Advice on my SOA please

Bree

Well heres my soa,
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 3
Number of children in household......... 5
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1000
Benefits................................ 913.64
Other income............................ 291.4
Total monthly income.................... 2205.04
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 270
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 132
Electricity............................. 95
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 33
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 25
Groceries etc. ......................... 460
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 31
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 40
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 243
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 5
Buildings insurance..................... 20.47
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50
newspaper and magazines................. 35
Pet food and bedding.................... 25
Storage................................. 54
Coal and Wood........................... 75
Total monthly expenses.................. 2068.47

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 185000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 190000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 39000....(270)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 39000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Capital One visa ..............932.35....46.18.....34.08
Capital One master.............882.67....44.29.....29.53
Littlewoods CC.................841.9.....45.82.....37.9
Loan from sister...............1000......50........0
Egg Loan.......................1723.28...54.08.....10.43
Mothercare Store card..........478.66....36.68.....24.9
Total unsecured debts..........5858.86...277.05....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,205.04
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,068.47
Available for debt repayments........... 136.57
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 277.05
Amount short for making debt repayments. -140.48
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 190,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -39,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,858.86
Net Assets.............................. 145,141.14
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Theres myself, OH and 6 of our children living with us. The eldest is 18yr who is on an apprentice work placement. The 16yr is at college and the younger ones all at school. Pet wise we have 1 cat, 1 rabbit, 1 guniea pig and 4 hampsters.
We live in a rural location so need two cars, especially as OH sometimes has night outs, so his car is left at work overnight.
Capital One have sent me a form to fill out and may consider reducing our minimum payment and freezing intrest.
Any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated, thanks

WASHER

Bree wrote: »

Well heres my soa,
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 3
Number of children in household......... 5
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1000
Benefits................................ 913.64
Other income............................ 291.4
Total monthly income.................... 2205.04
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 270
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 132
Electricity............................. 95 - Any gas?
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 33
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 25 - thats high for the internet
Groceries etc. ......................... 460
Clothing................................ 100 - I appreciate you have a lot of children but is alot of money each month, I know school shoes and uniforms are expensive, you need to reduce this slightly
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 31
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 40
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 243 - what is this for?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 5
Buildings insurance..................... 20.47
Contents insurance...................... 0 Any contents insurance?
Life assurance ......................... 0 You must have this. It is far more important than a mobile phone or the internet for example
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10 - I could be wrong but with 6 children its possible you are spending more than £120 on birthdays and Xmas each year.
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50
newspaper and magazines................. 35 - Get rid of today. Read the news online - who wants to read yesterdays news tomorrow anyway:D
Pet food and bedding.................... 25
Storage................................. 54 - What is this for
Coal and Wood........................... 75 - This is alot if you spend £95 on electricity as well,
Total monthly expenses.................. 2068.47

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 185000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 190000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 39000....(270)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 39000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Capital One visa ..............932.35....46.18.....34.08
Capital One master.............882.67....44.29.....29.53
Littlewoods CC.................841.9.....45.82.....37.9
Loan from sister...............1000......50........0
Egg Loan.......................1723.28...54.08.....10.43
Mothercare Store card..........478.66....36.68.....24.9
Total unsecured debts..........5858.86...277.05....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,205.04
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,068.47
Available for debt repayments........... 136.57
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 277.05
Amount short for making debt repayments. -140.48
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 190,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -39,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,858.86
Net Assets.............................. 145,141.14
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Theres myself, OH and 6 of our children living with us. The eldest is 18yr who is on an apprentice work placement. The 16yr is at college and the younger ones all at school. Pet wise we have 1 cat, 1 rabbit, 1 guniea pig and 4 hampsters.
We live in a rural location so need two cars, especially as OH sometimes has night outs, so his car is left at work overnight.
Capital One have sent me a form to fill out and may consider reducing our minimum payment and freezing intrest.
Any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated, thanks

Well done on posting your SOA, your debts seem quite low really, how is your credit rating? Could you move some of the debt onto 0% cards?

Does your eldest son contribute to the household budget at all?


My advice to you is start a spending diary, reduce electricity if possible, and groceries by a wee bit, you have a shortfall each of £140 to make up to balance the books. This is not an impossible amount to find.

Bree

WASHER wrote: »

Well done on posting your SOA, your debts seem quite low really, how is your credit rating? Could you move some of the debt onto 0% cards?

Does your eldest son contribute to the household budget at all?


My advice to you is start a spending diary, reduce electricity if possible, and groceries by a wee bit, you have a shortfall each of £140 to make up to balance the books. This is not an impossible amount to find.

