Where to start?

emsiewoo

First time posting, though I have been reading on and off for a while. I'm now at the point where I'm tired of juggling money to meet monthly payments... I know there are areas we can cut down, I'm just not sure where.... Things weren't so bad until we had a run of bad luck over the past couple of years which has wiped out all our savings and more besides... our main headache at the moment is council tax, at the beginning of the year my husband was put on short time work and (stupidly) we didn't pay the ct in this period, we are now paying the minimum they will accept, otherwise they will refer it to bailiffs, but this one payment is crippling us.
The amount entered for electricity is actually for electric and gas. Landline is also broadband... we live in a rural area so can't have the cheap deals. Mobiles comprise of my £8.50 virgin contract and husbands £10 O2 PAYG. Sky is in a 12 month contract, but we can't get freeview so will have to stay.... though can be reduced to £16 per month in December. Groceries are inclusive of all weekly shopping... ie nappies every 2 weeks, though I'm sure this is somewhere we can cut back. Petrol is a killer, we have an old 2.7l car and it cost us £70 a week for my husband to go to work, we can't afford to change the car and there's no other way for him to get to work. we did have another cheaper car, unfortunately this was vandalised and written off in August and the payout (after excess) wasn't enough to replace it- hence high insurance costs... we have to still pay the premium even though we don't have the car anymore.The other insurance is Benenden, I've been ill since having the children and this is invaluable, though I will be removing the children from it. I haven't put down anything for clothing as we haven't bought any this year.... been lucky to have hand me downs for the kids. Presents.... I make them myself, but will need to buy something for the kids christmas, though at 1 and 3, it only needs to be something inexpensive, as a family we don't buy for each other, but plan this year to swap skills etc.
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1560
Benefits................................ 572
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2132

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 625
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 250
Electricity............................. 67
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 55
Telephone (land line)................... 50
Mobile phone............................ 18.5
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 305
Road tax................................ 17
Car Insurance........................... 60.49
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 50
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 7.2
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 26
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 14.69
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 26
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
cigarettes.............................. 150
Total monthly expenses.................. 2073.88


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 187
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 187

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
capital one....................0.........0.........29.9
parents........................1000......50........0
Total unsecured debts..........1000......50........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,132
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,073.88
Available for debt repayments........... 58.12
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 50
Amount left after debt repayments....... 8.12

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 187
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,000
Net Assets.............................. -813



Thanks

Emma

talana

Hi Emma,

cigarettes.............................. 150

Goes without saying, this a great saving to make if you quit plus the health benefits and all the rest of it.

Rent.................................... 625

I don't know what part of the country you live in, but can you consider moving to somewhere a bit cheaper? This would also bring your other bills down

You don't have a monthly deficit at the moment, which is great, and no debts to speak of. You're starting from a position of relative strength.

Tixy

Hi emsie and welcome on board, well done for posting and including your SoA

Do you get all the benefits you are entitled to? (Have at look at entitledto website to check you can't get anymore) Are you not working because of looking after the children or because of ill health.

How much of your council tax payment is arrears and how much current? How much do you owe in total on the arrears (or how long do you have to pay them for).

Are you on a meter for water? Have you looked into whether one would save you money?
If you have SKY for tv can you not get broadband included? Then you could just have the really basic landline (about £20?)
Petrol is huge (as of course you know) How far away is OHs work? At least read this article to see if there are any tips to cut down this at all - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheaper-fuel. Any chance you could move to be nearer his work (and perhaps find somewhere cheaper to rent at the same time?)

Car insurance - I can't believe you still have to pay for a car that has been written off - there is nothing to insure - what will they do if you stop paying? I have never heard of this before, surely you can just cancel the policy even if there is a cancellation admin fee it would be worth it.

Cigarettes - try to quit - NHS have free help programmes to help you quit, or at least cut down or consider rollups which work out cheaper. This is a cost you can't really afford at the moment.

