Our SOA - 2 months on..

immoral_angeluk

Thought as we've been good little DFW's and cut down a lot and paid off some debts it'd be interesting to see if there's anything else that we can do to reduce our outgoings.

Incoming:
Dh wages - £871 net average
My Maternity pay - £450 net
Child benefit - £69.80 4 weekly
Tax credits - £35 per week (Normally £140 per month as paid on a weds)

Total average - £1530.80

Outgoing:
Rent (Housing association) - £286.83
Council Tax - £99
Tv license - £11.37
Water - £22.59
Gas/Electric - £65.50 (£35 for gas, £30.50 electric with scottish power cheapest according to uswitch)
Bt - £40 (Broadband/phone inc calls stuck in an 18 month contract til this time next yr :mad: )
Car insurance - £33 (for both me and Dh, cheapest I could find at renewal as churchill beat all my other quotes to stay with them.)
Tv rental - £37 (Stuck in contract til April but was £45.. trying my best to get DH to agree to buying a tv outright once contracts up but he's being stubborn as wants only the best for his xbox 360 games :mad: :mad: :mad: )
Contents insurance - £4.47 (Was £8.91 and this was the cheapest we could find anywhere.)
Our mobiles - Currently £0 as negotiated reduced line rental and free credit to renew our contracts But will probably be about £30 when our credit has run out.
Food - £150
Petrol - £50
DH's driving lessons - £76 (based on 1 per week.)
Dh work costs (occasional bus fare, meals etc. He normally care shares with a mate but I've averaged £5 a day although it's usually less.) £115

Right.... the DEBTS.
Welcome car finance - 24.1% - £160.50 p/m have 45 months remaining :mad:
DH Citi credit card - (27.9% limit £1,500)- £1449 - £45 min p/m
My citi credit card - (27.9% limit £500)- £487.42 - £15 min p/m
mothercare store card - (22.9%? limit £600) - £482.42 - £20 min p/m
Barclaycard - (19.9% limit £900)- £862.51 - £21 min p/m
Dorothy Perkins store card - (24%? limit £1,790) - £504.05 - £22 min p/m
Dh capital one debt (with DCA) - £580 currently not paying anything but looking to pay £10 a month til we can afford to clear it in one go.)

Total Debt - 11587.90 :eek:

Total outgoings - £1284.26 (without mobiles)

Spare - £246.54 which includes saving as much as possible towards debts, odd treats and misc things that come up during the month. Although how much we're actually left with varies from month to month.


The situation -
Expecting our 2nd baby in less than 8 weeks. Once she's born the tax credits will go up as will child benefit, but so will the food costs with the extra nappies, formula etc. Car tax is one of those things I just deal with the month it's due *slap on wrists* but is £64 every 6 months. We very very rarely buy clothes and I cut my own hair. If I'm missing anything just say and I'll tell you what we spend on it. We are currently saving hard to try and pay off debts so are on a tight budget just spending as little as possible and saving the rest towards debts.

Can anyone see anything we can do or that I've missed?
Thanks!

Edit: forgot to mention we're not entitled to housing or council tax benefit.

angchris

congratulations on getting yourself as well organised as you have already, it took me probably about 6 months or so to get myself to the stage you are at!:o is there any chance of maybe transfering your cards to a cheaper apr life of balance card? also why not try using washable nappies/wipes for ickle un, it will save you a fortune and they really are quite good nowadays. best of luck and keep up the good work... angchris

raq

HI, WELCOME TO THE SITE

How come your not entitled to council tax benefit. My other half got a job and we have a reduction of £21.00 per month. Have you looked into it..?? If it's still a no definately try and claim once you have your second baby

bananakinz

Well done!

I agree with you about the TV seems un necessary, but we know what some men are like with their toys!

How is hubby getting on with his driving lessons, as this takes a big chunk each month? When he passes his test this may have an effect on the car insurance?

Check out the council tax benefits again, especially when baby is born, as this will be taken into consideration.

The water is it metered? If so you could see where you can cut water usage down? Is it over 10 months or 12, as the other 2 months could go towards debt - I plan to do this with ours along with the council tax in feb/mar (although this is when the car service is due, so maybe lol)

Can hubby get down his work costs even further, even though you have said he spends less than this, will you put any unspent money towards debt?

immoral_angeluk

bananakinz wrote:

Well done!

I agree with you about the TV seems un necessary, but we know what some men are like with their toys!

How is hubby getting on with his driving lessons, as this takes a big chunk each month? When he passes his test this may have an effect on the car insurance?

Check out the council tax benefits again, especially when baby is born, as this will be taken into consideration.

The water is it metered? If so you could see where you can cut water usage down? Is it over 10 months or 12, as the other 2 months could go towards debt - I plan to do this with ours along with the council tax in feb/mar (although this is when the car service is due, so maybe lol)

Can hubby get down his work costs even further, even though you have said he spends less than this, will you put any unspent money towards debt?

He's doing really well with his driving lessons, reckon he'll be ready for his test probably end jan/feb.
The water is unmetered and we it pay 8 months of the year. (currently not paying it and won't til April )
Been to entitled to which say we still wouldn't be entitled to hb/ctb when new baby is born because we'll be getting more tax credits. :mad:
Dh normally only spends 2-3 quid a day and we save as much as possible at the end of each week.

bananakinz

Lets cross our fingers for hubby passing his test in Jan! x

I think you have got all bases covered then and are doing very well :T

us,thecat&thedebt

youll get there dont worry.

good luck and well done for coming so far.

:beer:

beanielou

Think you are doing well IA!

suzysue_2

Well done immoral_angeluk! You are doing very well. Keep going then your spare cash can really be yours!
It's so hard when your in that horrible middle bit, your earning too much to receive any significant benefits but not enough to make your life easier. We were in your possition, you can get out of it. Good luck with your new baby.
x

newsmonkey

You're a more seasoned moneysaver than I'll ever be, and you've probably already looked into this, but...

You've got some pretty crippling interest rates on cards there. Is there any way DH might be eligible for a life-of-balance card where you could shift stuff to make things a little less painful? Even if you had a bank overdraft you could move things to, chances are it'd charge less.

Excluding the car, looks like about £4300 on an average of 24% ... if you can find a card that could halve it, that's about £500/yr saved.

Looks like you're doing a great job.

System

Drop the driving lessons for OH and teach him yourself, have lots of arguements, get divorced and fleece him for HALF! Only joking!