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SOA - anyhelp appreciated!!



Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
NB - Although there are two of us in the household, our finances are seperate and my debts dont belong to him (before we were together). He pays rent (and I give him £220 for it) and I pay all bills, this make us even on the household outgoing.

Household Information

Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details

Monthly income after tax................ 1300
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1300


Monthly Expense Details

Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 220
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 135
Electricity............................. 90 (overpaying due to large winter bill!)
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 23
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 42 (i have two contracts, on is £12 a month and will be over in 5 months)
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 35
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100 (OH pays £100 into pot as well, try to keep it under £100 and whats left goes in to joint savings - only started that this month)
Clothing................................ 0 (only buy out of savings, cant remember the last time I had some new clothes!)
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0 (not sure about this yet as only just got car)
Car Insurance........................... 50 (not paying this yet, only just bought the car, so will be from next month)
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20 (into car maintenaince account every month)
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 8
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50 (i have a big family so needs to be this high really! goes into an easysaver account)
Haircuts................................ 0 (havent had it cur for about a year!)
Entertainment........................... 200 (taken out in cash on pay day - this includes my driving lessons, any nights out etc, anything left goes into savings, only started this month)
Holiday................................. 80
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1077



Assets

Cash.................................... 200
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 150
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 350


No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts


Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Family Member..................1250......100.......0
Apex (natwest loan)............4337......120.......0
Total unsecured debts..........5587......220.......-



Monthly Budget Summary

Total monthly income.................... 1,300
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,077
Available for debt repayments........... 223
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 220
Amount left after debt repayments....... 3


Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 350
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,587
Net Assets.............................. -5,237


Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.
«1

Comments

  • Do you really need the car? Your SOA is very tight and you haven't even put in amounts for fuel or road tax yet - nevermind the unplanned expenses cars bring with them. If you can get away with it, I'd be tempted to do without until you have cleared your debts.

    If you really need the car then my suggestions are do away with the pay TV and go for freeview, cut down on your presents spending (big family or not, if you can't afford it, you can't afford it). Also £200 a month on entertainment seems excessive compared to your income, plus almost £1000 a year for holiday is quite a lot - presumably your OH pays for his share so £2K worth of holidays a year might be overdoing it in relation to your income.
  • Tixy
    Tixy Posts: 31,455 Forumite
    Have you not passed your test yet?
    When you do pass do you know how much you are going to spend on fuel, road tax, insurance (is the £50 an estimate?) and maintenance?
    Only at the moment it looks like your SoA just about balances but if you factor in petrol costs will you still be able to meet minimum payments? that said hopefully entertainment will reduce quite a bit once you have no driving lessons to pay for.

    Could you reduce the paid tv package?

    Have you shopped around recently to check elec is the best tariff/cheapest supplier?

    Aside from that it only really looks like the entertainment and holiday are areas you could reduce if you needed to.

    Anyway you could increase your income at all? overtime? second job?
    A smile enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give
    or "It costs nowt to be nice"
  • bargainbetty
    bargainbetty Posts: 3,455 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I make your household contributions a total of £515 including your contribution to the rent - are you defintely even on the costs?

    See if you can use the electricity more wisely to reduce your bills. Reduce your thermostat, turn off lights when you leave rooms and shut things off at the wall if possible (I got one of those extension leads with individual socket switches, it helped quite a bit).

    You say you have a big family and need to spend £600 per year on presents - can this not be reduced? We agreed in the family to only buy for children outside of the immediate family (nieces yes, cousins kids no etc) stick to a cost limit for each person etc. Lots of others might be feeling the pinch, and keeping all gifts below a set value makes it a bit of a challenge to get something fun or thoughtful. Sign up for voucher programmes, clicks, surveys etc to earn points towards gifts and reduce that cost.

    £200 per month on entertainment - your choice what to do with that money!

    Good luck, it looks fairly tight already, to be honest!
    Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps....
    LB moment - March 2006. DFD - 1 June 2012!!! DEBT FREE!



    May grocery challenge £45.61/£120
  • Million_Percent
    Million_Percent Posts: 188 Forumite
    edited 2 June 2011 am30 10:39AM
    Just noticed, you've valued your car at only £150. Is that right? That suggests it is very old and in bad condition and will likely need considerable work doing to it to keep it running.