Do you owe capital one anything - or is this an account you don't use?

Do you have anything you can sell on ebay, amazon, gumtree, carboot? Could you get a part time job on the evening or weekends when OH is home? You could look at doing online surveys and reviews to earn a bit of money or vouchers to help towards christmas presents etc.

Good luck.

tori.k

emsiewoo wrote: »

First time posting, though I have been reading on and off for a while. I'm now at the point where I'm tired of juggling money to meet monthly payments... I know there are areas we can cut down, I'm just not sure where.... Things weren't so bad until we had a run of bad luck over the past couple of years which has wiped out all our savings and more besides... our main headache at the moment is council tax, at the beginning of the year my husband was put on short time work and (stupidly) we didn't pay the ct in this period, we are now paying the minimum they will accept, otherwise they will refer it to bailiffs, but this one payment is crippling us.
The amount entered for electricity is actually for electric and gas. Landline is also broadband... we live in a rural area so can't have the cheap deals. Mobiles comprise of my £8.50 virgin contract and husbands £10 O2 PAYG. Sky is in a 12 month contract, but we can't get freeview so will have to stay.... though can be reduced to £16 per month in December. Groceries are inclusive of all weekly shopping... ie nappies every 2 weeks, though I'm sure this is somewhere we can cut back. Petrol is a killer, we have an old 2.7l car and it cost us £70 a week for my husband to go to work, we can't afford to change the car and there's no other way for him to get to work. we did have another cheaper car, unfortunately this was vandalised and written off in August and the payout (after excess) wasn't enough to replace it- hence high insurance costs... we have to still pay the premium even though we don't have the car anymore.The other insurance is Benenden, I've been ill since having the children and this is invaluable, though I will be removing the children from it. I haven't put down anything for clothing as we haven't bought any this year.... been lucky to have hand me downs for the kids. Presents.... I make them myself, but will need to buy something for the kids christmas, though at 1 and 3, it only needs to be something inexpensive, as a family we don't buy for each other, but plan this year to swap skills etc.
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1560
Benefits................................ 572
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2132

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 625 maybe look to rent somewhere cheaper
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 250 :eek: again renting a cheaper place should hopefully bring this down
Electricity............................. 67
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 55 this seems high unless its SWW
Telephone (land line)................... 50
Mobile phone............................ 18.5
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 well done (seems very low for four keep an eye on receipts to make sure )
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 305
Road tax................................ 17
Car Insurance........................... 60.49
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 50 why are you paying childcare when only one wage coming in?
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 7.2
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 26
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 14.69
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 26
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 100 this could be dropped a lot
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
cigarettes.............................. 150 quit or cut down, roll your own would be cheaper
Total monthly expenses.................. 2073.88


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 187
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 187

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
capital one....................0.........0.........29.9
parents........................1000......50........0
Total unsecured debts..........1000......50........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,132
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,073.88
Available for debt repayments........... 58.12
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 50
Amount left after debt repayments....... 8.12

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 187
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,000
Net Assets.............................. -813



Thanks

Emma

your paying over half your parners wage in rent and council tax, its hard if you love the house, but moving would free up alot of income

emsiewoo

I have my own business, hence the childcare ( I put both girls in nursery for 2 afternoons a week, but get one afternoon free for my eldest because she's 3) Unfortunately, the business ( cake design and pampered chef consultant) is still in its infancy so no income as yet to contribute. We were also hoping that we could build any income up and use a) to pay off council tax debt and b) to save for a cheaper car allowing us to take ours off the road. My husbands income is also variable, I've based this on the lowest he comes out with at £360 per week, though for the past 4 weeks it has been between £405 and £435. This however isn't guaranteed overtime,

The rent we pay is average for the area in which we live. We live in the same village I grew up in and the girls are enrolled at the village school which is a major point of us living here, the only cheaper option would be to move into a town environment for a saving of approx £50 per month. It is something we have discussed in the past, but we decided in the long run it was more beneficial to keep our roots here as it only a relatively short time before I am able to go back to work full time.At which point our income will effectively double.

