SOA - Please look!

mmummy21

Hey guys

I appreciate any help I can get.

Myself and my partner both have debts and we are both rubbish at dealing with money and controlling our spending. We have debts, our house is a mess needing new carpets and complete redecorating, we haven't been on a holiday in years and we haven't bought ourselfs new clothes in months either. I can't remember the last time I had a haircut and it's getting to the point where we are using old blunt razors and watering down the shampoo as we can't afford any more! My daughter is desperately in need of some new clothes and we haven't saved a penny for Christmas or bought any shopping yet either. HELP!! I have already eBayed everything of my daughters to earn some money in the past which now means we need to buy everything again for the next baby, not to mention a double pram etc!

We have a 1 year old daughter and another on the way (early July) when I won't be able to return to work afterwards so we really need these debts paid by June at the latest if possible. I will get SMP for a while afterwards so we can manage if there are still a few repayments to be made afterwards.

We have decided to put our money together, paying it all into our joint account and tackle our debts together. We are also going to only have 1 card for the joint account which will be controlled by me seeing as I have (slightly) more willpower!

Please have a little look at our SOA - I've added some comments!

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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................ 735
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1200
Benefits................................ 120
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2055

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 263
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 81
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 13 line rental only
Mobile phone............................ 70 mine 35, OH 45 including insurance, not up for at least 1 year each - unable to downgrade OH as he already goes over limit but mine could be downgraded again
TV Licence.............................. 12.54 paid qtrly
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 18.9 only provider in our area is BT so can't get any cheaper
Groceries etc. ......................... 320 this is what we are aiming to spend but in reality it's over 500
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 140 unavoidable as for work
Road tax................................ 12.5 never budgeted for this before
Car Insurance........................... 75.27 renewal in mar, we have zero no claims, OH has 6points and i've only been passed 6months
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25 never budgeted for this before - just paid out over 300 in repairs!
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 40 £10 a week to my Mum for toddler groups, soft play, petrol etc.
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10.5 contact lenses
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 5 budgetting this for flea stuff as our cat/dog prone to them
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10.92
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50 never budgeted for this before, not a penny saved for xmas
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
Overdraft Fees.......................... 31
Total monthly expenses.................. 1278.63


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 900
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 900

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan - BoS.....................1243.26...69.07.....0
Overdraft - BoS................1000......0.........0
Barclaycard....................600.......25........19.99
Family Member (car)............700.......100.......0
Old Employer...................550.......100.......0
Capital One....................100.......5.........34.9
Vanquis........................500.......25........34.9
Mackenzie Hall.................950.......100.......0
Total unsecured debts..........5643.26...424.07....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,055
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,278.63
Available for debt repayments........... 776.37
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 424.07
Amount left after debt repayments....... 352.3

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 900
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,643.26
Net Assets.............................. -4,743.26

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

I have also forgotten to add on OH's overdraft of £300 and I didn't put a minimum payment for my overdraft.

I don't know the interest rate of my loan but it has about 18payments left.

My barclaycard has a limit of £5000.

And we would like to each take out a little each month to pay towards clothes, takeaways, haircuts, new DVDs, games etc. nights out so that we can still have a life and don't end up arguing and stressing over it all the time.

Can someone set me out an easy monthly/weekly plan? I get paid on the 15th and OH gets paid weekly.

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi, few comments from me which I hope help....

mmummy21 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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................ 735
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1200
Benefits................................ 120
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2055

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 263
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 81
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 13 line rental only
Mobile phone............................ 70 mine 35, OH 45 including insurance, not up for at least 1 year each - unable to downgrade OH as he already goes over limit but mine could be downgraded again Ouch! Try to get rid of this as soon as you can
TV Licence.............................. 12.54 paid qtrly
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 18.9 only provider in our area is BT so can't get any cheaper You should be able to switch ..... where abouts in the country are you? (I'm very rural and can still go with anyone for internet - although my line rental is still with BT)
Groceries etc. ......................... 320 this is what we are aiming to spend but in reality it's over 500 You should still be able to get this down a bit - try the Grocery Challenge on the Old Style board (families of 4 manage on £220/month incl toiletries, nappies etc) - a great bunch and loads of support & fantastic recipes!
Clothing................................ 30 Try to cut to £10 - use ebay to sell old stuff (great for kids clothes) to raise funds to cover this
Petrol/diesel........................... 140 unavoidable as for work
Road tax................................ 12.5 never budgeted for this before
Car Insurance........................... 75.27 renewal in mar, we have zero no claims, OH has 6points and i've only been passed 6months Again ouch, shop around in March as you should be able to reduce it a fair bit once there's some NCD to add
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25 never budgeted for this before - just paid out over 300 in repairs!
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 40 £10 a week to my Mum for toddler groups, soft play, petrol etc.
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10.5 contact lenses Are these really essential?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 5 budgetting this for flea stuff as our cat/dog prone to them Where are the rest of your pet costs budgeted? (in groceries?)
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10.92 Seems high just for contents - again shop around at renewal time
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50 never budgeted for this before, not a penny saved for xmas On the high side .... try to cut in 1/2
Haircuts................................ 0 Need something here
Entertainment........................... 0 and here - even if only £10 or £20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
Overdraft Fees.......................... 31
Total monthly expenses.................. 1278.63