    To me it looks like you can't really afford a car right now unless you are prepared to make some significant sacrifices elsewhere.
  • Mowgli87
    Mowgli87 Posts: 139 Forumite
    Thanks for the advice!

    £200 a month includes my driving lessons which come to £100 a month at the moment... once theyre done I'll be chucking it on the debt. The rest is for anything else I might need, but to be honest, Im not really spending it...I just have the cash there incase and then any left at the end of the month will go the family member debt.

    The car is a L reg Peugoet 205, it was so cheap as it was from a family friend, had new breaks fitted and MOT/TAX two months ago. Its not a neccesity in terms of getting to work etc as I walk to work, however, its a big deal to me in terms of independance, I rely on my OH to take me everywhere at the moment and I have no activites I can do by myself as I cant get anywhere w/o him, also my family live 400 miles round trip and I rarely get to visit them as train cost are £200 a month. Car insurance amount is a quote I had from Admiral which I will be getting tonight. Fuel will be very low really as I'll only use it for short trips maybe once a week, biggest pertol expense will be going home to see family.

    With Electric, Im hoping Ive paid off the amount we owed for the winter bill which I will check tonight, then it should go down to £70. I need to pay off the amount owed before I can look at switching :(

    Sky has already been knowcked down by 50% in the last two months as we downgraded.

    I will def save less for gifts etc, family will just have to understand I cant afford lavish gifts... thing is, I love christmas for the giving!!

    As for the holiday, this isnt a set in stone amount, just something we are trying to do as of last month. we've been together for 2 years and have never had a holiday together, havent built any memories etc. The penny pinching from the start has put a lot of strain on the relationship and we're trying to work towards a 'treat' so to speak... is that a bad thing? Should I not be doing that? I'd appreciate any comments on the matter (good or bad!!)
  • Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance SheetNB -
    Household Information
    Number of adults in household........... 2
    Number of cars owned.................... 1

    Monthly Income Details
    Monthly income after tax................ 1300 Any way to increase? Overtime? Second job?
    Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
    Benefits................................ 0
    Other income............................ 0
    Total monthly income.................... 1300

    Monthly Expense Details
    Rent.................................... 220
    Council tax............................. 135 Can you spread this over 12 months instead of the usual 10 - ask your council
    Electricity............................. 90 (overpaying due to large winter bill!) How much of this is overpayment, and when will it be fully repaid by? - Turn the thermostat down on the boiler, heating should be off this time of year, but when it's time to put it back on, turn the thermostat down a degree or two, switch off radiators in rooms that you are not using, wear jumpers etc, make sure appliances are switched off when not in use instead of left on standby, use energy saving bulbs etc
    Water rates............................. 23 are you on a set amout or a meter - would a meter be cheaper if you're not already on one
    Mobile phone............................ 42 (i have two contracts, on is £12 a month and will be over in 5 months) see if you can downgrade the tariff of both even if you can't cancel
    TV Licence.............................. 12
    Satellite/Cable TV...................... 35 do you really need this - try freesat as an alternative
    Internet Services....................... 0 ??
    Groceries etc. ......................... 100 (OH pays £100 into pot as well, try to keep it under £100 and whats left goes in to joint savings - only started that this month) batch cook, meal plan, drop brands.
    Clothing................................ 0 (only buy out of savings, cant remember the last time I had some new clothes!)
    Petrol/diesel........................... 0 you'll need something here
    Road tax................................ 0 (not sure about this yet as only just got car)
    Car Insurance........................... 50 (not paying this yet, only just bought the car, so will be from next month)
    Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20 (into car maintenaince account every month)
    Pet insurance/vet bills................. 8
    Contents insurance...................... 12
    Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50 (i have a big family so needs to be this high really! goes into an easysaver account) why not discuss with other members of the family - as you are paying a lot, especially compared to your income - try doing secret santa so evryone gets a present, but you're only responsivle for one - also consider only buying for the children - plan in advance and buy things in sales, keep an eye out on the grad-it board, use vouchers etc
    Haircuts................................ 0 (havent had it cur for about a year!)
    Entertainment........................... 200 (taken out in cash on pay day - this includes my driving lessons, any nights out etc, anything left goes into savings, only started this month) this is very high, what does it actually get spent on? and how much of it is there?
    Holiday................................. 80 very very high in comparison to your income - I would suggest that you at lest halve this
    Emergency fund.......................... 0 start putting something here
    Total monthly expenses.................. 1077


