New member looking to be more frugal - SOA attached

techsavvy_2

The main reason for looking on this site after a google search is we were tired of the unreliable runabout and went for a new family car. Lets treat ourselfs, after all why not........ young kids in early primary school means we really did need a new modern reliable car....... so we go for a nearly new one that we both really liked so we did the deal for cash. The cash being 2 cash advances from 2 credit cards that we dont use. Good deal on cash advances for 4% fee letter through the post blah blah you know the rest.

So thinking this was a great idea we withdraw as much as we can from both the cards and topped up the rest with some cash. A 4% year long loan seemed much better than the finance deal on offer.

So we looked at our finances as we never really had a debt other than mortgage as we pay off cc that we use in full each month we suddenly have 20k on 2 cards - big time shocker. not the best at saving either..

So we need to repay the 20k in 1 year which we thought was ok i do have quite a good job but it is unreal how much you spend when you put it into the soa. some of the things just make us shake our heads.

So looking to start a diary to keep us on the right track. A few things to mention on the soa:

we moved to Scotland a while back so no water rates separate.
kids clubs includes lessons but we are really looking at this hard.
mobiles is for two iphones but sim only deals being looked at.
the surplus doesnt really materialise each month so spending diary has been started.....
holiday costs are big as a family of 5 we need to get 2 rooms. we have never been abroad with kids yet in 8 years. this budget is for a week to centreparcs in school holidays including travel down there and spends. Any tips on holidays for families of 5 appreciated.

Plan is to cut down to throw hopefully as much as poss at debts but this is gonna be a tough year as we aint paying over 22% once the deals run out if we can help it


Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3056
Partners monthly income after tax....... 830
Benefits................................ 188
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 4074
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1028
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 12
Council tax............................. 179
Electricity............................. 60
Gas..................................... 75
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 18
Mobile phone............................ 75
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 49
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 590
Clothing................................ 60
Petrol/diesel........................... 110
Road tax................................ 18
Car Insurance........................... 48
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 16
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 18
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 49
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 25
Entertainment........................... 60
Holiday................................. 135
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Bank charges (account with benefits).... 18
Window cleaner (the outside!)........... 8
School meals............................ 37
Kids clubs.............................. 146
Total monthly expenses.................. 2943

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 220000
Shares and bonds........................ 6000
Car(s).................................. 20000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 246000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 136000...(1028).....4.99
Total secured & HP debts...... 136000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
CC 1 (15 months 0%)............14680.....280.......0
CC 2 (12 months 0%)............5350......100.......0
Total unsecured debts..........20030.....380.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,074
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,943
Available for debt repayments........... 1,131
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 380
Amount left after debt repayments....... 751
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 246,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -136,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -20,030
Net Assets.............................. 89,970

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi & welcome to MSE:D loads of great advice & support available so you've come to the right place.

A few comments from me below - some may seem harsh but are meant with the best of intentions & hopefully provide some food for thought .......

techsavvy wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3056
Partners monthly income after tax....... 830
Benefits................................ 188
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 4074
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1028
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 12
Council tax............................. 179:eek: Is this over 12 months or 10?
Electricity............................. 60 High - try comparison sites
Gas..................................... 75 Very high - try comparison sites
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 18
Mobile phone............................ 75 ohhhhh, when do the contracts end?
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 49 Sorry but not an essential - switch to Freesat until the debts are gone
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 590:eek: Sorry but this is very high - try the Grocery Challenge on the Old Style board - loads of friendly people, great tips & some fantastic recipes..... there are families of 4 who manage on £220/month (incl household cleaning stuff, toiletries & nappies etc!)
Clothing................................ 60 Try to cut down .... charity shops, ebay (and can also sell outgrown stuff to get new stuff)
Petrol/diesel........................... 110
Road tax................................ 18
Car Insurance........................... 48 Check comparison sites @ renewal time
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 16
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 18 Check comparison sites at renewal time
Contents insurance...................... 12 As Above - as a comparison I pay £15 in total for both - but appreciate this depends on location/size etc
Life assurance ......................... 49 Check comparison sites for a better deal - post on the Insurances board for help on what you need etc
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50 Sorry too high - cut to £30
Haircuts................................ 25 Sorry too high - try student nights, friends/family to cut kids hair etc
Entertainment........................... 60 Cut to £30
Holiday................................. 135 This is really high - I see your comments above but you just can't afford this when you've debts to clear (sorry) - over £1600 on a hol ......
Emergency fund.......................... 0 You need to have about £50/month in here to cover those little thing that crop up / new appliances etc
Bank charges (account with benefits).... 18
Window cleaner (the outside!)........... 8
School meals............................ 37
Kids clubs.............................. 146:eek: note comments above -
Total monthly expenses.................. 2943

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 220000
Shares and bonds........................ 6000
Car(s).................................. 20000 Can you sell the car and replace with a cheaper model? If it was bought on credit cards, you should be able to do this
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 246000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 136000...(1028).....4.99
Total secured & HP debts...... 136000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
CC 1 (15 months 0%)............14680.....280.......0
CC 2 (12 months 0%)............5350......100.......0
Total unsecured debts..........20030.....380.......- You could clear these by selling the car .... I know you'd need another to replace it but even if you cleared the bigger one .......

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,074
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,943
Available for debt repayments........... 1,131
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 380
Amount left after debt repayments....... 751 If this is disappearing then the spending diary is a must!
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 246,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -136,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -20,030
Net Assets.............................. 89,970

Some cuts mentioned above - if you can account for the "missing" £750 then these may not need to be as drastic ...... it really has been the car that's got you into the pickle - if you can sell, clear the big card and use the left over cash to buy an older, cheaper one, that would help a huge amount HTH:)

Tixy

Hi

Well at the moment you look like you have £1130 a month to pay towards the cards? do you have that amount? and are you paying it all off the cards? if not how much are you paying on top of the minimum repayments?

