SOA help...

masonsmum

Hi folks, Im hoping someone might be able to take a look at my SOA and give some advice on how to get my financial affairs back on track.

We have had a really heavy year with our wedding 6 weeks ago and im really struggling to get my current account back into the black and seem to be constantly living in our overdraft approx £700/800.

My next account is also really high as I have been overspending there too and need to cancel it as I pay it off so the temptation not there to order anymore. We ended up putting a few bills from the wedding onto the barclaycard - we transferred £3700 of it onto a 0% balance transfer with an exisiting Virgin Card so now operating with 2 credit cards.

Any useful advice would be greatly appreciated, I know our earning are higher than our outgoings but I just cant seem to get some normality back.

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[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 860
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1620
Benefits................................ 132
Other income............................ 145
Total monthly income.................... 2757

Monthly Expense Details[/b]
Mortgage................................ 380
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 150
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 106
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 90
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 280
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 13
Car Insurance........................... 25
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 50
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 10
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 40
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 100
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1746


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 85000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 90000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 60000....(380)......0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 5000.....(150)......
Total secured & HP debts...... 65000.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................4000......50........0
Next Directory.................800.......70........0
Total unsecured debts..........4800......120.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,757
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,746
Available for debt repayments........... 1,011
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 120
Amount left after debt repayments....... 891

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 90,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -65,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,800
Net Assets.............................. 20,200

ViolaLass

Do you actually have £891 left at the end of each month? If not, you need to do a spending diary to find out what you're actually spending. If you really do have that amount left per month, you could clear Next in one month.

Knalchemist

masonsmum 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[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 860
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1620
Benefits................................ 132
Other income............................ 145
Total monthly income.................... 2757

Monthly Expense Details[/b]
Mortgage................................ 380
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 150
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 106
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 90 Seems a little high? Are you on the best tarrif?
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 50 This is high - is this for one or 2 phones? Try getting tariff lowered if possible
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 280 This is pretty high. I reckon this can be brought down by cooking and freezing foods, buying cheaper foods etc. We manage on £150 for 2 adults, so theoretically you should be able to save here. Plan meals in advance etc
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 13
Car Insurance........................... 25
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 50
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 10
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 40
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday..............................… 100 Could you go without a holiday until your debts are paid off?
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1746


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 85000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 90000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 60000....(380)......0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 5000.....(150)......
Total secured & HP debts...... 65000.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................4000......50........0
Next Directory.................800.......70........0
Total unsecured debts..........4800......120.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,757
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,746
Available for debt repayments........... 1,011
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 120
Amount left after debt repayments....... 891

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 90,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -65,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,800
Net Assets.............................. 20,200

If you don't have £891 left after all your payments you need to find out where this money is going before you can allocate it to debts.

I set up scheduled payments to pay my CC and Provident Loan for the day I'm paid - this way I can't spend the money on other things.

Theoretically you should not be in your overdraft at all if you have £891 left at the end of the month - one month of no spending and you'll be in the black again.

An obvious thing would be to sell one of the cars. (This is what StepChange keep telling me to do) that way you would at least cover your overdraft. However judging by the petrol you use, you seem to rely on them.

masonsmum

Knalchemist wrote: »

An obvious thing would be to sell one of the cars. (This is what StepChange keep telling me to do) that way you would at least cover your overdraft. However judging by the petrol you use, you seem to rely on them.

We only have one car which we do need, my work is a 20 mile round trip every day.

Both my partner and I get paid weekly, I was actually considering asking my boss if I could change to a monthly payroll as I feel this might help us manage our bills better? Therefore my wage could cover most of the household bills?

ViolaLass

I think your priority should be working out where that £891 a month is.

Cycrow

in thoery, you could still get rid of the car and free up some extra money, at least in the short term to clear some debts.
20mile round trip is easily doable on a bike.

however, first it'll be best to work out where the extra money is going, there maybe plenty of other things you could cut back on if you are really struggling

PasturesNew

Cycrow wrote: »

20mile round trip is easily doable on a bike.

If you're young, fit, have a bike, are safe on the roads, aren't cycling in vile weather (rain, wind, snow), have somewhere to put the bike at work, don't mind sitting in sweaty clothes all day and don't have to be home quickly.

Having said that, for 10 miles I'd consider a scooter of some sort.

Mara_uk7

Yup .. Find out where youre squandering that £891 a month, Stop buying clothes for a while, I bet you have loads in your wardrobe youve never worn .. You could be free of your cards in 6 months if you put your mind to it.
Forget about selling the car, Realistically you need one at that distance from work, 10 miles in the rain & snow will soon send you scurrying for a taxi or a bus !

masonsmum

The selling of the car is def not an option with the kids especially, I need to take one to childminders and then one to school before I go to work, I know I need to cut back on my clothes/beauty addiction its not helping either.

Going to go back to the meal planner thing but with 2 kids I seem to struggle to get my food/grocery shopping down to anything less than £60 a week??

If I dont plan ahead I end up going to the supermarket for one thing and spending £20 - I need to try and have "no spend days"

National_Debtline

Hello there.

It is perfectly understandable why you might wish to have a car. In addition, the amount you have set aside to cover your housekeeping costs is well within the guidelines for a family of your size. if you can reduce your outgoings then, of course, it would free up a bit more spare money although you should never try and live on less than you would realistically need. The aim of a budget is for it to be reasonable yet realistic. If this was a financial statement that you would send to your creditors the likely areas which could be challenged would be your overall communication costs (e.g. telephone/mobile/internet) and possibly your 'other' spending - which includes emergencies, holidays, entertainment and holidays.

What's more important, as the others have mentioned, is to try and figure out where the £891 is going. Perhaps you might want to consider keeping a diary.

From the information you have posted you should be able to clear the debts quickly by opaying more than the minimum contractual instalments. Be sure to start with the debt with the highest interest rate first - This will save you the most money.

A few weeks ago I wrote a brief guide to financial statements, if you fancy having a read you can find it here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4830983

Best wishes,

David @ NDL.

MallyGirl

is your water really free?