SOA done - phew! Comments please?

Bumbelina

Here it is. I've jiggled the figures around because I had a £260 shortfall at first so I've cut things down to bring my outgoings within my income. Now all I have to do is stick to that in real life. That's where I'm going to need some help from you guys because there's no point having a budget if you can't make it work in reality.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1161
Partners monthly income after tax....... 650
Benefits................................ 400.05
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2211.05
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 453
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 104
Electricity............................. 62
Gas..................................... 61
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 58.7
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 65
TV Licence.............................. 12.2
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 13
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 400
Clothing................................ 35
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 12
Car Insurance........................... 56
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 45
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 190
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 15.67
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 18.13
Other insurance......................... 16.59
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
charity................................. 0
car lease............................... 223.31
window cleaner.......................... 7
solid fuel.............................. 5
Pension................................. 102.57
Total monthly expenses.................. 2197.17

Assets
Cash.................................... 500
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 900
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 181400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 155000...(453)......3.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 155000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card....................2029.81...1.........0
Credit card....................9152.91...1.........0
Credit card....................1140.62...1.........0
credit card....................742.54....1.........0
credit card....................2023.04...1.........0
credit card....................4462.76...1.........0
credit card....................1790.88...1.........0
loan...........................13300.....1.........0
overdraft......................4000......1.........0
Credit card....................3984.14...1.........0
Total unsecured debts..........42626.7...10........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,211.05
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,197.17
Available for debt repayments........... 13.88
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 10
Amount left after debt repayments....... 3.88
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 181,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -155,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -42,626.7
Net Assets.............................. -16,226.7
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

camuk81

Bumbelina wrote: »

Here it is. I've jiggled the figures around because I had a £260 shortfall at first so I've cut things down to bring my outgoings within my income. Now all I have to do is stick to that in real life. That's where I'm going to need some help from you guys because there's no point having a budget if you can't make it work in reality.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1161 can either of you up your income anywhere?
Partners monthly income after tax....... 650
Benefits................................ 400.05
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2211.05
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 453
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 104 could this go to 12 months
Electricity............................. 62 have you shopped around for the gas and elec
Gas..................................... 61
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 58.7 this seems very high
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 65 when does your contract finish can you get a cheaper phone?
TV Licence.............................. 12.2
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 13
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 room to cutback on this
Clothing................................ 35
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 12
Car Insurance........................... 56
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 45
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 190
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 15.67
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 18.13
Other insurance......................... 16.59
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
charity................................. 0
car lease............................... 223.31
window cleaner.......................... 7
solid fuel.............................. 5
Pension................................. 102.57
Total monthly expenses.................. 2197.17

Assets
Cash.................................... 500
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 900
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 181400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 155000...(453)......3.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 155000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR please check the apr's are they all at 0% you need to know who is the worst offender here
Credit card....................2029.81...1.........0
Credit card....................9152.91...1.........0
Credit card....................1140.62...1.........0
credit card....................742.54....1.........0
credit card....................2023.04...1.........0
credit card....................4462.76...1.........0
credit card....................1790.88...1.........0
loan...........................13300.....1.........0
overdraft......................4000......1.........0
Credit card....................3984.14...1.........0
Total unsecured debts..........42626.7...10........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,211.05
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,197.17
Available for debt repayments........... 13.88
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 10
Amount left after debt repayments....... 3.88
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 181,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -155,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -42,626.7
Net Assets.............................. -16,226.7
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Couple of thoughts on here. Can you get the APR's on the cards as that critical into making the biggest in roads into your debt.

Tixy

Hi

Well as you say, it shows you can just about manage if you stick to these costs, but can't afford debt repayments.
That said you do need to consider if these costs are realistic as if they are not then you may want to look at other options.

Bumbelina wrote: »

Here it is. I've jiggled the figures around because I had a £260 shortfall at first so I've cut things down to bring my outgoings within my income. Now all I have to do is stick to that in real life. That's where I'm going to need some help from you guys because there's no point having a budget if you can't make it work in reality.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1161 anyway to increase this?
Partners monthly income after tax....... 650 anyway to increase this?
Benefits................................ 400.05 presumably you've checked you are getting all you are entitled to?
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2211.05
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 453
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 104
Electricity............................. 62 these look a little high (i assume its just a 50/50 split not the actual spend?) are you paying off arrears? have you tried shopping around to see if you can find a cheaper tariff or supplier? have you tried reducing your usage?
Gas..................................... 61
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 58.7 is this a meter or unmeasured? it maybe looks a little high if meter - might be worth doing a leak check and checking for things like dripping taps/ toilets.
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 65
TV Licence.............................. 12.2
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 13
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 this seems like the area you have the most scope. Nothing wrong with spending this but some with a family your size can manage on around £250. You could maybe try reducing this a bit to free up a bit extra?
Clothing................................ 35
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 12
Car Insurance........................... 56 do you shop around for this at renewal?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 45
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 190 what do these relate to? any way to reduce at all?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 15.67
Contents insurance...................... 12 B&C doesn't look bad, but do always shop around at renewal just in case.
Life assurance ......................... 18.13 have you shopped around recently? checked it covers what you expect etc?
Other insurance......................... 16.59 what does this relate to and again is it competitive?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
charity................................. 0
car lease............................... 223.31 is this a true lease? or will you own the car at the end?
window cleaner.......................... 7
solid fuel.............................. 5
Pension................................. 102.57
Total monthly expenses.................. 2197.17

