Can someone please review my SOA

westlothian

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1700
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1700

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 355
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 112.5
Electricity............................. 52
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 21.6
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 400
Clothing................................ 80
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
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..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 9
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 375
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 1613.1


Assets
Cash.................................... 1250
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1250

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card ...................3186......65.6......19.95
Credit Card....................2171......49........24.95
Total unsecured debts..........5357......114.6.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,700
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,613.1
Available for debt repayments........... 86.9
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 114.6
Amount short for making debt repayments. -27.7

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,250
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,357
Net Assets.............................. -4,107



I have opened and reviewed bank statements and credit card statements and categorised my spending as best as I can. (some of the grocery spending is DVDs etc). I have did the same with my credit card repayments.

I accept that I am terrible with money and buy clothes, food etc as if I were a millionaire.

I want to be able to repay debt, but more importantly I want to get in control of my cash from my next paydate which is Monday.

spendtoomuch

I am no expert and I am sure somebody else will be along soon but what really jumps out is your grocery bill at £400 a month for one person!!! Entertainment seems very high too! I am sure you could get both of these down substantially leaving a lot more to throw at the credit cards. Apart from these things your SOA seems fairly good.

bottleofred

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Hi Westlothian and welcome to the forum. See comments below. Only you can cut down on the spending though.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1700
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1700

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 355
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 112.5High, do you have arrears?
Electricity............................. 52High, can you shop around for a better deal?
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 21.6do you need this as you have the mobile?
Mobile phone............................ 25a payg would cost £10 per month
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 400very expensive as £200 per month should feed a family of 3-4. You should take advantage of bogofs and batch cook and freeze things. There are also money saving ideas on the old style boards.
Clothing................................ 80did you consider ebay for buying clothes, although £80 a month is very extravagant
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
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..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 9
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 375this figure should be reduced dramatically to say £100 per month
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 40might be better to cancel this for a while due to the debts etc.
Total monthly expenses.................. 1613.1


Assets
Cash.................................... 1250
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1250

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Credit Card ...................3186......65.6......19.95
Credit Card....................2171......49........24.95
Total unsecured debts..........5357......114.6.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,700
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,613.1
Available for debt repayments........... 86.9
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 114.6
Amount short for making debt repayments. -27.7

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,250
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,357
Net Assets.............................. -4,107

westlothian

spendtoomuch wrote: »

I am no expert and I am sure somebody else will be along soon but what really jumps out is your grocery bill at £400 a month for one person!!! Entertainment seems very high too! I am sure you could get both of these down substantially leaving a lot more to throw at the credit cards. Apart from these things your SOA seems fairly good.

I think I am a spend-a-holic if such a thing exists. I am sitting with my bank statements and feel very angry at myself and wish I had never printed them off.

08/01/2011 Tesco stores £81.19
10/01/2011 Asda £23.80 ( i went in for milk if i remember)
14/01/2011 Tesco stores £44.06

I have money in my current account so no it is not a disaster but I am still furious that I do this

bottleofred

Hi westlothian,

Perhaps you need to start a spending diary. This would involve getting a small notebook and putting absolutely everything you buy into it. If you also start paying with cash only, you may not be so quick to spend the money on things you really don't need. You could also do a list for the shops and stick to it rigidly.

westlothian

bottleofred wrote: »

Hi Westlothian and welcome to the forum. See comments below. Only you can cut down on the spending though.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1700
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1700

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 355
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 112.5High, do you have arrears?
Electricity............................. 52High, can you shop around for a better deal?
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 21.6do you need this as you have the mobile?
Mobile phone............................ 25a payg would cost £10 per month
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 400very expensive as £200 per month should feed a family of 3-4. You should take advantage of bogofs and batch cook and freeze things. There are also money saving ideas on the old style boards.
Clothing................................ 80did you consider ebay for buying clothes, although £80 a month is very extravagant
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
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..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 9
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 375this figure should be reduced dramatically to say £100 per month
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 40might be better to cancel this for a while due to the debts etc.
Total monthly expenses.................. 1613.1


Assets
Cash.................................... 1250
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1250

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Credit Card ...................3186......65.6......19.95
Credit Card....................2171......49........24.95
Total unsecured debts..........5357......114.6.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,700
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,613.1
Available for debt repayments........... 86.9
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 114.6
Amount short for making debt repayments. -27.7

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,250
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,357
Net Assets.............................. -4,107

Hi bottle. I cannot really cook at all. I have never really used the oven in my flat so need to rely on microwave and George Foreman grill for food. But i do buy loads of things I never use.

