Here is my SOA- help?!

stinky985 · 26 March 2007 at 9:24PM

Hello! Some help would be very much appreciated!
Here is my SOA. I need to get my monthly repayments down but as you will see, there is only really scope to do this from my car expense(currently a Saab). This will involve selling it and buying a smaller one. I am all for this though I am thinking of getting a loan to clear my credit card bills and give me a bit extra to buy a newer car, preferably diesel. I am looking at fiesta or similar so if I can get a diesel that’s already £100 a year saved!

Anyway all advice welcome as I really cant see the wood for the trees. Although its not the biggest debt in the world its enough for me to want to sort it!

Income: 1542

Outgoings:
Bills : TV Licence 10.99
Childcare : Maintenance 200
Bank Charges : Interest Paid 1.6
Bills : Water/Sewage 17.5
Bills : Mobile 19
Miscellaneous 5
Insurance : Car 44.04
Bills : Mortgage 586.19
Bills : Council Tax 82
Bills : Internet 14.99
Bills : Telephone 15
Insurance : Life 8.1
Gas/Electricity 80
Food 165
Petrol 150
Credit cards 125
Inland Revenue 5
Total 1529.41

Debts:
Virgin 0% 1853.25
M&S 0% 423.54
Overdraft 350
Gas debt 250

My mobile is a renewed contract at £19 which suits my usage and is cheaper than pay as you go so happy with that.(was30 per month)
The gas debt is being paid off £20 per month from the £80 entry. I want to clear this and switch as soon as Martin says go!
I owe the Inland Revenue £1000 for overpaid tax credit, but I am not too worried about clearing this one (its interest free and their mistake and I got lumped with it in my divorce). It was the Child Tax Credit overpayment and I have a small amount agreed that I pay and will increase when I can afford to.
I can not remortgage until September and will do or it jumps 1%.
As the saying is to speculate to accumulate, am I right to be thinking of borrowing a bit to save a bit? I calculate that I can save £54 min per month on a fiesta sized car – more if diesel-£35 a year road tax anyone?! I should also add that I need my car for work (but not dependant on it to be able to work- I get paid 40p per business mile.) I also need it be new/reliable as possible due to 2 young kids.
I am a divorced father of 2 and need to start getting a bit of a life as i have been a stay at home hermit for 3 years and it is not healthy.Plus i cant do anything with my kids without using the full amount of my overdraft.

Thanks in advance.

ms_london · 27 March 2007 at 6:26AM

Hi Stinky985 - welcome to MSE!!! I am suprised noone got to you before me, so thought I would take a break from work for a few minutes and help you. (any excuse!!) :rolleyes:

First of all I wouldnt suggest getting a loan to consolidate your debts, especially since they are on 0% at the moment. It COULD be an option when these deals expire, but I would strongly suggest not doing so if I were you. Would you sell your car if you got a new one or is it a company car?

Obviously you are living very close to your income - is there any way you can boost your income? Change jobs? Sell on ebay to generate some extra cash?

I presume your kids dont live with you if you are paying maintenance? How often do you have them? I just notice that your food bill is quite high IF you dont look after them. Perhaps try meal planning - and pop into the Old Style board for some more tips on this..

Petrol is also quite high - could you reduce your mileage? Do you get a petrol allowance with work?

Does your gas/elec payment of $80 (ignore dollar sign!) include the backlog repayments or is this an additional outgoing?

At least your debts are on 0%, what is your overdraft rate? Could you transfer this onto one of the credit cards? When does the 0% rate expire? Are you likely to be able to get other 0% offers with your credit rating? If not, could you get a "Life of Balance" card?

In order to clear your OD (and if you dont transfer it onto a CC) then call your bank and them to reduce it by $X each month, that way it will go down and your wages wont disapear into the black hole each month..

I am just a bit concerned that you dont have much leway with your budget - could you combine your home phone & internet provider? Have you budgeted for Car Tax? How about christmas/birthdays/holidays/clothes/prescriptions etc?

Could you rent out a room to a lodger? Perhaps not ideal if you have children, but always an option.

Do you make sure that you claim all of your mileage? I know a lot of people are a bit slack when it comes to claiming expenses, but its your money and you should keep on top of claiming it.

I dont think you should live like a hermit & like you say, you probably want your life back - you have definately come to the right place.

We are all in the same position and you will get some great advice here on EVERYTHING.

Good luck xx

highguyuk · 27 March 2007 at 8:43AM

At a quick glace, I'd say your insurance policies (car/life) could both be got cheaper, especially the car. Even if your not at renewal, you could save money. Use https://www.quidco.com to buy your insurance online and get a cashback.

Use the OldStyle Moneysaving board to reduce your food bill.

There is also a way of claiming the extra 4p in the mile, as the government allow for 44p business miles - not sure off the top of my head how to do that though ...

stinky985 · 27 March 2007 at 9:01AM

Hi thanks for the replies! Yes i am living month to month in a bad financial state! There is a possibility of changing jobs if i look! I am doing some courses at work that may help that in the future. I still need to sort out finances though! i have sold stuff on ebay and am slowly and surely finding more stuff to sell as weeks go on! I am also doing a few disco's for my mates promotions company when needed but this cant be relied upon for regular extra income.

My kids live with their mum but i see them a couple times a week. Meal planning will def do though! i think i will look to use what i have at home too-how wasteful am i?!

