SOA help please

RosieDG

Hi everyone

I just heard that the maintenance I get from my ex is being cut by loads. There's nothing I can do to change it cos it seems he's been paying more than he really has to since we split.

He left me a few years ago with some smallish debts and I cleared them. Now I've just done my new SOA and I'm £200 pm short. I know that may not sound much but I worked hard to get DF and I don't want to get in difficulty again. It feels scary when I look at the SOA. Please can some people suggest the least painful ways I can cut back? I would really like to be able to stay in this house if I can, and wouldn't be able to get anywhere really very much cheaper in my town.

Sorry if some of my things seem a bit extravagant but I could afford them on the old maintenance payment.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 993.35
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 360.99 Child benefit & child/working tax credit
Other income............................ 353.2Maintenance
Total monthly income.................... 1707.54

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Hire Purchase (HP) repayments........... 0
Rent.................................... 900
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 128
Electricity/gas............................. 125 In process of switching this right now
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 26
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 25
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 5
Petrol/diesel........................... 85
Road tax................................ 17.5
Car Insurance........................... 25
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 115.5 After school club for both kids. I need this for my work.
Other child related expenses............ 50 Music lessons etc
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 26
Life assurance ......................... 14
Other insurance......................... 6
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 12
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 25
Emergency fund.......................... 10
Total monthly expenses.................. 1906


Assets
Cash.................................... 1450
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2450

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

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


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,707.54
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,906
Available for debt repayments........... -198.46
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -198.46

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,450
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 2,450

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

doodledo_2

Hi and welcome to the board :beer:

First thing that jumps out to me is your rent, its huge is there anyway you could move to a cheaper/smaller area. Obviously I realise I don't know where you live etc

Assume your council tax includes your 25% single person discount?

Electricity and gas can definately be cut as this is a huge amount a month so definately look into switching.

Have you checked that your benefits won't go up if you are receiving less from your Ex?

Doomcow

RosieDG wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 993.35
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 360.99 Child benefit & child/working tax credit
Other income............................ 353.2Maintenance - is this what its being reduced to?
Total monthly income.................... 1707.54

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Hire Purchase (HP) repayments........... 0
Rent.................................... 900 - i have a mortgage and its about half this. you say you wont find cheaper in your town - what about changing town? sure you could get something nice for much cheaper (and own it, ie, mortgage)
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 128
Electricity/gas............................. 125 In process of switching this right now - flip thats high, but great you are switching! put TVs off standby at night, dont heat EVERY room (only lobby & living room really need heated)
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 26
Telephone (land line)................... 30 - this could be well cheaper. i get TV / internet / phone + line rental for about £40/month (sky)
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 25 - see above - can you not get a package?
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 - look to reduce this by buying cheaper / bulk but 200 isnt too bad. stock up on veg, reduce meats and fizzy pop¬
Clothing................................ 5
Petrol/diesel........................... 85 - can you use public transport? - something to investigate
Road tax................................ 17.5
Car Insurance........................... 25
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 115.5 After school club for both kids. I need this for my work. - can you not change your work hours? flexitime - work school hours seems to be a big thing at my work. or what about a relative (gran/granda) to get kids after school. free (maybe provide dinner! heh)
Other child related expenses............ 50 Music lessons etc - do you kids *really* want these lessons? maybe be something for you guys to bond with?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 26 - a month!? how much contents you have? im £56 a year!
Life assurance ......................... 14 - if you get a mortgage you could have life insurance for less and as far as i can see it does the same thing.
Other insurance......................... 6
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 12 - buy a haircutting kit for house - the shaver + scissors. this reduces the monthly spend to 0. its non essential.
Entertainment........................... 20 - looks like you have to forego holidays and entertainment for a short while at least! not to 0 but half it. remember, a cheap cake from tesco at a fiver tastes the same as the expensive one for 15
Holiday................................. 25
Emergency fund.......................... 10
Total monthly expenses.................. 1906


Assets
Cash.................................... 1450
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2450

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

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


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,707.54
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,906
Available for debt repayments........... -198.46
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -198.46

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,450
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 2,450

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

for elec/gas - other things you can do is not to put the oven on for a portion of chips - what i mean is use it to its ability. do chips + a pie + bread or something. or invest in a deep fat fryer for chips - quicker and waaaaaaaaay cheaper, ie, you dont have a big empty oven to heat to cook something.

just a few ideas, not sayin they all right

TurnaroundSue

Hi and welcome to the boards. Is your council tax over 10 or 12 months? I agree that your rent seems extortionate - with the credit crunch it seems that rents are coming down; maybe you should look around in your area and see if this is the case - if not, ask your landlord for a rent review and sometimes it is better can less money with good tenants, than more with bad ones!

Do you work full time? If not is it possible to get a second job. I know this is hard with children and being on your own, but maybe a couple of nights a week would keep the wolf from the door. Is there a mum down the school who would be happy to have the kids at a small cost - just a thought!

Dont forget to go through Quidco where you can earn cashback on all your insurances and your gas/electricity. Will give you a bit extra and if you are buying it anyway then at least you will get something.

Not much help I know, but for sure somebody alot wiser than me will be along in a minute to give you some more pointers.

Good luck.

Fire_Fox

Can you take in a lodger, foreign language students or similar? £165 a month (after school clubs/ music lessons) is a lot to spend entertaining your kids, appreciate some is necessary due to work but they may well hate the music lessons anyway! The last MSE e-mail had details of a £6 a month broadband connection - check this out and/ or get a combined SIM/ landline/ internet deal from Virgin. Compare telecom deals and insurance prices via a cashback website for a little extra income.

QueenBeruthiel

Hi Rosie.

You should be able to get cheaper contents insurance than £312 a year: I pay less than that for buildings and contents.

A typical phone and broadband "bundle" would be in the region of £20pm, as opposed to the £55 you are currently spending.

Any chance of a kind grandparent paying for the music lessons?

poorandindenial

RosieDG wrote: »

Hi everyone

I just heard that the maintenance I get from my ex is being cut by loads. There's nothing I can do to change it cos it seems he's been paying more than he really has to since we split.

He left me a few years ago with some smallish debts and I cleared them. Now I've just done my new SOA and I'm £200 pm short. I know that may not sound much but I worked hard to get DF and I don't want to get in difficulty again. It feels scary when I look at the SOA. Please can some people suggest the least painful ways I can cut back? I would really like to be able to stay in this house if I can, and wouldn't be able to get anywhere really very much cheaper in my town.

Sorry if some of my things seem a bit extravagant but I could afford them on the old maintenance payment.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 993.35
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 360.99 Child benefit & child/working tax credit
Other income............................ 353.2Maintenance
Total monthly income.................... 1707.54

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Hire Purchase (HP) repayments........... 0
Rent.................................... 900 (I know that other posters have said this is high, and it is compared to your income, but in my neck of the woods (a cheap part of london) this is a bargain for somewhere that can hold and adult and 2 kids)
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 128 (are you getting your single person discount??? do you pay over 10 or 12 months)
Electricity/gas............................. 125 In process of switching this right now (this has GOT to come down, get that heating shut off and remember to only light rooms you are using etc) might you be on E7 but using most of your units during the day (in which case move to a single price tariff)
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 26
Telephone (land line)................... 30 (ditto the others with this and internet, bundle with TV to get for less than £30 a month all in)
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 12 (sadly nowt any of us can do with this)
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 25 (see telephone)
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 (not bad, you may be able to shave a wee bit off but it isn't outrageous, try dropping a brand etc if you aren't already and you will save a few quid here and there)
Clothing................................ 5
Petrol/diesel........................... 85 (are all journeys ESSENTIAL, could you cope with public transport if the latter you drop this and the other car related expenses)
Road tax................................ 17.5
Car Insurance........................... 25
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 115.5 After school club for both kids. I need this for my work. I know nothing about this as I haven't got kids but can you use childcare vouchers towards this sort of thing?
Other child related expenses............ 50 Music lessons etc (hmmm, hard one but if you can trim then do)
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 26 (mine is about £11 a month) - if you switch don't forget to do it through quidco for cashback
Life assurance ......................... 14 (why do you need this? is it for peace of mind? or do you have a health issue that could crop up? do you have a pension? if so there may be provision in there that renvders this less necessary)
Other insurance......................... 6 (what is this for?)
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 12
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 25 (without wishing to sound mean, you may have to skip having a holiday for a bit)
Emergency fund.......................... 10 (you can't really afford to have one on top of the other contingencies you have provided for)
Total monthly expenses.................. 1906


