My SOA

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Grazeley
Grazeley Posts: 72 Forumite
First Anniversary First Post
in Debt-free wannabe
Hi - just posting my SOA and welcome comments... thank you. Hope I have done it right!

Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet

Summary

Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
Total monthly income 4,137
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 4,177.09
Available for debt repayments -40.09
UNsecured debt repayments 175
Amount short for making debt repayments -215.09
Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 335,000
Total Secured & HP Debt -287,000
Total Unsecured Debt -8,273
Net Assets 39,727
Household Information

Number of adults in household 2
Number of children in household 2
Number of cars owned 2
Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

Income Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax 1870
Partners monthly income 2130
Benefits 137
Other income 0
Total monthly income 4137
Expenses Amount(£)
Mortgage 1215
Secured/HP loan payments 547
Rent 0
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 112
Electricity 45
Gas 45
Oil 0
Water Rates 49.24
Telephone (land line) 0
Mobile phone 38
TV Licence 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV 54
Internet services 0
Groceries etc. 200
Clothing 0
Petrol/diesel 100
Road tax 24
Car Insurance 75
Car maintenance (including MOT) 15
Car Parking 0
Other travel 0
Childcare/nursery 850
Other child related expenses 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 10
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 22.73
Buildings Insurance 13
Contents Insurance 13
Life Assurance 80
Other Insurance 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 140
Haircuts 21
Entertainment 200
Holiday 166
Emergency Fund 50
children extracurricular 60
gym membership 20
Total monthly expenses 4177.09
Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Mortgage 247000 (1215) 3.94
Secured Debt 30000 (371) 15.8
Hire Purchase (HP) Debt 10000 (176) 0
Secured & HP Debt totals 287000 - -
Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
credit card sainsbury 7473 150 0
credit card tesco 800 25 17.47
Unsecured Debt totals 8273 175 -
Asset Description Value (£)
Cash 0
House Value (Gross) 320000
Shares and bonds 0
Car(s) 15000
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets 335000
Comments on the results

You do not have enough monthly income to meet your expenses and your minimum monthly debt repayments. Seek ways to increase your income and/or reduce your expenditure by £215.09.
«13

Comments

  • MrsLWW
    MrsLWW Posts: 86 Forumite
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    Hi,
    Well done on stepping up to your money issues. Will post in red my comments
    Grazeley wrote: »
    Hi - just posting my SOA and welcome comments... thank you. Hope I have done it right!

    Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet

    Summary

    Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
    Total monthly income 4,137
    Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 4,177.09
    Available for debt repayments -40.09
    UNsecured debt repayments 175
    Amount short for making debt repayments -215.09
    Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
    Total Assets (things you own) 335,000
    Total Secured & HP Debt -287,000
    Total Unsecured Debt -8,273
    Net Assets 39,727
    Household Information

    Number of adults in household 2
    Number of children in household 2
    Number of cars owned 2
    Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

