My SOA - not looking good, advice please

saz1970

ok I've finally got around to putting the figures down on paper (well virtual paper) and am horrified at how much this debt has increased in a short space of time. Time to take some action. Here is my SOA and any positive input would be helpful. I can already see that the thing that is killing us is the CC payments obviously.

Bit of background. We have been running our own business but that is now bringing in nothing and we have both got part time jobs. OH is looking for full time and I can take overtime when its available. Our house is in the perfect location etc and we haven't been here long so although one solution would be to sell up its not my preferred option if it can be avoided and we need 3 beds because of the kids. As you can see mortgage is low (although interest only at the moment) so I can't see that renting would help financially.

Not sure it makes a difference to out options but my OH has no assets at all of his own and the house is in my sole name. About 60% of the CC debt is in his name with me as additional card holder only.

Ok here goes -

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.................... 2 one of these is a DLA car and the other a classic which may be sold

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 397.7
Partners monthly income after tax....... 318.93
Benefits................................ 911.99
Other income............................ 25.04
Total monthly income.................... 1653.66

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 316.1
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120.24
Electricity............................. 59
Gas..................................... 65
Oil..................................... 5
Water rates............................. 38.99
Telephone (land line)................... 71.76 this includes broadband and tv package
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 430
Clothing................................ 85
Petrol/diesel........................... 135
Road tax................................ 0 no car expenses as car is on motobility scheme
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 4
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 9.25
Buildings insurance..................... 35.17 buildings and contents total
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 7.5
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 65 have a large family but concede that this could be cut
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
Total monthly expenses.................. 1534.13


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 165000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 7000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 172000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 75000....(316.1)....0
Total secured & HP debts...... 75000.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
halifax........................6910.26...69.1......20.95
halifax........................9326.91...96.45.....15.94
barclaycard....................6816.67...153.3.....14.9
cahoot.........................1291.73...33.12.....0
Egg............................6441.22...122.7.....0
Egg............................6822.43...184.1.....0
Marbles........................2466.2....61.65.....32.94
Mint...........................408.15....17........17.47
virgin.........................7112.2....140.9.....21.66
MBNA...........................6657.38...174.8.....31
barclaycard....................6226.76...155.6.....22.9

Now I'm not sure if this has formatted correctly as it was messing me about but hopefully it makes sense!

Pinky15

Hi there -well done for posting - the SOA doesnt seem to have added debt total up at the bottom so cant see exactly how much debt there is in total. One of the main things I can see is groceries - these can easily be halved to £200 with meal planning or try the old style board they have some fab ideas.
Looking at your income and debts tho I think you need to seek some further advice from one of the free debt charities - someone cleverer will be along soon and post a link!

saz1970

Sorry this is the rest of it but I've had to put it in manually because it wouldn't do it otherwise for some reason! Thanks for your prompt reply

Summary of Monthly Income, expense and surplus

Total monthly income: £1653.66

Expenses (incl. HP & secured debts): £1534.13

Available for debt repayments: £119.53

Unsecured debt repayments: £1208.72

Surplus (shortfall if negative) £-1089.19
Personal Balance Sheet Summary

Assets: £172,000

Secured & HP Debt £-75,000

Unsecured Debt £-60,479.91

Net Assets £ 36,520.09

gonzo127

well you are missing a surplus/loss bit at the bottom which make a few things difficult however will make comment to help

saz1970 wrote: »

ok I've finally got around to putting the figures down on paper (well virtual paper) and am horrified at how much this debt has increased in a short space of time. Time to take some action. Here is my SOA and any positive input would be helpful. I can already see that the thing that is killing us is the CC payments obviously.

Bit of background. We have been running our own business but that is now bringing in nothing and we have both got part time jobs. OH is looking for full time and I can take overtime when its available. Our house is in the perfect location etc and we haven't been here long so although one solution would be to sell up its not my preferred option if it can be avoided and we need 3 beds because of the kids. As you can see mortgage is low (although interest only at the moment) so I can't see that renting would help financially.

Not sure it makes a difference to out options but my OH has no assets at all of his own and the house is in my sole name. About 60% of the CC debt is in his name with me as additional card holder only.

