Tink's reality check!!

Tinkabell25

Hey DFWs,
I used to lurk on the site a lot and managed to clear some debts using the tips from some of you guys (:jthanks!!!) However now i have a target and need help or advise on how to reduce my expenditure to pay off some overdrafts and also start paying off towards my loan but at the moment it's not working too well! My OH and i moved from a lovely area to where we are now 3 years ago for work purposes but now want to return to where we came from. Problem is, money!I want to be able to get a good mortgage and that means i have to reduce my debt in some way.
I have had a massive reality check this week and now realise that i need to start hammering away at my debts in a big way. We are paying off a 5k bill this month so this is what finances will look like after that as all spare cash went into paying that.
Step one is to post my SOA. Any help or advice you can give will be greatly appreciated!
Here goes:
Monthly income after tax................ 950 Looking for new employment for more money if pos!
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1600 (ish-changes dependent on o/time)
Total monthly income.................... 2550
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1004 (fixed til 2010 @ 5.88%)
Council tax............................. 148
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 25
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 14
Mobile phone............................ 60 (2 contracts)
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 55 (includes landline calls and also internet)
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 160 (already reduced from £400)
Road tax................................ 5.8
Car Insurance........................... 62.5
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 24
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 33
Buildings/Contents insurance..................... 24.94)
Life assurance ......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 0 (gave these up, i cut his hair and friend cuts mine!)
Entertainment........................... 15
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1952.24

Thanks.
Tink x

gonzo127

hi Tink

welcome back to the forums well you SOA appaers to be good however we have some ommissions on it mainly what your debt is etc

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

use the above link and fill in everything and post everything even if it is 0 as somtimes you might have somethihng at 0 where in real life you might actually need something

anywasy at the moment fomr above it does look like you have £600 surplus a month which is a great amount however does depend on how much you have to pay out on your debts

Tinkabell25

Hi, Sorry, here's the full version
Monthly income after tax................ 950
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1600
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2550
Monthly Expense Details[/b]
Mortgage................................ 1004
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Council tax............................. 148
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 25
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 14
Mobile phone............................ 60
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 55
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 6
Car Insurance........................... 62.5
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 24
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 33
Buildings insurance..................... 24.94
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 15
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1952.44
House value (Gross)..................... 178000
Car(s).................................. 20000
Total Assets............................ 198000
Mortgage...................... 162500...(1004).....5.88
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................20000.....308.......7.9
Overdraft......................300.......0.........0 (unsure!)
Parents........................4000......0.........0 (not started paying this back yet, need to start asap.)
Total unsecured debts..........24300.....308.......-
Total monthly income.................... 2,550
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,952.44
Available for debt repayments........... 597.56
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 308
Amount left after debt repayments....... 289.56

gonzo127

Tinkabell25 wrote: »

Hi, Sorry, here's the full version
Monthly income after tax................ 950
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1600
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2550
Monthly Expense Details[/b]
Mortgage................................ 1004
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Council tax............................. 148 - this seems high have you checked to see if you are in the right banding, plus are you paying over 12 months or 10?
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 25
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 14
Mobile phone............................ 60 - this is quite high find out if you are using all your mins and texts and if not phone the ocmpany and see if they will drop the tarrif, if not when is the contract/s up?
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 55 - this is a luxury
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 - this is quite a bit for 2 people i always tell people to try and aim for £60 per person per month however some people feed a family of 4 on £150 and over on the old style board they are trying to do a meal plan to feed a family of 4 on £100 or less!
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 6
Car Insurance........................... 62.5 - when are renewals, buy these through cashback sites like quidco if you can
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 24
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 33
Buildings insurance..................... 24.94
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 15
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 - i always htink you need a little bit here
Total monthly expenses.................. 1952.44
House value (Gross)..................... 178000
Car(s).................................. 20000
Total Assets............................ 198000
Mortgage...................... 162500...(1004).....5.88
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................20000.....308.......7.9
Overdraft......................300.......0.........0 (unsure!)
Parents........................4000......0.........0 (not started paying this back yet, need to start asap.)
Total unsecured debts..........24300.....308.......-
Total monthly income.................... 2,550
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,952.44
Available for debt repayments........... 597.56
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 308
Amount left after debt repayments....... 289.56 - good news you have a surplus each month

hi again Tink i have made some comments above which i hope help a little bit for you to look into, the big one is do you actually have a surplus of nearly £300 EVERY month if not you need to start a spending diary to find out where this gets spent you can also to a retrospective one by going through previous months bank statements and marking off what each withdrawal was for, if you cant pin point them all for definate you will need to take more notice of what you are doing with your card

savingmummy

Tinkabell25 wrote: »