    Income Amount(£)
    Monthly income after tax 1870
    Partners monthly income 2130
    Benefits 137
    Other income 0
    Total monthly income 4137
    Expenses Amount(£)
    Mortgage 1215 Not meaning to sound too cheeky, but this seems very high compared to your income (might just be me, mind you). Are you in a fixed peroid and if so how long do you have and what percent are you paying on your mortgage?Just read below, what is the term left on your mortgage? Could you maybe extend the term by a couple of years to bring down he monthly payments until you get your debt under control?
    Secured/HP loan payments 547
    Rent 0
    Management charge (leasehold property) 0
    Council tax 112
    Electricity 45 Are you on the best deal for gas & electric?
    Gas 45
    Oil 0
    Water Rates 49.24
    Telephone (land line) 0
    Mobile phone 38
    TV Licence 12.12
    Satellite/Cable TV 54 Could you do without this - I know it's easier said than done with kids.
    Internet services 0
    Groceries etc. 200
    Clothing 0
    Petrol/diesel 100
    Road tax 24
    Car Insurance 75 Again, this seems really high?
    Car maintenance (including MOT) 15
    Car Parking 0
    Other travel 0
    Childcare/nursery 850 Do your work offer any assistance such as kiddie vouchers or are there any alternatives to where your currently send your kids?
    Other child related expenses 0
    Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 10
    Pet Insurance/Vet bills 22.73
    Buildings Insurance 13
    Contents Insurance 13
    Life Assurance 80 Could you get this reduced?
    Other Insurance 0
    Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 140 This absolutly needs to come down, my budget was almost as high, but maybe agree with family members to do kids only?
    Haircuts 21
    Entertainment 200 Seems excessive. Can this be brought down - pleny of free days out with the kids where you could take a pack lunch, museums, science centres etc, doesn't need to be high spend to be great fun.
    Holiday 166 Again, for this year at least could you forgo a holiday?
    Emergency Fund 50
    children extracurricular 60
    gym membership 20 Do you use this and could you try an alternative?
    Total monthly expenses 4177.09
    Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
    Mortgage 247000 (1215) 3.94
    Secured Debt 30000 (371) 15.8
    Hire Purchase (HP) Debt 10000 (176) 0 Is this for a car, and if so, can you hand the car back and go for a cheaper model?
    Secured & HP Debt totals 287000 - -
    Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
    credit card sainsbury 7473 150 0
    credit card tesco 800 25 17.47
    Unsecured Debt totals 8273 175 -
    Asset Description Value (£)
    Cash 0
    House Value (Gross) 320000
    Shares and bonds 0
    Car(s) 15000
    Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
    Total Assets 335000
    Comments on the results

    You do not have enough monthly income to meet your expenses and your minimum monthly debt repayments. Seek ways to increase your income and/or reduce your expenditure by £215.09.

    I think bringing down your outgoings is perfectly doable, but it will involve a good bit of sacrificing for the whole family - remember, short term deficit for long term game.

    Let me know your thoughts, but I think you really need to get a handle on things before they get out of control.

    HTH
    Debt peak approx £30,000 :eek: now debt free!!! :j
    My parents always said "If you can't afford it cash, you can't afford it!" so true!.... mind you, turns out we can't afford much lol :rotfl:
  • zippygeorgeandben
    zippygeorgeandben Posts: 1,273 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Debt-free and Proud!
    Options
    £200 on entertainment? You need to say what exactly that is as it seems extremely high.
    I'm also going to say the same about the £140 on presents. £140 per month?!
    Savings as of April 2023 Savings account - £26460.50(14474.88)Current account - £2140.24(4576.79)Total - £28600.74(19051.67) £1010 (£65pm CS/BS) £250 CS/BS/JS
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
    First Anniversary First Post Debt-free and Proud!
    edited 19 March 2017 at 2:02AM
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    Grazeley wrote: »
    Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet

    Summary

    Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
    Total monthly income 4,137
    Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 4,177.09
    Available for debt repayments -40.09
    UNsecured debt repayments 175
    Amount short for making debt repayments -215.09
    Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
    Total Assets (things you own) 335,000
    Total Secured & HP Debt -287,000
    Total Unsecured Debt -8,273
    Net Assets 39,727
    Household Information

    Number of adults in household 2
    Number of children in household 2
    Number of cars owned 2
    Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

