advice welcome SOA

new_mummy111

hi have been a lurker for many years i must admit head in sand years not wanting to admit how much of a problem we have with cash.

we have an 11 week old baby and the oh so very basic maternity has just kicked in and i've had such a shock at how little money we now have, my prevoius salary was £1500.00 bring home so losing £900 each month is just ARGH have applied for child tax credits which are £45 per month apparently we earn to much to be awarded working tax credits not sure how it all works as weve never had need to apply for benifits.
I myself have bad credit hense the Vanquis card have been trying to rebuild it up not doing very well but am trying.

so here is our SOA, i know we have no buildings or life insurance am going to work on those this week am not looking to have a consolidation loan i'd rather just find ways of cutting back and trying to get rid of it all as soon as possible its the lloyds credit card thats the worst am sure we will be paying it back till am 90!!!!

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 600
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1250
Benefits................................ 120
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1970

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 398
Council tax............................. 105
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 50
Water rates............................. 26
Telephone (land line)................... 11
Mobile phone............................ 80 (2 x 24 months renewed in may 2011)
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50
Internet Services....................... 7.5
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 48
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Other child related expenses............ 50
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 31
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 18
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1381.5


Assets
House value (Gross)..................... 89000
Car(s).................................. 2000
Total Assets............................ 91000[/b]


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 65000....(398)......4.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 65000.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
llyods credit card.............4235......120.......18.9
lloyds loan....................7200......235.......0
next...........................572.......65........18.9
argos..........................1150......30........24.9
vanquis........................400.......10........32.9
littlewoods....................450.......60........0
Total unsecured debts..........14007.....520.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,970
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,381.5
Available for debt repayments........... 588.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 520
Amount left after debt repayments....... 68.5

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 91,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -65,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -14,007
Net Assets.............................. 11,993

any helpfull advice would be fantastic .

thanks

jade-evie

You have a little bit of extra money but if you are anything like us this gets eaten up by the odd treat here and there, or a quick trip into primark etc etc!

£100 is quite a lot for entertainment- especially with a new baby- could you reduce this to £50?

Why don't you join the challenge threads like the NSD one? Have you looked at a snowball calculator? I used one of these to see which debts it would be worth "overpaying" on the most and the soonest.

Good Luck and enjoy your maternity leave while it lasts! You might find that if you return to work and use an OFSTED registered childcare provider you are entitled to some WTC although it really is a pittance compared to the extortionate cost of nursery!

jellybean39

Hi new mummy
welcome tothe madhouse!! lol
Well congratulations on the new arrival. Its hard when your income drops so suddenly. Have youd done a snowball yet? www.whatsthecost.com this will help you budget your bills and show you how to pay the most expensive off first. You have no house contents or building ins ? this needs budgeting for because it something you shouldnt scrimp on. have a look on here you will find some good deals.Could you lose the entertainment budget or cut it so friends come over with a bottle and you could cook a cheap meal? Satelitte is high but so is mine as of where we live and no other company around, but whatabout freeview instead to save some money?
Your interest in really high on your cards have you looked at seeing if you can get a chaper apr card for a balance transfer some really good 0% for 17 months and even more at the moment. Dont despair as it will get better and someone will come along with some advice soon just a few thoughts to get you sorted. good luck with your journey.x
jellybean

Tixy

Hi and welcome to the forum (and well done for un-lurking!)

Congrats on your new baby. Do you kow how soon you will get your child tax credits? as obviously that will help a great deal.

It looks from your SoA as though you should be able to just afford your minimum repayments even on this low income so thats a good starting point.

Anything you have extra target to getting rid of that vanquis card asap.

As a new mum and being on maternity it might be an idea to sign up for some of the survey sites - a lot of them seem to target mums and babies (well in my experience they seem to). Also sign up for any baby freebies you see, not only will you get the freebie but often money off vouchers for baby stuff.

Just looking through your expenses I'll put a few suggestions

new_mummy111 wrote: »

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 398
Council tax............................. 105
Electricity............................. 30 gas & elec don't seem too high but have you checked recently that you are on a good deal (best tariff and cheapest supplier)
Gas..................................... 50
Water rates............................. 26
Telephone (land line)................... 11
Mobile phone............................ 80 (2 x 24 months renewed in may 2011) once they are 6m old might be worth seeing if you could drop down a tariff.
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50 could you reduce the package you have to the basic, or try to combine landline & internet into the package and save that way.
Internet Services....................... 7.5
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 50 can you try to reduce this a little?
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 48
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Other child related expenses............ 50
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0 when you look at these see if you can earn cashback through quidco or topcashback
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 31 what is this? is it good value
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 18
Entertainment........................... 100 is this something specific? if not maybe try to reduce in the short term.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1381.5
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
llyods credit card.............4235......120.......18.9
lloyds loan....................7200......235.......0
next...........................572.......65........18.9
argos..........................1150......30........24.9 target this second
vanquis........................400.......10........32.9 need to pay this off first.
littlewoods....................450.......60........0
Total unsecured debts..........14007.....520.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,970
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,381.5
Available for debt repayments........... 588.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 520
Amount left after debt repayments....... 68.5 do you have this? if you do and with the tax credit as well you should be able to make some headway with your debts even with your low income at present.
Have you stopped all spending on the cards/store cards etc?

