New SOA - Please pick it apart ...

k9lover_2

Hey everyone - have registered a new account for a fresh start as been several years since got to grips with my finances properly. Please could I have your input on the below?

Looking at it now I've done it makes me realised what a different place my life is in financially and emotionally to a few years back and how blessed I am to have more coming in than going out now and to be able to afford to save for our family holidays (1 week in Oct and 1 long weekend in April) which was nothing more than a pipe dream back then. Any ways ... here it is .....

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
Total monthly income.................... 2475

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 377
Rental Property Mortgage.............. 373
Council tax............................. 18
Electricity & Gas .......................73 (was £81)
Water rates............................. 53
Mobile phone x 3 (1 each) ......... 35
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV - tied in with Sky until Nov 15........ 40 (was 50+)
Groceries etc. ......................... 350
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 14
Car Insurance........................... 9 (80% put through business expenses)
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Children's Sports/Music Clubs ............ 90
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 30
Buildings & Contents insurance..................... 10
Life insurance ......................... 15
Presents (birthday, Christmas etc)...... 60
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 117
Total monthly expenses.................. 2126


Assets
House value (Gross)..................... 230000
Car(s).................................. 600

Total Assets............................ 230600


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 113227...(377)......3.99<
Mortgage1 (Rental Property)......................90066....(373)......4 (estimated tbc)
Total secured & HP debts...... 203293....-.........-

Unsecured Debts - estimated interest will confirm
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Overdraft......................2000......30........27.9
Credit Card....................276.36......60........34.9
Total unsecured debts..........3500......90........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,475
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,126
Available for debt repayments........... 349
Monthly Unsecured debt repayments....... 90
Amount left after debt repayments....... 259

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 230,600
Total HP & Secured debt................. -203,293
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,500
Net Assets.............................. 23,807

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi and welcome

The SOA looks short - have you removed some entries (maybe if you had a £0 in them)?

There are some obvious things missing which you really must have a figure in for eg Emergency Fund!

This makes it really hard for people to see if you've missed something so it would be helpful if you could put them back in


What is the situation re having 2 properties?

If one is a rental - does it not pay for itself? If not, what is the plan with this?

Couple of thoughts on the rest:

• Emergency Fund - missing & must have something being set aside to cover things breaking down etc to avoid more debt
• Presents - too high: cut to £40
• Water rates - looks high. Do you have a meter? Does this have arrears in etc?
• Groceries - should be able to get this down a fair bit. Aim for £250. Look at the Grocery challenge on the Old Style Board. If you have FB there's a fab page on 'feed your family for £20 / week' with some great tips and easy recipes
• Clothes - far too high (sorry). Not sure where you buy now but most big supermarkets have decent stuff now & there's the likes of Primark etc. Cut by at least 50%.
• Car insurance - really high. Have you shopped around?
• Entertainment - too high. Cut but at least 50%. If you can't get out your Sky contract then that will need to be your entertainment - other option is to cut the kids activities!
• Holiday - cut by 50%.

You don't have huge amounts of debt so if you make the cuts above it should be fairly easy to get this cleared pretty quickly - then you can start saving for a lovely holiday. It shouldn't be the priority when you have debts

Good luck

Kittycat1981

Council tax - is it really £18 per month?

ellesbellesxxx

k9lover wrote: »

Hey everyone - have registered a new account for a fresh start as been several years since got to grips with my finances properly. Please could I have your input on the below?



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
Total monthly income.................... 2475

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 377
Rental Property Mortgage.............. 373
Council tax............................. 18
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 41
Water rates............................. 53
Mobile phone x 3 (1 each) ......... 35 How long are you tied into these?
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV - tied in with Sky until Nov 15........ 50
Groceries etc. ......................... 350 cut down to 250 to start
Clothing................................ 100 this can be cut
Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 14
Car Insurance........................... 50 use comparison sites to cut
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Children's Sports/Music Clubs ............ 90
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 30 have you shopped around?
Buildings & Contents insurance..................... 10
Life insurance ......................... 15
Presents (birthday, Christmas etc)...... 60 can this be cut?
Haircuts................................ 20 240 on haircuts a year? Can you go longer in between?
Entertainment........................... 100 cut back
Holiday................................. 117
Total monthly expenses.................. 2126


Assets
House value (Gross)..................... 230000
Car(s).................................. 600

Total Assets............................ 230600


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 113227...(377)......3.99<
Mortgage1 (Rental Property)......................90066....(373)......4 (estimated tbc)[
Monthly Budget Summary[/b]
Total monthly income.................... 2,475
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,126
Available for debt repayments........... 349
Monthly Unsecur
Amount left after debt repayments....... 259[/b]

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 230,600
Total HP & Secured debt................. -203,293
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,500
Net Assets.............................. 23,807

Just a thought but can you get a 0% cc balance transfer? This means you could concentrate on clearing the overdraft whilst paying min payments on cc then you don't have to pay as much in interest.
I may have looked harsh with my suggestions for cut backs but a few quiet months would surely be ok if you can pay off these debts?

k9lover_2

Thank you for your replies and positivity - very much appreciated. I've pencilled out "Wonga Wednesday" for an hour every Wed morning to go through everything weekly and see where I am so on my first "Wonga Wednesday" I'll make sure that all the figures are accurate and see what I can cut back on

You've def highlighted areas I need to examin And yes all the areas that were £0 I have deleted ... sorry :-/

Clothing, Entertainment all estimates (started money diary today to get more accurate picture!) I think clothing is way over estimated and I do go charity shop shopping but thought it better to over estimate for the initial SOA and work on more accurate figures as I go along.