Keeping a diary is a good idea.

techsavvy wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3056
Partners monthly income after tax....... 830
Benefits................................ 188
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 4074
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1028
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 12
Council tax............................. 179
Electricity............................. 60
Gas..................................... 75 good you are looking to see if you can reduce
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 18
Mobile phone............................ 75
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 49
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 590 this looks high - this should be the area easiest to make some changes to free up more money. Some families of 5 on these boards manage on less than £300. Perhaps you could aim for £500 this month? then see if you can drop to £450 the following month.
There are lots of tips on reducing these costs on the oldstyle moneysaving section of the forum (things like the drop a brand challenge or doing a meal plan for the week and only buying based on that list)..
Clothing................................ 60
Petrol/diesel........................... 110
Road tax................................ 18
Car Insurance........................... 48
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 16
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 18
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 49 have you shopped around to see its a good deal? (and consideed if you also get similar cover from your employer)
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 25
Entertainment........................... 60
Holiday................................. 135 is this booked? is this £135 for just the first half of the year? or averaged over the whole year?
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Bank charges (account with benefits).... 18 are the benefits worth the fee? do you use any of them?
Window cleaner (the outside!)........... 8
School meals............................ 37
Kids clubs.............................. 146 is it possible to reduce rather than stop altogether?
Total monthly expenses.................. 2943

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 220000
Shares and bonds........................ 6000 would you consider selling some of these if the debt is not paid off within the year?
Car(s).................................. 20000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 246000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 136000...(1028).....4.99 is this fixed rate? if so when does the fixed rate finish?
Total secured & HP debts...... 136000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
CC 1 (15 months 0%)............14680.....280.......0
CC 2 (12 months 0%)............5350......100.......0 are you focusing any extra off this card first?
Total unsecured debts..........20030.....380.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,074
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,943
Available for debt repayments........... 1,131
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 380
Amount left after debt repayments....... 751
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 246,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -136,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -20,030
Net Assets.............................. 89,970

I'd focus on the groceries first as the easiest way to find most of the extra £250 or so towards your debts.

techsavvy_2

Thanks both for the quick replies.

Groceries I am sure spend is actually more than that. thinking about work lunches, vends, sweets and other stuff. The 590 is just what we could see form our credit card. We are at least 100 a month in maccy ds as a weekly treet after the swimming and football every week too. i think this is our biggest area of saving tbh we could easily get 300 out this i reckon.

Holiday is booked and is the left part until we go end of july so that will stop after.

phones thanfully have only couple of months left. seen good deal on 3 network for 15 a month each sim only.

Insurances believe it or not was cheapest from a website comparison site.

Kids clubs is a lot but we would rather go without ourselfs to keep them in there activities so they are not ps3 zombies lol. but looking to see what we can do here.

bank account got us a discount % off our mortgage rate so stuck with that for a while.....saw us coming lol.

satellite we signed up to another year.......

presents haircuts entertainment yes we are looking at to try and get this down. we are not counting cash spends here so i suspect its the same as food and much higher......shocker

surplus a month is about 200 which always seems to get spent on a new cooker, dishwasher, etc etc summit always seems to be going wrong......

point about emergency fund is good one need to look at that. ccs were for emergencies but no room left and no chance of getting another one i suppose lol

would sell shares to help but try not to but if needs must they are down a fair bit though from peak.

Selling car back is fair point but actually dont want to sell car as this is actually a good kick in the right direction. afraid we will lapse without the motivation. i think being fiancially lazy is the real prob here....

theoretica

How dirty do your windows really get on the outside? Could you try not getting them cleaned until they are really irritating you?

techsavvy_2

hi theoretica we get them cleaned once a month in fact the same guy does the whole street so seems like an ok deal and he is a nice guy. OH is a bit fussy about cleanliness and i am no good up ladders anyway!

SuziQ1962

Hi ideas for cheap holidays-camping in France with Vacance Soleil,take your own food but budget for a couple of meals out,they have kids clubs too so you can get a bit of rest as well,there are other companies but we like their campsites as there is a good mix of nationalities.

techsavvy_2

Thanks SuziQ - will have a look at that - bit of a drive for us in north scotland but if the price is right......

Credit_Crunched_2

Hi,

If I am reading this correctly, it seems to me that you are quite happy to have purchased the car and were happy with the way you funded it, and are (sensibly) looking at ways to get this £20k debt paid off within the year to avoid paying the interest charges etc that will inevitably follow.

Although selling the car would be the easiest way to clear the debt, it does not necessarily make sense, as that £20k car will have lost 20% in VAT plus whatever depreciation has occured since purchase. Add to that the cost of purchasing another car, to replace it and you can see wher I am heading.

For me, there are some great suggestions in this thread to reduce your outgoings that will enable you to pay down the debt quicker.

Good Luck

techsavvy_2

thanks cc - yes we did need a car and *thought* we could comfortably afford it but it was not really thought out ot be honest. with hindsight we would have gone for a cheaper car but you are correct in that we would lose money on the car to sell back. as i said the reality check we need is good news her. if we would have taken out the 9.9% finance who knows where we would be in 4 years having paid back over 24k!

Credit_Crunched_2

Hindsight is a wonderful thing... The decision may not have been well thought out initially, but you are looking to resolve the situation in a positive manner. Don't beat yourself up, but it is also important not to throw good money after bad!