Soa ok?

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

1 adult - 1 child

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 667
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1013.44 (WTC / CTC - doesnt include £20 CB)
Other income............................ 235 (Maintenance)
Total monthly income.................... 1915.44
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 293.3
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 108 (not got the single occupany discount yet)
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20.45
Telephone (land line)................... 40 (includes BB)
Mobile phone............................ 50 (i know i know!)
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 36
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 130
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 39.64
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 455
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 9.85
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1394.36

Surplus £521.08 (remains to see if i ACTUALLY have this left over - which i doubt!)


Hi everyone,

Quick run down,

Ex was in MAJOR debt, anyway, we've now broken up (not because of his debts!) and im trying to sort my money out - technically im NOT in debt but i would like your advise Re: SOA.

I havent budgeted for car tax / mot (TBH my dads an ex mechanic and he does all works for me) and i havent budgeted for birthdays either.

Can you see anything i can reduce or do you think (theroetically) i'll be ok?

Petrol i cant really change - i work far away from home. Nursery i pay for this from my WTC and CTC and its the best around (come Jan 2011 she gets 12 hours free so rate will drop)


Also - Ive been told i should get £35 housing benefit but this isnt gauranteed yet x
Thanks

me x

Apricot

Theoretically I think this looks ok. You could of course cancel the sky and reduce your mobile but, if you have plenty of money left over at the end of the month then there is no need really.

Groceries look low for 1 adult and 1 child - is that definitely correct? If so congratulations!

Perhaps start a spending diary so you can see how much you spend each day and where your money goes if you don't actually end up with this surplus at the endf of each month.

HTH x

Tixy

Hi

There are definite savings you could make (if you want) but far more important is that surplus money and exactly where it is being spent. If you have most of that free then you don't need to worry about the cutbacks.
However I'll whizz through anyway.
Have you started a spending diary?

mommyme wrote: »

1 adult - 1 child

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 667
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1013.44 (WTC / CTC - doesnt include £20 CB)
Other income............................ 235 (Maintenance)
Total monthly income.................... 1915.44
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 293.3
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 108 (not got the single occupany discount yet) some are difficult about backdating, get on to this asap
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20.45
Telephone (land line)................... 40 (includes BB)could get cheaper (cheapest combined deal is £18)
Mobile phone............................ 50 (i know i know!) ok won't comment then!
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 36 could lower or try cancelling to see if they give you a half price deal
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100 very good - are you sure this is enough?
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 130
Road tax................................ 0 need to budget
Car Insurance........................... 39.64
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 do you pay dad for parts/tyres etc?
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 455 can you and are you getting vouchers from work, which saves tax
Other child related expenses............ 0 no after school activites etc?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 9.85
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 I would budget for all these, otherwise its too easy to overspend and £500 can easily disappear
Haircuts................................ 0 "
Entertainment........................... 0 "
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 "
Total monthly expenses.................. 1394.36

Surplus £521.08 (remains to see if i ACTUALLY have this left over - which i doubt!)


Hi everyone,

Quick run down,

Ex was in MAJOR debt, anyway, we've now broken up (not because of his debts!) and im trying to sort my money out - technically im NOT in debt but i would like your advise Re: SOA.

I havent budgeted for car tax / mot (TBH my dads an ex mechanic and he does all works for me) and i havent budgeted for birthdays either.

Can you see anything i can reduce or do you think (theroetically) i'll be ok?

Petrol i cant really change - i work far away from home. Nursery i pay for this from my WTC and CTC and its the best around (come Jan 2011 she gets 12 hours free so rate will drop)


Also - Ive been told i should get £35 housing benefit but this isnt gauranteed yet x
Thanks

me x

Good luck

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

princessleah_ wrote: »

Theoretically I think this looks ok. You could of course cancel the sky and reduce your mobile but, if you have plenty of money left over at the end of the month then there is no need really.

Groceries look low for 1 adult and 1 child - is that definitely correct? If so congratulations!

Perhaps start a spending diary so you can see how much you spend each day and where your money goes if you don't actually end up with this surplus at the endf of each month.

HTH x

the groceries - we generally dont eat that much tbh! DD is in nursery 3 days a week and is there till 6pm at night so she doesnt eat at home those days, and on a sunday shes with her dad. I generally dont eat that much - Normally cereal for brekkie, half a tin of soup at work then something quick when i get in. DD is in stages of potty training so no more nappies etc Im getting quite handy at turning up at my mums around dinner time too lol

Sky - i was thinking of getting rid of this but i dont really socialise where it involves spending money (normally we go round one of our houses every thurs, get a take away btwn us and it normally costs about £3 each lol) If i was to watch the freeview channels would i still be able to record on my sky box?

Mobile - im a sod for this one! Im on the orange dolphin thing - I get unlimited texts and 500 minutes but im a phone-a-holic - its REALLY bad (constantly checking FB and emails lol i need a life!)

I havent included the £20 a week CB - to be honest i spend this on a dance class so thats even any way.

I've started an excel spreadsheet to see what i spend. Im going on a few trips in the next few weeks so i know i'll be spending then but this isnt a "every week" thing (and ive saved £350 for that anyway so shouldnt come out of budget) but i do spend a fair amount on clothes (have lost a lot of weight so i technically do need new clothes but not as much as ive been buying!)

Tixy

I was an orange dolphin - and spending similar to you, but i switched recently to a deal which included internet time - so far I am not going over any of my limits so have saved about £10 a month, when your contract is up (or if it is) its worth speaking to the retentions team at orange and saying what you want (make sure you remember to ask to keep your magic numbers if you use them!)

