Dreamys on a mission!!!

dreamywings1 wrote: »

Im starting this diary just to try to keep me on track.

SOA as from today

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 720
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1316
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2036

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 650
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 119
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 21
Telephone (land line)................... 25 perhaps try changing provider and get phone and internet together - try switching to somewhere like talk talk thro cashback site like quidco and you should be able to save money
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 47 do you really need this? We rely on freeview. If you are going to keep it perhaps try and get phone and internet included for free and make savings that way?
Internet Services....................... 23 see comment above
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 This is a lot. We used to be at this level now I am for more like £70-80 a week for 4 - it is doable if you meal plan. Try the grocery challenge on the old style board to find ways of getting this down. I find the only way I stick to a budget is to avoid the shops!!! I now shop using my supermarket.com, downshift brands and take stuff out my trolley - even with the delivery fee it is still cheaper than letting me lose in a shop! If you can be bothered retyping in your order you can go via a cashback site like quidco to say Asda and get 1% back on your shop - every little helps and all that!
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 15.84
Car Insurance........................... 49 ouch this is high. When it is due for renewal try and use the car insurance comparison sites but buy thro cashback site like quidco after clearing your cookes
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 15
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 70 try and fund this from £10 a day challenge
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 67 this is quite high - perhaps use the £10 a day challenge to help fund this. I do - as you can see from my sig!
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 5
Holiday................................. 20 £10 a day challenge
Emergency fund.......................... 20 £10 a day challenge
Total monthly expenses.................. 1796.84


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 4500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
DWP............................2100......20........0
Cat 1..........................1200......135.......39
Cat 2..........................350.......30........39
Total unsecured debts..........3650......185.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,036
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,796.84
Available for debt repayments........... 239.16
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 185
Amount left after debt repayments....... 54.16

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 4,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,650
Net Assets.............................. 850

Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.

During the past month I have emptied my freezer, fridge and cupboards ready to start from scratch to show the "real" cost of my spending each month. I have done a monthly meal plan and yesterday I went shopping and bought ONLY what was on my list. This diary is to try to keep me on track with my spending, to get down the debt and to try to stay focussed. My debt free date is July 2010 but I would love to try to knock 2 or 3 months off this. Its gonna be hard but i think its doable. All comments will be greatly appreciated.

I have also started a spending diary so hopefully will be keeping this updated