Assets
Cash.................................... 500
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 900
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 181400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 155000...(453)......3.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 155000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card....................2029.81...1.........0
Credit card....................9152.91...1.........0
Credit card....................1140.62...1.........0
credit card....................742.54....1.........0
credit card....................2023.04...1.........0
credit card....................4462.76...1.........0
credit card....................1790.88...1.........0
loan...........................13300.....1.........0
overdraft......................4000......1.........0
Credit card....................3984.14...1.........0
Total unsecured debts..........42626.7...10........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,211.05
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,197.17
Available for debt repayments........... 13.88
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 10
Amount left after debt repayments....... 3.88
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 181,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -155,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -42,626.7
Net Assets.............................. -16,226.7
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

What is the situation with the debt? have you agreed token payments with them? have you spoken to any of the debt charities? what have they suggested as a longer term plan?
has the arisen for a particular reason, such as a decrease in income for one of you?

RAS

As Tixy mentions, how are you dealing with the debt.

You need to think whether you want an SOA that does not tackle the debt or whether you are prepared to pull the horns in to start paying it off.

Bumbelina wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1161
Partners monthly income after tax....... 650
Benefits................................ 400.05
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2211.05
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 453
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 104
Electricity............................. 62 - highish - learn to turn everything off and use less
Gas..................................... 61- highish - learn to turn everything off and use less
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 58.7 - water meter?
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 65 - you need to reduce these ASAP and then consider PAYG
TV Licence.............................. 12.2
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 13
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 - this is very high if you are debt busting. You can save £100 here
Clothing................................ 35
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 12
Car Insurance........................... 56
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 45
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 190 - what is this?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 15.67
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 18.13
Other insurance......................... 16.59 - what is this?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
charity................................. 0
car lease............................... 223.31 - when can you end this arrangement? Given how little you drive this is a major extravagence
window cleaner.......................... 7 - wash them yoursel?
solid fuel.............................. 5
Pension................................. 102.57
Total monthly expenses.................. 2197.17

Assets
Cash.................................... 500
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 900
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 181400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 155000...(453)......3.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 155000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card....................2029.81...1.........0
Credit card....................9152.91...1.........0
Credit card....................1140.62...1.........0
credit card....................742.54....1.........0
credit card....................2023.04...1.........0
credit card....................4462.76...1.........0
credit card....................1790.88...1.........0
loan...........................13300.....1.........0
overdraft......................4000......1.........0
Credit card....................3984.14...1.........0
Total unsecured debts..........42626.7...10........-

need to know the limits and APRs on these, please

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,211.05
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,197.17
Available for debt repayments........... 13.88
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 10
Amount left after debt repayments....... 3.88
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 181,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -155,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -42,626.7
Net Assets.............................. -16,226.7
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Bumbelina

Thanks for quick replies. We are on a token debt repayment plan which we did with the CAB. I think all the creditors have frozen the interest but HSBC might still be charging. I need to check on that. My DH has been trying to get his own business off the ground but it's been very up and down and at the moment that's all he can afford to take out each month. He has a couple of job prospects in the offing and if one of them comes up he's going to take it, which will increase his income.

My income is freelance and has been around the same for the last few years. I work in a very specialised field and at the moment there doesn't seem to be any more work available to me. I work around 26 hours a week which fits in well with the kids. I have considered trying to get more work but I've been putting my health very high on my list of priorities as I've had cancer, so am trying to avoid overstretching and stressing myself too much.

The council tax is already 12 months and we've just changed the gas and electricity to Ovo this month. Unfortunately they charge in advance and our old supplier charges in arrears, so we have a double whammy this month. There are no arrears. I just did a 50/50 split because there isn't a breakdown. We ought to reduce our usage but as I work from home I've needed the heating on a lot during the day in the winter.

The water rates are not on a meter. It's Yorkshire Water. Aren't you stuck with your local supplier or can you shop around for water too?

The mobile bill is for 4 phones, one for each of us in the house. The kids phones were birthday presents and they stay within their contract every month so I don't realistically see how we can reduce this.

Groceries - I shop at Aldi and Asda. Again, having had cancer good nutrition is very important to me. I don't buy organic but I do buy local fruit and veg where possible and we also grow our own but that's obviously seasonal. We don't eat meat or meat substitutes, but we do eat fish. Unfortunately we don't have any fishmongers in our town (which is about as far inland as you can get) so I have to rely on supermarkets.