My council tax includes water rates which I think is common in Scotland and I do get a 25% discount as I am single occupancy.

My mobile and landline are on contracts I think at the moment. I have more than I need on my mobile bundles but it was a good deal at the time.

I am with Scottish Power and have been for four years so it might be worth phoning round the other companies. (Scottish Hydro, Scottish Gas would maybe supply this area??)

Clothes and entertainment figures are high. These are averages from last few months statements.

Thanks for the comments.

[Deleted User]

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1700 (any way to increase - overtime?)
Total monthly income.................... 1700

Monthly Expense Details
Rent.................................... 355
Council tax............................. 112.5 (Are you claiming single persons allowance (25%), can you spread the payment over 12 months instead of the usual 10?
Electricity............................. 52 (Quite high, but given you don't have gas could be reasonable (not sure) - check comparison sites though to ensure you're on the cheapest tariff for your area - often online tariffs are cheaper)
Telephone (land line)................... 21.6 (Quite high, does this include internet? - if it does, probably a reasonable deal)
Mobile phone............................ 25 (if in contract, drop a tariff, or if/when out of contract drop to £10 SIM only deal, or go PAYG - expensive considering you also have a home phone)
TV Licence.............................. 13
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 (For one this is very high - drop brands, meal plan, batch cook, shop with a list of what you need and stick to it. Use cheaper supermarkets (Lidl/Aldi) - check out the OLd style board for hints and tips)
Clothing................................ 80 (This is also high every month - wear what you have (e-bay what you no longer use) and buy essentials only for now)
Other travel............................ 0 (No travel costs?)
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 100 (What's this for - maintenance? You have only noted one adult at the begining of the SOA, is this correct?)
Contents insurance...................... 0 (possibly need something here)
Other insurance......................... 9 (what does this cover?)
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 (nothing ever?)
Haircuts................................ 30 (can you go an extra week between cuts?)
Entertainment........................... 375 (again, this is very high - what do you spend it on? Cut back)
Emergency fund.......................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 1613.1


Assets
Cash.................................... 1250
Total Assets............................ 1250

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR (I have prioritised these in the order that you should be making overpayments, CC1 is costing you more in interest so you should make any overpayments you can to this one whilst paying the minimum towards CC2, when CC1 if fully paid more on to making over payments towards CC2 (snowballing in ths way will minimise the amount of interest you repay on your debts)
Credit Card 1...................2171......49........24.95
Credit Card 2...................3186......65.6......19.95
Total unsecured debts..........5357......114.6.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,700
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,613.1
Available for debt repayments........... 86.9
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 114.6
Amount short for making debt repayments. -27.7 (This can easily be made up, and to pay off your debts more quickly with a few other savings in your SOA you will be able to make overpayments)

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,250
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,357
Net Assets.............................. -4,107

Hi,
I have made a few comments above, hopefully some of them will be usefull to you. The most important thing you have to do is make your expenditure meet your income in the SOA, to prevent you from going further in to debt on a monthly basis.

To overpay your debts and become debt free much quicker you will need to make further cut backs - you are lucky as you are on a descent salary and there's a lot of places for movement in your SOA. I would concentrate on getting your food bill down (we are 2 and only seem to spend about £150/month) - but if cutting back that drastically is too hard, try cutting to £300 this month, then reduce to £200 next month).

Also, you could cut down on your entertainment, depending on what you spend this on perhapse you could get the same or similar elsewhere for cheaper, or skip the odd night out?

You must have a lot of clothes already if you spend this amoutn every month, only buy what you really need. And e-bay what you don't use and don't wear any longer - you could pay down some of the CC debt with what you make.

Also, it doesn't make sense to have savings whilst you have debts if the interest on your savings is earning you a lower interest than your debts are costing - as it's unlikely that you are earning 24.9% interest or above on your savings, it might be better to pay this towards CC1. It is wise to keep a little of this back perhapsse as an emergency fund (maybe £100 or £200), once your debts are gone, you will have much more disposable income to build this back up, and you will be able to do this pretty quickly.

