My SOA - Any and all advice welcomed

Hammerpgh

savingmummy wrote: »

Whether the debt is yours or not as a partnership you have to include ALL income and outgoings.
I can guarentee you will become debtfree if two heads work with it.

As for mobile i cancelled mine, i called and said i could no longer pay and they accepted worth a go!

I'll reply to both yours in one here..

The mobile for me is pretty important. I have two daughters living away from home, one at university in Leicester and the other now lives away permanently in Manchester. My mobile is my main way of keeping in touch with them and although £30 pounds may seem a lot if I was on payg I would be paying far more. Neither have land lines so mobiles is the only way to contact them.

Sky is something that I could look at reducing right now. I suppose as I do not pay out for any other ‘vices’ I consider I deserve at leastI’ll have to look into how much the payment on that could be reduced.

Just checked and my internet is actually £20 and not £25. A little less but not much.

Hammerpgh

Mobile phone............................ 30 go payg or reduce amount spent if already payg
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 48 get rid of this for now until your straight! freeview maybe??
Internet Services....................... 25 can you get this cheaper?
Groceries etc. ......................... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -91.57
If you got rid of sky and reduced mobile this would put your amount into a clear balance each month.
Do you NEED sky is it a must right now?
Your partner does other expenses and you need to inculde all this in the soa, including her income and outgoings - she may also beable to cut back on her spending each month.

savingmummy wrote: »

Whether the debt is yours or not as a partnership you have to include ALL income and outgoings.
I can guarentee you will become debtfree if two heads work with it.

As for mobile i cancelled mine, i called and said i could no longer pay and they accepted worth a go!

I'll reply to both yours in one here..

The mobile for me is pretty important. I have two daughters living away from home, one at university in Leicester and the other now lives away permanently in Manchester. My mobile is my main way of keeping in touch with them and although £30 pounds may seem a lot if I was on payg I would be paying far more. Neither have land lines so mobiles is the only way to contact them.

Sky is something that I could look at reducing right now. I suppose as I do not pay out for any other ‘vices’ I consider I deserve at leastI’ll have to look into how much the payment on that could be reduced.

Just checked and my internet is actually £20 and not £25. A little less but not much.

Hammerpgh

savingmummy wrote: »

You have answered the question....if you put them together you could manage which is what you need to do!
As your partner is already giving you money to help she is becoming liable so i dont see what is up she obviously wants to be debtfree as a couple.
I can see what your saying regarding its not hers but your debt BUT as a couple you need to work together.

If your OH had debt and you were financially ok would you help? Is your OH wanting to help you?

Your OH does all the other expenditures, is she budgeting and spending low? this is why people do joint SOA. You may find your OH is spending more then needed which could help each month.

I understand what you are saying but her helping doesn’t make her liable does it? The fact she is helping shows her willingness to help I think. As mentioned in an earlier post I will post our joint SOA and you can give me your comments on that as well.

Hammerpgh

Well as promised here is my joint SOA. Look forward to your comments:-

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1580
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1100
Benefits................................ 120
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2800
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 850
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 30
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 12
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 60
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 48
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 12
Car Insurance........................... 33
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 250
Other child related expenses............ 35
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 25
Life assurance ......................... 15
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 2012

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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................8400......170.......0
MBNA...........................6564......150.......0
Council Tax....................1900......165.......0
Debenhams......................300.......12........0
Mastercard.....................320.......15........26.9
Barclaycard....................500.......25........24.9
Capital One....................2500......75........34.08
Littlewoods....................1200......50........0
Car Finance....................3000......84........0
Total unsecured debts..........24684.....746.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,800
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,012
Available for debt repayments........... 788
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 746
Amount left after debt repayments....... 42
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -24,684
Net Assets.............................. -24,684
Created using the SOA calculator at
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

The council tax debt is my partners and we are currently trying to arrange repayments of 50 pounds per month with the bailiffs. The £165 is what they are asking for at the moment.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Hammerpgh wrote: »

