My SOA

rchrisp

There are two of us, but i'm the only income earner.

Take Home Pay: £1043.09
Mystery Shopping: around £100 a month.

Rent: £303.33
Council Tax: £98
Water: £27
Tv Licence: £30
Gas: £26
Electric: Nothing at the moment as i have a £200 credit with them. have last week switched companies for both though.
Internet: £14.99
Mobile: £40
Food: £200
Travel: £60 (though i get oin average about 20% paid through work expenses)
Contacts: £24.99
Avon Debt: $33.30
OU Loan: £51
HSBC Managed Loan: £80
Capital One: about £60
Egg: £18
Co-Op Bank: £18
Co-Op Reducing Overdraft: £20
Dorothy Perkins Card: £25
Debenhams Card: £10
La Redoute: £20
Dvds: £12.99

Total: £1172.60

so i usually end up using the Capital One card by the end of the month which i know is very bad at that interest rate.

redsquirrel80

The most obvious area to me that you could cut down on is food - have a look at the Old Style forum (especially the Grocery Challenge) for lots of tips on how to cut your bill down and still eat well.

Sure there will be plenty of SOA experts along soon to help - good luck!

sunshine_shell

£200 seems alot for 2 of you? Could you maybe cut this down? and maybe stop renting/buying DVDs for a while?

rchrisp

sunshine_shell wrote: »

£200 seems alot for 2 of you? Could you maybe cut this down? and maybe stop renting/buying DVDs for a while?

yeah i could probably cut down on the food... i cook most things from scratch, have a couple of ready meals for lunch a week, the rest is left-overs. going out money (work dos etc) comes out of the food budget too.

nonsensefactory

Can your OH not get a part time job ? Even a few hours a week would make up the shortfall ?

auntie_brenda

rchrisp wrote: »

There are two of us, but i'm the only income earner.

Take Home Pay: £1043.09
Mystery Shopping: around £100 a month.

Rent: £303.33
Council Tax: £98
Water: £27 If there are only 2 of you do you have a water meter? Apply for one, if the bills are higher you can ask them to remove.
Tv Licence: £30 Assume this is arrears - normally around £22?
Gas: £26
Electric: Nothing at the moment as i have a £200 credit with them. have last week switched companies for both though. Ask for credit back, if you haven't already!
Internet: £14.99
Mobile: £40 Check out a cheaper tariff.
Food: £200 If there are only 2 of you this could probably be cut by 1/3 to 1/2. honest! Look on money saving old style, menu plan, cook from scratch etc.
Travel: £60 (though i get oin average about 20% paid through work expenses)
Contacts: £24.99 Check out elsewhere on here about getting these on line, cheaper.
Avon Debt: $33.30
OU Loan: £51Try applying for their hardship fund. OUSA also have one.
HSBC Managed Loan: £80
Capital One: about £60
Egg: £18
Co-Op Bank: £18
Co-Op Reducing Overdraft: £20
Dorothy Perkins Card: £25
Debenhams Card: £10
La Redoute: £20
Dvds: £12.99 Get onto quidco.com & sign up for all the for DVD trials.

Total: £1172.60

so i usually end up using the Capital One card by the end of the month which i know is very bad at that interest rate.

Time to be nosey I'm afraid......

Why is your partner not working? Could they not work part time? If not, do they qualify for disabled living allowance etc?

Have you applied for Working Tax Credit and/or Housing Benefit & Council tax Benefit? I would have thought that based on your income you would qualify for WTC - 14,000 a year qualifies & you must be not much over that?

You have not included anything for contents insurance (please take this out if you haven't already!), also Xmas, birthdays, clothes, dentist etc. This should all be taken into account.

Can you post what the balances are on your debts, plus the APR's and credit limits - maybe some juggling would save you some interest.

Input all your debts onto here - http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx - this will help you prioritise the debts and let you know when you'll be debt free.

It also would be a good idea to ring payplan or CCCS - links at the top of this board.

Good luck!

rchrisp

nonsensefactory wrote: »

Can your OH not get a part time job ? Even a few hours a week would make up the shortfall ?

he would love to but is not well and is signed off sick.

unfortunately he is not entitled to any benefits so we are just living off my income.

he does some surveys which pay in luncheon vouchers which contribute about £15 a month towards the food bill.

rchrisp

auntie_brenda wrote: »

Have you applied for Working Tax Credit and/or Housing Benefit & Council tax Benefit? I would have thought that based on your income you would qualify for WTC - 14,000 a year qualifies & you must be not much over that?

i earn about £16,500, so am over the threshold for tax credits, income support, etc.

auntie_brenda wrote: »

You have not included anything for contents insurance (please take this out if you haven't already!), also Xmas, birthdays, clothes, dentist etc. This should all be taken into account.

Can you post what the balances are on your debts, plus the APR's and credit limits - maybe some juggling would save you some interest.

re insurance, i dont really have that much worth insuring to be honest! Xmas we only really buy for each other (he spends his Xmas money from his family), likewise with birthdays. Dentist is a credit card job, clothes go on the store cards on the odd occasion we need them, usually in the sales or on a Debenhams 25% day. (i have a uniform for work).

will post the balances in a sec.

cheers.

rchrisp

Interest etc.

Avon Debt: £370 left, £33.30 a month, no interest.

OU Loan: £51 a month over 6 months. i have applied for the fees to be paid but have to maintain payments until a decision is made.

HSBC Managed Loan: about £1000 left, £80 a month, i think the rate is about 16% APR.

Capital One: £1250 balance, about £60 a month, 29.9% APR
Egg: £700 left, £18 a month, not sure on the interest as i can't get into the account, i think its about 16% APR
Co-Op Bank: £890 balance, £18 a month payment, 9% APR
Co-Op Reducing Overdraft: £680, £20 a month.
Dorothy Perkins Card: £600 balance £25 a month payment, 29.9% APR
Debenhams Card: £230 balance, £10 a month payment, 29.9% APR
La Redoute: £250 balance, £20 a month payment, APR not on the bills, but would assume its similar to the GE Capital ones above.

calamity

Really nosey --sorry --but why is he not entitled to incapacity benefit as this is not based on your income

painted_lady

Contacts - they seem expensive, I used to pay £19 a month, but got 12 months supply for £75 at ASDA online.