Also, if you haven't already - stop spending on your credit cards.

HTH

D9

westlothian

Domino9 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1700 (any way to increase - overtime?)
Total monthly income.................... 1700

Monthly Expense Details
Rent.................................... 355
Council tax............................. 112.5 (Are you claiming single persons allowance (25%), can you spread the payment over 12 months instead of the usual 10?
Electricity............................. 52 (Quite high, but given you don't have gas could be reasonable (not sure) - check comparison sites though to ensure you're on the cheapest tariff for your area - often online tariffs are cheaper)
Telephone (land line)................... 21.6 (Quite high, does this include internet? - if it does, probably a reasonable deal)
Mobile phone............................ 25 (if in contract, drop a tariff, or if/when out of contract drop to £10 SIM only deal, or go PAYG - expensive considering you also have a home phone)
TV Licence.............................. 13
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 (For one this is very high - drop brands, meal plan, batch cook, shop with a list of what you need and stick to it. Use cheaper supermarkets (Lidl/Aldi) - check out the OLd style board for hints and tips)
Clothing................................ 80 (This is also high every month - wear what you have (e-bay what you no longer use) and buy essentials only for now)
Other travel............................ 0 (No travel costs?)
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 100 (What's this for - maintenance? You have only noted one adult at the begining of the SOA)
Contents insurance...................... 0 (possibly need something here)
Other insurance......................... 9 (what does this cover?)
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 (nothing ever?)
Haircuts................................ 30 (can you go an extra week between cuts?)
Entertainment........................... 375 (again, this is very high - what do you spend it on? Cut back)
Emergency fund.......................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 1613.1


Assets
Cash.................................... 1250
Total Assets............................ 1250

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR (I have prioritised these in the order that you should be making overpayments, CC1 is costing you more in interest so you should make any overpayments you can to this one whilst paying the minimum towards CC2, when CC1 if fully paid more on to making over payments towards CC2 (snowballing in ths way will minimise the amount of interest you repay on your debts)
Credit Card 1...................2171......49........24.95
Credit Card 2...................3186......65.6......19.95
Total unsecured debts..........5357......114.6.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,700
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,613.1
Available for debt repayments........... 86.9
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 114.6
Amount short for making debt repayments. -27.7 (This can easily be made up, and to pay off your debts more quickly with a few other savings in your SOA you will be able to make overpayments)

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,250
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,357
Net Assets.............................. -4,107

Hi,
I have made a few comments above, hopefully some of them will be usefull to you. The most important thing you have to do is make your expenditure meet your income in the SOA, to prevent you from going further in to debt on a monthly basis.

To overpay your debts and become debt free much quicker you will need to make further cut backs - you are lucky as you are on a descent salary and there's a lot of places for movement in your SOA. I would concentrate on getting your food bill down (we are 2 and only seem to spend about £150/month) - but if cutting back that drastically is too hard, try cutting to £300 this month, then reduce to £200 next month).

Also, you could cut down on your entertainment, depending on what you spend this on perhapse you could get the same or similar elsewhere for cheaper, or ship the odd night out?

You must have a lot of clothes already if you spend this amoutn every month, only buy what you really need. And e-bay what you don't use and don't wear any longer - you could pay down some of the CC debt with what you make.

HTH

D9

Thank you Dom.

The £9 other insurance now goes to "UNAT DIRECT" it used to go to another company but they have changed names i assume. I have been paying it for several years and think it relates to a previous job.

The £100 child related expense goes to my little brother towards university. We were raised by my gran and I try to contribute a little so that he can have some fun at uni.

I think I will phone Orange/virgin media/scottish power about my utilities and then phone the other electricity companies to see if they can supply me for less.

I could also tutor to raise some extra cash and have had a few enquiries from a family friend regarding this but would feel obliged to do it for free.

