My statement of affairs

sistafromanothermista

Have you tried the A supermarket veggie range? its lush and cheap £2 for 4 veggie burgers

alyxzandra

Originally Posted by alyxzandra
Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1771
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1229
Benefits................................ 84
Total monthly income.................... 3084[/b]

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 460
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 41 This finishes 2013? What month?

This ends in November 2013


Management charge (leasehold property).. 40 Did I understand this will reduce further? Or is this already the reduced amount?

This will reduce to £26 in November 2013


Council tax............................. 110Is this over 10 or 12 months? If 10, consider asking the council to spread over 12. If not overpay the debt that is costing you the most during your CT Free months

That is a good idea. I will call them tomorrow and see if they will do it. Thanks!

Electricity............................. 62This seems high? Especially if you are both out of the house all day Mon-Fri? Are you in arrears? If so when will you be up-to-date? If not, check whether you are in credit with the company, if so claim it back. If this is regular spending try and reduce - switch things off instead of on standby, only use lights in rooms that you are in, switch the thermostat down on the boiler [you will never notice] use energy saving bulbs etc

My gas and electric has skyrocketed. I use almost all energy saving bulbs and we turn things off. Heat is off during the day even in winter, but we need it on at night in the wintre due to all three of us having asthma.

Gas..................................... 62As above, and switch off radiators in rooms that you are not in (when used), and make sure switched off during summer/warmer days. Also, check that you are on the cheapest tariff with the cheapest company for your usage/area [often online and duel fuel are cheapest - check every 6-12 months]

Uswitch is my friend and is checked every year. This is the cheapest for my area.

Water rates............................. 26Are you on a meter, if not consider if one would be cheaper

How would I know which is cheaper? I also share a water pipe with the upstairs flat. Can they do a water meter?

Telephone (land line)................... 35This seems high - I know that you have mentioned you have family abroad, is using SKYPE an option [it would be much cheaper], alternatively check with different providers to see which the cheapest company for calling the country you call [US?] most often - I know TalkTalk has a cheap call package including international calls [need to check if US is included] for around £22-£24 [internet and phone] - but do compare companies as there might be one better suited

This includes internet. I use 18185 to call the US, which is 1/2p a minute. I had Talk Talk and they were awful. As I work from home 1 day a week I need reliable internet and found BT to be the best. But, once my contract is over I am looking for another ISP. I just have the basic phone line, but was told that I can only have the fiberoptic for my area and that is the highest cost one.

Mobile phone............................ 47Seems high, even for two. Check if you are in a contract. If so ask if you can downgrade a tariff [some companies allow]. If/when out of contract switch to SIM only/PAYG - Try GiffGaff, I have found them to be much cheaper

We are both on a contract, but I am considering PAYG once they are up.
TV Licence.............................. 14[12.12]
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 26I think that you should reconsider the Freesat or freeview
Internet Services....................... 0I presume this is included somewhere above
Groceries etc. ......................... 300If hubby is so fussy would giving him a budget and getting him to do the grocery shopping/cooking be an option to get him to understand the full cost of this?

He does understand and is involved in the grocery shopping. But, he is adamant about it.
Clothing................................ 0never? Even for child? Is this realistic?

I swap clothes with my neighbour who has an older child. Only need to buy shoes, socks and underwear. She has a son the same age as my son, but he is smaller. So, we clothes share. Anything else is from carboots and included in the £100 a month.
Petrol/diesel........................... 260Any way to reduce? Would car sharing be an option?

I listed on a place for car sharing, but not one person replied. I spoke to a workmate, but his hours are different than mine.

Road tax................................ 23
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 58
Car parking............................. 48
Childcare/nursery....................... 0nothing?

Hubby gets £200 a month for childcare not salary sacrifice. Vouchers are taken from my salary from work. My salary is what you see after they have been deducted.

Other child related expenses............ 15What does this cover? Can you get the same/similar for cheaper elsewhere?

Saving up for Xmas and birthday

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10If this is prescriptions see if a prepaid certificate would be cheaper?

This is with prepaid.
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 56Any way to reduce? Not sure what this needs to cover, so I can't comment, but when renewing insurances check comparison sites and check the cashback sites too for additional incentives[topcashback,onepoll cashback, Quidco - all also useful for any online shopping, if you shop online]

12 year old dog with arthritis who needs daily medication. Other policies will not cover her pre existing conditions.

Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 24I'm assuming this is buildings and content combined

Contents only. Building is included in my lease. I also had 2 claims.

Other insurance......................... 10What does this cover? Is it necessary? Is it good value?

Boiler cover! And needed!
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10Does this actually get saved somewhere for when it's needed? - Also, check out the survey sites for earning points for vouchers, you'll never make a huge amount by doing this, but can be useful to save them up and reduce the cost of birthdays, Xmas etc

Yes, we have a standing order into a savings account

Haircuts................................ 0never?

£50 a year
Entertainment........................... 100Any way to reduce?

Car boots sales...we buy and sell stuff on ebay

Emergency fund.......................... 22Does this get saved somewhere for when it's needed?

Started putting this into a savings account

Total monthly expenses.................. 1959


Assets
Cash.................................... 0You should have any non-monthly expenses here - MOT, Emergency fund, presents etc


House value (Gross)..................... 40000This should be £125,000
Car(s).................................. 1000
Total Assets............................ 41000[/b]


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 85000....(460)......3.95
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 738......(41).......0My understanding is this will be gone in 18 months

Yes. Nov 2013!!!! YIPPEE!!!!

Total secured & HP debts...... 85738.....-.........-

Unsecured DebtsHave you stopped using credit? [this is really important] And have you addressed how these debts got built up - you do not need to feel like you have to post this info here, but do consider if you can account for all this spending.