Although our income isn't great, we seem to be still just above the threshold for getting much in the way of tax credits. At the moment we get 265.25 a month tax credits and 134.80 child benefit. I think we're about to have our tax credits stopped though because they're saying there's an overpayment so that will bring the income down again.

We always shop around for insurance at renewal time.

The child related expenses are the weak point, I know. They are karate, swimming, piano lessons and school dinners. I've taken the view that the children shouldn't have to suffer for our financial problems (in part caused by previous business failure and my having had cancer) and they're only young for these few years so now is when they need those things. Later will be too late to give them those things.

The car is on a 3-year lease which ends August 2013. I think I have the option to keep it on reduced payments after that but would have to check. My husband uses the other one for work. If it came to it I would have to get rid of mine but that would mean breaching the lease agreement.

I realise that we're technically insolvent because our liabilities are more than our assets. We have spoken to the CAB and National Debtline and I think our options are either to go bankrupt; to sell the house and try to negotiate full and final settlements on the debts at less than the full amount; or to carry on as we are until something forces our hand ie. the creditors start asking for more money or the mortgage goes back up to repayment (currently paying interest only).

It's likely that I will inherit a fairly substantial amount of money in the next few years (around £70k). Although that's by no means guaranteed, it's more likely than not. Also, there is a reasonable prospect that my husband's income will increase in the next few months.

So on balance I think we're going to try and carry on as we are for now and just get by until something changes. I don't want to lose the house unless there's absolutely no alternative because I can't see us ever being able to buy another one and we'd have to rent for the rest of our lives.

I hope you don't think that's a head-in-the-sand attitude. We have given this a lot of thought and taken advice from the professionals, but in the end we have to do what we think is right for us and our family.

Your comments on how to cut back further are really welcome though and I hope you keep them coming, along with any other advice. I wish I'd done this years ago.

Bumbelina

Forgot to mention the insurances are term assurance on the mortgage which doesn't cover all of it and also critical illness cover for my husband which we took out after learning the hard way, since I didn't have cover in place when diagnosed with cancer and obviously now can't shop around for cover. I'm no longer ill but can forget ever getting life or illness cover again.

mildredalien

Hi Bumbelina,

you've already had lots of good advice from people about the areas that you might want to look at. I would recommend popping over to the old style board for some tips on reducing your grocery spend - if you could even reduce by £100 that would mean you could start to tackle one of your debts at least! Some people are able to manage on tiny amounts, so £300/month for a family of 4 seems realistic!

In terms of your child related problems - I know you don't want your kids to suffer but will they really 'suffer' from having to cut back on an activity or two? £190/month on top of £40/month entertainment budget is an awful lot to spend on 2 kids! Would they be any better off if your plans don't work out and you end up filing for bankruptcy? I don't mean to sound harsh but when you have £45k of debt it's likely you will need to make some difficult decisions! If you could reduce that then you could have an actual amount to pay towards debt repayments rather than token amounts.

Maybe you could sit your children down and explain that you need to make cutbacks, and why, but you can always re-evaluate if your husbands income does go up or you do get that inheritance. I don't think you have your head in the sand - you have your SOA up after all! - but it's probably not the best idea to wait for things that may or may not happen to start tackling that debt!

If you could reduce your grocery and child related expenses you could be paying £200/month towards your debts, that's loads better than £10!!

camuk81

Bumbelina, I'm with yorkshire water. I'm on £36.00 a month and thats some arrears too! Can you go onto a water meter? Follow tidy advice and get a leak check. For reference ours is a 3 bed but it a newish/ 10 year old house

Bumbelina

A few people have said that our water rates are high. I don't know how they're worked out but I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be any better off on a meter as we have an outside tap which gets used a lot in the summer to water our veg patch (we have a very big garden) and there are four showers every day in our house. Is it possible to work out whether you would be better off on a meter before deciding whether to swap? I think I'll contact Yorkshire Water to ask why our rates are so high. It's a 4-bed semi but no arrears so I don't understand why they should be as much as that.

theoretica

School dinners could probably be replaced with cheaper, and at least as healthy, packed lunches if you wanted. Especially for the summer when warm food is less attractive.

Hovel_lady

Bumbelina wrote: »

A few people have said that our water rates are high. I don't know how they're worked out but I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be any better off on a meter as we have an outside tap which gets used a lot in the summer to water our veg patch (we have a very big garden) and there are four showers every day in our house. Is it possible to work out whether you would be better off on a meter before deciding whether to swap? I think I'll contact Yorkshire Water to ask why our rates are so high. It's a 4-bed semi but no arrears so I don't understand why they should be as much as that.

If you look on here there's a calculator to work out if it's cheaper to have a meter or not...

http://www.yorkshirewater.com/your-water-services/water-meters.aspx