My money for presents would just be included in entertainment/groceries. I will just buy an extra bottle of vodka as a present for a party when buying my own alcohol.

westlothian

Domino9 wrote: »

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR (I have prioritised these in the order that you should be making overpayments, CC1 is costing you more in interest so you should make any overpayments you can to this one whilst paying the minimum towards CC2, when CC1 if fully paid more on to making over payments towards CC2 (snowballing in ths way will minimise the amount of interest you repay on your debts)
Credit Card 1...................2171......49........24.95
Credit Card 2...................3186......65.6......19.95
Total unsecured debts..........5357......114.6.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,700
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,613.1
Available for debt repayments........... 86.9
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 114.6
Amount short for making debt repayments. -27.7 (This can easily be made up, and to pay off your debts more quickly with a few other savings in your SOA you will be able to make overpayments)

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,250
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,357
Net Assets.............................. -4,107

To overpay your debts and become debt free much quicker you will need to make further cut backs - you are lucky as you are on a descent salary and there's a lot of places for movement in your SOA. I would concentrate on getting your food bill down (we are 2 and only seem to spend about £150/month) - but if cutting back that drastically is too hard, try cutting to £300 this month, then reduce to £200 next month).

Also, you could cut down on your entertainment, depending on what you spend this on perhapse you could get the same or similar elsewhere for cheaper, or skip the odd night out?

You must have a lot of clothes already if you spend this amoutn every month, only buy what you really need. And e-bay what you don't use and don't wear any longer - you could pay down some of the CC debt with what you make.

Also, it doesn't make sense to have savings whilst you have debts if the interest on your savings is earning you a lower interest than your debts are costing - as it's unlikely that you are earning 24.9% interest or above on your savings, it might be better to pay this towards CC1. It is wise to keep a little of this back perhapsse as an emergency fund (maybe £100 or £200), once your debts are gone, you will have much more disposable income to build this back up, and you will be able to do this pretty quickly.

Also, if you haven't already - stop spending on your credit cards.

HTH

D9

I think the spending list idea may help to get the food costs down. I pay £10 per week by standing order to a savings account. I have just checked and it pays 0.25% interest.

I only used my credit cards for things from the internet now. I know that this will have to stop too as i am adding the amount I pay back on and dont really need anymore DVDs and books. I might move my savings back to my current account and pay it off the 24.95% card.

I have several bags of clothes that I have not even looked at since purchasing so I dont really need anymore.

[Deleted User]

The £9 other insurance now goes to "UNAT DIRECT" it used to go to another company but they have changed names i assume. I have been paying it for several years and think it relates to a previous job.
- find out what this is for, and see if you really need it.

The £100 child related expense goes to my little brother towards university. We were raised by my gran and I try to contribute a little so that he can have some fun at uni. - that's a lovley thing to do, wish I'd had a sibling doing the same (lucky brother you have)

I think I will phone Orange/virgin media/scottish power about my utilities and then phone the other electricity companies to see if they can supply me for less.

Compare companies on USwitch: (but if switching does work out to be cheaper - check whether you would get cash back via one of the cashback sites before switching (Quidco, TopCashBack, Onepoll)
http://www.uswitch.com/

I could also tutor to raise some extra cash and have had a few enquiries from a family friend regarding this but would feel obliged to do it for free.
(You could always offer a discount to family friends, and ask them to recommend you)

My money for presents would just be included in entertainment/groceries. I will just buy an extra bottle of vodka as a present for a party when buying my own alcohol.

(if you budget for these things on a regualr basis, then expensive occations like birthdays and christmas don't mess up your monthly budget)

HTH

[Deleted User]

I think the spending list idea may help to get the food costs down. I pay £10 per week by standing order to a savings account. I have just checked and it pays 0.25% interest.

Check the old style board for hints and tips on cutting groceries, and cooking cheap and healthy meals. Another trick if you find it difficult to stick to your food budget is to withdraw the money in cash to last you the month - so you can keep track of what you've actually spent, and what you have left.


I only used my credit cards for things from the internet now. I know that this will have to stop too as i am adding the amount I pay back on and dont really need anymore DVDs and books. I might move my savings back to my current account and pay it off the 24.95% card.

Try selling unwanted DVD's and Books online (Amazon or Ebay). Also, if you are shopping for anything online try going through the cashback sites listed above to get cashback on spends

I have several bags of clothes that I have not even looked at since purchasing so I dont really need anymore

Again, E-bay is a good place for these

Also, might be worth having a look at the links in this thread: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3078034