My SOA - more going out than coming in!

Tigger-Roo

Hi there.

I was made redundant last month and for the first time ever, I can't meet all my commitments. I need to sort this before any of my debt turns into bad debt. So I have done my SOA as attached.

My husband is also unemployed having lost his job 18mths ago. We have one disabled child and my husband receives carers allowance for her whilst I receive disability living allowance and the middle rate.

Our income is made up of
£267.00 DLA
£514.00 Tax Credits
£135.00 Child Benefit
£262.00 Jobseekers Allowance


I have not included the £200 my husband gets as he uses that for himself and also pays all car repairs, MOT, Car Tax and any bits extra we need for the house.

We also have mortgage protection which will pay £450.00 a month from 28 December 2010.
Barclaycard is also protected by unemployment insurance and I have this confirmed that they will continue payments.
MBNA also covered but I have not had the claim agreed yet.
Loan does not have any unemployment protection.

Any advice on this greatly appreciated.

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.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1178
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1178

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 87
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120
Electricity............................. 47
Gas..................................... 54
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 32
Telephone (land line)................... 50
Mobile phone............................ 24
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50
Internet Services....................... 14
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 31
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 19
Life assurance ......................... 89
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Sky Insurance........................... 9
Boiler Breakdown cover.................. 21
Health Insurance........................ 12
Orange Dongle........................... 15
Mortgage Protection Insurance........... 26
School Dinner Money..................... 40
Horseriding for eldest child............ 80
Weight Loss Club........................ 10
Magazine Subscription................... 8
Air Ambulance Charity................... 5
Club Penguin............................ 4
Gym..................................... 13
Net Weather Subscription................ 4
Milkman................................. 32
Total monthly expenses.................. 1159


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 350
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 180350


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 64935....(87).......1.6
Total secured & HP debts...... 64935.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA CC........................5368......85........15
BoS Loan.......................2212......148.......6.4
Barclaycard CC.................7334......0.........24.9
Overdraft......................1400......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........16314.....233.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,178
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,159
Available for debt repayments........... 19
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 233
Amount short for making debt repayments. -214

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 180,350
Total HP & Secured debt................. -64,935
Total Unsecured debt.................... -16,314
Net Assets.............................. 99,101

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

chopper_99

Tigger-Roo wrote: »

Hi there.

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.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1178
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1178

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 87
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120 - Are you not eligable for a discount if both ut of work? Worth phoning and asking.
Electricity............................. 47
Gas..................................... 54
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 32
Telephone (land line)................... 50 - This is very high, you need to get this down
Mobile phone............................ 24
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50 - You simply can't afford this. Get rid and go onto Freeview, or at the very least drop down to the minimum package.
Internet Services....................... 14
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 0 - Should probably budget at least something here, especially with 2 children.
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 31
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 19 - This could probably be cut to £10 with a comparison site, with cashback via quidco
Life assurance ......................... 89 - This seems really high, I think an average for this would be £10-£20 a month. You could also get cashback for this via quidco.
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 - Need to budget something here, especially with children.
Haircuts................................ 0 - Again need to budget something, unless you actually do get all of your haircuts for free.
Entertainment........................... 0 - Again need to budget for something here, even if it's just the odd family trip out.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Sky Insurance........................... 9 - What is this?
Boiler Breakdown cover.................. 21
Health Insurance........................ 12
Orange Dongle........................... 15 - Why do you need this when you already pay for the internet?
Mortgage Protection Insurance........... 26
School Dinner Money..................... 40
Horseriding for eldest child............ 80 - You probably can't afford this at the moment, find a cheaper hobby for the child.
Weight Loss Club........................ 10 - You can do this yourself for free with some willpower and a decent recipie book
Magazine Subscription................... 8 - Get rid, you can't afford it at the moment
Air Ambulance Charity................... 5 - Get rid, it's great giving to charity but you're in no position to do so right now.
Club Penguin............................ 4 - What is this?
Gym..................................... 13 - Get rid and go running or somthing similar
Net Weather Subscription................ 4 - What is this?
Milkman................................. 32 - Just get your milk with your supermarket shopping, it will be cheaper.
Total monthly expenses.................. 1159


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 350
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 180350


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 64935....(87).......1.6
Total secured & HP debts...... 64935.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA CC........................5368......85........15
BoS Loan.......................2212......148.......6.4
Barclaycard CC.................7334......0.........24.9
Overdraft......................1400......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........16314.....233.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,178
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,159
Available for debt repayments........... 19
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 233
Amount short for making debt repayments. -214

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 180,350
Total HP & Secured debt................. -64,935
Total Unsecured debt.................... -16,314
Net Assets.............................. 99,101

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

I've added some comments, hopefully they will be helpful. You need to seriously think about trimming down or cutting out anything that is not essential, especially as you're both out of work.

Tixy

Hi

Its hard to get used to a significant change in income but hopefully you can look to cut out some costs and reduce others until you can find more work. Obviously things will be easier once you start receiving the payment protection - what is the maximum time on this? 12months?