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Council tax............................. 108 (not got the single occupany discount yet) some are difficult about backdating, get on to this asap

they are sending me out a form this week - i pay council tax on a 10 month scheme, next payment not due till May so hopefully this will be sorted then

Telephone (land line)................... 40 (includes BB)could get cheaper (cheapest combined deal is £18)

WOW i didnt know it was that low? Im on the BT thing - Free uk calls unlimited times and unlimited BB

Mobile phone............................ 50 (i know i know!) ok won't comment then!

lol this is my baddy!

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 36 could lower or try cancelling to see if they give you a half price deal


Again - i wonder if i can still record?


Groceries etc. ......................... 100 very good - are you sure this is enough?

See above - i believe this is correct but will keep an eye out (first month being single and ex OH was the pig who ate junk all the time!)


Road tax................................ 0 need to budget


I know - Its paid now up until next year so was going to just take it out of a months surplus

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 do you pay dad for parts/tyres etc?

no - im spoilt lol I only have to pay the £30+ whatever it is for the testing


Childcare/nursery....................... 455 can you and are you getting vouchers from work, which saves tax

I cant get busy bee's right now - ive only been in my current job for 6 months - the contract says i cant have them till after a year but i will claim as soon as possible

Other child related expenses............ 0 no after school activites etc?

DD is 2 - she's happy with a card board box at the moment lol she has a lot of outside toys (wendy house etc) and is happy playing with play dough and baking with me


Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 I would budget for all these, otherwise its too easy to overspend and £500 can easily disappear

Normally family get £10 in a card - DD gets a fair amount but her Bday isnt till sept but will start saving. I buy all my xmas pressies in the jan sales lol

Haircuts................................ 0 "

ah i missed this one! my friend is a hair dresser - i pay £6 every few months lol

Entertainment........................... 0 "

I erm . . go erm . . pole dancing on a sunday (im SO going to hell!) its £20 a lesson - havent include CB in my income so that cancels it out. Other than that its girly nights in and thats about £3 a week

Emergency fund.......................... 0 "

Never really needed to save for this - How much does everyone put away? My house is rented through an association so all repairs are done by them within 24 hours.

Surplus this is the first month i will technically be single and i dont expect to have this - already started my spending diary

Apricot

Just a thought if you do have a significant surplus it might be worth putting away a set amount each month in an emergency fund "for a rainy day"

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Quick update of SOA. Have reduced Sky - Its now £18 a month, going to see whether we actually use any of the sky channels or just freeview and if we dont use it then its gone.

Mobiles high i know - on contract, cant get out of it but to be honest im a manic texter / caller and nmy bills used to be over £90

BB/Phone - High i know but the phones free calls unlimited and the BB is unlimited too and i got the contract recently when Ex was still living with me and he needed it for work (so im stuck with it for now!)

Dance lessons - yeah ok these could go but i enjoy them so . .


1 adult - 1 child

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 667
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1093.44 (WTC / CTC / CB)
Other income............................ 350 (Maintenance)
Total monthly income.................... 2110.44
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 293.3
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 81.00
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20.45
Telephone (land line)................... 40 (includes BB)
Mobile phone............................ 50 (i know i know!)
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 18
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 130
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 39.64
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 510
Other child related expenses............ 20 (YogaTotz for DD)
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 9.85
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 6
Entertainment........................... 50 (My dance lessons)
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
Total monthly expenses.................. 1590.36

Surplus is £520.08 a month

the things in red above are things i dont currently save for and will be trying to (ive got a sealed pot so going to put the money in there) DD nursery fees are dependant upon weeks in month so the highest it will be is £510 (lowest it will be is £408)

Am i being stupid for panicing? I'm terrified that I'm going to get in trouble with cash. Ive done a budget sheet and it works out fine if i stick to it and i have REALLY reined in my spending.

Oh groceries - I've upped the figure to £150 - DD doesnt eat at home for 3 days a week. I generally dont eat much - 3 days of the week im at work so have cereal, soup then my tea. Rest of days i dont munch etc - If we have a take away (normally a chinese, just a chow mein and i save half for the next days dinner too)

I'm so scared

(sorry to people struggling with debts - i know i must seem a cow, Ive been there with the debts, OH had £32k worth, I got it down to £12k, rest is up to him)

Choc-addict

mommyme wrote: »

I'm so scared

(sorry to people struggling with debts - i know i must seem a cow, Ive been there with the debts, OH had £32k worth, I got it down to £12k, rest is up to him)

Hi,

I'm a newbie on here but think it's great that although you don't have debts you are taking steps to ensure that you are living as best as you can. Don't be scared, i'm sure you'll be fine! I would say perhaps (unless you already do) start some kind of savings fund (rainy day) as you never know when some unexpected cost may come up and that's usually when things start to go wrong or spiral.

Spending diary is a good idea, def something I will take on board when posting my own circs - not brave enough yet so will continue lurking

Good luck.

curlytop12

hi,just wanted to say good luck and well done for looking so sensibly at your new financial situation.Its hard adjusting to being single mum and realising you've a lot more responsibility,think you are doing a fine job!
p.s i've just swapped sky(basic plus kids) to free view,saving £20/month, theres now new channels i didn't have before,i'm not missing the few i've lost and my 9 year old is adjusting well to life without Ben 10!

Numpty_Monkey

mommyme
DFW is for what it says on the DEBT FREE WANNABE
you don't want to be in debt,
Therefore you are allowed in:D:j:T:A