advice needed 27 July 2011 at 10:04AM edited 27 July 2011 at 12:23PM in Mortgage-free wannabe 16 replies 951 views

babysteps24

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1705.36
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 123
Other income............................ 180
Total monthly income.................... 2008.36

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 670
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 80
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 132
Electricity............................. 43
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 15.5
TV Licence.............................. 12.2
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 42.5
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 120
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 30
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 260
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 21.63
Buildings insurance..................... 15.68
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 50
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 40
Emergency fund.......................... 20
sky protect............................. 8.25
professional fees....................... 8.16
lenses.................................. 22
Total monthly expenses.................. 1920.92


Assets
Cash.................................... 350
House value (Gross)..................... 126000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 126500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 106900...(670)......5.99
Secured Debt.................. 6900.....(80).......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 113800....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,008.36
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,920.92
Available for debt repayments........... 87.44
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 87.44

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 126,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -113,800
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 12,700



hi guys, I would like to start OP mortgage (it will be small amounts) I will also use things like quidco (waiting on £150 from them just now) Ill also use christmas/birthday money etc. Dont think I can cut back on bills any, see what you think. My loan is from parents and is interest free, no rush to pay back.:beer: cheers

babysteps24

anyone? any advice? Can I cut back on anything, is it worth making small OP to mortgage now or should I pay off loan first, although its interest free.
:wave::wave:

Tabatha_Kitten

Couple of things jump out at me initially.
Car is worth £500 and no savings.
You need measures in place to replace the car when the time comes.
Maintenance, MOT, road tax ? Could easily wipe out your monthly surplus.

McKneff

Are you claiming your 25% reduction for single person council tax

Get rid of the Sky protect.

A visit from Sky to change the box if faulty, (unlikely to happend more than once a year) is £65, even free in some cases yet you are paying over £100 a year for the insurance on this.

You really, really need contents insurance.

Your gas and electricity is high for one adult and one child,

Why not water rates.

babysteps24

thanks guys,

sorry buildings and contents are on one policy, dont panic:)

in a unusual position re car as I get maintenance and MOTS for free, I only have to pay for spare parts and tires etc

only have £350 in savings to go towards road tax and emergencies!!

car is an old bomb and plan n running it into ground.

sky protect was taken out by ex partner in march when sky broke, new box got fitted, its in my name though, I think its a yearly sign up.

Up till march we were a 2 adult family and now I am unexpectedly on my own, hence the reason for sorting finances out. I could reddue loan payments to family and put some in an emergency fund?

Also I switched to Eon last year as supposedly they were the cheapest, not sure if I am tied in for a year? Will do meter reading as payments went up over winter but obviously heating is hardly on at the moment.. Any more advice is appreciated:j

babysteps24

water rates is lumped in with my council tax bill (live in scotland)

MFW_10YRS_4

I would build up your emergency savings first. These are usually anything between 3 to 6 months of your net outgoings depending on how secure your income is. In your case 3 months worth would be £5760, the majority of which you could save into a cash ISA.

I would then tackle the debt that has the highest interest rate. If your secured loan has 0% APR for the lifetime of the loan (doubtful) it looks like your mortgage would be the one to overpay. However, I would have a look at the secured loan to see if it does have a 0% APR then you need to check when/if this is a temporary rate and when it expires. You could try to pay the loan off before the expiry date.

McKneff

Just keep an eye on the Sky protect, this will have nothing to do with Sky, they are private companies, they may auto renew next March.
Get out your paperwork and have a look, and mark it on your Calendar in say Jan 2012 to cancel it.

If you are planning on running your car into the ground, and if youre not planning on buying another, why not get rid now.

25% single persons discount for council tax.....?

babysteps24

I will look out paperwork re sky protect, the loan is from my parents and they are not charging me interest and are not in a hurry for it back although Id like to pay back asap. Will get to work on the emergency fund first and try and boost income (will get over to the up your income board!) I have the 25% single persons council tax already. I have a few grand coming to me towarsd the end of the year and had thought about putting that aside to buy another car (2nd hand) when mine finally dies! Thanks guys you have gave me a lot to think about

lincoln-potter

Hello babysteps,

Welcome to MFW, there are no doubt lots of little places you can cut back and save a bit on but really it all depends on how far you are willing to push it?

We got rid of sky completely and just have freeview, clothing we have had virtually nothing new for a year (but then the OH had enough unworn clothes to last her for another twenty years im sure).

Set yourself an achievable target and keep yourself motivated and you willdo great.

babysteps24

thanks lincoln, I figured everyone needs to start somewhere (no matter how small) never had to watch my money before (makes me mad to think of how much I have wasted over the years) but I intend to throw what I can at savings, loan payment and mortgage and not just waste it! thanks for the help and advice:o