    Income Amount(£)
    Monthly income after tax 1870
    Partners monthly income 2130
    Benefits 137
    Other income 0
    Total monthly income 4137
    Expenses Amount(£)
    Mortgage 1215
    Secured/HP loan payments 547
    Rent 0
    Management charge (leasehold property) 0
    Council tax 112
    Electricity 45
    Gas 45
    Oil 0
    Water Rates 49.24
    Telephone (land line) 0
    Mobile phone 38 - How many phones is this for?
    TV Licence 12.12
    Satellite/Cable TV 54 - This is almost £650 pa. You can't afford this. Cancel ASAP and go Freeview/Freesat.
    Internet services 0
    Groceries etc. 200
    Clothing 0
    Petrol/diesel 100
    Road tax 24
    Car Insurance 75 - This is £900 pa, which is a lot, even for 2 cars. Check comparison sites, and investigate multi-car policies.
    Car maintenance (including MOT) 15 - This is only £180 pa, which is barely going to cover MOTs for 2 cars.
    Car Parking 0
    Other travel 0
    Childcare/nursery 850
    Other child related expenses 0
    Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 10
    Pet Insurance/Vet bills 22.73
    Buildings Insurance 13
    Contents Insurance 13
    Life Assurance 80
    Other Insurance 0
    Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 140 - This is £1,680 pa. Limit major presents to immediate family and give token gifts (say £10 max) to everyone else.
    Haircuts 21
    Entertainment 200 - This is £2,400 pa. You need to cut back on this.
    Holiday 166 - This is almost £2,000 pa. Cut back or, better yet, cut out completely until you have dealt with the debts.
    Emergency Fund 50
    children extracurricular 60 - What does this involve?
    gym membership 20
    Total monthly expenses 4177.09
    Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
    Mortgage 247000 (1215) 3.94
    Secured Debt 30000 (371) 15.8
    Hire Purchase (HP) Debt 10000 (176) 0
    Secured & HP Debt totals 287000 - -
    Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
    credit card sainsbury 7473 150 0
    credit card tesco 800 25 17.47
    Unsecured Debt totals 8273 175 -
    Asset Description Value (£)
    Cash 0
    House Value (Gross) 320000
    Shares and bonds 0
    Car(s) 15000
    Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
    Total Assets 335000
    Comments on the results

    You do not have enough monthly income to meet your expenses and your minimum monthly debt repayments. Seek ways to increase your income and/or reduce your expenditure by £215.09.

    You are currently overspending by £2,581 per year, and, judging by the small amount you have allocated to car maintenance, I suspect it is even higher.

    With this amount of overspending, you can't get away with just tinkering with it. You need to be ruthless.

    Fortunately, there is room to cut back, without living on Beans on Toast.

    I suggest the following:-

    Cancel Pay TV = £54pm
    Cancel holidays = £166pm
    Halve entertainment = £100pm
    Halve presents = £70pm
    Total = £390.

    That will cancel out the overspend, and leave you about £150pm (having allowed a more reasonable £40pm for car servicing & MOTs) with which to make inroads into your debts.

    ETA: I'd suggest initially putting that £150pm toward the Tesco credit card.

    At the current £25pm, It's going to take 43 months to pay it off, and cost £265 in interest.

    Putting the £150pm toward it, will see it gone in 5 months, for just £22 in interest.
  • Money_saving_maniac
    Money_saving_maniac Posts: 388 Forumite
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    Absolutely agree with what Bedsit Bob says.
    You are in danger of getting into a lot of financial trouble, and you could avoid that very easily by simply cutting out holidays, cable tv, cutting down on entertainment and christmas presents until you can afford them.
    I'd also recommend you dump the gym membership too.
  • FBaby
    FBaby Posts: 18,367 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
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    How old are your children? Any chance for a reduction in childcare costs any time soon?
  • tallyhoh
    tallyhoh Posts: 2,305 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary
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    2 cars & only £100 a month petrol, are they necessary?
    Tallyhoh! Stopped Smoking October 2000. Saved £29382.50 so far!
  • Happier_Me
    Happier_Me Posts: 563 Forumite
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    Lots of really good advice already. You need to be ruthless to reduce your spend, can't anything new but I would do what others have already said if I were in your position:
    • Get rid of your holiday completely for the foreseeable future, This is a want not a need
    • Halve your entertainment budget (at least).
    • Reduce present spend to a minimum. Aim for at least half but I would try for much more
    • Do you need to spend on gym membership, pay TV and kids activities? Try to reduce costs here
    • I think your mortgage term is around 25 years given the rate, balance and the amount you pay. Is wouldn't change this unless you really have to.
    • If you and your OH don't already receive child care vouchers from your employer, look jnto this asap. The scheme is changing but you can make a good saving from either scheme.
    • Do you need two cars? Or can you sell one privately and buy a cheaper run around to reduce your debts?
    • I personally think your food bill is too low for four but if you can stick to this every month then great!

    You at least have some slack in your budget but tackling this is going to significantly affect your current lifestyle, because any savings will effectively come from your 'fun' money. But you really can't afford these things at the moment! It's important that you are both on board to address your debts and you need to do this now. If you don't your debts will increase and the 'fix' won't be as simple as cutting back on holidays and entertainment.
  • Grazeley
    Grazeley Posts: 72 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
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    Thank you for the replies, much appreciated.