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 900
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 900

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan - BoS.....................1243.26...69.07.....0
Overdraft - BoS................1000......0.........0
Barclaycard....................600.......25........19.99
Family Member (car)............700.......100.......0
Old Employer...................550.......100.......0
Capital One....................100.......5.........34.9
Vanquis........................500.......25........34.9
Mackenzie Hall.................950.......100.......0
Total unsecured debts..........5643.26...424.07....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,055
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,278.63
Available for debt repayments........... 776.37
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 424.07
Amount left after debt repayments....... 352.3

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 900
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,643.26
Net Assets.............................. -4,743.26

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

I have also forgotten to add on OH's overdraft of £300 and I didn't put a minimum payment for my overdraft.

I don't know the interest rate of my loan but it has about 18payments left.

Personally, I find budgeting easier (and I'm still learning believe me!) since I separated out my expenses into a separate account - I transfer enough each month to cover all the household bills so I never need to worry about a direct debit not being paid etc.

I also have several "pots" set up to try to put money aside for things like the car etc - you can do this in one account but I found that as it was a largish (for me) sum of money going in each month, I just raided it all the time:o whereas when it's £10 here and £20 there the amounts are smaller so I don't raid them.

With clearing the debts, you want to start with the highest interest ones (don't want to advise on which as there are some missing)
HTH

MFWannabe

mmummy21 wrote: »

Hey guys

I appreciate any help I can get.

Myself and my partner both have debts and we are both rubbish at dealing with money and controlling our spending. We have debts, our house is a mess needing new carpets and complete redecorating, we haven't been on a holiday in years and we haven't bought ourselfs new clothes in months either. I can't remember the last time I had a haircut and it's getting to the point where we are using old blunt razors and watering down the shampoo as we can't afford any more! My daughter is desperately in need of some new clothes and we haven't saved a penny for Christmas or bought any shopping yet either. HELP!! I have already eBayed everything of my daughters to earn some money in the past which now means we need to buy everything again for the next baby, not to mention a double pram etc!

We have a 1 year old daughter and another on the way (early July) when I won't be able to return to work afterwards so we really need these debts paid by June at the latest if possible. I will get SMP for a while afterwards so we can manage if there are still a few repayments to be made afterwards.

We have decided to put our money together, paying it all into our joint account and tackle our debts together. We are also going to only have 1 card for the joint account which will be controlled by me seeing as I have (slightly) more willpower!

Please have a little look at our SOA - I've added some comments!

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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................ 735
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1200
Benefits................................ 120
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2055

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 263
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 81
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 13 line rental only
Mobile phone............................ 70 mine 35, OH 45 including insurance, not up for at least 1 year each - unable to downgrade OH as he already goes over limit but mine could be downgraded again. Ring them up and see if you can downgrade yours now. OH needs to check what he is using it for if he goes over limit already; that's a lot to spending on mobile phone costs every month
TV Licence.............................. 12.54 paid qtrly
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 18.9 only provider in our area is BT so can't get any cheaper. Check on comparison sites to see if you can get cheaper; you should be able to get another provider wherever you live
Groceries etc. ......................... 320 this is what we are aiming to spend but in reality it's over 500 - You need to make sure you write a list and stick to it; you should be able to get it around £300 mark. Try dropping a brand; you really won't notice the difference on a lot of things
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 140 unavoidable as for work
Road tax................................ 12.5 never budgeted for this before
Car Insurance........................... 75.27 renewal in mar, we have zero no claims, OH has 6points and i've only been passed 6months. Make sure you check comparison sites in Feb before insurance is up and you have your renewal through; should be able to get cheaper then
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25 never budgeted for this before - just paid out over 300 in repairs!
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 40 £10 a week to my Mum for toddler groups, soft play, petrol etc.
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10.5 contact lenses
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 5 budgetting this for flea stuff as our cat/dog prone to them
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10.92 - Check comparison sites to see if you can get cheaper; mine costs about half this
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50 never budgeted for this before, not a penny saved for xmas - Cut this to £20 to £30. With reference to xmas, your daughter is only one so won't notice too much and you don't really need to buy anything for each other. If you buy for many members of the family then i'm sure they will understand if you say you can't afford it at the moment; especially as you have a little one on the way. You could invite parents round for a meal instead of buying presents?
Haircuts................................ 0 - You need to put something in here. Check out nearby colleges or salsons that want models for trainees; will be loads cheaper
Entertainment........................... 0 - Put a little bit in here; may £30 so that it's budgeted for and this will be your little bit of a treat (We: I mean family)
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
Overdraft Fees.......................... 31
Total monthly expenses.................. 1278.63