Ok here goes -

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.................... 2 one of these is a DLA car and the other a classic which may be sold

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 397.7
Partners monthly income after tax....... 318.93
Benefits................................ 911.99
Other income............................ 25.04
Total monthly income.................... 1653.66

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 316.1
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120.24 - get split over 12 months instead of 10 if possible
Electricity............................. 59
Gas..................................... 65
Oil..................................... 5
Water rates............................. 38.99
Telephone (land line)................... 71.76 this includes broadband and tv package - sorry this is still a lot, the starter package including all costs under £30 so you will need to look at droping this
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 430 - this can be dropped, i always suggest people aim for £60 per person per month, this is do-able and some people can do this for a family of 4 for £150, plan all your meals and only buy what you need, batch cook and freeze left overs for instant ready meals, and drop a brand chalange (check signature)
Clothing................................ 85 - holy cow! should be a maximum of £5 per adult and £10 per child, currently spending over £1000 a year on clothes, your wardrobes must be bursting, trying waring what you have for now, and asda,tesco,primark and matalan for anything new
Petrol/diesel........................... 135
Road tax................................ 0 no car expenses as car is on motobility scheme
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 4
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 9.25
Buildings insurance..................... 35.17 buildings and contents total
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 7.5
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 65 have a large family but concede that this could be cut - tell them you just cant afford to buy for as many people, and only buy for closest family, you will probably find a lot of people will be happy they wont have to buy for you as well
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
Total monthly expenses.................. 1534.13


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 165000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 7000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 172000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 75000....(316.1)....0
Total secured & HP debts...... 75000.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
halifax........................6910.26...69.1......20.95
halifax........................9326.91...96.45.....15.94
barclaycard....................6816.67...153.3.....14.9
cahoot.........................1291.73...33.12.....0
Egg............................6441.22...122.7.....0
Egg............................6822.43...184.1.....0
Marbles........................2466.2....61.65.....32.94
Mint...........................408.15....17........17.47
virgin.........................7112.2....140.9.....21.66
MBNA...........................6657.38...174.8.....31
barclaycard....................6226.76...155.6.....22.9

Now I'm not sure if this has formatted correctly as it was messing me about but hopefully it makes sense!

ok from what i am seeing you have got a massive loss each month as you currently only have £119.53 to pay your debts and well your debts are much more than this (if i have worked it out properly you need £1208.72 a month just for your minimum repayments)

basically i really think you need to contact one of the free debt charities ASAP as there is currently no way you can make up that deficuit on your current income

Tixy

It seems to be missing the end off your SoA.
Are all your debts shown on the list or are any missing?
If not you have a shortfall of £1090 per month (see bit in blue at the bottom). Whilst there may be some changes you can make it seems unlikely you can make up that sort of amount just from cutbacks.

Have you sought any free professional advice yet?

saz1970 wrote: »

ok I've finally got around to putting the figures down on paper (well virtual paper) and am horrified at how much this debt has increased in a short space of time. Time to take some action. Here is my SOA and any positive input would be helpful. I can already see that the thing that is killing us is the CC payments obviously.

Bit of background. We have been running our own business but that is now bringing in nothing and we have both got part time jobs. OH is looking for full time and I can take overtime when its available. Our house is in the perfect location etc and we haven't been here long so although one solution would be to sell up its not my preferred option if it can be avoided and we need 3 beds because of the kids. As you can see mortgage is low (although interest only at the moment) so I can't see that renting would help financially.

Not sure it makes a difference to out options but my OH has no assets at all of his own and the house is in my sole name. About 60% of the CC debt is in his name with me as additional card holder only.

Ok here goes -

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.................... 2 one of these is a DLA car and the other a classic which may be sold

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 397.7
Partners monthly income after tax....... 318.93
Benefits................................ 911.99
Other income............................ 25.04
Total monthly income.................... 1653.66

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 316.1
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120.24
Electricity............................. 59 have you checked you are with the cheapest supplier and best tariff for this & gas? can you reduce usage
Gas..................................... 65
Oil..................................... 5
Water rates............................. 38.99
Telephone (land line)................... 71.76 this includes broadband and tv package much too high, need to get just a basic landline & internet package (around £20pm - cannot afford paid tv)
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 430 can easily be reduced, aim for £250 for a family of 4, some on here manage on much less.
Clothing................................ 85 cut down to kids essentials only (maybe £30 max)
Petrol/diesel........................... 135
Road tax................................ 0 no car expenses as car is on motobility scheme
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 4
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 9.25
Buildings insurance..................... 35.17 buildings and contents total shop around, my house is a similar value & combined ins is around £20
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 7.5
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 65 have a large family but concede that this could be cut must be cut - say £15 for now.
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
Total monthly expenses.................. 1534.13


