SOA please help

spenttoomuchmoney

Hope i've done this right but really need some advice on how to cut this down, any questions please ask away thanks

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1625
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 855
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2480

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 850
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 110
Electricity............................. 100
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 35
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 400
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 40
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 100
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 25
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 2216

Assets
Cash.................................... 350
House value (Gross)..................... 140000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 145350

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 140000...(850)......5
Total secured & HP debts...... 140000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
car............................5000......125.......5
halifax........................8000......100.......30
mbna...........................2000......50........16
hsbc overdarft.................1500......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........16500.....275.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,480
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,216
Available for debt repayments........... 264
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 275
Amount short for making debt repayments. -11
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 145,350
Total HP & Secured debt................. -140,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -16,500
Net Assets.............................. -11,150

GeorgieFTB

Hi

Well done for posting, I can't offer much practical support but I can offer hugs! Someone else will be along shortly to let you know where you could save money, they will probably know a lot more than me.

One thing you could look at is your groceries, it looks quite high, the Old style board should give you inspiration, there are some that can feed a family of four for 200.

Good luck
G

Tixy

Hi and welcome

spenttoomuchmoney wrote: »

Hope i've done this right but really need some advice on how to cut this down, any questions please ask away thanks

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1625
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0 how old are the children? do you expect partner to be able to start working once they are a bit older?
Benefits................................ 855
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2480

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 850 is this interest only or repayment?
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 110
Electricity............................. 100 is all your heating etc elec? have you shopped around recently to see if you can find a cheaper supplier? have you tried reducing your usage? do you always ensure everything not used is switched off etc?
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 35
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20 consider ditching for freeview
Internet Services....................... 15 try to get a cheaper combined deal for landline & internet (prices start at less than £20 combined), if you must have paid TV try to get a combo deal for all 3 (prices start at around £30).
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 should be able to manage on quite a lot less than this for a family of 5. Aim for £300 to start hopefully going to £250. Have a look on old style board for tips on eating well healthily and getting cheap cleaning products etc. Try meal planning for the week ahead before you shop and try the cheaper supermarkets. try shops like £shops, wilkos, bargain shops for cleaning products.
Clothing................................ 50 keep this to a minimum for adults. For kids ensure you get value for money.
Petrol/diesel........................... 200 is this mostly commuting? are all journeys essential? do you drive fuel efficently?
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 40 do you shopped around on comparison sites at renewal time? look at the MSE article on earning cashback on insurances.
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 100 what do these breakdown for? are they essential?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 25
Contents insurance...................... 10 Shop around for B&C. would expect you to be able to get a bit cheaper based on your house value.
Life assurance ......................... 0 do you not have this? do you have some sort of cover if the earning spouse died to allow the other to have some financial security?
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40 could try reducing this if needed.
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50 are you saving this each month?
Total monthly expenses.................. 2216

Assets
Cash.................................... 350 is this the emergency fund?
House value (Gross)..................... 140000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 145350

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 140000...(850)......5 is this a fixed interest rate? for how long?
Total secured & HP debts...... 140000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
car............................5000......125.......5
halifax........................8000......100.......30 is this a loan or a card? this looks like you are not even paying off the interest each month? is that right?
mbna...........................2000......50........16
hsbc overdarft.................1500......0.........0 are you not paying any fees/interest at all on this each month? if you are you haven't included the cost anywhere.
Total unsecured debts..........16500.....275.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,480
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,216
Available for debt repayments........... 264
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 275
Amount short for making debt repayments. -11
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 145,350
Total HP & Secured debt................. -140,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -16,500
Net Assets.............................. -11,150

Well done for posting your statement of affairs. I hope no comments seem to harsh - just suggesting what you might be able to do.

Whilst you are only showing an £11 shortfall with your fairly low debt repayments you really need to try to free up some more money to pay off your debts quicker.
Would you say that your debts are remaining roughly static in value from 1 month to the next? If they are increasing then you may not have accounted for everything.