Well as promised here is my joint SOA. Look forward to your comments:-

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1580
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1100
Benefits................................ 120 Is this tax credits? where is the £20 a week you get for the child? is this included?
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2800
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 850
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120 Pay over 12 months not 10
Electricity............................. 50 This is high, lower it
Gas..................................... 30 this is BRILLIANT
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 12
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 60 Lose this - PAYG, dont go over minutes etc
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 48 Get this on a cheaper package - do you REALLY watch ALL the channels you are paying for?
Internet Services....................... 20 You can get this cheaper
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 This isnt bad but can be lowered, down grade in products, change supermarket, use the supermart shopper comparison site
Clothing................................ 40 You dont NEED to spend £40 on clothes
Petrol/diesel........................... 40 This is brilliant
Road tax................................ 12
Car Insurance........................... 33
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 250 Do you get tax credits for this?
Other child related expenses............ 35 What is this?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15 This can be lowered to £10 a month, Child gets free dentist/prescriptions
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20 ouch - this can be lowered
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 25 really? this can bee lowered - shop around
Life assurance ......................... 15
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25 Lower this
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 20 good
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 2012

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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................8400......170.......0
MBNA...........................6564......150.......0
Council Tax....................1900......165.......0
Debenhams......................300.......12........0
Mastercard.....................320.......15........26.9
Barclaycard....................500.......25........24.9
Capital One....................2500......75........34.08
Littlewoods....................1200......50........0
Car Finance....................3000......84........0
Total unsecured debts..........24684.....746.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,800
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,012
Available for debt repayments........... 788
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 746
Amount left after debt repayments....... 42
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -24,684
Net Assets.............................. -24,684
Created using the SOA calculator at
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

The council tax debt is my partners and we are currently trying to arrange repayments of 50 pounds per month with the bailiffs. The £165 is what they are asking for at the moment.

Hiya,

My comments are in PINK for you.

your partners income WILL be taken into the "household" income. so will ANY benefits that you get for the child. YES they will only be classed as your debts but the HOUSEHOLD income is what they base the figures on. If your partner is already helping out then whats the problem?

Me x

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

i think you both would benefit from filling out a expenditure form. That way it will sugggest payments that you can afford and will do the payments equally - so if you owe someone £5000 and someone else £50 they dont both get £10 (does that make sense?)

There is one on the nationdebt line website which is good

Me x

Hammerpgh

mommyme wrote: »

i think you both would benefit from filling out a expenditure form. That way it will sugggest payments that you can afford and will do the payments equally - so if you owe someone £5000 and someone else £50 they dont both get £10 (does that make sense?)

There is one on the nationdebt line website which is good

Me x

Thanks for the advice, I'll check out that expenditure form.

Peter

Hammerpgh

mommyme wrote: »

Hiya,

My comments are in PINK for you.

your partners income WILL be taken into the "household" income. so will ANY benefits that you get for the child. YES they will only be classed as your debts but the HOUSEHOLD income is what they base the figures on. If your partner is already helping out then whats the problem?

Me x

Thanks for all the advice, here are my answers on each:-


Benefits................................ 120 Is this tax credits? where is the £20 a week you get for the child? is this included?
This is the Childcare element of tax credits and you are correct I forgot to include the £18 child benefit.
Council tax............................. 120 Pay over 12 months not 10
Will look into this one. Thanks.
Electricity............................. 50 This is high, lower it
This isn't set in stone as Npower have been making a mess of our account and have still not given us what they consider we need to pay each month. This is based on what we paid in our last house so was using that as a basis for this one.
Gas..................................... 30 this is BRILLIANT
Hopefully it's enough but won't know until the first bill comes in shortly.
Mobile phone............................ 60 Lose this - PAYG, dont go over minutes etc
This is for both our mobiles. PAYG is not really an option. Keeping in touch with my two older daughters is very inportant to me and neither have landlines.
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 48 Get this on a cheaper package - do you REALLY watch ALL the channels you are paying for?
This was going to be my first port of call for making a reduction. I have looked into reducing the payments previously but without more or less getting rid of everything but the basics the saving is not that great. I guess as I don't drink, smoke or have any other vices my sport watching is something I consider I deserve having worked hard all my life.
Internet Services....................... 20 You can get this cheaper
This is with BT and the 18 month contract still has some way to go. Didn't think it was that bad to be honest. No Virgin in this area which would have been much cheaper. I'll see what options I have with BT though.
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 This isnt bad but can be lowered, down grade in products, change supermarket, use the supermart shopper comparison site
Clothing................................ 40 You dont NEED to spend £40 on clothes
I actually didn't put anything here originally but the calculator said I should add something. I rarely spend anything, my partner buys something every now and then but it's the cost of an ever growing kids clothes that bumps things up. School uniforms are not cheap!! 'll knock this down to maybe £25 What doi you think?
Petrol/diesel........................... 40 This is brilliant
Car is mainly used for my partner to get back and forth to work.
Childcare/nursery....................... 250 Do you get tax credits for this?
That's the 120 mentioned in the income part.
Other child related expenses............ 35 What is this?
£7 pw for dancing. Just bumped it up another few quid for anything else that crops up (school trips, etc).
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15 This can be lowered to £10 a month, Child gets free dentist/prescriptions
My partner wears contacts (£4.99 pm) I suffer badly with mouth ulcers. Partner has monthly prescription for pills for depression. Don;t think this could be reduced.
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20 ouch - this can be lowered
Two dogs. Will look at whether this is possible.
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 25 really? this can bee lowered - shop around
Unfortunately several claims in the last couple of years have bumped this up.
Life assurance ......................... 15
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25 Lower this
Tough when there are 6 daughters and three grandchildren to buy for not including ourselves.
Entertainment........................... 20 good

