DMP or DRO

kaylouise

Hello, I've been lurking around for a while and thought since I'm 2 years into a dmp and looking for advice someone around these parts could help..?

Me and b/f (soon to be hubby when finances allow for a wedding!) got into about £5k worth of debt a few years ago, and since then have really struggled. He is unemployed, has been for two years, but I work full time. The dmp has been good, but I'm beginning to wonder if the budget I gave us is a little unrealistic and we are having a hard time sticking to it - last month, the car failed its MOT and I had to loan money from my dad to get it fixed, which I still haven't been able to afford to pay back. Costs of everything keep going up (rent going up by another £10/month this year, but my wages aren't! Given the budget, I can't afford to pay into my work pension fund, which I really want to do! I try to put a little aside each month as emergency savings, but more often than not end up dipping back into it in the last week before payday.

Could you let me know what you think of the SOA, is it too harsh, would a DRO serve us better? At the moment, the total debt is £4600 and will take until mid 2014 to pay off.
I've inlucded the car finance payments but not given it as an asset since the payments aren't up until next April. I've also inlucded the payments to CCCS as an expense because I don't have all the statements to hand and that is what I'm paying at the moment.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1165
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1165

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 333
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 99
Electricity............................. 34
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 23
Telephone (land line)................... 11
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 260
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 13
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 8
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
Current payments to CCCS................ 62
Car finance............................. 73
Total monthly expenses.................. 1165



Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,165
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,165
Available for debt repayments........... 0
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 0


Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.

Council tax is over 10 months - I asked, but they wouldn't allow us to pay over 12!
Car insurance is high because I'm under 25, a "young" driver, and I've added £10 AA direct debit in there too.
"Groceries" really is everything else - monthly shop, my lunches at work, pet food, any clothes which we think we can treat ourselves to, etc, etc. Presents also come out of this - they are few and far between, but I try to spend between £10 and £20 per person each time it comes around.

Thanks in advance for any help!!!

katsu

You can reduce the pressies. I spent just under £180 on 23 people last Christmas. Use charity shops, 99p stores, sales (I hardly ever pay full price by shopping all year round), make gifts if you are crafty.

Look on the motoring main site tab. You can halve your AA costs by changing provider.

Break the groceries budget out so you know what you are spending and try not to spend the whole £260.

How is boyfriend doing at job hunting? Is he eligible for any benefits?

verystupidwithmoney

Are you with CCCS or another? You could possibly discuss your budget with them?

kaylouise

The £260 is roughly -
£90 monthly groceries - we try to stick to own brands as much as possible and make the most of offers. Also get mostly tinned/frozen and not much fresh.
£40/50 (£10 per week) for lunch at work
The rest varies each month - haircuts, clothes (either Primark or charity as much as possible) additional petrol if I'm visiting family (i'm in newcastle, family are in glasgow), vet bills, opticians, prescriptions.

As for presents, I only have 6 people to buy for each year, so really reducing it wouldn't make much of a dent, except around christmas. I take your point though, and will try to cut it down some more.

B/f has been job hunting but no interviews. We've applied for every benefit going, but aren't eligible for any until I turn 25 and I can claim WTC. He doesn't get jobseekers, and we don't get housing or council tax benefit.

We're with CCCS

katsu

Would taking packed lunches cost less than £10 p/w? You have a huge £120 on the other stuff every month. See if you can work out how much on what exactly, so you can cut it down.