money saving amateur, expert wannabe

heartbreak_star

financially_exposed wrote: »

Okay so I've done a SOA using estimates in some cases (most likely underestimating things ). I thought it would be good to start one now, and update it based on actual monthly spending. Any comments/critique highly appreciated. Thanks!

Notes:
* I probably missed some stuff... most notably furniture, tech gadgets etc.
* I did not include holiday spending which is quite significant and probably exceeds my annual bonus amount
* I also did not include the annual bonus (~ £2000 p.a. not guaranteed, but always got it so far)
* Medical costs are very low, I get free prescriptions because of a chronic condition. I have private dental insurance through my employer and my child is seen under NHS
* Building insurance and ground rent are included in the Management charge fee
* I contribute 2% to my pension plan but that's excluded from the net income mentioned above

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2254
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 88
Other income............................ 485
Total monthly income.................... 2827

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1020
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 104
Council tax............................. 100
Electricity............................. 22
Gas..................................... 42
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 Could probably shave some off here
Clothing................................ 100 Halve this, wear what you have for now
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 315
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 8
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 25 If you can eke out an extra week between cuts it can save money
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
School trips, school events, etc........ 10
Piano & swimming lessons child.......... 50
Pampering (mani, pedi, wax, etc)........ 40 Lose this
Cosmetics............................... 20 Drop a brand - I wear base and mascara every day, full face 2 night a week and I spend <£5 a month.
Tube pass............................... 104
bank acct fee (incl mob & cam insurance) 6.5
Gym membership (planning to cancel!).... 48
Tesco delivery plan..................... 3
Web Hosting ............................ 5
Unemployment Insurance.................. 35
Total monthly expenses.................. 2539.5


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 330000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 330000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 208500...(1020).....2.64
Total secured & HP debts...... 208500....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Santander......................842.......10........0
Barclays.......................255.......20........0
Tesco..........................6740......200.......0
Total unsecured debts..........7837......230.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,827
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,539.5
Available for debt repayments........... 287.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 230
Amount left after debt repayments....... 57.5

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 330,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -208,500
Total Unsecured debt.................... -7,837
Net Assets.............................. 113,663

Few suggestions from me in purple. Re cosmetics, go bare-faced now and again - it's quite liberating

Best of luck!

HBS x

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi!

Have a go at our guides and let us know how much you save. Good luck!

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financially_exposed

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Few suggestions from me in purple. Re cosmetics, go bare-faced now and again - it's quite liberating

Thank you!

On make-up I'm not that big.. I wear lipstick and lip liner daily, plus mascara and eyeliner when I go out in the evenings.

It's the moisturizer, concealer, and perfume where I'm (shamelessly) spending on big brands I can't afford.

And clothes, yes clothes... I think I'm fine in the next couple of months and don't need anything, but probably December will see me buying boots. I need to come up with a budget for Christmas and stick to it.

heartbreak_star

Ask for perfume for gifts

I just use Natural Collection tinted moisturiser, but am sure someone with more knowledge than me could give you an alternative to yours if you name it

Have a look at ELF's website for concealer etc.

HBS x

Gigervamp

About cosmetics. A few years ago I was making soaps and bodycare products. I did a lot of R & D, and with expensive products, you're really paying for the name.

If a product boasts a "luxury" ingedient, check the ingredient list. It'll be quite a way down the list, and with things like body lotion, most of that is made up with water. Aqua will be the first on the list and will comprise about 70-80% of the ingredients. Colours will have a CI number and there will also be allergens listed (such as geraniol, linalool etc). Certain essential oils can only be used up to a limit of 3%. Preservatives are usually up to 1.5%.

I've not tried them myself, but a lot of people like Aldi's cosmetics. You really don't need to spend a lot on lotions and potions.

financially_exposed

These are all my clumsy estimates, I'm curious how much it will actually come to - per month. It is true that I'm in frugal mode now but I'll still probably be in shock when adding up amounts.

Just got a new laptop backpack from work, which will save me from buying one myself... Very useful when commuting and traveling.

Looks like my mobile battery is kaput, so I will have to buy another one tomorrow. Thankfully the phone is not broken (which is what I initially thought). My Vodafone contract ends early next year and I'll be looking at alternatives. Looks like giffgaff is a very good option, O2 signal but friendly prices. I got my phone last year - replaced by insurance as I lost my old one - and I intend to keep it for as long as I can.

belleandthebudget

I'm not sure what brands you're using for skin care, FE, but I know that I've found I need to spend a lot less on concealer/foundations if I have a good moisturiser. Neal's Yard Remedies almond moisturiser is fantastic and though probably not as moneysaving as lots of others (£15 pot lasts me about 6 months) it means my skin is happy and I can spend less on make-up trying to make it look good!

financially_exposed

Not using foundation at all. I'm using one of the Lancome moisturisers and a Dior Skinflash concealer for under my eyes. Yes I know... there is a reason for all that debt.

Thanks for the tip on Neal's Yard Remedies moisturiser, I will check it out..

financially_exposed

Pay day... Barclays overdraft cleared (it's my only bank account so not like I have a choice ). Must not get into overdraft again though. Also paid £42 on the Santander card and I'm setting aside another £2-300 for this month for this -- but will only pay it at the end of the month this time (just before next pay day). Still trying to to come up with a realistic budget for this month, one that I can stick to!

Online grocery spend today £52 (it was more but there were some vouchers there). I did change some brands for household cleaning products but for now I haven't touched the food.

financially_exposed

Morning everyone, the weekend was good, mostly MSE-like as we spent it mostly in our local park. Wednesday is my first official NSD day (doing a 10-day challenge in Oct) but I'm planning to keep today and tomorrow NSDs as well. My credit cards are in a drawer at home still and I hope they will remain there

I'm still not 100% sure about not renewing my gym membership... been thinking about it during the weekend and it's so hard to let go of it. I'd rather ditch my TV and landline package instead.

Have a good healthy week everyone!