I'm a DFW help me!

abbiesmom

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 4
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2058.93
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 327
Other income............................ 16.25
Total monthly income.................... 2402.18

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 383
Rent.................................... 400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 22.5
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 48
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 22.32
Telephone (land line)................... 55
Mobile phone............................ 36
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 7.99
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 550
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 2.5
Car Insurance........................... 31.28
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 35
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 40
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 15
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 45
Life assurance ......................... 15
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 15
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 60
Holiday................................. 25
Emergency fund.......................... 50
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
gym..................................... 24.99
Total monthly expenses.................. 2100.7


Assets
Cash.................................... 900
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 350
Car(s).................................. 16999
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 18249


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 15040....(383)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 15040.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
rent arrears...................499.......10........0
ctc overpayment................600.......85........0
solicitors.....................1100......50........0
overdraft......................600.......0.........0
catalogue......................384.......1.........0
grant overpay..................2831......20........0
Total unsecured debts..........6014......166.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,402.18
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,100.7
Available for debt repayments........... 301.48
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 166
Amount left after debt repayments....... 135.48

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 18,249
Total HP & Secured debt................. -15,040
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,014
Net Assets.............................. -2,805

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

abbiesmom

I'm pretty damn useless with money as you can all see!

Basically to clarify a few things;

Landline includes internet.

TV is freeview but I pay a subscription of 7.99 to Lovefilm so there's always something for the kids to watch.

Car HP payment is actually 333 a month but I overpay as this is the only debt that at present accrues any interest and there are no fines for overpaying as the interest was front loaded.

I have a credit card which is paid in full every month so I haven't listed this.

I think the rest is pretty self explanatory though any suggestions would be great - I need to tackle the overdraft pretty sharpish as my graduate interest free period will finish soon.

good_advice

Out of intrest, what car do you have to be worth £16999?

abbiesmom

good_advice wrote: »

Out of intrest, what car do you have to be worth £16999?

Not that it really matters what I drive I will tell you that it's a BMW.

19lottie82

Is £180 a year realistic for all xmas and b'day presents, especially as you have 4 kids

And £25 a month for a holiday?

£5 a month for haircuts for £5 people?

You can prob shave £150 off your groceries budget a month if you meal plan.....

soontobemrsg

19lottie82 wrote: »

Is £180 a year realistic for all xmas and b'day presents, especially as you have 4 kids

And £25 a month for a holiday?

£5 a month for haircuts for £5 people?

You can prob shave £150 off your groceries budget a month if you meal plan.....

My thoughts exactly!

As a family with the same make up as you I can see that meal planning and a drop in brands you can easily shave a load from your grocery bills and I have 2 teenagers!!! I'm certain even when I had little ones in nappies I wasn't spending that much!

Are you sure you've entered the correct figures as you spend more on a holiday than you do on birthdays and christmas and yet I know that our holidays cost much more.

The best advise I can give is to actually keep a spending diary.

As you can meet all your payments I guess your aim is to be DF ASAP in which case have you considered using some savings toward some of the debt which will give you more to play with on a monthly basis.

If the interest is already applied on your loan why are you overpaying? (I don't know much about loans though so this may seem a daft question to others)

£100 on clothes a month - have a look at second hand for some real bargains

The other biggy is your mobile - can you reduce?

abbiesmom

Thanks. Not too sure what I really spend on presents as I tend to save less in the run up and dip into bits of my other budgets and I needed to put a figure in...typically I spend around £100 each on a main present and they have some stocking fillers so my calculation is way off as you pointed out!

Will look at reducing my grocery spend but it does include packed lunches and that so not sure where I can cut back though I have just had a new steam mop (early Christmas gift from my folks)so may save on cleaning products!

Really need to start watching what I spend now though come the new year so I can get rid of the debt and feel like I'm managing better and more comfortable in being able to afford school trips and the like without having to constantly wait until payday and then going without other stuff that month! My life feels like I'm constantly waiting for payday which is why I know I gotta sort it now coz even though everything is paid it feels like I'm always saying "not taday" to the kids

Verbatim

As you have an expensive car I suppose you could sell it and get a cheaper car. Perhaps it's fuel efficient though?
Have you tried the value/basics lines? Most I find are indistinguishable from the "finest/ taste the difference" ranges and in some cases better. The food shop is usually the easiest area to make big savings.
I'm full of admiration for your organizational skills! All bills paid and FOUR kids. Good luck with getting the O/D paid off. Sounds like a plan.

laidbackgjr

That's a very expensive car for doing £50 worth of fuel (between 200 and 400 miles a month). It would probably be cheaper to do every journey by taxi or hiring a car when needed. You are spending around £500 a month on the car, so that's over £1 a mile!!!

tallyhoh

I must agree with laidbackgjr, you can't take the car very far for £50 PCM in petrol. Or do you get paid a petrol allowance?

abbiesmom

Agreed I have an expensive car but I work in an industry where image is everything. I don't drink, smoke or go out except for special occasions - our entertainment budget is a family thing - usually a take away or a cinema trip but sometimes something like ice skating or trips to local places of interest. The car is the only thing that is for me (even though the kids have mom playing taxi when the need arises) and I won't consider parting with it at this time which may seem a little selfish but as I am overpaying by more than 50+ a month and the costs include a monthly full valet I do think that it is fairly economical. Don't get me wrong the petrol is based on an average month of work and shopping trips but occasionally as a family we go further afield and it does cost me more. In addition my eldest is in a school that is almost an hours drive away so if they were ill in school and for extra-curricular activities and pta meetings a return fare would be extortionate in a taxi and I have no idea about buses to the remote area where the school is located.

It is hard managing to meet all my payment as times - particularly at this time of year when it's all too easy to overspend and my desire to clear as many of my bills asap meaning overpayments which then make my pocket feel all that lighter than it need be.

Just switched my contents which has reduced it to £19.25 a month with no upfront payment and no excess which is a bonus I think I will tackle the mobile next and see if it's possible to downgrade a plan (can only hope as not due for renewal until mid next year) and as soon as I've finished paying my CTC overpayment in July next year it frees up an extra 80odd a month to put toward the car overpayments as this is the only one with interest this is the one that makes sense to tackle in my opinion but if that's wrong please do let me know.

And I only spent £30 on shopping this week yay Will however probably end up way overspending on the Christmas shop as a result