Advice on how we can save money or is there anything we can claim

willowwoody

Hi, we are struggling to keep our heads above water financially and was wondering if anyone had any advice or knew if there was anything else we could claim. I cant work as i look after my 2 children and couldnt afford the childcare, have thought of lots of ideas but partner works away and so couldnt even do night !!!!!!. Any help would be great thank you.



[tt]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.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1500
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 340
Other income............................ 397
Total monthly income.................... 2237
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 497
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 695
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 87
Electricity............................. 60
Gas..................................... 60
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 35
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 40
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 295
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 150
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 40
Other child related expenses............ 28
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 27
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 70
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 60
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2458

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 3000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 3000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 94000....(497)......5.29
Total secured & HP debts...... 94000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,237
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,458
Available for debt repayments........... -221
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -221
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 3,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -94,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. -91,000
[/tt]

fermi

Copied to Debt-Free Wannabe for SOA advice.

Triggles

Here's some thoughts...


mortgage AND rent? - that's a huge chunk of your income. is that accurate??

council tax - over 10 or 12 months?

electricity/gas - can this be trimmed at all? cheaper suppliers or less use?

water rates - can this be reduced at all? or is it standard rate?

mobile phone - PAYG or contract? how many phones is this for? can this be reduced?

satellite/cable tv - can this be reduced? is it in package with phone/internet? freeview?

clothing - can this be trimmed to £20 or under?

petrol/diesel - this is a lot - absolutely necessary? what is this for? work commute? can you get rid of one car?

car insurance - again, huge amount! why so high, even with 2 cars?

car maintenance/mot - a bit high, due to maintenance?

childcare/nursery - not to be funny, but if you're not working, what's this for?

other child related expenses - what's this for?

buildings/contents insurance - can you get this cheaper together? check suppliers and on quidco for good deals

life insurance - really should be budgeted for, IMO. you can get decent term life for a fiver a month per adult

presents - this is high, can you cut this significantly?

haircuts - who does this cover? can you use clippers to cut hair at home (at least on the males?)

entertainment - this should be cut down as well

determined_new_ms

willowwoody wrote: »

Hi, we are struggling to keep our heads above water financially and was wondering if anyone had any advice or knew if there was anything else we could claim. I cant work as i look after my 2 children and couldnt afford the childcare, have thought of lots of ideas but partner works away and so couldnt even do night !!!!!!. Any help would be great thank you.



[tt]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.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1500
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 340
Other income............................ 397
Total monthly income.................... 2237
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 497 I'm guessing this is part rent part buy?
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 695 I'm guessing this is part rent part buy?
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 87
Electricity............................. 60 elec & gas do seem high, ours is £79 for both can you reduce, make sure heating & lights are turned off in rooms you don't use.
Gas..................................... 60
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 35
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 40 seems high when you can't afford it can you get freeview?
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150 impressive!
Clothing................................ 30 can you go without clothes for a while/buy second hand/ebay for the children?
Petrol/diesel........................... 295
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 150 this is really high do you need 2 cars?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 40 can you afford this?
Other child related expenses............ 28 ?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 27 ins is high can you look around for a better deal
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 70 I don't think you can afford this
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 60 I don't think you can afford this
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2458

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 3000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 3000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 94000....(497)......5.29
Total secured & HP debts...... 94000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,237
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,458
Available for debt repayments........... -221
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -221
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 3,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -94,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. -91,000
[/tt]

some suggestions for you. I know its really hard but the bottom line is you have more money going out than you have coming in and you need to make some real changes before you start getting into debt. In every decision you make you need to ask what can you afford? and if you don't have the money in the budget then you can't have it unless you get an increase in pay.

Its really tough when you have young ones, but these are the choices you need to make, its better to have freeview and enjoy peace of mind with your kids than satelite & being worried about money IMHO x

determined_new_ms

willowwoody wrote: »

Hi, we are struggling to keep our heads above water financially and was wondering if anyone had any advice or knew if there was anything else we could claim. I cant work as i look after my 2 children and couldnt afford the childcare, have thought of lots of ideas but partner works away and so couldnt even do night !!!!!!. Any help would be great thank you.



[tt]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................ 1500
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 340
Other income............................ 397
Total monthly income.................... 2237
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 497
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 695
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 87
Electricity............................. 45
Gas..................................... 45
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 35
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 15
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 75
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 15
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 28
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 10
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 10
Total monthly expenses.................. 2001

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 3000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 3000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 94000....(497)......5.29
Total secured & HP debts...... 94000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,237
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,001
Available for debt repayments........... 236
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. 236
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 3,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -94,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. -91,000
[/tt]

are the thing you have in your original budget worth an extra £400+ to you?