Thanks for your quick reply, our credit rating is shot to pieces so no we can't move the debt.

Its the eldest daughter( MK2 ), no she does'nt contribute as OH would rather she saved her money to buy a car. She does pay for one of her sisters trampoling class on Saturdays, which is £5.00.

I've found a notebook, so will start the spending diary today. We are in the process of changing electricity suppliers so that should become lower. Not sure about the groceries, will have to organise myself to do some menu planning I think.

Theres no gas supply to our village, so no gas.

I will look into the internet cost, to try to get it cheaper.

The £243 child related expenses are for:
weekly dyslexic clinic for son ( Mk4 ), weekly dance classes for 2 daughters ( Mk 6 & 7 ) Fortnightly drum lesson for daughter Mk 5. Also Mk4,5,6 & 7 are all involved in scouts, guiding and brownies so includes their subs.

The insurance is combined buildings and contents.

Yes you are right about the life assurance, will look into it. I appreicate what you are saying about the internet and mobile, but the kids do need the internet for homework and don't want to be the only ones to stay in at lunch times to do homework on the school computers. My son has been school phobic in the past so don't want to do anything that will stress him out. The £10 for the mobiles is the maximum OH and I pay a month.

Yes you are right, I can loose the magazines, infact I think there will be only a couple that I will actually miss. Not so sure about the papers, as OH buys them to read in his lorry during his rest breaks and 4 of the kids read them as well.

The storage is a storage unit we rent, was going to be a tempory thing, will have to start empting it, then can get rid.

Coal and wood are the cheapest I've been able to source and is our only heating during the winter.

Tixy

Hi Bree

What is the other income £291?

I would think you can get combined landline & internet cheaper than £55. Look for a package deal.

I'd say you need to at least halve your newspaper magazine spend
Make sorting and getting rid of storage a priority - you can't afford £54 on this each month.
Is the £75 coal and wood how much you spend every month or just winter months?
Are you buying pet bedding from shops or a local farmer - if you are in a rural area you can get a whole bale of hay for around £5, compared to a tiny bag for £3.

You are feeding and clothing a big family so this is going to cost a lot more that other families but make sure you are getting good value for money and making the most of cooking in bulk. Most people can reduce their grocery spend by at least 10% so if you haven't already cutback do try dropping a brand and meal planning.

Are you getting all the benefits you can? Are the older children getting / entitled to EMA? Do the 18 and 16years old buy their own clothes etc? Does the 16year old have a part time job?

£140 is not a huge shortfall and if you can get rid of storage you will be not far off balancing. But it might still be worth speaking to one of the free debt charities. If you decided to go down the route of a DMP, whilst your credit ratings will be affected some of your creditors may be prepared to freeze interest which will mean you are able to pay off some of the debts quicker.

september09

Bree wrote: »

Well heres my soa,
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 3
Number of children in household......... 5
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1000
Benefits................................ 913.64
Other income............................ 291.4
Total monthly income.................... 2205.04
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 270
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 132
Electricity............................. 95 lots of helpful suggestions to reduce this on the gas and elec or oldstyle boards- might be worth a look in.
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 33
Telephone (land line)................... 30 is this the cheapest tariff you can get? Dont know which provider you are on but with BT we are on a tariff for £11.25 a month line rental and evening and weekend calls all included. Just a thought, maybe?
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 25
Groceries etc. ......................... 460 I think a spending diary as you are doing is a great idea, might help to join one of the grocery shopping challenges- think theres one on the oldstyle board.
Clothing................................ 100 Is this amount spent every single month? As previous poster suggested perhaps this is a place that could be cut back slightly.
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 31
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 40
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 243
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 5
Buildings insurance..................... 20.47
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50 could you possibly reduce this a little bit? Dont know how much you use it with the kids etc?
newspaper and magazines................. 35 are these all bought off the shelf? Would it be cheaper/possible to subscribe to the ones you would actually miss, or perhaps you could find a free, similar, online version?
Pet food and bedding.................... 25
Storage................................. 54
Coal and Wood........................... 75
Total monthly expenses.................. 2068.47

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 185000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 190000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 39000....(270)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 39000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Capital One visa ..............932.35....46.18.....34.08
Capital One master.............882.67....44.29.....29.53
Littlewoods CC.................841.9.....45.82.....37.9
Loan from sister...............1000......50........0
Egg Loan.......................1723.28...54.08.....10.43
Mothercare Store card..........478.66....36.68.....24.9
Total unsecured debts..........5858.86...277.05....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,205.04
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,068.47
Available for debt repayments........... 136.57
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 277.05
Amount short for making debt repayments. -140.48
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 190,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -39,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,858.86
Net Assets.............................. 145,141.14
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Theres myself, OH and 6 of our children living with us. The eldest is 18yr who is on an apprentice work placement. The 16yr is at college and the younger ones all at school. Pet wise we have 1 cat, 1 rabbit, 1 guniea pig and 4 hampsters.
We live in a rural location so need two cars, especially as OH sometimes has night outs, so his car is left at work overnight.
Capital One have sent me a form to fill out and may consider reducing our minimum payment and freezing intrest.
Any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated, thanks

Hope that helps a little bit. Im fairly new to these boards but wanted to see if I could help even a little bit. Good luck!