Might be useful to keep a spending diary for a couple of months so you can both track down exactly what you are spending, even down to the odd 80p newspapers or 50p bar of chocolate. That way you might spot some more arrears you could reduce.

corbyboy

Here is my feedback but I haven't commented on many SOAs before.

spenttoomuchmoney wrote: »

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1625
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0 - how old are the children? Any chance of part time work for your partner?
Benefits................................ 855
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2480

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 850
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 110
Electricity............................. 100 - I presume this is electric/gas combined? It does seem a little high.
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 35
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 30 - Contract? Can you get rid and go PAYG?
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 15 - Between your landline, TV and internet you pay £65 per month. Virgin do a full package for £30 per month. Is this available in your area?
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 - I guess for 5 of you this isn't terrible, but you could probably cut it down a bit more.
Clothing................................ 50 - Again, I know there are 5 of you, but could you and your partner do without for a little while?
Petrol/diesel........................... 200 - That's a lot of fuel. Is this just getting to work? Any cheaper alternatives to driving?
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 40
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 100 - What are these?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 25
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50 - If you are struggling to get by I think your current situation would count as an emergency
Total monthly expenses.................. 2216

Assets
Cash.................................... 350 - Wouldn't this be better off used to pay money off some debts?
House value (Gross)..................... 140000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 145350

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 140000...(850)......5
Total secured & HP debts...... 140000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
car............................5000......125.......5
halifax........................8000......100.......30 - Is that APR correct? That is astronomical for such a large balance! Is it a credit card?
mbna...........................2000......50........16
hsbc overdarft.................1500......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........16500.....275.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,480
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,216
Available for debt repayments........... 264
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 275
Amount short for making debt repayments. -11
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 145,350
Total HP & Secured debt................. -140,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -16,500
Net Assets.............................. -11,150

Hope there are some helpful comments there for you.

TUS

spenttoomuchmoney wrote: »

Hope i've done this right but really need some advice on how to cut this down, any questions please ask away thanks

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1625
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0 Can your partner work?
Benefits................................ 855
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2480

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 850
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 110
Electricity............................. 100 * Assume this includes gas. Have you checked the comparison sites?
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 35
Telephone (land line)................... 30 Seems high. Line rental is only £12. Use mobile inclusive minutes first?
Mobile phone............................ 30 For 2 phones or 1? A lot if its just 1.
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20 Scrap and watch Freeview
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 This can be reduced by at least 100.
Clothing................................ 50 £600/year? Could you use eBay and save here?
Petrol/diesel........................... 200 Very high for one car. Why? Could this be reduced in any way. Is public transport an option?
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 40
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 100 What is this?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 25
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40 £480 per year. Could be reduced with sales and use of eBay. If you have very young children, buy second hand as they won't care.
Haircuts................................ 10 Can you do any males' hair at home if its just a case of shaving?
Entertainment........................... 50 Might have to stop this for a while.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50 IMO you can afford to keep this going. Its a sensible one.
Total monthly expenses.................. 2216

Assets
Cash.................................... 350
House value (Gross)..................... 140000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 145350

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 140000...(850)......5
Total secured & HP debts...... 140000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
car............................5000......125.......5
halifax........................8000......100.......30 This is the one to focus on either moving to a lower APR or reducing ASAP. Can you try shifting a part of this balance on to a 0% credit card?
mbna...........................2000......50........16
hsbc overdarft.................1500......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........16500.....275.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,480
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,216
Available for debt repayments........... 264
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 275
Amount short for making debt repayments. -11
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 145,350
Total HP & Secured debt................. -140,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -16,500
Net Assets.............................. -11,150

Some comments above. You can certainly make some savings to get rid of that negative £11. However, I'd want to focus on doing something about that high APR loan/credit card (doesn't state which it is).

talana

Is the overdraft really 0%? I'm going to guess that you've just missed out the figure.

Emergency fund.......................... 50
Cash.................................... 350

These two I would put towards your debts, start paying down the overdraft if nothing else. They can still be your emergency fund at the same time.
If there's no emergency, you're tackling the debt.
If an emergency happens though, then you take the funds out again and you've lost nothing.