The problem is that the arrears on the two MBNA cards are too high for me to clear and therefore I am forever getting extra charges applied tgo my account. They have been very good in trying to help me through the bad times but it has reached the stage where it has been keeping me awake at night for some time. The minimum payments I outlined do not take into account the arrears and even if they did it would mean I would never be debt free because once interest was applied I would only be clearing about £20 of the debt on those cards each month. I just want to know what my options are in regard to this. Or do I not have any and have to just struggle through each month with no prospect of ever getting free of this weight on my shoulders.

Many, many thanks for your comments and suggestions. I will certainly look into everything you have suggested and see what I can reduce.

Peter

katsu

What can you sell? Books on Amazon, household random stuff on ebay etc. See what extra money you can make towards the arrears.

Can you take a second job until you have cleared the arrears?

katsu

Hammerpgh wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, here are my answers on each:-

Mobile phone............................ 60 Lose this - PAYG, dont go over minutes etc
This is for both our mobiles. PAYG is not really an option. Keeping in touch with my two older daughters is very inportant to me and neither have landlines.
Investigate if you can call them cheaper - can you skype them? Can you get a package where you get, for example, free calls O2 to O2, or use the orange "magic numbers" buy the daughter a PAYG sim (or get one free via quidco) and call them for less.
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 48 Get this on a cheaper package - do you REALLY watch ALL the channels you are paying for?
This was going to be my first port of call for making a reduction. I have looked into reducing the payments previously but without more or less getting rid of everything but the basics the saving is not that great. I guess as I don't drink, smoke or have any other vices my sport watching is something I consider I deserve having worked hard all my life.
And you can go back to it when the arrears are cleared. Use the internet to watch programmes after broadcast, use the radio, cut this package down and you can reduce your debts. What do you want more - to reduce the money owing or watch sports? I'm really not trying to be cruel but that seems to be the choice you are making.
Clothing................................ 40 You dont NEED to spend £40 on clothes
I actually didn't put anything here originally but the calculator said I should add something. I rarely spend anything, my partner buys something every now and then but it's the cost of an ever growing kids clothes that bumps things up. School uniforms are not cheap!! 'll knock this down to maybe £25 What doi you think?]
What do your bank statements say you and she have really been spending? No point having an SOA that does not show you where you truly start.
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15 This can be lowered to £10 a month, Child gets free dentist/prescriptions
My partner wears contacts (£4.99 pm) I suffer badly with mouth ulcers. Partner has monthly prescription for pills for depression. Don;t think this could be reduced.
Would a pre-payment cert work out cheaper? Investigate.
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25 Lower this
Tough when there are 6 daughters and three grandchildren to buy for not including ourselves.
And you need to set them a good example of being prudent and sorting out your finances. I gave 23 people Christmas gifts for £180 this year. I shop in the sales all year round, store gifts for when needed, use poundshops, charity shops and high street stores. You can cut this and you need to.
Entertainment........................... 20
Is this really necessary now? Can you reduce?

Peter

Hi Peter,

My comments in green. They aren't meant to be too harsh, but if you can't make ends meet, you need to reduce your spending, which will involve some hard choices. I've re-read them and really hope you can take them as constructive help. Good luck.