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 900
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 900

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan - BoS.....................1243.26...69.07.....0
Overdraft - BoS................1000......0.........0
Barclaycard....................600.......25........19.99
Family Member (car)............700.......100.......0 - Could you maybe cut this in half while you pay off the other expensive debts?
Old Employer...................550.......100.......0
Capital One....................100.......5.........34.9
Vanquis........................500.......25........34.9
Mackenzie Hall.................950.......100.......0
Total unsecured debts..........5643.26...424.07....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,055
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,278.63
Available for debt repayments........... 776.37
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 424.07
Amount left after debt repayments....... 352.3

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 900
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,643.26
Net Assets.............................. -4,743.26

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

I have also forgotten to add on OH's overdraft of £300 and I didn't put a minimum payment for my overdraft.

I don't know the interest rate of my loan but it has about 18payments left.

My barclaycard has a limit of £5000.

And we would like to each take out a little each month to pay towards clothes, takeaways, haircuts, new DVDs, games etc. nights out so that we can still have a life and don't end up arguing and stressing over it all the time.

Can someone set me out an easy monthly/weekly plan? I get paid on the 15th and OH gets paid weekly.

Hi
Welcome to the board. I've made some suggestions above where you could make some cutbacks.
If you stick to your soa you should have £300 per month left over. I would firstly one month pay off the Capital One card in full; ring up and close the account and cut up the card. One this £100 has been paid out of your account then it's money spent.
I would transfer the £500 on Vanqui card to Barclaycard as it's cheaper interest than the Vanquis card. Then again ring up and close Vanquis account and cut up the card.
In approx 6 months time things should start to look better as you will have paid off old employer (this will then free up another £100 to put towards paying off other debts) and you will have made a good dent in the Mackenzie Hall and Barclaycard debts
Good luck and keep posting on here for some good ideas and advice:)

rubywhatashmoo

Just a couple of things to add on to the comments left by other members - you've totalled your mobile costs wrong £35 + £45 is £80 a month not £70 - if OH can't downgrade his package could he move to a more appropriate one - say if he uses over his allowance of minutes but rarely texts? I know Orange check your most suitable package every 6 months - might be worth looking into that at least? Both of the contracts are expensive though so any savings you could make on either would be good.

Have you used the benefits checker on the main MSE website to make sure you're receiving everything you're entitled to?

You've listed overdraft fees of £31 a month but on your unsecured debts section you've said you don't pay anything towards your overdraft? Also you seem to be paying more off debts with lower interest rates - you're paying £100 a month off Mackenzie Hall which has a 0% apr, but only paying a fiver to Capital One which is at 34.9% - if you switched the amounts for one month you could clear capital one, and move on to your vanquis card - look into whether you are able to shift either of these to 0% cards though if the transfer fee would not remove any interest savings.

Good luck!!

nat21luv

Have you made sure your entitled to everything? Martin has a tool called 'the benefit checker'. Have to applied for housing benefit? They wont pay it all but on low incomes they may give you a percentage(You may find a online calulator on your local councils website). I agree with above posters, you must sort out your grocery bills. Make weekly lists including everything you may need for a meal. I prefer to shop weekly, this way I dont become extravagant with food if I've done a monthy shop. Think ahead and when your on maternity leave, think of ways to make extra income-surveys, ebay, daily clicks, couponing...head over to 'Make £10 a Day' in the Debt Free Wannabe thread, some great tips and ideas. I make around £30 a month from surveys, doesnt sound much I know, but I put it all in one bank account and over 12 months its paid for christmas Sign up to baby sites like Hipp organic, sma, aptimil ect, they give out coupons and free stuff. You can do it and your baby deserves a happy home and a happy mummy!

nat21luv

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/benefits-check

There you go, found it-benefits checker!