What are you plans with work? do you anticipate going back after 9months? have you looked at childcare costs and if one of you can get childcare vouchers from work?

jade-evie

Also, we were paying £49 a month for tv-phone and BB with Sky and when I phoned to cancel because it was too high- they dropped it down to £23 a month without adding any longer onto our contract which has expired.

Worth a try

aless02

Hey just another push to get rid of the Vanquis ASAP...my DH had a Vanquis card which started like yours, quite small at a few hundred carrying balance...but let me tell you it VERY quickly snowballs (even making £100/month payments) as shifting the principle becomes difficult and "emergency" spends get added on too easily. We were up to £1600 and drowning fast before we very luckily got some money given to us to clear it...cut it up NOW and pay off ASAP.

Good luck!

eschaton

Satellite TV is the obvious one. 99% of people in debt seem to have this.

Renewing 2 mobile contracts in May for 2 years with an income change pending wasn't the brightest move.

Naf

Sky TV; get rid, that's a massive expense when you're worried about finances.
Clothing surely doesn't cost that every month? Perhaps you might need something new every 3 months and you could use savings you've built up for it.
£100 every month on what entertainment? Its a lot, perhaps consider only going out a couple of times a month and you could reduce this to £50 or less if you're canny and thrifty about what you do and when/where you go.
I know its not much, but I shouldn't think you get a haircut every month either?
And the 'other child related expenses', do you mean like nappies?

[Deleted User]

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 600 How long is this for? When will this go back up?/Will this go back up?
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1250
Benefits................................ 120
Total monthly income.................... 1970

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 398
Council tax............................. 105
Electricity............................. 30 Double check that you are on the cheapest tariff for your area - often online, duel fuel, and DD tariffs are a little cheaper, but do compare.
Gas..................................... 50 as above
Water rates............................. 26
Telephone (land line)................... 11 See if combining with internet would reduce this
Mobile phone............................ 80 (2 x 24 months renewed in may 2011) they are unlikely to let you cancel, but call up and see if you can beg to go onto a cheaper tariff - this is very expensive, or perhapse loose the landline for now?
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50 either switch to freeview, or drop to a basic package.
Internet Services....................... 7.5 see if combining with either home phone or internet would reduce.
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 you can probably cut this back a bot, own brand, batch cook, meal plan, lidl/aldi - pop over to the old style broad for advice on cheap grocery shopping
Clothing................................ 50 Stick with what you have at the moment, and only buy essentials until you are back at work/income improves/debt paid down
Petrol/diesel........................... 80 any way to reduce? car share, walk/bus?
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 48
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Other child related expenses............ 50 What does this cover? Is it good value? Can you get it cheaper elsewhere?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 31
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 18
Entertainment........................... 100 This is quite high. What does it cover? Adding in Sky you spend quite a bit on entertainment in a month compared with your income - think you might have to reduce until situation is different.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1381.5


Assets
House value (Gross)..................... 89000
Car(s).................................. 2000
Total Assets............................ 91000[/b]


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 65000....(398)......4.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 65000.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR Pay the minimum towards everything, then overpay the maximum you can afford towards the debt that is charging you the most in interest, once this one is gone prioritise the next most expensive debt.
llyods credit card.............4235......120.......18.9
lloyds loan....................7200......235.......0 Is this 0?
next...........................572.......65........18.9
argos..........................1150......30........24.9
vanquis........................400.......10........32.9 This one is your priority and you should overpay this one as much as you can until gone - the APR id VERY high
littlewoods....................450.......60........0 Is this 0?
Total unsecured debts..........14007.....520.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,970
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,381.5
Available for debt repayments........... 588.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 520
Amount left after debt repayments....... 68.5 (you could at least double if not triple this if you reduced shopping a bit, halved clothes shopping, halved entertainment, cut pay for TV)

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 91,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -65,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -14,007
Net Assets.............................. 11,993

any helpfull advice would be fantastic .

thanks[/QUOTE]

Comments above, hope they help.

D9

new_mummy111

the vanquis card will defo be the first this to get paid, as for the entertainment this was just the general spend for the last month or 2 as we have attended 4 weddings since having the little one same as the clothing so both these will be greatly reduced. The Internet and Phone line have just been moved from sky to Orange as previously we were paying £12.50 line rental with £17.00 for internet, the sky package will be reduced also as we have movies at the moment so going to have this taken off as for using freeview we have no reception in the area we live in can not get a clear picture on anything at all with out using sky and we don't have cable available around us, Petrol has already come down from £350 per month i spend roughly £80 per month at the moment as we live in the countryside and need the car to get out and about to see family and friends, catching the bus to my mums house for example would be a 3 hour round trip and she only lives 12 miles away as the bus services are so poor.

Thanks for all the comments, am going to try this Snowballing ans see how quick i can get everything down

new_mummy111

as per the snowball we can be debt free by October 2013 by cutting down the entertaining and clothing spending, also march of next year is when i go back to work full time my mum will be taking care of the little one so will save on childcare but petrol will go back up to £350 a month

thanks guys feel a lot better about our situation now I've sat and looked at everything properly