a newbie's SOA

koselur

Hi all

I've started a diary thread (would post the link but I'm too new) but was recommended to post my SOA here for advice too... Not sure how accurate it is (just goes to show I REALLY don't know what I'm spending - reality check number 1 :eek:) but I have set up a YNAB and am looking seriously at areas I can save (seems to be the usual groceries, entertainment, shopping etc!).

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1339
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1339

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 250
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 50
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 180
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 12
Car Insurance........................... 36
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 50
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 300
Holiday................................. 50
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1188


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 250
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 250

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Halifax CC.....................592.14....16.55.....25.95
Natwest CC.....................475.75....10.71.....17.4
Halifax OD.....................600.......31........0
Natwest OD.....................1936.42...25........0
Total unsecured debts..........3604.31...83.26.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,339
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,188
Available for debt repayments........... 151
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 83.26
Amount left after debt repayments....... 67.74

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 250
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,604.31
Net Assets.............................. -3,354.31

Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.

koselur

Few bits about the SOA and my current situation... I live with my partner (he owns the house and I pay rent) which means that the bills situation is not typical - everything is in his name and I pay him £100/ month - so in the SOA I have just divided this as £50 towards council tax and £50 towards electricity and left the rest as 0. Even though we live together our finances are on the whole very separate. We;ve been living together since June and I have to say that while my situation has been easier (now pay half as much rent and bills as I did when living alone) - but I still don't seem to be clearing any debt...

My phone bill is nominally £12/month (sim only) but I usually go a bit over on my data (have been meaning to get this renegotiated for ages - need to stop putting this off!) so I can pay up to £20

Groceries, clothing & entertainment are all total guesses really - could in reality be much higher and fluctuates A LOT. I know these are ALL areas where I can save and will be my first targets!

With my car expenses again these are largely guesses as I don't keep track - I get the feeling the car is fairly cheap to run (me and my partner split these costs 50/50 and it's pretty economical on petrol) but there are always unexpected repairs etc so I have tried to factor these in... Other travel is taxis which I know is an expense I can DEFINITELY cut out. Apart from that I walk most places...

Presents again a huge guess - my mum's 50th a few weeks ago I probably spent about £200 but then again some months this is nothing so not sure.

Haircuts I have been generous I probably get it done twice a year and never spend more than £30. I do put £50 aside most months for holidays as me and my partner save for these together (not sure if you can tell but he is a lot better with money than me haha!!).

In terms of debt I have guessed at my Natwest CC interest rate as I don't know and I'm embarassed to say I don't look at my statement just make a payment online each month. Will open my next statement and update this. I have recently been trying to pay off £50/month but always seem to end up putting something back on there. These are getting cut up in a minute! My Halifax overdraft isn't interest based (as far as I can tell?!) but I pay a flat fee of £1/day I use it (and £5/day if I go over) - usually works out to be about 25 or 30 quid (when I get paid I usually have a week or so when I'm not in it, then go back down into the red). My Natwest account is basically a dead account (I call it the black hole). A while ago I set up a standing order to pay it off £100/month but guess what - I usually end up withdrawing that money at the end of the month.....

Anyway, long post I know... my aim is to set up a budget (have downloaded the trial of YNAB) and try to STICK TO IT. Hopefully this will give me a more realistic picture of what I'm actually spending on....

Thanks for reading! Any tips AT ALL are really appreciated. No need to go easy on me haha!

Ebe_Scrooge

Here's my two penn'oth for what it's worth.

Groceries - this doesn't seem too bad, but if you're currently shopping at Tesco, Asda etc., then look at Aldi or Lidl - you can make quite large saving there.

Clothing seems quite high at £50 a month, especially if you have no kids. This can certainly be cut back dramatically.

And £300 a month on Entertainment ??!! That's a huge amount. If you put that towards your credit card debts you'd clear them in no time. You don't have a massive amount of CC debt, but nevertheless paying them off should be a priority. Once cleared that'll automatically give you more each month to play with

Pixie5740

Is the £180 for groceries just your half of the groceries or do you buy the groceries for both of you?

If the car costs are just half of the total costs then the insurance is over £800 a month which is pretty high.

I use YNAB for my budgeting and one of the features I really like is the app on my smart phone so that I can track my spending whilst I'm out and about. It's the £1 here, £3 there that all add up.

andyfromotley

HI,

Whats other travel?

koselur

Ebe Scrooge - I do shop at Aldi but just seem to waste a lot (plus my groceries bill is always bumped up by the tempting goodies in baskets). I'm working towards reducing this by planning out meals rather than just grabbing stuff as I go round and also reducing waste.

Clothes wise I am definitely prone to shopaholism I have just had a massive sort out of my wardrobe and aside from a few essentials I shouldn't need to buy any clothes at all going into spring and summer so I'm hoping to reduce this dramatically. My plan is to just avoid shops entirely so I won't be tempted (bringing packed lunch to work will help cause I won't be 'popping into town'

Going out & eating out is definitely my biggest and most pointless expense. I drive myself mad with it but somehow always find myself saying yes to things I can't afford. I've decided to come clean with my mates (already have with OH) about what is realistic for me and try to do more social stuff at home. Bit scary since I feel embarrassed about this when everyone else seems to sorted but am just SO scared of things spiralling out of control, I need to stop being a baby about this!

Pixie - I pay for most of the groceries but this does include supplies for a cat and two rabbits (who get through A LOT of veg) and usually some booze too although we have just started homebrewing haha so this should save some cash.

The car insurance IS very high - as you say over £800 - I only got my license last year and my OH had a big claim recently. We have shopped around (comparison sites etc) and this was the best we could find. Do you think it is outrageous? If you've got any advice on getting this down please share!

YNAB seems really good - haven't quite managed to get it up and running quite how I want it but I'm going to spend a bit more time with it tonight.

Andy - other travel is taxis a luxury I really don't need so these are first to go!

f0nz

It looks like realistically you could shave £300 a month off of th above which you could then overpay to your debts. Check out th snowball calculator to see which order would be best to pay them off.

Cut groceries to £150 saving £30
Get rid of the taxis saving £50
Cut presents to £20 saving £20
Cut clothing for now saving £50
Cut entertainment to £100 saving £200

This saves £350, put £50 away into an emergency fund every month and overpay your debts with the other £300.

Best of luck

[Deleted User]

why is your partner's income zero ? Can't he get a job or at least claim some kind of unemployment benefit. Sorry but £300 per month on entertainment is taking the p***

f0nz

Deleted User wrote: »

why is your partner's income zero ? Can't he get a job or at least claim some kind of unemployment benefit. Sorry but £300 per month on entertainment is taking the p***

They keep their finances separate so this is just for OP

koselur

hi f0nz - sounds so easy when you put it like that! The sad truth is this is what I've been telling myself for years and all the while my debt has been creeping up I know I need to get realistic about this or else things will just get worse and worse.

Hopefully getting serious about my spending and the support of DFW will help me make it a reality this time. I'm definitely not in denial any more which I think will make a huge difference!

koselur

Deleted User wrote: »

why is your partner's income zero ? Can't he get a job or at least claim some kind of unemployment benefit. Sorry but £300 per month on entertainment is taking the p***

Hi! My OH's income doesn't relate to my outgoings/debts - we manage our finances separately.

I know £300 is ridiculous - to be honest it could even be more than this - I have been in total denial about my spending so it has been a real eye-opener for me to add it up and put it in black and white. Very embarrassing and I'm really upset with myself.