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 165000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 7000 can you sell and get something cheaper?
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 172000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 75000....(316.1)....0
Total secured & HP debts...... 75000.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
halifax........................6910.26...69.1......20.95
halifax........................9326.91...96.45.....15.94
barclaycard....................6816.67...153.3.....14.9
cahoot.........................1291.73...33.12.....0
Egg............................6441.22...122.7.....0
Egg............................6822.43...184.1.....0
Marbles........................2466.2....61.65.....32.94
Mint...........................408.15....17........17.47
virgin.........................7112.2....140.9.....21.66
MBNA...........................6657.38...174.8.....31
barclaycard....................6226.76...155.6.....22.9
60,479.91 1,208.72

Income 1653
Outgoings 1534
Left for repayments 119
Debt repayments 1209
Shortfall -1090

Now I'm not sure if this has formatted correctly as it was messing me about but hopefully it makes sense!

I think you need to realise the seriousness of your situation and cut back on all non essentials for now. It may be that your husband could consider bankruptcy or you could both do a joint DMP. Something needs to change now or your debts will be £70k by the end of the year.

Do get some proper advice from one of these - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2077631
Good luck

saz1970

Thank you Tixy what you have added at the bottom is correct. The reason for the high broadband package is because we have (up until very recently) needed to rely on high speed for our business. Sky tv was got when my daughter had a long term illness and is really our only source of entertainment (we don't drink, smoke) etc but I concede it can go. You have asked if we can get a cheaper car but the 7000 is the classic I mentioned at the top of the SAO and it is about to go up for sale.

YES the clothes budget was an error It should read £25 not £85. In fact realistically less than that. I have NO clothes and all those I have are from Tesco including my value jeans! :rotfl:

saz1970

Forgot to say our house insurance was for home business purposes too so yes that can be cut.

Horace

If you have a small package tv/broadband package with Virgin..there are lots of channels still to watch on the smallest package but you do get 20MB broadband which is good for home businesses - I use my domestic broadband for my work and don't find 20Mb a problem and I know someone who is a voiceover artist and is recording, downloading and uploading voiceovers all the time and he uses the normal 20Mb that he gets with his domestic package.

You need to speak to someone like CCCS or christians against poverty as they are charities that help with debt.

katsu

I hope this can help you re presents. You currently spend £65pcm or £780 per annum :eek:. For christmas I gave presents to 23 people (joys of a big close family) and spent £180. Already I have only 4 people in the family left for Christmas and my average spend is £6 per head.

The way I do this is:

*sales shopping. I look for bogof, half price deals etc. For example I got Denby seconds on bogof - I drove to the nearest factory shop when I saw they had a good deal online. I invited OH's siblings to join us in getting a dinner set for the inlaws, so for £35 per couple we are giving a giant dinner service.
*poundland/99p shop etc. I got a lovely hat and scarf from there for one relative so £2 for one person and they loved the soft fabric, they clearly had no idea how cheap it was (and why should they care?).
*charity shops - I got a new book for 60p for one person last year. They liked the topic.
*crafting. I make some gifts and people love that they are handmade.

I started Christmas 10 shopping in the pre Christmas 09 sales :eek: I keep a present box and a card box going all year round, and top it up when I spot a bargain.

You really can cut down - OH's relatives have no idea what bargains we get, and all that matters is that the gifts are suitable for someone. There is no need to spend anywhere near what you are spending.

saz1970

Oh dear I think I've been too honest! It has always been an average spend at Christmas and birthdays of £15-£20 per person and of course for my own children I have spent a lot more. This probably hasn't helped with the situation we are now in and I realise that it has to change. I feel a family conference coming on

katsu

Hi saz,

Don't feel bad, I didn't say it to make you feel At the end of the day you need to find ways to reduce your spending so I thought my approach to gifts might help you.

As a child I understood money didn't grow on trees, I'm sure you can reduce what you get for your kids and drop what you spend on other people.

I'm glad you were honest - if you are not honest on here then the advice can't help you.