My SoA - any advice?

cinnabar

Here's my SoA:

Income:
Wages 540

Expenditure:
Rent 275
Council Tax 34.00
Mobile phone 35.00
Phone (line rental only) 4.00 (I live in a shared house so some bills are split)
TV Licence 4.00
Water 11.00
Gas 18.00
Electricity 12.00
Prescription charges 10.00
Hairdresser 10.00
Household/groceries 200.00 (inc pet food)
Professional body membership 3.00
Opticians 10.00
Dentist 10.00
Total 635

Creditors:
Barclays loan 11500
O/D 2000
Barclaycard 900
Marbles 870
MBNA 6200
Lloyds 6500
Argos 260
Reader's Union 70
Total 28300

I haven't listed monthly payments to my creditors as I'm planning to go BR in the next few weeks and have stopped paying them. I'm fully aware that I have a deficit between my income and my expenditure anyway - My income has only just dropped from around 900pcm net to 540pcm and I'm able to work enough overtime to cover the basics. I'm actually going to stop doing any overtime in the next few weeks for a few reasons and I will have enough money this month/next month to cover everything except the debts. I've also applied for Housing Benefit so hopefully that'll make a bit of a difference.

Once the BR has gone through, depending on whether I can keep my job(!), I plan to either work overtime or look at getting a 2nd job. I'm in the process of trying to change careers anyway so hopefully will find some better paid work. I'm also going to take the advice of a few people from the board who suggested I try to do some private tutoring.

Anything I've missed or people think I could/should cut down on?

Cinnabar

backontheup

Your mobile phone bill is a bit high - if it is a contract, get rid of it and get a PAYG sim card to put in your phone. T-Mobile are doing some great deals at the moment with free weekend and evening text's.

Have you sought any professional advice yet? Your's does look like a clear cut case of needing to go BR. You simply cannot live within your means with your current overheads and are therefore insolvent

PixiePie

Is this a BR SOA for the forms Cinn, or a SOA to say 'how can I afford to live?' ?

If it's for the forms for BR, you should be allowed to add holidays (some OR's allow, some don't it seems, £40/month I think if it is allowed).

For both situations though, what about travel? And clothing and dry cleaning/laundry?

If you're going back teaching you will need another £33 a year for the GTC fees (unless you're going private) and £70 odd a year for union membership. You might be allowed a small amount for things teachers need as well (pens/paper etc etc - I've yet to be in a school that provide these for teachers) and perhaps a larger clothing allowance, depending, as teachers generally have to wear ultra smart stuff unless they're art/drama (no offense to art/drama teachers, I'm jealous tbh).

If this is for BR, from what I gather it's best to over estimate things ready for the OR to knock a little off, but in your case seeing as your income is so low I don't see it being a problem really.

And totally not helpful, but I giggled when I read the ' Professional body membership 3.00' bit - my brain went 'eh?' and I had visuals in my head of being joined at the hip to a big body builder :rolleyes: I'm nuts I know, but it made me giggle before I went 'ohhhhh...' LOL.

tigerfeet2006

Pixie what sre you on? Can I have some? lol!!!

cinnabar

PixiePie - the 3.00/mth professional body membership is for the GTC fees - luckily already paid this year. I guess i was aiming more more the BR type SoA than just 'how can i afford to live' but i think i need to include quite a few other things. And earn more money!

backontheup - my mobile costs seem similar to what other people are listing - don't want to reduce it if poss as it includes broadband and free calls etc. but if I have to i have to

Cinnabar

NekoZombie

My mobile of £35 was accepted, so I'd stick with that if I were you

PixiePie

cinnabar wrote: »

PixiePie - the 3.00/mth professional body membership is for the GTC fees - luckily already paid this year. I guess i was aiming more more the BR type SoA than just 'how can i afford to live' but i think i need to include quite a few other things. And earn more money!


Cinnabar

Aha, sorry, brain dead day
I would push the land line phone up for the OR's SOA interview - you can hide the BB in there if the mobile phone amount does get cut down, and I would have thought that £4 a month isn't very much for phone calls so might be allowed more. Apart from that, just as before - travel, laundry, union fees, clothes/shoes for work, and holiday amount added on.

Tiger - I think I am going totally loopy with the situation. I actually made the CSSS man stratch his head and go 'um, I have no idea, in 10 years of doing this, you are totally unique' Hurrah! Trust me to cause problems :rolleyes: It'll sort, just have to find that damn BR fee :mad: