My SOA - any help much appreciated!

Jo_R_2

Hi!

After some lovely pointers and advice on a previous post I made, I have devised a preliminary SOA. I need to dig out the APRs for loans and will add these forthwith. So here goes...!

Live with boyfy and daughter (2), #2 on way end of June. I work as main earner, boyfy full-time student and works part-time. Rented accommodation. Official maternity leave starts end of May, 2 weeks holiday then two weeks of statutory maternity pay, then due date :j then statutory maternity pay from hereon in! (First 6 weeks SMP at 90% of average pay, then £100 per week for remaining 20 weeks.) Due to return to work in New Year, thus my salary as stated below reflects what I am receiving currently, from August to December will be in region of £424 per month minus adjusted pension contributions. To note that from birth of #2 also child benefit and child tax credits will increase, and will continue to receive WTC for duration of planned leave.

Currently pay for 2.5 days childcare, claim childcare element of Working Tax Credit, also receive WTC, CTC and Child Benefit. Currently putting in claim for housing benefit. Get 25% rebate on council tax.

Only have electricity - no gas. Car insurance fully comp with me as main driver and boyfy as named driver with provisional licence. Broadband ntl 2meg, also ntl phone. Loan insurance have seriously considered but feel necessary as am main earner and little savings. Would love to refinance loan - this was to consolidate boyfy's numerous finance agreements/credit cards he had outstanding when we moved in with bundle #1 on way and my credit card. Refinanced a year later to add on my PhD fees and cost of new camera for boyfy (he studies photography.) Paid contents insurance in full last October, renewal due Oct along with renewal for car insurance in November.

Food total is first attempt at budgeting for month. Bus fares for boyfy to uni and work. Petrol bit difficult as am off on sick leave from now until maternity leave starts, is not what I would pay when working but when not working seems to be a good average per month. Would also have petrol expenses if working but again, am not at mo!

Hoping to start saving asap, boyfy finishing second year of three then plans to work so we can jointly save up for a mortgage deposit and to finance him starting up self-employed.

Currently budget is a 'work-in-progress', to be worked on and adjusted even more during maternity leave! Would like to be able to budget for things not mentioned, such as clothing, 'pocket money'/allowance for each of us and equipment boyfy needs for uni, amongst other things. Also need to take out life assurance.

Four-monthly incomings:

Boyfy student loan: £1400

Monthly incomings:

My salary: £799 (to drop to approx. £424 minus pension contributions from August to December 2006)
Partner's salary: £372
Total benefits: £570

TOTAL: £1741 currently

Monthly outgoings:

Rent: £395
Council tax: £55
Pension: £50
Electricity: £61
Nursery fees: £332
Contact lenses: £10
Sofa finance: £28.50
Car insurance: £39.94
Unsecured loan: £154.22
Loan insurance: £6.19
Broadband: £24.99
Phone: £25
Food shop: £240
Petrol: £30
Bus fares: £80

TOTAL: £1501.84

Overdraft: maximum £750, always in overdraft but very recently started to stay within it rather than exceeding it, to check APR

Intelligent Finance unsecured consolidation loan: To check outstanding balance, and APR (took out loan then refinanced to add further amount on and APR changed with this), length of term 96 months, 67 months to go (this hasn't changed since refinancing)

Black Horse loan (finance for sofa): To check outstanding balance and APR, original amount £800, length of term 36 months, 8 months to go.

I am sure I probably have forgotten something extremely obvious so feel free to point it out and make me cringe! Please don't think I have many powers of logical thinking because my dimness astounds me sometimes!!

Any advice any one can offer is very welcomed - my initial worry is managing whilst on my maternity leave but want to make long-term changes where possible.

seroxat_chick

Hi,

I'm sure somebody will come along with loads of very useful advice soon, but for the meantime I'll offer my initial thoughts.

Firstly, I can't see any mention of water rates or tv licence - overlooked?

Secondly, It's quite realistic to halve your food shopping bill for 3 of you, especially if you set yourself a target each week to aim for and gradually reduce it e.g. aim to spend £50 in week 1, £40 in week 2 etc.

Lastly, would it be feasible for your bf to walk or cycle to work and uni? £80 seems like an awful waste on bus fares.

Best of luck with everything - especially your impending new arrival!

muddled_midget

Could your boyfriend contact the uni travel shop/bus company direct to see if he can get a better rate on the bus fares. Where I am, we can get a citywide bus pass for about £70 a term, or a faresaver card which allows half price travel at all times (costs £10/term for the privilege). Also has your bf got a student bank account? If not, he could apply and get a 0% overdraft, which could pay off yours, and as long as you were careful would stop the interest payments on it. If possible you could phone your bank and reduce your authorised overdraft to just £50 or £100 to cover emergencies.
Also your broadband is expensive, there are cheaper ones around.
Anyway someone who is a lot better at this will along in a minute to advise on loan insurance etc
HTH
MM

Jo_R_2

Okay, to add...!

Monthly outgoings:

Water rates: £20
TV licence: Okay I am stumped, boyfy pays this one monthly dd!

Shopping bill: I can see us being able to reduce this further. I must admit on food I am willing to compromise but up to a point, it's one thing I have very strong feelings on. I am vegan and daughter veggie and very diet-conscious so tend not to buy much processed if can help it, though have started with cooking and freezing in bulk which has helped noticeably. Thanks seroxat_chick

Boyfy bus fares: Unfortunately too far to walk to either or else I would make him believe me! We don't have a bike but am sure he could borrow one, this could be feasible, the only trouble might occur when he is lugging around his camera equipment (cameras, tripods, batteries, portfolio, etc.) Also is deffo worth enquiring about bus pass scenario - I did look into this with preliminary enquiries but as the company that runs the buses from here into town is a different one to the one that runs the buses up to work (Arriva and Trent Barton I think), we didn't think it would be do-able, but if there is a free-for-all pass then that would be useable, definitely.

Boyfy does have student account, but to cut a long story short, this is his 2nd time as a student. First time he dropped out less than a year into his course and basically accrued a heck of an overdraft, somehow more than any first year student should get with his bank. This is why he gets his loan paid into it but we don't use his account except for tv licence - because they extended his overdraft to that of a 3rd year student, if the account gets flagged for any reason then he may be asked to pay the whole lot back. This though was inbetween his 1st and 2nd 'first years' so the fact he is now paying into it again may mean we can use it again.

My overdraft: accrued when I was a student, changed from a student account to ordinary current account in 2001 when finished studies and never been able to pay back whole amount.

Broadband: This I need to look into, thanks for pointer muddled_midget

Walnut_whipp

can your boyfriend as a mature student put you child in to child care at uni.... would be much cheeper im sure.

tyllwyd

If your boyfriend is a photographer, I wonder if there might be scope for him to earn some extra money - when I had my children, I would have loved some baby photos but it was too much hassle to get myself over to a photography studio and back. If you are there to sort of chaperone him, maybe some of your friends who have babies might want to organise photographs, or you could have a baby photograph party, something like that. I remember that the NCT organised a morning annually where mums could turn up at someone's house where there was a photographer. It would take a bit of organising, but maybe worth a thought?

lynzpower

Great point Walnut Whipp, or could he ask for some of those cash pots they have around for those struggling to make ends meet ( crisis loans type things) Gotta be worth a go here!

Is there any way to suspend your pensions for a few months, to chuck the difference at the debt? Not always MSE, but DFW nonetheless

Do you need the loan insurance? Will it ever pay out (mine woudnt for pretty much anything!)

I persoanlly think veggie diets are cheaper than meat- based diets, get bags of pulses from your local asian shops- WAY cheaper. We are sprouting our own beansprouts at the mo- v healthy & easy to do- and cheap too!!

Good luck- off to work now, see you later!

Annie_Fanny

Jo_R have pm'ed you...

Jo_R_2

Walnut_whipp wrote:

can your boyfriend as a mature student put you child in to child care at uni.... would be much cheeper im sure.

You know, I checked out the difference and it's not actually that much... We don't get ANY help at all in that way from his uni, it's because a) we're not married, b) I earn TOO MUCH (laugh if you will!) It's a complicated situation but basically because I am the main earner, that makes him my dependent, so we don't qualify for any uni support. If I were his dependent, then we would get grants and whatnots all over the place!

The other problem with childcare at uni is the location and hours of opening which don't fit around holidays well, when of course I am still at work and boyfy still needs to do his work. He does funny hours quite often and has to go straight to work from uni so it's easier for me to drop off and pick up our daughter, especially as he doesn't drive, and nursery is on my way to work.

Thanks!

Jo_R_2

tyllwyd wrote:

If your boyfriend is a photographer, I wonder if there might be scope for him to earn some extra money - when I had my children, I would have loved some baby photos but it was too much hassle to get myself over to a photography studio and back. QUOTE]

He has been doing this for a while - in fact he is thinking about going specifically into children's photography :j We have come across two main problems though, firstly he was getting LOADS of work through word-of-mouth and had to start charging to cover costs, and we were concerned about when this would become viable for tax purposes, and the effect it was having on his studies (ironic!) Also the need for a CRB check is becoming greater and whilst he has been doing work so far without one, he really feels he does not want to get himself into any kind of situation where he leaves himself open to any kind of accusation. I can come along to some of the sessions he does but not all.

lynzpower

A CRB check will cost a tenner, really its not a big expense at all, and I personally wouldnt risk not having one, just for the peace of mind. Its likely to also bring in new business.