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My SOA - KATCHAMBERS

katchambers
Posts: 1,129 Forumite

Ok I am going to do this SOA thing, but I implore you all to be gentle, and try not to judge too much because I have used martins budget thing for the last few months and have decreased it considerably, in fact I will also put in the things that I have reduced or cancelled so you can see I am making progress.
I would like advice about reducing it, but I have to say that I won't get rid of sky plus it is my life, I love it and I would be utterly depressed without it. Secondly I won't get rid of my cinema membership because it is also a lovely treat and I use it ALOT! Plus I don't go out drinking like most people my age (24), in fact I never go out drinking, so that is my substitute for that.
Income:
Me (part-time job) = £1016
Husband = £2000
Total = £3016
* Me (own business) = £400 approx - all the profit goes back into business, but might consider using some of it each month to pay debt.
* £50 from parents to pay for car loan we got on their behalf, not included in total as they can't afford to pay us every month and therefore we cannot rely on it in our budget.
Outcomes:
Mortgage = £1350 (About to be reduced to £1100)
Sky = £50
Cinema subscription = £22 (for me and husband, means we can go to cinema as many times as we like for a monthly fee, this is saving us about £30 a month)
Northern rock loan = £250
First direct loan = £350
Husband student loan = £93
Sofa = £68 (will be paid off in april!)
Birthdays & Christmas & holidays = £75
Clothes = £50
Water = £20
Gas & Elec = £60
Home phone = £12
Mobiles x2 = £40
Internet = £21
Buildings/contents insurance = £12
Life insurance/critical illness (both of us) = £30
Food shopping = £120 (was £200)
Entertainment = £70 (was £300)
Meals at work = £16 (was £30)
Green flag x2 = £5.75
Car maintenance & tax x2 = £78
Car insurance x2 = £75 (mine should reduce next yr as turn 25)
Petrol £360 (this is high because hubby travels to work)
Tv license = £10
Total = £2987
soooo many outgoings, it is scarey!
Thanks
Kat x
I would like advice about reducing it, but I have to say that I won't get rid of sky plus it is my life, I love it and I would be utterly depressed without it. Secondly I won't get rid of my cinema membership because it is also a lovely treat and I use it ALOT! Plus I don't go out drinking like most people my age (24), in fact I never go out drinking, so that is my substitute for that.
Income:
Me (part-time job) = £1016
Husband = £2000
Total = £3016
* Me (own business) = £400 approx - all the profit goes back into business, but might consider using some of it each month to pay debt.
* £50 from parents to pay for car loan we got on their behalf, not included in total as they can't afford to pay us every month and therefore we cannot rely on it in our budget.
Outcomes:
Mortgage = £1350 (About to be reduced to £1100)
Sky = £50
Cinema subscription = £22 (for me and husband, means we can go to cinema as many times as we like for a monthly fee, this is saving us about £30 a month)
Northern rock loan = £250
First direct loan = £350
Husband student loan = £93
Sofa = £68 (will be paid off in april!)
Birthdays & Christmas & holidays = £75
Clothes = £50
Water = £20
Gas & Elec = £60
Home phone = £12
Mobiles x2 = £40
Internet = £21
Buildings/contents insurance = £12
Life insurance/critical illness (both of us) = £30
Food shopping = £120 (was £200)
Entertainment = £70 (was £300)
Meals at work = £16 (was £30)
Green flag x2 = £5.75
Car maintenance & tax x2 = £78
Car insurance x2 = £75 (mine should reduce next yr as turn 25)
Petrol £360 (this is high because hubby travels to work)
Tv license = £10
Total = £2987
soooo many outgoings, it is scarey!
Thanks
Kat x
My darling boy born December 2011
0
Comments
-
Hello Kat,
none of us judge each other, we are all in the same position. Some more advanced than others.
People who are really good with these SOA things will be along soon to give you some advice.
Well done for posting.0 -
you haven't included council tax on there - how much is that?
I wouldn't rely too much on your car insurance going down at the age of 25 - mine is still £35 a month and I'm 32 with no accidents or convictions!0 -
Ok here's my four penneth:
Mortgage = £1350 (About to be reduced to £1100)
Sky = £50 - Why do you need this AND a cinema subscription? Could you reduce your package? I'll look for the Sky freephone number and post it later.
Cinema subscription = £22 (for me and husband, means we can go to cinema as many times as we like for a monthly fee, this is saving us about £30 a month) Why do you need this and sky movies? Could you not wait till the film comes out on sky and not go to the cinema at all?
Northern rock loan = £250
First direct loan = £350
Husband student loan = £93
Sofa = £68 (will be paid off in april!)
Birthdays & Christmas & holidays = £75 This every month? Think you should cut it down to at least half that.
Clothes = £50 This is a lot too. See if you can make the clothes you already own last you another 6 months and then shop around in charity shops and ebay.
Water = £20 Are you on a meter?
Gas & Elec = £60
Home phone = £12
Mobiles x2 = £40 Do you really need 2 mobiles or a mobile at all?
Internet = £21
Buildings/contents insurance = £12 Do you really need contents insurance?
Life insurance/critical illness (both of us) = £30 Cash this in and pay it off the debt. You are paying more interest on the debt than you are getting on the life insurance. You can always start it up again when the debt is clear
Food shopping = £120 (was £200) :eek: For how many people? I spend £42 a month on 3 people.