    Assets
    Cash.................................... 200
    House value (Gross)..................... 0
    Shares and bonds........................ 0
    Car(s).................................. 150 really?
    Other assets............................ 0
    Total Assets............................ 350

    No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

    Unsecured Debts
    Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
    Family Member..................1250......100.......0
    Apex (natwest loan)............4337......120.......0 what's the APR on this? when will it be fully repaid at your current rate of payment?
    Total unsecured debts..........5587......220.......-


    Monthly Budget Summary
    Total monthly income.................... 1,300
    Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,077
    Available for debt repayments........... 223
    Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 220
    Amount left after debt repayments....... 3 This is very tight?

    Personal Balance Sheet Summary
    Total assets (things you own)........... 350
    Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
    Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,587
    Net Assets.............................. -5,237

    Hi,
    I have made some comments above, I hope that some of them at lest help. How much does your partner contribute? Is it really split evenly?

    D9
  • Tixy
    Tixy Posts: 31,455 Forumite
    Appreciate the joy of giving presents but you might find that if you cut your presents budget that you have to get more creative with what you buy. Sometimes if you spend time and effort on a gift and finding something personal to a person, or making up a hamper of cheap items they'll appreciate then the gifts can feel even more special then just going out and spending on people. They'll know you've really considered them rather than a last minute dash to the shops in mid december (which is what I used to do).

    I understand you want a holiday - I personally wouldn't want to go years without managing one at all - but whilst you still have the debt try to keep the spend low, perhaps a last min getaway or something. I see you are hoping to save £800 - is this each? If so I'd imagine you could reduce this to £800 between you and still have a good time away.
    A smile enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give
    or "It costs nowt to be nice"
  • **confuzzled**
    **confuzzled** Posts: 4,228 Forumite
    Mowgli87 wrote: »
    Car insurance amount is a quote I had from Admiral which I will be getting tonight. Fuel will be very low really as I'll only use it for short trips maybe once a week, biggest pertol expense will be going home to see family.
    You've probably already thought of it but put your OH as a named driver on your policy to help reduce your premium:) Obviously double check that he does actually bring it down before committing;)
    I do this and hubby brings my policy down by approx £70:cool:

    as for the holiday....you deserve to treat yourselves but best to keep it in line with your moneysaving attitude, £1K on a holiday just for you...well it'd be an immense holiday!:D A week on a greek island would be half that, less if you book either last minute or WAYYYYYYYYY in advance:)
    1.11.09 - debt = £45k:eek:
    [STRIKE]Car Loan = £0[/STRIKE] CCCS Total = £30,246.88 Total Debt Paid off - 32.78%
    DFD [STRIKE]Nov[/STRIKE][STRIKE]Sept[/STRIKE]Aug 2018:o Only 75 payments to go:)
  • A holiday doesn't have to be expensive to be memorable. I've just had the most enjoyable holiday of my life - a week in a rented house on the coast with friends of ours and their kids. Total cost: under £500 for a family of 3 (that includes all travel, accommodation, spending money, food - absolutely everything). And we didn't cut corners.

    What made it a great holiday was not where we went but the company we had and the relaxed atmosphere.

    You know how people say the best nights out are the ones that aren't planned but just happen on their own? For me, it's the same with holidays. My best memories of holidays with the OH are the last minute camping weekends where you just make it up as you go along, not the big longhaul flyaway ones.
  • On the car, an L reg is 17/18 years old - what kind of mileage does it have? Has it been well serviced?

    In my experience cars have a nasty habit of costing you money at the most inconvenient time. Generally, the older the car the more attention it will need.

    I appreciate your desire for independance but you need to seriously consider the feasibility of owning a car right now. According to your SOA, you can't really afford it. You mentioned visiting your family (a 400 mile round trip). Assuming you can get 45mpg out of your car (unlikely), the journey will require 40 litres of petrol @ £1.35/l that is £54.

    You have budgeted £20/month for car maintenance. That is £240 a year. That will just about cover an MOT test, service and a couple of new tyres.

    Your current SOA shows a surplus of £3 per month. Realisitically, I'd say you need an extra £100 per month to cover fuel, road tax and other misc expenses.

    Could you not be a named driver on your OH's car and use that occasionally for a bit of independance?
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