SOA - let's see what can be done

madpiano

Here is my SOA - as you can see, I can't afford to live as it is. Is there anywhere I can save any money?

I tried to reduce the mobile payments, but can't as still 1 year to go on both contracts (one for my daughter, one for me)
I tried to reduce the Virgin Package, but can't either as still 7 months to go on my contract (didn't notice that their nice offer to upgrade my modem locked me into another 12 month contract)

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1386
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1386

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 850
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 70
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 70
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 25
Telephone (land line)................... 85 (phone, TV, Internet)
Mobile phone............................ 55 (2 contracts)
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 152
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 108
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 44
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 65
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 10
Total monthly expenses.................. 1637


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Council Tax....................3000......0.........0
First Direct...................6000......0.........0
Egg............................5000......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........14000.....0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,386
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,637
Available for debt repayments........... -251
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -251

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -14,000
Net Assets.............................. -12,000

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Penelope_Penguin

madpiano wrote: »

I tried to reduce the mobile payments, but can't as still 1 year to go on both contracts (one for my daughter, one for me)
I tried to reduce the Virgin Package, but can't You could cancel both phone contracts, and the Virgin and they could become creditors.
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1386
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0 you have a child but no child ben or tax credits?
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1386

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 850
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 70
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 70
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 25
Telephone (land line)................... 85 (phone, TV, Internet) see above
Mobile phone............................ 55 (2 contracts)this is high
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 152
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 108
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 44
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 65 what's this?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 10
Total monthly expenses.................. 1637


Total unsecured debts..........14000.....0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,386
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,637
Available for debt repayments........... -251
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -251

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -14,000
Net Assets.............................. -12,000

Are you filing for BR, or changing your car and applying for a DRO?

madpiano

I am not sure what I am going to do, to be honest.

Ah - forgot the child benefit, thanks. Not sure how much that is now? £100/month?

Mobile phone...it's a 35/month contract for me and a 20/month contract for child - I wouldn't want to get rid of hers as it is about the same as she used to go through on payg and it allows her internet and all the other things a teenager cares about - wouldn't mind getting rid of mine though.

Other Child related expenses - her lunch money - £3.00/day, which isn't a lot but she manages. I know there is no munch money over the summer holidays but she still needs to eat and there is school uniform to buy as well. So this money over the summer holidays pays for a bit of both.

I am hoping I can get someone better at Virgin to reduce my package. I can't really cancel it, as we need TV, Phone and Internet. I could theoretically cancel the TV and get a Freeview Box, but a) I don't have the money to buy a Freeview Box and b) it's more expensive to have 2 rather than 3 things from Virgin....

dancingfairy

Are you not entitled to any other benefits? Your rent is also a massive amount for the salary you've got as well which is where themain problem is.
Can you ditch the car? Use public transport?
I'd be tempted to stop paying the mobiles at the moment and go PAYG - unless they're connected to your home phone etc which could be a little more tricky.
What's other child expenses? Can these be reduced at all?
Can you cut the gas and electric at all as these look a bit high.
Best of Luck
df

pennypusher

Hi, Can you get somewhere cheaper to live your rent seems very high. Alternatively do you have a spare room you could rent out. Your Gas and Electricity seem high as well - you can probably cut these down a lot. Have the heating on lower and for less time also the water heating. Look up ideas for using less gas and electricity on the internet.

You need to include Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit and Working Tax credit if you get these.

I think one of the free Debit Charities would be able to help you. Make sure you don't pay for advice.

Good luck, hope you get it sorted.

madpiano

I live in London - there is nowhere cheaper to rent....

I know Gas and Electric is high, but again, London prices. I am not sure why it is so high, apart from the fact that we are living in a non-insulated Victorian House.

No spare room - this is only a 2-bed house. And how can I move? I have no chance saving up for the deposit just to save £20 a month (cheapest flat round here is £830, but will be above a shop in Gangland Central)

I have tried applying for HB and CTB, but my council says "no", which is stupid. I have been on the waiting list for a council house for years, but never moved an inch to the front and now my daughter is nearly 16 I have no chance at all. What other benefits would there be?

Other child expenses - it's lunch money for my daughter which is saved when there are school holidays and pays towards her school uniform/school shoes/school trips etc - and she also needs to eat during school holidays. It works out as £3/day Mo-Fri. Not exactly a lot...

dancingfairy

Hmm - it might be worth checking on entitled to just to double check what your council has said.
Is there any way you can ditch the car as it's costing about 200 a month which you need for other things?
At the moment your SOA is showing 250 a month short - include your CB and you're 150 a month short - you need to try and save this amount from your SOA somehow or increase your income somehow. It's tricky.
Can you get the phone,internet and tv cheaper? preferably without the tv as you can't really afford them.
Your daughter really needs to try and get a part time job to help out to buy her clothes and pay her mobile bill - unfortunate but I can't see any better ideas really.
Once you've stabilised the situation then you can decide what to do about the debt - you could possibly do a DRO but if you're 'overspending' by 250 a month you will be back in a mess again before long.
Best of Luck with everything.
df

dancingfairy

Your main problem is living in london on one wage where everything is so expensive as you don't appear to be doing anything majorly wrong - it's just high living costs which are causing the problems
df

Penelope_Penguin

dancingfairy wrote: »

- you could possibly do a DRO

This has been addressed in another thread - no DRO with a car worth over £1000

madpiano

I need the car for my job - there is no public transport as I start working at 6am. Compared to public transport it isn't that expensive though - travel card would cost even more :eek:

Yes, living in London on a single wage is my problem. But nothing really I can do about that, unless I suddenly find Mr Rich Guy. The problem is, that I was made redundant and now work for much less money than 2 years ago. But the job is safe until 2013.