’re bending with the recession, consolidating our resources and taking stock of our financial responsibilities. The Kanga stores will be closing and, from now on, our label will only be available from X Street SL and onrez.

Tizzyland will not expand in the next 6 months. We sold the Shopping Mall.