Petrol i cant do anything about! unless i get another, smaller car. I get business miles and claim as soon as poss and am on top of them all. The money i get (or at least the minimum i would get in a month), is included in my income! (damn civil service!) I should also mention that my car is due a major service soon and its an expensive one - i have saved money from claims for it -but would be better spent on a smaller car purchase! Insurance wont be that much cheaper its a saab and a high insurance group. Well high everything really... I have joined quidco and will look at renewal whatever happens with the car. If i buy another car it will be a replacement for the saab.

The gas/elec includes 20-elec, 40-gas and 20 to pay off part of 250 i owe. (new build house i was arguing with builders about due to high gas usage - they are fitting a new front door this week so that hopefully will help)

My phone i have just switched to Primus so that may come down a few quid more, but from what i have seen not too much more i can do here-penalties for switching broadband provider would negate any gains!

I do 'save' some money (50 total per month) for car tax, birthdays etc but its not enough. I have not had a holiday in 4 years, and i just had to buy new glasses (BOGOF and clubcard points) as prescription changed so that wiped it out pretty much! Obviously that means i spend more than i earn too!

I cant take lodgers as i dont have a spare bedroom! Plus to be honest i wouldnt like that even if i did with the kids etc.

I really need to sort this out - having no money to do things is getting me down! I am ssssoooo bored of my own 4 walls - i need to meet people!

ms_london · 28 March 2007 at 1:37AM

Hiya!! Thanks for posting again.

Its good that you are trying to earn a bit more money - and I think your situation will improve even when the overpayments on the gas etc have been paid.

Not needing your full food budget will help too.

IF you were to consolidate, would you be able to with your credit rating? I would advise that IF you were to do this that you wait until the 0% on your cards has expired, otherwise you will be paying interest that you dont need to be paying. A lot of people are anti-consolidation as what usually happens is people keep the existing credit cards & then run the balance up again (me included, infact, this was my favourite trick!!) :rolleyes:

However, your debt isnt that high & I think that to be making lower repayments than you already are, means that the loan would have to be taken out over a very loooooong period of time which I dont think will leave you any better off, infact it may mean you end up paying way more than you actually owe.

Not wanting to depress you or anything, but if you had NO debt would you be able to manage on your income/would life seem better and more manageable for you? If the answer is still no, then you probably need to have a proper think about how to improve things dramatically - I know, easier said than done. Could you utilise your skills & use these to earn an additional wage as well as your part time job? Do you have much equity in your house? Could you move to a smaller one? Renting out a room would REALLY help, and you could probably get a couple of hundred a month - but again, since you have children, you have said you're not too keen. How often do your kids visit/stay? Could you rent a room out on a Mon-Friday basis? (Obv I dont know where you live, but you sometimes find that people need to live closer to work during the week and then would go home at weekends!!).

Being aware of your situation makes a lot of difference too, so at least you are actively trying to do something about it - and at least its not getting worse!!

Keep posting on here, and definately do a spending diary & a food budget/meal plan type thing.

Ms_London xx

elantan · 28 March 2007 at 1:48AM

ms L... great to know your still here....happy sun tan

ms_london · 28 March 2007 at 1:59AM

elantan wrote: »

ms L... great to know your still here....happy sun tan

Yep, still here - it helps pass the time at work (some things never change!!). I actually had to wear socks last night, it was a sad day :rolleyes: !! How are you? xx

elantan · 28 March 2007 at 2:05AM

best way i can describe it is wishing i was in oz with you ...major dream for me and hubby ...and your one of the things things keep me going...dont stop posting ...please...but i know you wont ss has his charms (as well as hair cuts lol)

ms_london · 28 March 2007 at 2:27AM

elantan wrote: »

best way i can describe it is wishing i was in oz with you ...major dream for me and hubby ...and your one of the things things keep me going...dont stop posting ...please...but i know you wont ss has his charms (as well as hair cuts lol)

Aaaw, you'll get me all emotional (and its only 11:25 am here so I'll look like a fool crying at work!!) hehe!! I'll have a read over your debt diary, but is Australia in the pipeline for you guys? When it does come around, ask me anything and I'll try and give you tips, otherwise my diary is www.getjealous.com/coops1980 - but unless you want to read about which bars are best & how I met toadie from Neighbours, it doesnt contain much more info, hehe!!

I've almost been here 8 months, the time has flown, and I am sure it will for you!!! Why arent you asleep? xx

ms_london · 30 March 2007 at 2:28AM

Bump.

Stinky985 - hows it all going?

TheAble · 30 March 2007 at 8:58AM

If you live alone you can claim a 25% discount on your council tax. Plus if you have no savings, try and negotiate coucil tax benefit.

Try to cut your food down to £50 per month, easily achievable and will leave you with a good chunk of money extra per month.

However these are small costs when compared next to your mortgage. I am presuming you and your ex shared the mortgage bill? The point is it is really worth considering moving to a cheaper home and releasing some equity, this will also reduce your mortgage payments.

Ensure you minimize your fuel bill by the use of Redex additive and not exceeding 60mph - you'll be surprised how much more mileage you get.

Quidco.com for insurance has already been mentioned but I would stresss it again. My home insurance virtually pays for itself by use of quidco, my car insurance is only £100 per year when I use quidco, and I am a young driver.

Otherwise I have to say I think your finances are in good shape, certainly you seem to be fairly savvy with respect to credit cards and borrowing.

Good luck!

Here is my SOA- help?!

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