My S.O.A.

Effy

Hey guys I'm new to this but decided to post my S.O.A. so I could see what I should have at the end of the month (and don't!)

Think I may start a spending diary next month and am aware that on some things I'm a bit extravagant (£40.00 on hair!) I clearly lose £150 a month somewhere too, eek!

Anyway if anyone has any helpful hints or tips or a guide as to how to get some willpower I would be most grateful!


Monthly income after tax................ 1254
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1254

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 75 I have estimated costs of gas, electric, Ct, internet, landline, water and sky as I pay £150 and this covers all bills
Electricity............................. 25
Gas..................................... 25
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 15
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 0
TV Licence.............................. 6
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 80 I need to cut this down! Going to go look at the meal planning options
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 15 Oyster card though I dont always use this much
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 40
Entertainment........................... 200 I'm including cigarettes in this
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 951

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

No Secured Debt

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mint...........................1263......30........0
Overdraft......................1750......25........0 This is just an interest payment :eek:
Loan...........................0.........91.05.....0
Total unsecured debts..........3013......146.05....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,254
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 951
Available for debt repayments........... 303
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 146.05
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ 156.95 where is this money?! maybe in entertainment :rolleyes:

Im looking into getting a second job though I have just applied for another full time position and if I get this (fingers crossed) it would make it impossible to take on something extra. The salary is a bit more then im on now but would be cancelled out with travel costs so no significant changes (apart from I'd be happier in new job! )

I think willpower is my biggest problem as i find it hard to sit in when my friends are all out!

Any help welcomed thank you :T

Horace

Ditch the entertainment budget - get discounts via your Oyster card by going to the transport for london website: discounted theatre tickets and the like.

Stop buying presents - make something or give something away instead.

Shop in Lidl where its cheaper - my OH lives in London and his weekly shop with Lidl is £27 a month (he has a freezer and stocks up when he runs out).

Hair - that's easy to get rid of or at least cut down - book appointments on training days so that the trainees have someone to practice on (don't worry they are supervised and you do have to allow a little longer) - you should be able to get a haircut for £15 or for free if you offer your services to a hairdressing college.

Keep a spending diary and note down everything that you spend - the odd packet of sweets, a coffee, lunch at work, a newspaper, fags. Make a shopping list and stick to it when you go shopping that also helps you cut down. Take packed lunches to work.

I think that somewhere on the DFW there is a stop smoking thread.

If you have stuff you no longer wear or need - flog it on ebay or at a carboot.

Ditch Sky and get a freeview box - also use talk talk for your landline and internet.

HTH

Effy

Lidl has just opened in my town so I can do that, I had no idea about oyster discounts so will look into that too, not the most creative of people but I like the idea of making people presents. Ill be honest and say I know I wont stop smoking but everything else is doable and should skim a lot off my outgoings. Thank you Horace )

Staciep88

Effy wrote: »

Hey guys I'm new to this but decided to post my S.O.A. so I could see what I should have at the end of the month (and don't!)

Think I may start a spending diary next month and am aware that on some things I'm a bit extravagant (£40.00 on hair!) I clearly lose £150 a month somewhere too, eek!

Anyway if anyone has any helpful hints or tips or a guide as to how to get some willpower I would be most grateful!


Monthly income after tax................ 1254
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1254

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 75 I have estimated costs of gas, electric, Ct, internet, landline, water and sky as I pay £150 and this covers all bills
Electricity............................. 25
Gas..................................... 25
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 15
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 0
TV Licence.............................. 6
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0 Do you need sky? Freeview is great!
Internet Services....................... 10 Again, do you need this?
Groceries etc. ......................... 80 I need to cut this down! Going to go look at the meal planning options. Yes take a look at moneysaving oldstyle
Clothing................................ 10 Is this really neccessary?
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 15 Oyster card though I dont always use this much
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50 Thats £600 a year!!!
Haircuts................................ 40
Entertainment........................... 200 I'm including cigarettes in this Have you thought about maybe cutting down on smoking or better yet giving up? That £200 would def come in use elsewhere!
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 951

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

No Secured Debt

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mint...........................1263......30........0 Is this 0% interest? If not look into a Balance Transfer
Overdraft......................1750......25........0 This is just an interest payment Could you talk to your bank, explain the situation and try to get the interest lowered of even stopped?
Loan...........................0.........91.05.....0 How long is left on this?
Total unsecured debts..........3013......146.05....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,254
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 951
Available for debt repayments........... 303
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 146.05
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ 156.95 where is this money?! maybe in entertainment :rolleyes:

Im looking into getting a second job though I have just applied for another full time position and if I get this (fingers crossed) it would make it impossible to take on something extra. The salary is a bit more then im on now but would be cancelled out with travel costs so no significant changes (apart from I'd be happier in new job! )

I think willpower is my biggest problem as i find it hard to sit in when my friends are all out!

Any help welcomed thank you :T

I would suggest writing all this down on a spreadsheet and working out how much you need to keep back each month for the repayments of all the debts and then whatever you've got left just work around it. I wouldnt be saving £50 a month for christmas and birthdays if I was in your position. Good luck

Horace

Effy - have a look at the Special Occasions board as they have loads of ideas on home made presents for people. The finished baskets topic is fab with lots of cheap ideas for expensive looking hampers.

https://www.tfl.gov.uk - they have the oyster discounts on here - say 2 for 1s etc. It all helps.

Moneysaving Oldstyle is full of useful tips on meal planning, grocery challenges as well as Lidl recommendations.

Get freebies from the freebies board - sometimes you can get free bags etc again it all helps. Freebies can be used in hampers too.

Use coupons too as they can save you money when you go shopping.

Have fun.

annamc75

If you feel that you have to smoke then you would be cheeper rolling your own - this would have a big impact on your budget.

Effy

Thanks everyone I did'nt even think to speak to the bank about lowering the interest or stopping it on my overdraft so seeing as I have the day off thats exactly what im going to go and do! I'm actually trying to wean myself onto rollies at the moment to save some of the cigarette money and seeing as my flat mates birthday is coming up Im going to look at the hamper ideas and try and make something...I'll take a pic of the finished product and try and post it on here. Thank you for all your tips and advice! :T

Jacks_xxx

:wave: Hey sweetie,

I think maybe the way to look at this is that you bring in £1254.

£645 of that is essential expenditure

But what you do with the other £609 is entirely up to you.

If you threw all of it at the debts for 6 months you'd be debt free.

Is it worth a tough six months getting to know the tv schedule off by heart?

No?

Well if you threw half of that money at the debts for a year or so you'd be debt free - and you'd have about £300 a month to spend on non essentials.

Have a play with the Snowball. Most people find it a bit scary and thus extremely motivating!

http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

and if you got a second job, did a balance transfer or got the interest stopped it could be even quicker.

See. Things aren't so bad huh?

Love Jacks xxx

Effy

Thanks Jacks! debt free in 6 months! that would be amazing im going to look at the link i need some discipline but i could give it a whirl! I forgot to add that im learning to drive which is csting me a bit at the mo! fingers crossed illpass the next time i cant afford to keep failing it costs a flipping bomb! xx

shadydaz

Effy wrote: »

Thanks Jacks! debt free in 6 months! that would be amazing im going to look at the link i need some discipline but i could give it a whirl! I forgot to add that im learning to drive which is csting me a bit at the mo! fingers crossed illpass the next time i cant afford to keep failing it costs a flipping bomb! xx

This is where all your moeny is going, lol;)

Effy

your not wrong shady!! I appear to have mentally blocked driving out!