My husband has a 56 mile round trip to work daily, recently changed as his boss moved the factory to the other side of town, prior to July he only had a 30 mile round trip.

The ct is £1496 per annum payable over 10 months, so is usually £149.60 per month, the council are insisting that the arrears are paid back in the 10 month period hence the £250 per month.

The car insurance premium has to be paid in full for the year as we have made a claim, If we don't pay it will default. The same with the breakdown - we signed a 12 month contract! We would have been better off scrapping the vehicle ourselves and not claiming!

The capital one card I got to build up my credit as I don't have any. I put the food shops on and pay in full every month so as not to incur interest charges. I also have a very low credit limit so that the temptation to spend isn't there.

I know I need to stop smoking, I have tried with varying success, but always find some lame excuse start again. I will look into roll ups.

The entertainment budget was tbh a wild guess, we actually do very few paid activities, but now and then we'll take the girls swimming or to soft play if the weathers not good enough for the beach or park, we have also started going to the local for a couple of drinks once a month or so.

Emma x

Damita

Just a question why is your landline so high is that because of your business?

emsiewoo

The £50 landline is actually landline/broadband from BT.

Tixy

Hi Emma

With you not being totally sure about the cost of entertainment then I would suggest you start keeping a spending diary, write down everything you spend, whether its 50p or £50, the cost of entertainment and 'bits and bobs' - such as newspapers, magazines, lottert tickets, sweets for the children etc soon mounts up. It will also show you exactly what you are spending on groceries and cigarettes. Sometimes having things written down can be enough to shock us into action. After a month tally up how much you have spent and what you bought and you may find you will easily see areas you can save.

Good luck with your new business.

dumpy

I can't get freeview where I live (there is a hill in the way) so I have free sat. One off cost for a card, no problem.

Also have BT phone/board band for I think £33 a month which includes free evening and weekend calls and I live in a very rural area with little choice.

I know you have tried and I do understand it's difficult but you spend nearly as much on cigarettes as you do on food!!!

the_cat

emsiewoo wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1560
Benefits................................ 572
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2132

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 625
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 250
Electricity............................. 67
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 55 seems very expensive. investigate a meter if not already using one. Otherwise look at ways to reduce your consumption
Telephone (land line)................... 50 if you are determined to keep sky, switch to their free calls and broadband so you can reduce this
Mobile phone............................ 18.5
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21 freesat!
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 pretty good, well done!
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 305
Road tax................................ 17
Car Insurance........................... 60.49
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 50
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 7.2
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 26 is this the cheapest available?
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 14.69
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 26
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 100 Not huge for 4 people by any means, but will need cutting for a few months until the c.tax is gone
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
cigarettes.............................. 150 MAKE yourself switch to roll ups! Cheaper and probably not so enjoyable, making it easier to quit!!!!! Good luck with that, BTW
Total monthly expenses.................. 2073.88


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 187
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 187

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
capital one....................0.........0.........29.9
parents........................1000......50........0
Total unsecured debts..........1000......50........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,132
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,073.88
Available for debt repayments........... 58.12
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 50
Amount left after debt repayments....... 8.12

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 187
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,000
Net Assets.............................. -813



Thanks

Emma

Overall, I think you are doing well. Limited debt, despite several unexpected bills etc and all at a time when your earning potential is at its most limited with 2 very small kids.:T

You only have a few months before things will get much better. If you are paying the c.tax over 10 months, a lump sum of £500 will accumulate over Jan and Feb, then your payments will go back down. Have you asked the council if you can pay back over the whole 12 months this time? It is worthwhile going back to them again and saying that you are struggling. They might just say yes!:D

dancingfairy

Would definitely try the council again and point out that it is placing a lot of strain on your financially and that you could really do with 1 extra month or 2 (as long as you get uptodate before the start of the new year). That would really help you out.
df