My SOA- advice please.

WantToBeSE

Hello. I am not sure if i should be posting in this section, but thought that it was the most suitable.
My main concern is that my SOA says i should have £94p/m left over after debt repayments, but i never actually have that amount. I would like to use that extra money to pay off my debt faster, but i just dont know where it ends up!

I have cut back to the bare essentials (as you can see by my SOA), so am not sure where the 'extra' money is going to?

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 440
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 260
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 700

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 55
Telephone (land line)................... 33
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 20
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 30
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1300
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1300


No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................3200......80........0
Credit card....................720.......30........0
Total unsecured debts..........3920......110.......

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 700
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 496
Available for debt repayments........... 204
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 110
Amount left after debt repayments....... 94
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,300
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,920
Net Assets.............................. -2,620


I havent included Rent or CT as i get that paid for me.

I havent included MOT, Tax expenses for my car, as my dad pays for those for me (those are my xmas and birthday presents every year from him).

Xmas and birthdays are not included, as i use the childrens child benefit to cover them.

happytails

Just a quick look and I can't see anything for kids clothing/shoes/school stuff if appropriate) also the water and
And landline phone bill look high to me.

Do you not have contents insurance on your house?

No entertainment? Be it a takeaway, DVD rental, new book etc?

Groceries could be cut a little, Haveva look on old style ms board

I'm no expert so hopefully someone better will be along soon

McKneff

I'm fairly sure you should be claiming more benefits with 2 children.

Housing benefit, tax credits, you would do well to check.

Any contribution from the childrens father. CSA beckons.

Water rates are high, can you get a meter.

WantToBeSE

thanks happy tails.
I am really clueless as to how much i spend on clothes/shoes/school for myself and the kids, but i know it isnt very much. Maybe this is partly where the 'extra' money goes- i dont really know.

i pay for my contents insurance in 1 lump sum every year (my mums xmas pressie to me, she pays it for me- i bet you can imagine how exciting my xmas and birthdays are, right!).

WantToBeSE

Thanks McKneff- I have been moaning to the CSA for the past 9 years about maintenence, but for one reason or other (self employment, unemployment, being uncontactable etc) they have never gotten a penny out of him.

My water is already metered.

rising_from_the_ashes

If the water's metered then, having seen what other people pay, it's on the high side - check how much you're using, there isn't a leak somewhere (does happen), kids aren't staying shower for ages etc etc

Groceries could come down a bit - try dropping a brand level, Al*di, Li*dl etc etc

nic_santorini

looks like you are doing pretty well, FYI to the person that said about housing allowance, the poster stated on the SOA at the bottom that she gets her rent and council tax paid. This will be part of the benefits.

vasseur

Try keeping a spending diary to see where the extra money is disappearing to. All those little bits add up over the week.

Also, do you really only use £20 petrol per month (or does your dad top this up as well)? Just wondering if it's worth having a car if you're not using it that much...

WantToBeSE

Thanks for the advice so far everyone, it is appreciated.
I need to have the car as i live in a rural village and need to get food shopping.
Again, the petrol was an estimate. Maybe i should write down how much i buy in a week and work it out that way.

vasseur

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Thanks for the advice so far everyone, it is appreciated.
I need to have the car as i live in a rural village and need to get food shopping.
Again, the petrol was an estimate. Maybe i should write down how much i buy in a week and work it out that way.

Yep...I bet you'll find that's where it's going. £20 only buys me half a tank these days and I have a pretty economical car. I spend £80 a month and I work in a village so need my car to get out there - I do about 20 miles a day.

It's all a learning curve. Really look at the prices of things and ask if you really need them. Know what things cost - if you don't how will you know if you're getting value for money?

I shop in A1di and I reckon over the last year I have saved myself at least £15 a week. Do meal plans for the week based on what you already have in your cupboards and freezer. Have a look at the Old Style board for ways to make food go further (batch cook, bulk out meat dishes with more veg, cook from scratch, no ready meals etc) it all helps and eventually will become a way of life. Then you put that £94 to your debts

Sorry didn't mean to waffle on for so long.....:o

WantToBeSE

Thanks polesalot. Do you think it may be a good idea to write down everything i spend in 1 month then? So i have a proper idea of how much i spend?
I have managed to get my shopping budget down from £520 a month to £200 by being a long-time lurker on this board, and especially the old style threads, but i am aiming to get it down to £160 a month eventually.