Car Insurance is not accurate either as it's business insurance and a business vehicle but I used it for personal use too so need to calculate the percentage that's personal.

Mobile Phones - think we're in until June 2016 but thought that was quite good for the 3 of us?

Pet Insurance - this is for 2 dogs and haven't shopped round for a while so will do on WW

Haircuts - again this was an estimate ... but we went today and it was £53.50 for the 3 of us ... if we did that 6 times a year it would work out as £26 ish/month :-/

Presents - £60/month = £720/annum = £150/child for each birthday and Christmas = £120 left for everyone else including OH, parents etc ... kids too spoilt????!!

Holiday - didn't holiday for years and years so this is the one luxury I'm reluctant to cut back on. It's only to a caravan in this country with both dogs and the kids and self catering but with days out. I work hard and am self employed which often takes me away at weekends so value this time immensely - may be I've over estimated for purpose of the SOA ... will revist on WW.

Water rates - no don't have a metre but 3 people in a 2 bed so thought it would be better not to have one?

Thanks again

ellesbellesxxx

When it comes to switching mobile phones, have a look at giffgaff, really good deals!!

rising_from_the_ashes

k9lover wrote: »

Clothing, Entertainment all estimates (started money diary today to get more accurate picture!) I think clothing is way over estimated and I do go charity shop shopping but thought it better to over estimate for the initial SOA and work on more accurate figures as I go along. Revisit this again in a couple of months to get a more accurate figure

Car Insurance is not accurate either as it's business insurance and a business vehicle but I used it for personal use too so need to calculate the percentage that's personal. Ensure anything business related is claimed

Mobile Phones - think we're in until June 2016 but thought that was quite good for the 3 of us? Agree - personally I don't feel that's excessive for 3!

Pet Insurance - this is for 2 dogs and haven't shopped round for a while so will do on WW Again £30 for 2 dogs is actually pretty good and much less then many pay for 1! By all means look around - but stick with lifetime cover & remember any conditions that you've been to the vet for (whether claimed or not) would be excluded by a new insurer. Other ways to reduce pet costs are to bulk buy online (you can really make huge savings doing this!) from food to flea/worming treatments etc

Haircuts - again this was an estimate ... but we went today and it was £53.50 for the 3 of us ... if we did that 6 times a year it would work out as £26 ish/month :-/ Seems a bit high - could you maybe get wet cuts (if currently having cut & blowdry) etc. Also will depend where you live

Presents - £60/month = £720/annum = £150/child for each birthday and Christmas = £120 left for everyone else including OH, parents etc ... kids too spoilt????!! Personally I feel kids get way too much spend on them these days - £300 :eek: (and I know that's small compared to some) sorry but £50 for birthday & Christmas is still enough to buy decent presents!

Holiday - didn't holiday for years and years so this is the one luxury I'm reluctant to cut back on. It's only to a caravan in this country with both dogs and the kids and self catering but with days out. I work hard and am self employed which often takes me away at weekends so value this time immensely - may be I've over estimated for purpose of the SOA ... will revist on WW. Are the kids school age or not? If not, try going just before / after the hols. I know one of my friends is having a week in a hotel & a week later on in a caravan .... guess which is more expensive!:eek:

Water rates - no don't have a metre but 3 people in a 2 bed so thought it would be better not to have one?

Might be worth looking into - there are many easy ways to reduce consumption

Really like your 'wonga wednesday' idea - might just pinch that if you don't mind!!

Bublin1

My 2 pennies worth on the subject of how much we spend on kids birthdays.....
My guess is the £150 has to cover presents AND a birthday party/day out.
Lots of people see a high category figure for 'birthdays' and presume its just for presents alone.

japmis

k9lover wrote: »

Pet Insurance - this is for 2 dogs and haven't shopped round for a while so will do on WW

I really like www.animalfriends.org.uk for my cat insurance, very good value for money

PS Sometimes going abroad can be cheaper than the UK e.g. all inclusive for Greece/Spain....just a thought x

k9lover_2

You guys are fab

"Wonga Wednesday" ... yes please feel free to pinch the idea. I think I might start a thread every Wednesday called just that so that I have to keep myself accountable and will be good to hear what others are doing on their "Wonga Wednesday" :j

Birthday budget - yes that £150 per child per birthday does include pressie and party/birthday treat.

Holidays - DD's are (nearly)12 and 13 so holidays have to be in term time ... usually do a bank hol w/end and a half term week to work round the business.

Business Expenses - I've been self employed for nearly 5 years and it's only this last year that I'm really managing to separate the two!! Determined to get this under control! Am going Ltd from beginning of next tax year and will start to pay myself a salary which will simplify things.

Emergency Fund - is it better to pay the money off the credit card and then off the overdraft and leave a a credit limit available on them so in emergency I could use them again if I needed to but am saving on paying interest?

Credit Card 0% BT - credit history not superb as missed a couple of mortgage payments ... no CCJ's but got turned down for a loan last time I tried and have had bank charges for going over over draft.

Rental Property - This does pay for itself and should have a completely separate set of accounts and shouldn't even be included in this SOA! Doh!

Mobile Phone - thanks ellesbelles ... will check giffgaff out as need new work mob contract.

So my first Wonga Wednesday to do list tomorrow will be:
- get accurate car insurance figure
- shop around for pet insurance (check cashback sites)
- get accurate interest rate and tie in info for credit cards and mortgages
- go through DD's and SO's on bank account and cancel any not used
- put 2 things on ebay/fb selling pages
- ring NPower with metre readings