SOA feedback please?

lilyflower7 · 6 December 2016 at 6:10AM

Due to recent events beyond my control that absolutely derailed my grip on my finances, I've decided that 2017 needs a fresh budget so that I don't get into debt. December is going to be a "catch-up" month, reimbursing my savings of money I robbed to pay bills

but in January I'm going to start trying the envelope method and dealing with things in cash as much as possible (I've avoided doing this before because I hate the idea of walking around with large quantities of cash on me

but it now seems to be a necessary evil.)

This SOA isn't what I spend now, but I need something to aim for budget-wise. However, I'd like to make sure that it's a) realistic, b) not excessively frivolous, and c) I haven't forgotten anything that might later crop up, so feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Things to note: I live with family, so pay gas and electricity in lieu of rent. I haven't passed my practical driving test yet (was supposed to be before Christmas but missed lessons recently due to aforemented recent events so now looking at Spring) - at the moment lessons are coming out of the money allocated to car maintenance. Extra notes are in green.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 656 Additional income is variable, so not counted as it goes straight to savings
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 307.6
Total monthly income.................... 963.6

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 45
Gas..................................... 35 I spent a fraction of this over the summer, no idea on winter usage yet as GCH hasn't been switched on yet. This is supposed to acculumate over the year but I keep raiding the account - must stop this

Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0 Included in internet
Mobile phone............................ 9
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 13.45
Groceries etc. ......................... 100 Wild guess, but includes pet food/cat litter
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 0 Currently very infrequent so comes out of fun money, will have proper budget after passing test, see Other Travel
Road tax................................ 0 Included in maintenance
Car Insurance........................... 74.97
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 125.03
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 30 Most of this will be reallocated to petrol after passing test
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 57.6 Self-insured
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 100 Not all entertainment, this is a "fun money" budget for entertainment, hair dye, pressies, hobby spends etc
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
H2B ISA................................. 200
Car EF.................................. 50
Storage Rent............................. 30 Total £60, this is my share. Upstairs refurb is taking longer than expected so as of this week renting somewhere to store our belongings because downstairs is overflowing, will only be temporary
Total monthly expenses.................. 900.05

Assets
Cash.................................... 600 Doesn't include H2B savings, 2 EFs, credit union savings, money box savings, or holiday savings
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 800
Other assets............................ 2553.49 Money owed to me
Total Assets............................ 3953.49

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 963.6
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 900.05
Available for debt repayments........... 63.55
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 63.55

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 3,953.49
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 3,953.49

EssexHebridean · 6 December 2016 at 11:30AM

You look to have a good handle on things - well done!

Couple of things - remember it's all well and good raiding the car maintenance money for driving lessons, but the car will still need it's MoT Test at least on it's due date - if it's mainly been parked up then you can probably bump the service off a bit though so you might get away with it.

You're showing a £63 surplus - do you actually have this left at the end of the month? If not it would be a good idea to start a spending diary just to track those odds and ends.

I take it your "other income" is the money you're being paid back for what is owed to you? If so have you a plan in place for what happens with your expenditure once that is all paid back, as currently it's bolstering your day to day living costs.

That car insurance is very ouchy - take it you're shopped about through the comparison sites? If it's your first year there may not be a lot of wiggle room though.

lilyflower7 · 6 December 2016 at 1:59PM

EssexHebridean wrote: »

You look to have a good handle on things - well done!

Couple of things - remember it's all well and good raiding the car maintenance money for driving lessons, but the car will still need it's MoT Test at least on it's due date - if it's mainly been parked up then you can probably bump the service off a bit though so you might get away with it.

Thank you!

Yes - but the most I raid is £100, leaving £25 maintenance at minimum. If I end up missing lessons - like in November - the money isn't taken out of the account and goes toward maintenance. (I have a separate account for all things car-related, excluding petrol, so money for annual expenses like the MOT acculumates instead of getting spent.)

In a crunch, I have a car EF that would cover the MOT if necessary. Completely forgot about the service with everything that's gone on, thank you for reminding me!

EssexHebridean wrote: »

You're showing a £63 surplus - do you actually have this left at the end of the month? If not it would be a good idea to start a spending diary just to track those odds and ends.

As I said in my original post, this is more of a budget aim for January, but I fully intend to (re)start my spending diary once Christmas is over.

EssexHebridean wrote: »

I take it your "other income" is the money you're being paid back for what is owed to you? If so have you a plan in place for what happens with your expenditure once that is all paid back, as currently it's bolstering your day to day living costs.

