SOA Help Please

marmitesocks

Hi guys

Have been trying to get debt free for a while but never seem to quite get there!

Did a SOA in the beginning, but thought I could do with revisiting it...

So any advice you lovely people can give on improving the below would be great

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1385.13
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1385.13
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 278.5
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 38.06
Electricity............................. 40.5
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 25
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 6.27
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21.25
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 60
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 15
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 5
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 65
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 150
Holiday................................. 50
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Bicycle Insurance....................... 5
Phone Replacement Savings............... 5
Bicycle Costs........................... 0
Yoga Pass............................... 21
Total monthly expenses.................. 885.58

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

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 54209....(278.5)....4.29
Total secured & HP debts...... 54209.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Natwest Credit Card............1950......25........0
Mother Loan....................500.......50........0
Total unsecured debts..........2450......75........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,385.13
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 885.58
Available for debt repayments........... 499.55
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 75
Amount left after debt repayments....... 424.55
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -54,209
Total Unsecured debt.................... -2,450
Net Assets.............................. -56,659

Notes:
+ Live with my partner but just itemising my half as we do not share finances
+ I cycle and do not drive, therefore dont have any of the associated costs
+ Gas is one item covered under Electricity
+ Internet Services is one item covered under Telephone

19lottie82

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 65
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 150



All seem high.

Holiday................................. 50

Do you have a holiday booked?


Also, do you actually have £424 left at the end of the month? If yes, throw it all at you CC's. If not, where is it going? Try a spending diary to find out.

thecassman86

I know that your cards are 0%, which is great, but if you really have over £400 left each month then you should plough that into the cards... That, along with the £75 you're currently paying will mean they're both gone in less than 6 months.

Other than that, and the couple of bits that 19lottie82 mentioned, it's actually looking pretty good to me

Nice work!

thecassman86

Can i cheekily ask... Why don't you and OH combine finances? My wife and I found it to be infinitely easier to budget when you combine the accounts... Make both of them joint, then move all wages and bills into one account and just transfer the left over into the other account and that's what you "spend" from... Things like petrol, food, entertainment etc.

So much easier.

marmitesocks

19lottie82 wrote: »

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 65
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 150



All seem high.

Holiday................................. 50

Do you have a holiday booked?


Also, do you actually have £424 left at the end of the month? If yes, throw it all at you CC's. If not, where is it going? Try a spending diary to find out.

Thanks Lottie. Yes, my gifts are high but that is broken down into £25pm for xmas (find this covers it in full) and £40 for all other presents. The £40 is high, but this is projected based on the average I have had to pay the last three months.

Have long hair so does take a bit to keep it in good condition - find a £60 cut + colour every other month does it. Hence £30 per month.

Didnt have a clue with Entertainment so that is a wild estimate. Based on the assumption it would include everything from buying DVDs to getting takeaways, is that right?

And yes, I have a holiday booked so the £50 has to remain as it will cover remaining costs and spending money by the time it comes around.

Tixy

Hi
How much are you paying to your debts monthly? just the minimums of £75? or are you paying the whole £499 towards your debts? or something between the 2?

If you don't have the £499 available then it looks like there must be something missing from your SoA. If you do have it available then you could be totally debt free in 5months.

National_Debtline

Hello there,

It could be worth keeping a spending diary to see how much you actually spend on housekeeping. It is generally one area where people often underestimate the amount they actually spend. Do bear in mind that housekeeping also covers items such as toiletries and cleaning products.

Best wishes,

David @ NDL.

marmitesocks

thecassman86 wrote: »

Can i cheekily ask... Why don't you and OH combine finances? My wife and I found it to be infinitely easier to budget when you combine the accounts... Make both of them joint, then move all wages and bills into one account and just transfer the left over into the other account and that's what you "spend" from... Things like petrol, food, entertainment etc.

So much easier.

Thanks Cassman

Not cheeky at all - I happliy would get more involved in combining finances but my OH is the one who's not keen. Would never push him on this, and he is slowly becoming more relaxed about sharing (joint account for holidays! this year!) so I let him do it at rate he feels comfortable with.

Sometimes does seem crazy though given that we have bought a house together!

redpete

marmitesocks wrote: »

Yes, my gifts are high but that is broken down into £25pm for xmas (find this covers it in full) and £40 for all other presents. The £40 is high, but this is projected based on the average I have had to pay the last three months.

More accurate to say that this is what you have decided to pay in the last three months.

Even without cutting down on the high discretionary spend items (presents, entertainment, TV, holiday) this says you could clear all your unsecured debt in about 6 months and then start overpaying the mortgage. Quite a healthy position to be in.

marmitesocks

Tixy wrote: »

Hi
How much are you paying to your debts monthly? just the minimums of £75? or are you paying the whole £499 towards your debts? or something between the 2?

If you don't have the £499 available then it looks like there must be something missing from your SoA. If you do have it available then you could be totally debt free in 5months.

Thanks Tixy. You're right...it dosent always pan out that I have £500 left to put towards debt repayments. Probably closer to £200.

I have covered everything in my SOA, all the rest falling down the cracks will be stuff I spend on myself...think this might be the bit that need tightening!

thecassman86

marmitesocks wrote: »

I have covered everything in my SOA, all the rest falling down the cracks will be stuff I spend on myself...think this might be the bit that need tightening!

Keep a spending diary. It's surprising just how much the little bits and bobs add up!