My SOA

Wannabe01

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 400 This is set to go up by the end of August.
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1700
Benefits................................ 640
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2740
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 165
Rent.................................... 575
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 200 This includes the water charges
Electricity............................. 55
Gas..................................... 140 Includes overdue amounts, should be cleared within the next 4 months
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 20 This is for both my and OH
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 30 Broadband and mobile for when I am travelling with work
Groceries etc. ......................... 180
Clothing................................ 12.5
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 31
Car Insurance........................... 57
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...................... 18
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 3.75
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1688.25

Assets
Cash.................................... 200
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 500
Total Assets............................ 1200

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0<
Catalogues.....................1600.....(65).......0<
Back Dated Bills...............700......(100)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 2300......-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Personal Loans.................4330......383.6.....160.9
Other Debts....................20000.....200.......0
Total unsecured debts..........24330.....583.6.....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,740
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,688.25
Available for debt repayments........... 1,051.75
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 583.6
Amount left after debt repayments....... 468.15
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,200
Total HP & Secured debt................. -2,300
Total Unsecured debt.................... -24,330
Net Assets.............................. -25,430
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

I have made some cut backs to my original spending however I was wondering if anyone can point out some other ways that I can save money.

Wannabe01

I've just had another look at this and if I am understanding it I should have a spare £468.15 to spend on repaying debt after minimum payments, however this is not the way it is working therefore I think I need to start keeping a spending diary.

catmiaow

First thing I can see is that you spend quite a lot on groceries. You can get this down by meal planning, changing to supermarket brands and general cutting costs. I used to find that if I went to the supermarket hungry I would buy loads of rubbish or if I went for one thing, I would come back with loads more. So I make sure I only take enough cash for that one thing. I also found getting groceries delivered means you can keep a better track of things and don't have the impulse buys.

Pollycat

Hi
a spending diary is a very good way to identify where all that supposedly spare cash (in your case over £400 per month) goes to.

You'd be surprised how much money 'disappears' when you buy newspapers, magazines, the odd coffee, birthday cards and the bits and pieces of shopping etc.

Re your SOA:
Road tax looks high at £372 per year.

Unlike catmiaow, I actually don't think that £180 per month on groceries is that high for 2 adults and one child, but as catmiaow says you could try to cut it back by visitng the Old-Style board for tips.
I save loads of money by taking advantage of BOGOF offers - but only on items that I know I'll use such as chopped tomatoes, tinned tuna, toilet rolls etc.
That's why I like to actually visit a supermarket rather than shopping on-line - I make a list of what I really need and what I will buy if it's on offer.
My OH looked at my shopping list and said 'Do we need 100 washing up liquid?'.
I said 'No, I'm only going to buy it if it's on offer (ioo)'. LOL

£600 per year on presents is quite high, could you talk to your family/friends and see if you can just do token gifts?

Chuck your catalogue away!

What is the £20,000 under 'other debts'?
Are these credit cards?

Regards

catmiaow

Pollycat - You can see the BOGOF and other offers when ordering online, I definitely think you can save money on your groceries.

Have you shopped around for your contents insurance, my buildings and contents insurance including home emergency and personal possessions is £23 with Sainsburys.

Pollycat

catmiaow wrote: »

Pollycat - You can see the BOGOF and other offers when ordering online, I definitely think you can save money on your groceries.

Have you shopped around for your contents insurance, my buildings and contents insurance including home emergency and personal possessions is £23 with Sainsburys.

I know you can see the BOGOF offers on-line (I sometimes check different shops on-line before deciding where to shop) but to me though it's just not the same to looking at items on a shelf and deciding which is the better buy.

I'm sure the OP can cut her grocery bill, I just didn't think £180 per month was 'quite a lot'.

catmiaow

Pollycat wrote: »

I know you can see the BOGOF offers on-line (I sometimes check different shops on-line before deciding where to shop) but to me though it's just not the same to looking at items on a shelf and deciding which is the better buy.

I'm sure the OP can cut her grocery bill, I just didn't think £180 per month was 'quite a lot'.

Best buys can checked online, It has saved us a fortune by ordering groceries online.Going to the supermarket is too much of a temptation to get stuff you don't need, which adds to the total.

I think £180 is quite a lot, but we are all entitled to our opinion.

catmiaow

OP have you thought about putting some money in the emergency fund, even if it is £50 pm just in case.

Also do you really not have any entertainment or holidays?

Wannabe01

catmiaow wrote: »

OP have you thought about putting some money in the emergency fund, even if it is £50 pm just in case.

Also do you really not have any entertainment or holidays?

We really do not have any entertainment costs and we currently do not go on holidays, we are refraining until we are debt free. The closest we get to a holiday is to go and stay with family for a night or two.

Wannabe01

catmiaow wrote: »

First thing I can see is that you spend quite a lot on groceries. You can get this down by meal planning, changing to supermarket brands and general cutting costs. I used to find that if I went to the supermarket hungry I would buy loads of rubbish or if I went for one thing, I would come back with loads more. So I make sure I only take enough cash for that one thing. I also found getting groceries delivered means you can keep a better track of things and don't have the impulse buys.

Thanks for your advice however we currently do weekly meal plans and use mainly shop own brands. We go shopping armed with a list and only buy whats on it. I actually found that we spend more if shopping is done online because of all the so called good deals that keep appearing.

Wannabe01

Thanks for your advice, I have added comments to certain bits.

Pollycat wrote: »

Hi
a spending diary is a very good way to identify where all that supposedly spare cash (in your case over £400 per month) goes to.

You'd be surprised how much money 'disappears' when you buy newspapers, magazines, the odd coffee, birthday cards and the bits and pieces of shopping etc.

Re your SOA:
Road tax looks high at £372 per year. This is becuase normally I pay for 6 months at a time but I'm going to put money aside each month therefore I can buy a year at a time and save money.

Unlike catmiaow, I actually don't think that £180 per month on groceries is that high for 2 adults and one child, but as catmiaow says you could try to cut it back by visitng the Old-Style board for tips.
I save loads of money by taking advantage of BOGOF offers - but only on items that I know I'll use such as chopped tomatoes, tinned tuna, toilet rolls etc.
That's why I like to actually visit a supermarket rather than shopping on-line - I make a list of what I really need and what I will buy if it's on offer.
My OH looked at my shopping list and said 'Do we need 100 washing up liquid?'.
I said 'No, I'm only going to buy it if it's on offer (ioo)'. LOL

Unfortunately I do not think that I can save much more on groceries as I already use special offers and buy shop own brands. I'm going to start growing my own vegetables and make my own bread in the hoope of saving some money in the long run.

£600 per year on presents is quite high, could you talk to your family/friends and see if you can just do token gifts?

At the moment adults within the family only get a card and we only buy gifts for the children. I am looking at ways to save money on this such as buying over the year and buying cheaper things.

Chuck your catalogue away! The catalogue is not a major problem as I do not impulse buy and I am not charged any interest. It also allows me to build up some reward £'s which I can then use towards items. I'm thing the reward £'s can be used to buy presents therefore reducing costs.

What is the £20,000 under 'other debts'?
Are these credit cards? This is a combination of bank loans and credit cards.

Regards