CH27

Your gas, electicity, mobile, car insurance & buildings & contents insurances are high.

Do you need 2 cars? Could you sell one?

You could maybe do something like Avon to earn some cash.

SunshineBear

Are these actual figures or guesstimates?

Your food for the month is very low compared to what you spend on presents, entertainment and sky.

Cut them dow to zero for a few months and drop to 1 car.

Why the child care?

The benefits seems low? What is your actual Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Child Benefit?

What is your 'Other income'?

willowwoody

Hi these r actual figures, the sky is a package with internet and phone, we only have to basic channels. We r looking into freeviw to see if its cheaper with phone and internet. could try and cut down on presents but my children are invited to at least 2 parties a month sometimes more then we save for their bdays and xmas each month plus all our familys, we dont spend much on them each at all but theres so many. the childcare is reduced now as my daughter has just started getting the 15 free hours last week. We would love to get rid of one car but my partner has to have a car for his job as he is a residential worker and has to take the children he works with out everyday. Im not on a bus route so would have to walk my children to preschool and back everyday with is a 5 mile round trip so 10 miles a day is a bit much for a 3 year old and 8 month old. The preschool is in a rural village with no buses either. The other income is a house my partner owns but the morgage is more than the rent. We cant sell as we have tried and its got £20000 negative equity. Ive been on phone to tax credits etc and they say we are not entitled to any more. We dont get working tax credits they said you have to earn under £16000. Child tax credits is £85 and child benifit is £33. Thanks for your suggestions.

willowwoody

Hi, I tried Avon a few months ago and took the children with me delivering and collecting catalouges. After 3 months i still wasnt getting enough orders to make a penny and it was costing me money to pay for the catalouges and bags. Thanks for you help though

willowwoody

Here's some thoughts...


mortgage AND rent? - that's a huge chunk of your income. is that accurate?? Yup we pay private rent and have a house that we tried to sell but its got £20000 negative equaity so couldnt sell and we cant get enough rent to cover morgage.

council tax - over 10 or 12 months?

electricity/gas - can this be trimmed at all? cheaper suppliers or less use? we have just cut this down but changing supplier

water rates - can this be reduced at all? or is it standard rate? its a standard rate. We are very careful with our water so it does seem a bit high, will look into it.

mobile phone - PAYG or contract? how many phones is this for? can this be reduced? 2 phoes, they are on a 2 year contract from wen we could afford them. One year left then getting a cheaper contract

satellite/cable tv - can this be reduced? is it in package with phone/internet? freeview? this is for internet and land line aswell but we r looking to see if there r cheaper packages.

clothing - can this be trimmed to £20 or under? Have cut clothing down, children just growing so fast constantly having to buy new shoes and clothes but am buying 2nd hand apart from shoes and at £30 a pair from clarks for my son who is soon walking its not easy. Dont want to buy cheap shoes for him at that age tho incase they damage his feet.

petrol/diesel - this is a lot - absolutely necessary? what is this for? work commute? can you get rid of one car? yes work commute is a 3 hour round trip. My partner has to have a car for the type of job he is in and there are no close buses to me. The preschool alone would be a 10 mile trip there and back twice a day. Its in a rural village so no bus stops

car insurance - again, huge amount! why so high, even with 2 cars?
from a small crash a few years ago. Its the cheapest we could find
car maintenance/mot - a bit high, due to maintenance? yes cars always seem to fail mot

childcare/nursery - not to be funny, but if you're not working, what's this for? my daughter has 15 hours free now as shes over 3 but we have to pay for 3 hours a week for her to do the other half of the 3rd day. We could drop it though, will have to give a months notice.

other child related expenses - what's this for? my daugheter has ballet and tap. Again could drop it but shes been going for 2 years and is in shows etc and she would be devastated.

buildings/contents insurance - can you get this cheaper together? check suppliers and on quidco for good deals looking into that

life insurance - really should be budgeted for, IMO. you can get decent term life for a fiver a month per adult

presents - this is high, can you cut this significantly? yes we can get smaller presents for everyone but my children are invited to at least to parties a months not including family

haircuts - who does this cover? can you use clippers to cut hair at home (at least on the males?) just got some clippers but 2 girls in house the cheapest we can get a cut for is £14 for both of us

entertainment - this should be cut down as well, we only pay for the ballet and tap now

Thanks for advice

Malky

Is there a reason why you can't move back into the house you own?