    I spend over my means every month hence the credit cards and have got to get a handle on it.

    Everything you all say makes perfect sense.

    I am going to start going through and reducing my outgoings.
    TV £54 we are tied into until July - after that it's going, dont think I can cancel before but I will check. It does include braodband which we do need but can get a better deal on
    Phones is for 2 phones £18 his £20 mine
    Car insurance I am tied into until Sept but will check if option to cancel early as i dont know how that works, the other one renews this month so potential to save a bit there now, will compare insurance.
    Petrol - we could probably bring this down but thats only 1 tank of petrol each for a whole month currently so yes would probably actually be more which i top up my petrol budget with from my entertaining budget - it's hard to judge what the spend is as differs each mth on petrol
    Presents - this is what we spent previous years so yes its ridiculously high. I can revisit this as we have agreed to only buy for the children in the family and not for us at xmas etc, last year xmas was £1000 and I have added up birthdays throughout the year to this but this was the worst case scenario so yes will definitely revisit this.
    Holiday - already booked and paid half so savings for this can reduce until we are in a better position to have a holiday and save for in the future. This would be the last cut back for us we agreed we would rather cut everything else, all going out etc as long as we can have out family holiday.
    Gym membership is hubbys - yes can go, I havent been able to do my bootcamp as its £75 for 6 weeks so thats a no. Walking and my exercise DVD it is!
    children extracurricular is swimming lessons £30 a month and £5 per week for soft play/gymnastics etc. I guess some of this could come out of our entertaining budget.
    entertaining for us is pocket money - this I need to get a grip on. I can easily spend £5 on a magazine, coffee, cake, sarnie whilst out and about. Also covers weekend stuff so car parking, days out with kids, date nights for us which are rarity.

    Children are 3 years so just had funding for her and 7 weeks (argh so 3 more years of childcare for her!) Added to this already dire situation is the fact i am currently on mat leave. We have just about enough saved to tied me through mat leave but wont be pretty.

    To put it towards the tesco credit card and get rid in 5 mths would be amazing, what a difference!

    I really appreciate you going through it in such detail like that and replying thank you.
  • enjoyyourshoes
    enjoyyourshoes Posts: 1,093 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
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    Get joint agreement on your priorities.

    Agree SMART objective to achieve this priority

    If the priority is become debt free, then advice above to minimise expenditure is good.

    Before you buy (or set up a SO/DD) consider if this is a NEED or WANT? If WANT do not commit for 48 hours, if you still NEED this after the time then its worth analysing where to get the best deal, if you don't need it then this could be a strategy to avoid undue spending.

    Pay off OD first and then CC with highest APR or the expiry of the 0% with the highest APR after the TERM of the deal.

    Throw everything at the debt (change your lifestyle) and get to a position of debt free, then consider savings g via regular savings thereby benefiting from compound interest rather than being a slave to it.
    Debt is a symptom, solve the problem.
  • Grazeley
    Grazeley Posts: 72 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
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    Cross posts with HappierMe - thank you.

    yes you are correct on mortgage term, I already spoke to financial adviser earlier this year about option to remortgage as I feel £1200 per mth is a lot! We have 88% LTV and not enough income due to childcare which wipes £10k off our income apparantely so cannot remortgage early (have a £5k early repayment fee).Mortgage term is fixed until July 2018 so just over a year to go then hopefully we will be in a better position with higher house valuation, mortgage being chipped away at. Plan would be to absorb the £30k secured loan into the remortage if possible and give us back that £371 per mth we spend on that.

    We have thought of selling hubbys car which is owned outright (mine is on HP), we would get around £6k for. He has just started a new job and has potential for a company car but not for another 6 mths and in the meantime he needs a car as travels for work. Guess he could use mine as I am on maternity leave so not commuting currently. It hurts to sell a good car that we own outright and has no problems?!

    Food budget is tight you're right and I end up dipping into entertaining budget to cover additional items. Again I need to get this tighter. I am going to keep a spending diary.

    I am wondering whether opening more bank accounts will help - will look into and hear something about piggybanking?
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