Help and advice appreciated

andyfromotley

Hi all,

i'm just about ok (ish) with money and tend to live month to month. I appreciate that I'm in a better position than many on here, however one of my new year resolutions was to just manage my money better.

I have completed an SOA which i feel is about right. Here it is, i have posted some questions at the bottom.

A bit about me, i am 48, retired with a cast iron, gold plated index linked pension of £21,800. i have two kids who live with me 50% of the time, I am about to start uni in sept for which i will get some additional funding.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1610
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1610

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 250
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 90
Electricity............................. 41
Gas..................................... 41
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 43
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 55
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 43
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 70
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 12
Car Insurance........................... 20
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 20
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 11
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 12
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 35
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 60
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 100
Emergency fund.......................... 0
TV licence.............................. 11
Child Maintenance....................... 150
Total monthly expenses.................. 1234


Assets
Cash.................................... 1200
House value (Gross)..................... 220000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 222200


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 53560....(250)......3.69
Total secured & HP debts...... 53560.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Virgin CC......................13250.....132.......0
DFS............................360.......11........0
Total unsecured debts..........13610.....143.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,610
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,234
Available for debt repayments........... 376
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 143
Amount left after debt repayments....... 233

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 222,200
Total HP & Secured debt................. -53,560
Total Unsecured debt.................... -13,610
Net Assets.............................. 155,030


So my main questions are this.

My 0% credit cards deal ends in Sept. I have done an MSE soft search and i'm coming up with some at 80%. However most of these are rules out as it is a MBNA and i can't transfer balances from a Virgin Card? The others are Barclaycard which i already have one. (Nil balance) A lot came up as 'no chance' which i assume is because i have recently retired? Should i be concentrating on paying this down in case i can't get a new 0% deal?

I will probably get about £9k per year for going to uni split into 3 payments Sept 5.5k Jan 2k April 2k. This should repeat for the next 4 years. What is the most sensible way to use this money?

I would like to buy a newish car within the next 2 years (7-8k)

I have no emergency fund, obviously my income is secure so what would be a sensible fund amount to aim for?

Hope that all makes sense.

Many thanks andy. (sorry i don't know why my SOA has come up so messy!!)

asparagus1968

Hi,


Do you actually have the £233 left at the end of the month? If so, what do you do with it? If not, you could do a spending diary for a couple of months and see what you do spend it on?


other thoughts:
tv licence is £12.12 I think
cable/satellite-you could go freeview
mobile phone bill is high ,could look into usage/tariffs
Really only £70 a month on groceries?? (impressed)
contents insurance is needed, imagine how much it would cost to replace things in case of flood/fire?
how old are children ,do you have to pay child care if you go to uni?


Re. Credit card, maybe ring Barclaycard, ask them what they can offer you to keep open your card that has no balance on it?

andyfromotley

ah, thanks asparagus,

groceries 70pw not £70 pcm. In truth i have no idea what i spend on groceries?

I have joint contents and buildings insurance i just didn't know how to split it.

Mobile is for mine £39 and my daughters £15. I shall be going sim only when my contract expires in Oct.

Kids don't need childcare, so i don't acquire any additional expenditure by going to uni.

I don't seem to have loads left over at the end of the month, if i can see that theres plenty in there i may buy myself or the kids something. (strict budgeting is obviously not my strongpoint!) But i do manage my money ok up to a point. I never go overdrawn and i always pay my bills obi. Never missed a payment on anything ever. I just get the feeling that i could and probably should achieve so much more with my money?