None of the cards can be used. Once they are paid off they get closed down. Got into this mess by being taken in by a cowboy builder who took our savings and left us with a hole in our living room. Used credit cards to hire someone else who had to redo the whole extension. What should have been a £22,000 extension cost us nearly double as it had to be redone. Cowboy was caught contravening the buildings regs by planning and did a runner with our money. Did all the right things..checked references, work, staged payments, contract and still got screwed. Other is expenses for my mother. Before all hell broke loose I had to make several trips to the US as I am an only child and she is very ill. Between the trips to sort things out there and having to send money, things just went pearshaped. And still had to send money to her as recent as last month.

Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
1. Halifax one....................3847.2....149.2.....26By my understanding this is the debt that is costing you the most and therefore [after all minimum payments have been made to ALL debts] this should be the priority for any overpayments that can be made from your monthly surplus. Or have I misunderstood and the interest has already been added?

No, this is a credit card and it is killing us.

The rest of these I have listed in the order that you should prioritise paying them off [after the above is repaid]
2. Halifax Platinum...............9116.02...91.16.....20.9
3. BT.............................2814.37...68.32.... .18.9
4.=Virgin.........................1656.01...37.99.... .16.9
4.=Barclaycard....................3971.41...89.35.... .16.9
4.=HSBC CC........................1999......55........16.9
5. Virgin.........................3847.2....0........ .15.9
6. Tesco..........................2938.01...58....... .15

Overdraft......................1000......25....... .0Is this one interest free, but with a £25 flat fee monthly charge for the service? Is the £25 reducing it any?

No, that is the fees.

Halifax loan...................2207......81.76.....0
HSBC loan......................7489.42...197.......0

Mon............................2800......70....... .0
Kenny..........................400.......20....... .0
Marie..........................2145......55....... .0

Total unsecured debts..........46230.64..997.78....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,084
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,959
Available for debt repayments........... 1,125
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 997.78
Amount left after debt repayments....... 127.22Do you actually see this in your bank account at the end of the month? If not keep a spending diary to see where it goes - note down all expenditure from the really small things like coffees and chewing gums to the really big things like the mortgage, and everything in between [regular and non-regular spending - shopping, DD's etc]

I saw someone suggest this and will be doing just that, but saving the receipts.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 41,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -85,738
Total Unsecured debt.................... -46,230.64
Net Assets.............................. -90,968.64This would look a lot healthier [and it is a lot healthier than it looks] if you put the true value of your house in above [£125,000] instead of what you owe/equity

Credit card debt as of 1 June 2011 - 43423
June 2012 - 37164.36

Halifax loan as of June 2011 - 2943.36
June 2012 - 2207.52

Still living on overdraft of £1000

HSBC Loan as of August 2010 - £11,000
June 2012 - 7489.42

Domino9 wrote: »

It's great that you are managing to reduce your debts, and it's even better that you have a surplus at the end of the month to overpay with. There are a few areas that you could make further savings in your SOA - but you will need to get OH on board, especially with the grocery spend!!

Also check out the snowball calculator [at the end of the page where you filled in the SOA] to help you find your debt free day and prioritise your debt overpayment

Good luck and I hope that the comments above are of some help,

D9

rising_from_the_ashes

Barbeduk wrote: »

Have you checked out dog food prices online? Mine has a dodgy tum and can only eat blinking' James well beloved so I shop around every month. This month the cheapest deal was on Amaz(ing) with free delivery, and I went through the nectar site to get points.

Sorry to hijack .... what is your dog intolerant too? Now JWB has been taken over, I'm afraid there are now several brands of foods that are of better quality and a lot cheaper (wheat, gluten free etc)

alyxzandra wrote: »

Any veggies except peas
Cheese
Pizza
Pasta
Rice (unless it is plain)
No jacket potatoes
Beans
No mayo
Nothing with tomato sauce except baked beans

Whoever heard of a vegetarian who dislikes vegetables?????
All he wants are frozen veggie products (will not have it that I make our own veggie burgers) and then only certain ones!

OMG sorry but he needs a kick up the pants (meant in the nicest way) - he's an adult for goodness sake! (and I hate to say that if your DS sees daddy being fussy, he's likely to be the same:eek:) - frozen meals are awful compared to home cooked - it's all the additives etc that make them taste good (and prob why he likes them so much) but they're certainly not good for you in huge quantities..... honestly, never heard of a veggie who won't eat fresh stuff!

alyxzandra

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

OMG sorry but he needs a kick up the pants (meant in the nicest way) - he's an adult for goodness sake! (and I hate to say that if your DS sees daddy being fussy, he's likely to be the same:eek:) - frozen meals are awful compared to home cooked - it's all the additives etc that make them taste good (and prob why he likes them so much) but they're certainly not good for you in huge quantities..... honestly, never heard of a veggie who won't eat fresh stuff!

I broke him out of the pepsi max/mars milk habit. 2 litres of pepsi a day! Now, it is just water.

My son is not as fussy, thankfully. He likes fruit, veggies, yogurt and so on. At least my son does not think my mac and cheese looks like cat sick....forgot to mention the only fruit hubby will touch is strawberries. I am a lifelong veggie and he is the first veggie I met who does not like vegetables. And will eat those awful meat flavoured crisps (but, are suitable for veggies).

splodge1983

Hi There

We lived with my father for a while and he had a full sky package and when we moved out my son was devastated, however, I went to the car boot and bought about 10 DVD's for about a £1 each of his favourite shows and he has never looked back.

It might work for your little one

Good Luck
xx