Tigger-Roo wrote: »

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.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1178
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1178

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 87
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120 can you get CT benefit?
Electricity............................. 47
Gas..................................... 54 have you checked you are with the cheapest supplier for gas & elec? and on the cheapest tariff? do you try to keep your usage down? are you paying off any arrears?
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 32
Telephone (land line)................... 50 this seems high - is there any particular reason why? look for a cheaper deal, should be able to combine with internet and still pay less than this.
Mobile phone............................ 24
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50 drop to the lowest package or consider switching to freeview, or combine with phone & internet
Internet Services....................... 14
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 0 might need to budget a bit here for kids clothes
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 0 need to budget for this
Car Insurance........................... 31
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 need to budget for this for servicing, mot, new tyres etc, work out the annual cost and budget 1/12 each month.
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 19
Life assurance ......................... 89 shop around to see if you can get better deals for this, it does look very high although appreciate that may be in part due to health reasons
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 need to budget a bit here
Haircuts................................ 0 and probably here
Entertainment........................... 0 is this realistic?
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Sky Insurance........................... 9 is this needed?
Boiler Breakdown cover.................. 21 is this needed and a good deal? look for a cheaper deal
Health Insurance........................ 12
Orange Dongle........................... 15 is this needed as well? are you in contract or can you cancel?
Mortgage Protection Insurance........... 26
School Dinner Money..................... 40 may be able to get this free whilst on benefits, taking a packup from home might be cheaper
Horseriding for eldest child............ 80 may need to reduce or stop this for now, at least until you start getting in your mortgage help.
Weight Loss Club........................ 10
Magazine Subscription................... 8 which of thse subs can you cancel straight away?
Air Ambulance Charity................... 5
Club Penguin............................ 4
Gym..................................... 13 can you cancel this?
Net Weather Subscription................ 4
Milkman................................. 32 cheaper to biy from supermarket
Total monthly expenses.................. 1159


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 350
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 180350


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 64935....(87).......1.6
Total secured & HP debts...... 64935.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA CC........................5368......85........15
BoS Loan.......................2212......148.......6.4
Barclaycard CC.................7334......0.........24.9 why are you not paying towards this? is it covered by insruance?
Overdraft......................1400......0.........0 is there no interest or fees to pay on this?
Total unsecured debts..........16314.....233.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,178
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,159
Available for debt repayments........... 19
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 233
Amount short for making debt repayments. -214

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 180,350
Total HP & Secured debt................. -64,935
Total Unsecured debt.................... -16,314
Net Assets.............................. 99,101

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

A few ideas which might help you decide what cutbacks you can make.

HappyMJ

You're living on benefits and aren't expected to have a surplus (before debt repayments) yet you do so you are doing quite well. There's plenty of great advice above but I've noted you claim DLA but have nothing down for Medical (prescription, dentist, etc).. You should have something here and it hasn't been mentioned in previous posts. Most people need to visit the dentist and it isn't normally free.

gfplux

Hello tigger-roo,
Lots of good advise been given. You must take most of it.
It is great pity you did not start cutting down when you husband lost his job a year and a half ago.
you have to start living the life you can afford.
Good Luck

Tigger-Roo

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm going to work through them bit by bit. Feel a bit overwhelmed with facts and figures as have been doing them all day.

I have contacted the council and they tried to put me through to the benefits office, but they were engaged. They are going to ask them to get a form out to me...hopefully. I never have much faith in our council or the benefits people.

I've downgraded the Sky to £34 a month by taking off the movies. Husband doesn't want to lose some of the channels from the entertainment package. I will work on him, and also look into the freeview stuff.

Telephone and insurances I will look into tomorrow. Also adding in the missing bits like clothing and entertainment etc.

Dongle, magazine sub, charity payment, club penguin (youngests club), netweather and milkman I will also cancel.

I really don't want to give up the gym or the weightloss classes as after many years I have finally found something that works. Likewise with my eldest's horseriding..I don't want to cancel as it really helps her disability.

Regarding the medical stuff, our prescriptions have all been free since hubby lost his job, I've recently got new glasses so that should bear with me until I get a new job. Just the dentist to account for there. I'll add that in.

Stayed tuned for an update. Thank you for all your suggestions.

Tigger-Roo

gfplux wrote: »

Hello tigger-roo,
Lots of good advise been given. You must take most of it.
It is great pity you did not start cutting down when you husband lost his job a year and a half ago.
you have to start living the life you can afford.
Good Luck

Mmm yes very true. I guess it was a case that at the time we didn't have to. Now I really don't have any choice.

Tigger-Roo

Tixy wrote: »

Hi

Its hard to get used to a significant change in income but hopefully you can look to cut out some costs and reduce others until you can find more work. Obviously things will be easier once you start receiving the payment protection - what is the maximum time on this? 12months?



A few ideas which might help you decide what cutbacks you can make.

Tixy just read your notes again. Yes mortgage prot is for 12months maximum.

Barclaycard is covered by insurance too and they have confirmed they will make payments so I didn't add that in.

MBNA also covered by insurance but they have not agreed my claim yet, so I've kept the min payments listed for now.

And yes there are fees on the overdraft, bother I forgot that.:o

dancingfairy

Hi - your main priorities are to pay the mortgage, gas, electric, council tax etc - anything left can go towards debt repayment. This may sound obvious but some people pay the unsecured debts first and leave themselves short for their mortgage or council tax or food which is the wrong way around.
You might want to write to your unsecured creditors and offer them token payments until things improve -yes it will lead to defaults but I can't see you being able to make 214 pounds worth of cutbacks and that's not including things like clothes you have missed out.
df

kazwookie

You say your husband has £200 per month to do with what ever.

Where does this money actually come from, bearing in mind you state you are both without work currently?

What does he actually do with this money?

For now it might be an idea he gave that up, till things on the work front look up a bit.

Good luck with it all.

themull1

Can you not get free school dinners whilst on Benefits? Hope things get better for you soon.