Newbie SOA - Pull it apart

pureaswhite

Hi,

Still quite new to this site, this is my second day infact and here I am posting my SOA:

Things you should no before reading it:

1. I have had my credit file from Experian and can confidently say that I will not be offered any new credit for the next 6 months as least.
2. I am up to the limit on all overdrafts and creditcards.
3. Have asked BOS to reduce my interest rate and they point blank refused.
4. I know the car expense seems a bit of much but it is an essential tool for the job as are the fuel bills. 25000 miles a year!
5. Electricity is high because I went a winter with only electric heaters and paying that off - now have gas central heating so should get better.
6. Buildings insurance includes contents.
7. Am currently looking at re-mortgaging to try and reduce my interest only payment.
8. Nearly forgot, car insurance is extremely high due to points and accident nearly 15mths ago but had no no claims when I took out the policy, I use the comparison websites and go with the cheapest - is this a good idea???

Think thats everything! Have fun!

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2180
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 160
Total monthly income.................... 2340

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 670
Secured loan repayments................. 280
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 80
Electricity............................. 55
Gas..................................... 35
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 16
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 12
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 145
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 5
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 8
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 35
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 15
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Home Improvements....................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 1887

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 135000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 13000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 148000

Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 114000...(670)......7
Secured Debt.................. 15500....(280)......12
Total secured debts........... 129500....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
BOS credit card................1750......40........29
HSBC Overdraft.................1990......30........0
Halifax Overdraft..............740.......20........0
Student Loan...................3600......200.......0
Car Loan.......................13100.....287.......11.9
Total unsecured debts..........21180.....577.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,340
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 1,887
Available for debt repayments........... 453
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 577
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -124

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 148,000
Total Secured debt...................... -129,500
Total Unsecured debt.................... -21,180
Net Assets.............................. -2,680

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

======== Enter any other useful information below ========

e.g. the number of adults & children in the household, the number

of cars included in the SOA or anything else that may be useful.

rchrisp

pureaswhite wrote: »

Hi,

Still quite new to this site, this is my second day infact and here I am posting my SOA:

Things you should no before reading it:

1. I have had my credit file from Experian and can confidently say that I will not be offered any new credit for the next 6 months as least.
2. I am up to the limit on all overdrafts and creditcards.
3. Have asked BOS to reduce my interest rate and they point blank refused.
4. I know the car expense seems a bit of much but it is an essential tool for the job as are the fuel bills. 25000 miles a year!
5. Electricity is high because I went a winter with only electric heaters and paying that off - now have gas central heating so should get better.
6. Buildings insurance includes contents.
7. Am currently looking at re-mortgaging to try and reduce my interest only payment.
8. Nearly forgot, car insurance is extremely high due to points and accident nearly 15mths ago but had no no claims when I took out the policy, I use the comparison websites and go with the cheapest - is this a good idea???

Think thats everything! Have fun!

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2180
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 160
Total monthly income.................... 2340

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 670
Secured loan repayments................. 280
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 80
Electricity............................. 55 can you get a dual fuel deal elsewhere?
Gas..................................... 35
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 16
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 50 speak to your network and see if they can find you a better plan.
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 12
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 200 do you get mileage for your job? can you get it?
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 145
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 5
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 8
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 35
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 15
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Home Improvements....................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 1887

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 135000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 13000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 148000

Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 114000...(670)......7
Secured Debt.................. 15500....(280)......12
Total secured debts........... 129500....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
BOS credit card................1750......40........29
HSBC Overdraft.................1990......30........0
Halifax Overdraft..............740.......20........0
Student Loan...................3600......200.......0
Car Loan.......................13100.....287.......11.9
Total unsecured debts..........21180.....577.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,340
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 1,887
Available for debt repayments........... 453
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 577
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -124

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 148,000
Total Secured debt...................... -129,500
Total Unsecured debt.................... -21,180
Net Assets.............................. -2,680

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

======== Enter any other useful information below ========

e.g. the number of adults & children in the household, the number

of cars included in the SOA or anything else that may be useful.

otherwise i personally think you're doing pretty well, though im sure others with more experience will have more to say!

sidnee

Welcome! A few things I can spot...

Mobile phone - £50 - this is a bit high. There are deals which could bring this down... provided it's a contract which ends soon...

Car - is your current car the most cost effective? With 25,000 miles a year, and what looks like a car with that sort of value, savings can be made. Look at Petrol prices websites etc. Do you use a points scheme with any petrol retailer? Do you shop at somewhere like Tesco's which sometimes offer 5p off a litre when you spend £50?

Home Improvements - can you afford this currently? What is it for? If you are saving up, would it be better to put this on hold until the finances are on a more even keel?

Entertainment/Haircuts... sometimes "essential", but with -£124 deficit in your spending cutbacks need to be made. (Oh jeez... that pun wasn't intentional!)

Groceries - See where you can reduce your budget here. There are other boards which have loads of ideas for meal planning etc.