Hi, Sorry, here's the full version
Monthly income after tax................ 950
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1600
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2550
Monthly Expense Details[/b]
Mortgage................................ 1004
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Council tax............................. 148 is this over 10 oe 12 months? spread to 12 if 10.
Electricity............................. 50 reduce where you can, find cheaper
Gas..................................... 25 is this cheapest?
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 14
Mobile phone............................ 60 can this be reduced? many people call their contract companies and haggle for cheaper! Once contract ends go payg!
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 55 can you reduce package? or go freeview for now?
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 is this for 2? try and reduce, stick to a list each week of what you need, meal plan, drop brands here and there.
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 160 i`m guessing this is needed but anyway of cutting back?
Road tax................................ 6
Car Insurance........................... 62.5 no cheaper anywhere else?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10 this seems low is this including mot/service/tyres etc
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 24
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 33 can you find a cheaper insurance this seems high?
Buildings insurance..................... 24.94
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20 reduce, limit who you buy for
Haircuts................................ 0 never?
Entertainment........................... 15
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 you should keep a bit incase of an emergency ie, car breakdown, appliance breakdown!
Total monthly expenses.................. 1952.44
House value (Gross)..................... 178000
Car(s).................................. 20000
Total Assets............................ 198000
Mortgage...................... 162500...(1004).....5.88

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................20000.....308.......7.9
Overdraft......................300.......0.........0 (unsure!)
Parents........................4000......0.........0 (not started paying this back yet, need to start asap.)
Total unsecured debts..........24300.....308.......-
Total monthly income.................... 2,550
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,952.44
Available for debt repayments........... 597.56
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 308

Amount left after debt repayments....... 289.56 where does this go??

Good luck and well done for sorting things out!x
I have added what i would try and change or reduce to help out!
You have almost £290 a mth left over is this correct? where does this go? This could clear your 300 overdraft in one month!!
If you are unsure where this goes it may be an idea to start a spending diary and ensure you add up all the little things ie, lunches at work, coffee, mags, papers etc they all add up!

blue-bells_2

Hi Tink

Just wanted to say good luck with your debt busting I would agree with savingmummy in that you should keep a spending diary- it's amazing how much gets frittered away, could really help you identify where your money is going and encourage you to spend less! x

Tinkabell25

Hi all,
Thanks for your tips!! With regards to the council tax we pay over 10 months and it has been contested but the banding is correct in the council's mind! The Mobile bills will be reduced in May when the contract ends as i'll be going on to a cheaper tariff. We live away from all friends and family (sadly no friends up here) so i use a lot more texts than i used to. This is also why we allow ourselves the luxury of sky tv as we don't go out more than once every coulple of months and we love movies. The fuel has been slashed by our cars now being diesel, OH works around 15 miles away so he uses a lot of fuel. It used to be around 400 a month though! OUr cars don't need MOT's for two years hence the cut in car costs. I will shop around to cut the utility bills though so thanks for that. As for the groceries i will have to check out the OS boards as i know this can be cut. As for the haircuts, my ss does mine and i do the OH's!
I'm going to start a spending diary, thanks for that tip, i have no idea where all that money goes!!!!!!
Thanks for the Luck Blue Bells!!
Tink xx

Tinkabell25

OMG i spend a fortune on silly things!! Teas at work at 50p a go, the odd snack when i already have food with me. Shameful!!! This is just through 2 days spending diary. I have today brought my own milk and mug and am using free hot water from machines. Also actually eating the food i bring. It really is the little things that add up!
The bills is my next challenge. Our latest Gas/elec bills were much less than last year which is a positive as we thought they'd be more but i had changed to a web tariff to make it cheaper so although the above amounts are what i put by for the bills they are actually less. Nice to have the reserve just in case though. Onwards with the battle. Also need to start flyladying...my house is a tip and i'm sure i could ebay some of the stuff i have. Anyone know how to get into selling with no rating? A lot of ppl don't trust those with no seller rating which is why i haven't started yet.
The sunshine has me in a good, positive mood, woohoo!
Tink x

miss_missy

hi tink
just wanted to say well done with everything youve started the spending diary is a real eye opener the amount of money that i found i was wasting on things like mags and newspapers everytime i popped to the shop id pick up a new one and half the time id never get to read them
as for ebay ive more or less given up selling on there as by the time you cover the charges and the time thats involved theres little in profit made for the time spent doing it, we do carboots only in spring/summer as im not good with the cold i box up things as i go and they will be taken to the carboots to be sold i get friends and family to donate anything they are thinking of getting rid of also and i find most stuff usually ends up selling altho some things do take a few weeks
keep up the good work

Tinkabell25

Hi,
Thanks Miss Missy!
Well the crackdown has begun, i am currently waiting to hear back on a couple of jobs which will pay me 2 or 3k more a year.
I think i'll avoid ebay as all the items i have a small ones. I plan to have a damn good sort out and then i'll do a car boot in the next couple of months. If i can get one of these new jobs it means i would have an extra couple of hundred per month which would be fab!
I have been neglecting my spending diary a bit so i will start a new one today. Hopefully start seeing more of a difference. Also doing slimming world which i'm finding hard, must find a way to stop craving crisps!
Tink x

Tinkabell25

I've made some mini resolutions to do by the end of the year so hopefully these will go to plan!

1. Start paying the parental debt back-aiming for £250 by the end of the year
2. Clear all overdrafts by end of June
3. See if i can save around £50 per month for a sort of emergency fund

Starts from March payday!
Tink x