Entertainment = £70 (was £300) Whats this for when you already spend £87 on watching films every month?
Meals at work = £16 (was £30) Packed lunches
Green flag x2 = £5.75 Could you do without a car?
Car maintenance & tax x2 = £78 As above
Car insurance x2 = £75 (mine should reduce next yr as turn 25)As above
Petrol £360 (this is high because hubby travels to work) Could he car share?
Tv license = £10
Look at my meal planner threads to get ideas of cutting the food bill down:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=2340412&posted=1#post2340412
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=157526&highlight=black-saturns+menu
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=236481&highlight=shave+soa2008 Comping ChallengeWon so far - £3010 Needed - £230Debt free since Oct 20040 -
Can you combine home phone wth internet accessor mobiles?
My ex wouldnt get rid of Sky - have to say liked it to but in the end use freeview
Does your entertainment include cinema snacks? Can you cut down on clothes and look a cheaper Bday Xmas presents -
Just suggestions - My ex had things in the budget that he wouldnt give up inc the dreaded golf0 -
Hi, thanks for your comments.
Unfortunately, I cannot do without my car as we live in car city, public transport is no go and I have a business to run which I cannot possibly do without a car to transport my goods in. My husband is the only person in the co. travelling from MK so there is no one to share with as they all live nearby.
My life insurance/critical illness cover cannot be cashed in! It pays off our mortage and all our debts should one of us die or get a critical illness, it is not one of those schemes that you can cash in on, I believe this is critical coz we can hardly afford our debt with the 2 of us, imagine how crippling it would be if there was only 1 of us left with all that debt - it doesn't bare thinking, they would def go bankrupt and lose the house, so no I am not going to cancel that, but I am looking for a cheaper quote.
Sky, I am going to cancel sky movies which should reduce it, but I watch a lot of TV programmes on sky and we don't have a tv aerial so no sky = no tv. The cinema is for movies, sky is for tv, they are both separate and the cinema is my most fave thing to do so I won't be getting rid of it. I will try to reduce our sky package tho.
I won't be buying clothes from charity shops, sorry, just can't do that at my age, plus they will rarely have my size, most cheaper shops don't do my size so I am very limited in the shops I can use. Will try to buy less tho but bare in mind that £50 a month covers me and husband. That is not alot.
We are on a water meter.
I am locked into an 18 month contract with my mobile so no way of reducing that.
Will look into reducing food bill but I have a special diet and the foods I need increase our food bill.
I will look into reducing our entertainment, that was for things like going out for peoples birthdays (of which I have a lot of) and take-aways occasionally etc.
I will start taking packed lunches to work, have been considering this for a while.
Thanks
KatMy darling boy born December 20110 -
black-saturn wrote:Buildings/contents insurance = £12 Do you really need contents insurance?
For what it costs, I think that everybody should keep this. For the sake of £10 or so, it seems good money for protection against fire or burglary. More of a neccesity than a luxury.0 -
katchambers wrote:Sky, I am going to cancel sky movies which should reduce it, but I watch a lot of TV programmes on sky and we don't have a tv aerial so no sky = no tv. The cinema is for movies, sky is for tv, they are both separate and the cinema is my most fave thing to do so I won't be getting rid of it. I will try to reduce our sky package tho.
Other than that if your not willing to budge on the things you spend the most money on I can't really see how you are going to cut back and pay your debts.2008 Comping ChallengeWon so far - £3010 Needed - £230Debt free since Oct 20040 -
Bluelad wrote:For what it costs, I think that everybody should keep this. For the sake of £10 or so, it seems good money for protection against fire or burglary. More of a neccesity than a luxury.2008 Comping ChallengeWon so far - £3010 Needed - £230Debt free since Oct 20040
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Hi Kat,I don't want to sound harsh here,but I don't think your lightbulb is fully lit
You do not NEED sky+ or cinema membership,these are luxuries not essentials,you talk yourself into thinking you need them,but you don't,a freeview box is about £25 and is adequate.Think how much fun you could have with DH when there's nothing to watch
£900/year on birthdays/christmas/holidays is rather a lot,you can cut that right down at least half.
£50 clothes budget is a lot,we budget £10/month and there's 4 of us.
What is the £70 entertainment,you say you don't go out,so what's this?
You said that you took out a loan for FIL as his car was lost in an accident,wasn't it insured?
What worries me is the almost obsession with vouchers etc,you have to spend money to get these vouchers,money you don't have,start shopping in Lidl or Aldi and your shopping budget will drop dramatically.
Do you need 2 cars?I know hubby travels a long way,but what about you? if you could free up a grand or 2 by down sizing your cars then they ARE expensive cars.
Just been playing on my mind,but what possesed you to spend 6k on a hot tubdo you regret it now?
Sorry if this has come across a bit harsh,I am in no position to judge you,just want to understand your situationDebt at highest £102k :eek:
Lightbulb moment march 2006
Debt free october2017 :j
Finally sleeping easy in my bed :A0 -
katchambers wrote:Buildings/contents insurance = £12
Sorry to off topic,but is this enough? I don't agree to get rid of this,it's essential,but as you pay so little just wondering if you have adequate cover?Debt at highest £102k :eek:
Lightbulb moment march 2006
Debt free october2017 :j
Finally sleeping easy in my bed :A0
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