Assets
Cash.................................... 1450 (this won't last long if you don't trim back wherever possible)
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2450

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

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


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,707.54
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,906
Available for debt repayments........... -198.46
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -198.46

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,450
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 2,450

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

I hope I don't sound harsh, I mean it all in the nicest way possible

Well done for sorting your debts and also for taking steps to stop you going back there.

fatbelly

I just put your situation into a benefits checker and:

1. It is showing tax credits + child benefit about £200 per month higher than your figure. This may be because you've only recently had a drop in income to this level. So let tax credits know and you may be due a higher award from April.

2. Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance is payable - contact your local council. The checker showed £68 per week but there are a lot of variables.

RosieDG

Wow! Thanks so much for all the suggestions everyone. I'll try to answer some of your points.

The figure I've listed for maintenance is the new amount, but all the other numbers are what I have been spending - and comfortably affording - before my income went down.

I've had a look for places to rent that are within a reasonable distance of my job and my kids' school. The cheapest are about £650-700pm. I'll probably be moving anyway in a year or so, so if I move now as well, then a reduction of £200pm would be a saving over the year of £2400 minus costs. How much would I be likely to spend on removals? I can't move myself very easily with the two kids "helping" :rolleyes:. And I need to factor in the question of whether I'd get back my whole deposit on this house - I think perhaps not because we used to have a cat and she made some nasty scratches on some UPVC exterior doors. Buying isn't an option - there's nothing under £165k here and nobody would give me a mortgage for that on my income.

Yes, I am getting the single adult reduction on council tax, but the figure I've listed is over 10 months not 12.

I know the elec/gas is sky high. It was £80pm and then E.on suddenly wrote saying they were putting it up to £125 even though my payments were covering my usage. I put my annual kWh into whatever cashback site MSE was recommending, and it said to switch to EDF so that's what I'm doing. I know I need to cut down on usage, though. The kids are the ones who leave things on (lights, TV etc) when there's nobody in the room to use them, but I'm the one who likes to keep the house warm. I've already got rid of the electric convector heater in my bedroom, but there are more cutbacks to make.

I'll follow up on changing phone/broadband package and checking my benefits. I'll check out quidco too - thanks. Should I try to change my contents insurance now or wait until it's due for renewal (not til Sept 09)? I've had a couple of claims in the last 3 years so that makes it higher I guess.

Public transport wouldn't work for my journeys to work/school, and in my line of work I can't get school hours only. Grandparents are too old/ill and too far away, so I can't see any way round the after school club fees. At least I only work term time so I don't have to pay for childcare in school holidays. The tax credit helps with the childcare anyway. I'll discuss the music lessons with the kids. I'm already running myself ragged with two jobs and couldn't cope with a third, but might be able to get more hours at one of the existing ones, although not until Sept.

The life policy is one that I took out in my name on my ex's life when we were together. I want to keep it so I'm not left high and dry if anything happens to him. He's got some health problems which push the premium up.

Yes, I know I need to cut back on entertainment and holidays - those numbers were fine on my old income but they're not now. I should have put £6 for haircuts. I pay £12 a time for my own hair about once every 7-8 weeks. I already cut the kids' hair myself, but I can't cut my own!

So thanks loads everyone, you've given me plenty to think about. And no, poorandindenial, I didn't find your comments harsh - I know my spending needs to change and I asked for your input.

elaina79

Hi

Try this site for LHA
https://lha-direct.therentservice.gov.uk/Secure/Default.aspx

You should be able to get LHA and council tax benefit to help. I was on £15,000 wage and my rent was £695 and I got half of it paid with LHA. Every area has a different rate depending on what the rents are but you will be entitled to something.

poorandindenial

RosieDG wrote: »

So thanks loads everyone, you've given me plenty to think about. And no, poorandindenial, I didn't find your comments harsh - I know my spending needs to change and I asked for your input.

Thanks hun, it is sometimes hard to tell if I am coming across OK or all evil when I write - lol