It won't take a lot to get you back on track - first up is to get yourself out from the deficit each month. You need to be freeing up money & making more money (eBay/Quidco/Pigsback/YouGov etc - just search if you want more explanation about these) in order to eat into your debt - starting with the 29% shocker on BOS!

Keep it up - you are in the right place!

firesidemaid

b+c insurance seems high, unless a particular reason you should be able to get it for half this plus cashback. when is it next due?

reduce the mobile bill, even if you are in contract still ring and say you cannot afford and get them to reduce your tariff to the lowest.

do you have room for a lodger?

car insurance per month is massive! how old are you? that's nearly £1.7k a year:eek:

also, cut down on any 'extras' you buy. if you can make haircuts cheaper/last longer. stop buying clothes for a while. do you get as much as you can when you buy your fuel? ie. get the cheapest plus get points etc on top eg. tescos/morrisons

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

what car is it you drive?? even with points & accident it seems EXTREMELY high - could you not increase your excess to try and bring down the cost?

pureaswhite

Thanks for your tips!

I will look at the excess I have currently on my car. It isn't a really fast car or anything, it's just that I have no no claims am still quite young and have a few points.

My mobile phone up for renewal in Oct I think and will shop around. Have always avoided doing this because my service with vodafone has been amazing. Never had a bad experience in 8 years. I will shop around though.

Fuel - I always go to Asda or Tesco. Probably not making the most of points and stuff though.

Lodger thing I am looking into which is why the money being spent on house in essential at the moment to get it in condition in which someone would want to rent a room......nearly there with it now!

I have just done the dual fuel thing with N power but I still have two DD's both to N power. Should I just have one??? Think I'll check that too.

Thanks for all the handy tips and please keep them coming. I am totally clueless when it comes to money!

tealady

Hi I would check to see of you are getting the best tarif on your fuel (try somewhere like Uswitch) then if you change do it via a cashback website.
Try www.petrolprices.com for cheapest fuel in your area.
Have a look at the daily newspapers thread, thaks to that in the last 3 weeks I have had 2 "Get £5 off if you spend £30 at TESCO" as their ad says every little helps.
Also the Old Style board will help you save on your shopping, there are loads of meal ideas and cleaning tips on there.

sammy115

Can I ask about your student loan. Is this a government loan or is it a student loan from a bank. Can you defer this in any way or lower the payments...£200 per month seems quite a lot given that you owe £3,600. I also note that it is 0% interest. Is there any way you can lower this £200 by the overspend each month until you get back on your feet...

MYLITTLESISTERLOLA

Just did my brother in laws insurance, 3 points and an at fault accident 18 mths ago, by putting myself (28) and his brother (my husband 32) as named drivers on the policy it came down by £800, It is still in his name to build up his no claims bonus, Quinn direct are good for young drivers but couldn't find any cashback sites that worked for this but it might be a good idea to put mum/dad/older brother/sister on the policy

tiredmum

pureaswhite wrote: »

Thanks for your tips!

I will look at the excess I have currently on my car. It isn't a really fast car or anything, it's just that I have no no claims am still quite young and have a few points.

My mobile phone up for renewal in Oct I think and will shop around. Have always avoided doing this because my service with vodafone has been amazing. Never had a bad experience in 8 years. I will shop around though.

Fuel - I always go to Asda or Tesco. Probably not making the most of points and stuff though.

Lodger thing I am looking into which is why the money being spent on house in essential at the moment to get it in condition in which someone would want to rent a room......nearly there with it now!

I have just done the dual fuel thing with N power but I still have two DD's both to N power. Should I just have one??? Think I'll check that too.

Thanks for all the handy tips and please keep them coming. I am totally clueless when it comes to money!

Im with vodafone too- hardly any reception with any other network at my house, im currently paying £15 per mth for a £35 per mth contract and i got a new phone too. My contract is only for 12mths too- strangely i couldnt have an 18mth contract and a new phone .

Ring them up and ask what they can offer, they will offer hardly anything- tell them you will be cancelling etc- then a couple of days later someone will ring you back with great offers. Works everytime for me. :rotfl:

Jacks_xxx

Hey sweetie, :wave:

A few things jumped out at me for you to consider doing:

1) Renegotiate your phone contract.

My son upgrades his phone to the latest must have every chance he gets and sends hundreds of texts a week - but he's never paid more than £35 a month (and that was only when he had a psycho gf who called and texted several times an hour.)

2) Get a car that is cheaper to insure.

My son is 19 and just passed his test so he's got no no claims but he's paying £50 a month less than you are.

3) Buy some clippers or find a student hairdresser.

£30 a month for haircuts? For one bloke? :eek:

4) Monitor your gas and leccy useage.

Yours seems a little high in that it's more than ours (4 people 3 bedrooms, teenage kids with microwave, music, PC, Tv and games systems going simultaneously. A daughter who is constantly washing straightening and blowdrying her hair. An insomniac who has light heat and Tv on at all hours and someone who works from home.)

Love Jacks xxx