Bree

Tixy wrote: »

Hi Bree

What is the other income £291? This is child benefit, the other benefits includes wtc and ctc.

I would think you can get combined landline & internet cheaper than £55. Look for a package deal. Yes will do

I'd say you need to at least halve your newspaper magazine spend consider the magazines scrapped.
Make sorting and getting rid of storage a priority - you can't afford £54 on this each month. Yes thats on the list, I will make a start on that on Monday
Is the £75 coal and wood how much you spend every month or just winter months? Thats what it works out spread out over the year.
Are you buying pet bedding from shops or a local farmer - if you are in a rural area you can get a whole bale of hay for around £5, compared to a tiny bag for £3. OH used to work on his parents farm, untill they retired and made OH redundant, and still have hay left, so OH helps himself to it with their permission.

You are feeding and clothing a big family so this is going to cost a lot more that other families but make sure you are getting good value for money and making the most of cooking in bulk. Most people can reduce their grocery spend by at least 10% so if you haven't already cutback do try dropping a brand and meal planning. We have already cut back, but I will try to reduce it further.

Are you getting all the benefits you can? Are the older children getting / entitled to EMA? Do the 18 and 16years old buy their own clothes etc? Does the 16year old have a part time job? 18yr gets the minimum apprentice payment and 16yr has been told she will get EMA. They both buy their own clothes etc. The 16yr has a Sunday paper round and a monthly leaflet round as well as some babysitting jobs.

£140 is not a huge shortfall and if you can get rid of storage you will be not far off balancing. But it might still be worth speaking to one of the free debt charities. If you decided to go down the route of a DMP, whilst your credit ratings will be affected some of your creditors may be prepared to freeze interest which will mean you are able to pay off some of the debts quicker.

yeah the storage will have to go

webitha

i dont have anything else to add apart from with that many kids you must have the patience of a saint lol

also have you thought of doing surveys free scratchcards etc, all my xmas was paid for by surveys last year and so far i got £85 stashed for this year

Bree

September09
We are with BT now, so I will have to check which tariff we're on. I don't spend £100 amonth, but uniform for school this year cost me just under £1000, if I'd had to replace everything like the school uniform shop would like me to it would have cost me just shy of £2000. The kids spend some of their Xmas and birthday money from relations on clothes and we get some from charity shops as well as hand me downs from friends.
The emergancy fund should really be renamed as house maintenance as thats what I intend to spend it on. Two ceilings have fallen down and need to be replace with plaster board and another is in danger of falling down. The garage doors need replacing fairly urgently as well. The doors are coming away from their hindges lol.
The magazines would certainly be cheaper by subscription so it would certainly be worth thinking about when I've got the budget on track. Till then I'll just have to read them in the shops lol.

Webitha
I have'nt done surveys before, so somthing to have a go at.

kacie

As you live in a rural location are you not able to source wood for free, from trees that have been chopped down, or have fallen down. This would mean cutting and chopping it yourself but could save you some money.

september09

Bree wrote: »

September09
We are with BT now, so I will have to check which tariff we're on. I don't spend £100 amonth, but uniform for school this year cost me just under £1000, if I'd had to replace everything like the school uniform shop would like me to it would have cost me just shy of £2000. The kids spend some of their Xmas and birthday money from relations on clothes and we get some from charity shops as well as hand me downs from friends.
The emergancy fund should really be renamed as house maintenance as thats what I intend to spend it on. Two ceilings have fallen down and need to be replace with plaster board and another is in danger of falling down. The garage doors need replacing fairly urgently as well. The doors are coming away from their hindges lol.
The magazines would certainly be cheaper by subscription so it would certainly be worth thinking about when I've got the budget on track. Till then I'll just have to read them in the shops lol.

Webitha
I have'nt done surveys before, so somthing to have a go at.

Its definatly worth checking with BT. Was just a thought with the others. Sounds awfull about the house/ceilings - I can definatly understand why this emergency fund is needed now! Hope you get on OK and all goes well.