No, the money repayments aren't in the SOA, because they're on an "as and when" basis. Once I get it back, it goes straight into savings. I list my incomes separately on my home budget and I forgot to add them up when I did the SOA

EssexHebridean wrote: »

That car insurance is very ouchy - take it you're shopped about through the comparison sites? If it's your first year there may not be a lot of wiggle room though.

It'll go UP once I pass my test :eek: but yes, compared them and checked Direct Line/Aviva too. This was the cheapest I could get

Thanks you again for all your helpful feedback, EssexHebridean, you've definitely given me food for thought :beer: (and I must sort out that service!

)

MrsTinks · 6 December 2016 at 2:39PM

Don't forget to try Marmalade - (no I don't get any referral fees and I don't work for them LOL) they do pretty good new driver policies

Also put another driver on your policy like a parent or sibling if they are happy to be added. As a named driver that can still help your cost reduce down.

lilyflower7 · 6 December 2016 at 3:04PM

I tried Marmalade, but they won't insure me because my car is too old.

and unfortunately there's only one named driver I can add, but I didn't do that because they doubled my quote :eek:

Thanks for the tips nevertheless, MrsTinks

MrsTinks · 6 December 2016 at 5:11PM

lilyflower7 wrote: »

I tried Marmalade, but they won't insure me because my car is too old. and unfortunately there's only one named driver I can add, but I didn't do that because they doubled my quote :eek:

Thanks for the tips nevertheless, MrsTinks

Mmmmmm ok - never heard of them being that picky before lol

Is it QUITE old or just meh old? You may find insurers like Adrian Flux work out competitive? Also policies with telematics devices and ones that give you curfews. I know its a pain but they might be worth suffering for your first full year as a qualified driver?

Insurance is crazy when you're young

lilyflower7 · 6 December 2016 at 6:06PM

The car is almost 17

Marmalade won't insure if the car is over 9 years old. When I pass my test I'll definitely shop around. I have to cancel my existing policy upon passing my test, so will look around and yes, will definitely consider telematics and curfews. I've not heard of Adrian Flux before so will look at them too when I need to take out insurance again.

enthusiasticsaver · 6 December 2016 at 7:03PM

It certainly does not look frivolous and if you can manage to keep within your soa that is good.

The only things I would say is that the car expenditure is totally out of proportion to your income which looks very low unless the variable amount is considerable. Once you have passed your test will you be replacing your car with something newer which does not need as much work? Can you car share with a member of your family to reduce costs?

AllyMac · 6 December 2016 at 9:37PM

On your budget I would really think about that £60 storage cost, even if you only pay half.
Can you really not cope with stepping over things a bit?
Have you had a proper clear out of stuff you don't actually need?
Have you definitely not got a couple of friends you can spread it around?
If it's not high value stuff, you can possibly get several boxes into your car boot!

lilyflower7 · 6 December 2016 at 11:33PM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

It certainly does not look frivolous and if you can manage to keep within your soa that is good.

The only things I would say is that the car expenditure is totally out of proportion to your income which looks very low unless the variable amount is considerable. Once you have passed your test will you be replacing your car with something newer which does not need as much work? Can you car share with a member of your family to reduce costs?

Thank you

Since I bought the car all its needed were two new tyres (£91 for both, could've been £70 but I paid the extra for better quality) and minor fixes that cost less than £100. The reason I bought it while still a learner is because I was planning on car sharing for the first year but unfortunately circumstances changed

The income is ESA, I'm currently looking for work so it can only go up! I currently use public transport which is frequently unreliable, but once I pass my test, it'll be easier to get to places on time which will improve my job opportunities. One of the reasons I'm putting so much aside monthly is because if the car doesn't need expensive repairs etc, that money can acculumate to pay my insurance costs in full.

AllyMac wrote: »

On your budget I would really think about that £60 storage cost, even if you only pay half.
Can you really not cope with stepping over things a bit?
Have you had a proper clear out of stuff you don't actually need?
Have you definitely not got a couple of friends you can spread it around?
If it's not high value stuff, you can possibly get several boxes into your car boot!

Sadly quite a bit of it is furniture

Unfortunately due to building/plumbing/plastering/flooring works all being done in three rooms upstairs, all the furniture and belongings from those rooms has come downstairs. We've put up with it for months, but the work has been delayed again, so storage is now necessary for our sanity.

Thank you enthusiasticsaver and AllyMac for your comments

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