SOA - please help me someone

HappyMJ

our council tax is £226 per month until June and then it goes down because they mucked up our bills and we thought we paid when we hadnt so we are behind a little. in june that goes back down to £180.
Be careful what figure you quote £226 is a Band F property. You need to quote 1/10th of the actual annual council tax. i.e my annual council tax is £1150 per year so I would put £115 per month. The OR will look it up and change it if your figures are wildy out from the norm.

woody24

i dont know what else to say about this because thats what im putting in the meter each month, i honestly wouldnt fabricate the figures, im skint enough as it is without making myself look more skint! im also terrified of the OR so i dont want to say anything that looks like it's not true which i beleive to be because il just cry on the spot! :-(

i called british gas myself last week saying the meter was faulty but it wasnt, they said thats just how much it's costing - and thats after i switched to save costs! it may well be just for the winter but thats what iv been paying so thats what i put down - i have no idea what the summer bill will be? i dont have any internal doors in my house and we have such a drafty porch - so the whole place is freeeeeezing!!!

which gas company are you with and is yours billed or metered? maybe i should be switching again? i dont know how to be more frugal than to just switch it on for one measly hour which is all we do and then we huddle round the electric heater with blankets to keep warm.

HappyMJ wrote: »

There is no way the gas and electric bills will be £2,400 per year if you are out of the house from 7am till 8pm (some nights) and have the heating on only on some evenings and on low whilst in bed. It's impossible and the OR will not believe the figures you have put. You need to put the monthly figures and not the winter bill only. I have a 3 bed house and am very frugal with it and the whole bill is only £30 per month and I use the heating more than you claim.

woody24

Okay thank you , il change it to reflect the normal council tax of £180 which is the normal bill that it's changing to in June. thank you for this - i want to make sure i get it right as im so scared of being scrutinised and looking like a liar :-(

HappyMJ wrote: »

our council tax is £226 per month until June and then it goes down because they mucked up our bills and we thought we paid when we hadnt so we are behind a little. in june that goes back down to £180.
Be careful what figure you quote £226 is a Band F property. You need to quote 1/10th of the actual annual council tax. i.e my annual council tax is £1150 per year so I would put £115 per month. The OR will look it up and change it if your figures are wildy out from the norm.

HappyMJ

woody24 wrote: »

i dont know what else to say about this because thats what im putting in the meter each month, i honestly wouldnt fabricate the figures, im skint enough as it is without making myself look more skint! im also terrified of the OR so i dont want to say anything that looks like it's not true which i beleive to be because il just cry on the spot! :-(

i called british gas myself last week saying the meter was faulty but it wasnt, they said thats just how much it's costing - and thats after i switched to save costs! it may well be just for the winter but thats what iv been paying so thats what i put down - i have no idea what the summer bill will be? i dont have any internal doors in my house and we have such a drafty porch - so the whole place is freeeeeezing!!!

which gas company are you with and is yours billed or metered? maybe i should be switching again? i dont know how to be more frugal than to just switch it on for one measly hour which is all we do and then we huddle round the electric heater with blankets to keep warm.

Right I see you are on prepayment meter and putting in £50 per week right now which is quite normal for this recent cold weather. You need to get a statement from your supplier to see how much you have put in over the year then divide that figure by 10 and put that as your Gas and Electric. Yes you'll need to do lots of topping up before you go BR to make sure you have the credit till the end of winter. I am on Npower credit meter £100 annual discount direct debit and dual fuel discounts.

Katie-Kat-Kins

Hmmm tough, I do think though it sounds as though both you and your partner are living beyond your means and need to perhaps sit down and look at your finances seriously and work out what savings can be made, even if you keep your finances separate.

You also need to realise that while you may think you need some things you can normally manage without. If you really challenge yourself you can normally cut out things you thought were essentials.

Your phone for example, you don't have to call all your family and friends, let them call you or email or text if it is cheaper - £35 a month is a lot for a mobile, you can get sat nav on your phone on much cheaper tarriffs. Mine is £20 a month with a £5 bundle for internet use and I use sat nav and never exceed my minutes. You just need to be disciplined.

Same with TV, could you ditch virgin and go to a broadband only package with talk talk or someone else cheap? You don't need the tv, and free view gives you lots to watch.

Even if you don't have time for a second job during the week you have weekends or you can earn money with things that are flexible time wise, like delivering free newspapers or doing avon or taking in ironing.

You have clearly been burying your head in the sand for a long time and it is important that you face up to the reality of your situation. Going BR isn't a magic bullet, it will have long term serious consequences for both you and your partner. I'd suggest reading some of the threads on Old Style for an idea of how little money people can really get by on and how to really economise, you might realise that you can do it.

If you paid your debt repayments first you would have £1080 left to live on for the whole month, that is more than some have for a whole family!

woody24

is this better?

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1900
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 800
Total monthly income.................... 2700
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 800
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 180
Electricity............................. 60
Gas..................................... 60
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 55
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 400
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 250
Road tax................................ 16
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 25
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 10
Total monthly expenses.................. 2053

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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard ...................256.36....20........29.9
Barclays Bank .................14600.....400.......27.8
Capital One ...................1680......80........29.9
Friend Loan ...................2000......100.......15
Additions .....................1500......45........29.9
Very Catalogue.................700.......30........29.9
NHS Car Loan ..................4000......150.......3
Total unsecured debts..........24736.36..825.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,700
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,053
Available for debt repayments........... 647
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 825
Amount short for making debt repayments. -178
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -24,736.36
Net Assets.............................. -24,236.36
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

HappyMJ

You are allowed a holiday and you are allowed to budget for haircuts and also you should combine the internet into the phone and put £50 for it.

Katie-Kat-Kins

What about a lodger to up your income? You said you have a three bedroom house, you could get two lodgers if you and your partner share a bedroom. Some lodgers only want a place monday - friday for work so you would have the place to yourselves at the weekend.

Also have you and your partner tried looking for a new job? One that pays better or requires less travel for similar pay? Could make a significant difference to your standard of living.

HappyMJ

Looking at your previous post in August you had debt of £26,900 and have now cleared that down to £24,740 in only 4 months. That's quite good if you continued at that pace you will be debt free in 4 years with a clear credit rating.

GEEGEE8

I went bankrupt just over 3 yrs ago now. Best thing I ever did. I was never going to get out of the mess and the stress was overwhelming.

If you do decide to go bankrupt then stop paying your bills as soon as you get a court date and use that money to pay the court fees, which are around £600 ish. Obviously continue to pay rent, council tax, gas, electric and water.

If you want your home phone or mobile contract afterwards then still pay them too, otherwise it'll be hard work to get them back. You 'should' be able to keep them, many have, but no guarantee.

I got a BT home phone contract when I was bankrupt, so that was ok.

The process is draining, scary and you will feel like a pile of rubbish for a while. I can honestly say the court date was the easiest part. I didn't go in a court room or see a judge, I just went to the court and saw an clerk who went through the forms and made sure they were correct, took the fee money and the judge signed and stamped the papers, and that was it.

I got a very small credit card after 2yrs, only for £250, but it's helping me build up a credit report again, and I haven't had too much hassle apart from the obvious hard lesson of living without credit and feeling like a scumbag for a while lol.

Hope you find the right answer, but I think you already know. Buying things on credit to sell is really a last resort and you can't live like that for long.

All the best.