Newbie needing help

damiansmith

Good Evening,

I'm new to the forum so please go easy with me!
I'm actually not in a too a bad position financially at the moment however, it has taken my hard work to get to where I am. Five years ago, I was financially broke and barely had a penny left over at the end of each month. Thankfully I then met my girlfriend who has helped me massively get out of debt.

I have very little debt apart from a whopping great mortgage (well it feels like one), but I currently let the house out so I can be closer to work. I pay £1000 on the mortgage a month which includes an over payment of about £170.00 each month. I'm currently letting the house for £650, so am making a lose there. I currently rent at £700 per month.
I'm happy with how the situation is but know I could be getting more for my property, letting to girlfriends nan so feel awful asking for more.

I have £1,100 saved and currently saving £500/mth although I tend to end up using this for emergencies.
I do not pay into a pension scheme but my girlfriend does, and her work contribute the same amount that she puts in to, which is handy.

The Vet bills look high, but I have put the horse costs in this section. The girlfriend has a horse, which costs an awful lot of money a month, but I'm sure she doesnt see it this way as it's her passion. We rarely go out (still only 27 too ) because of trying to get financially free.

I guess my long term aim is to try and not worry about having to earn a set wage to make ends meet, but to work doing my own thing every now and then. In order to help this, I have currently set up my own jewellery business and I also trade on sports markets part time. I can easily add a a couple of hundred to my income each month doing this.

The reason for this post isn't to show off or brag, it's really to ask you guys for some help. How can I really push on to that next level to earn more, save more and cut costs more. With times being hard (well it's drummed into me every time I pick up a paper, put on the radio and even the TV), and whilst not having the most secure job, I would like to get everything in place in case something did ever happen to my job.

I heard a rumour that they say you should have 6 months wages saved in case of this - Is that true?
Would be interesting to hear your thoughts. Have included a list below.

Look forward to joining in many more conversations over time. Take Care for now.





Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2246.31
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1209.06
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 650
Total monthly income.................... 4105.37

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1000
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 700
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 133
Electricity............................. 60
Gas..................................... 52
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 100
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 105
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 400
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 123.02
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 17.04
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 240
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 48.56
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 3018.62


Assets
Cash.................................... 1100
House value (Gross)..................... 165000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 168100


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 138730...(1000).....4.24
Total secured & HP debts...... 138730....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Geoffrey Leaver Solic..........135.......50........0
DFS............................800.......32.88.....0
Total unsecured debts..........935.......82.88.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,105.37
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,018.62
Available for debt repayments........... 1,086.75
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 82.88
Amount left after debt repayments....... 1,003.87

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 168,100
Total HP & Secured debt................. -138,730
Total Unsecured debt.................... -935
Net Assets.............................. 28,435

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

Tixy

Hi and welcome

It does sound like you are on the right track at the moment, and good on the girlfriend for helping you get to where you are.

Regarding the 6 months expenses savings - I think this is a great target for people to have, but obviously for a lot of people its just not a possibility. Any savings you have are better than none, I guess its a case of assessing what would happen if you lose your income, can you cope, what expenses are essential, what could be cut etc. Obviously if you live with a partner in a stable relationship then there is the advantage that its far less likely you'll both lose your income at the same time (unless you work for the same employer).

Another option some people consider rather than the savings is insurance against redundancy / loss of income etc. Not suggesting you need to have it (I don't personally have any), but maybe something to consider.

You mention you don't have a pension - does your employer offer one? and if so would they contribute if you did?

Just a few comments in your figures below - looks like you are doing ok, but just some possibles if you want to cut back even further.
I think you are missing quite a few things from your budget which is why you end up spending your savings, sometimes better to budget for everything and then see what you are really left with.

damiansmith wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2246.31
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1209.06
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 650
Total monthly income.................... 4105.37

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1000
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 700
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 133
Electricity............................. 60 have you shopped around for gas & elec recently to see if you are on a good deal/cheapest supplier? elec looks a little high perhaps
Gas..................................... 52
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0 ? need to budget for these probably?
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 100 (this seems fairly high, are you in contract? might be worth seeing if you can get cheaper contracts?)
TV Licence.............................. 0 (you need to budget for this, if you pay annually budget 1/12 a month)
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 105 this looks low for 2 (great if you can manage this but check its what you are really spending)
Clothing................................ 0 probably need to budget a little something here?
Petrol/diesel........................... 400
Road tax................................ 0 need to budget for this
Car Insurance........................... 123.02 is this 2 cars? do you shop around at renewal time?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 17.04 does this cover enough for things like new tyres, servicing etc - especially given the high mileage you do?
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 240 it does look high, but of course horses are - is the livery etc competitive compared to anything else she could get?
Buildings insurance..................... 0 you need to budget for this on your house - do you have landlords insurance?
Contents insurance...................... 0 and this on the rented property (again if you pay annually budget 1/12)
Life assurance ......................... 48.56 is this both of you? have you shopped around recently to see if its still competitive?
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 need to budget
Haircuts................................ 0 and here
Entertainment........................... 0 and a little here (even if you don't go out much!)
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 3018.62


Assets
Cash.................................... 1100
House value (Gross)..................... 165000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 168100


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 138730...(1000).....4.24 is this a fixed APR? how long are you fixed in for?
Total secured & HP debts...... 138730....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Geoffrey Leaver Solic..........135.......50........0
DFS............................800.......32.88.....0
Total unsecured debts..........935.......82.88.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,105.37
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,018.62
Available for debt repayments........... 1,086.75
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 82.88
Amount left after debt repayments....... 1,003.87
if you budget for all those bits and pieces you don't pay every month but do need over the year you'll probably find this is perhaps only half the current figure, but should still mean you are able to save maybe £500 a month, without needing to dip in to it too much..

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 168,100
Total HP & Secured debt................. -138,730
Total Unsecured debt.................... -935
Net Assets.............................. 28,435

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