Updated SOA - Can anyone help to reduce my outgoings?

myteeduck

Hi,

Can someone please take a look and see where I may be able to reduce my outgoings?

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1088
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1088

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 234
Rent.................................... 370
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 60
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 17.66
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 7.5
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 33.63
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 80
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 5.99
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 950.9


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 17000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 17000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 16632....(234)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 16632.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Santander......................891.85....10....... .0
Total unsecured debts..........891.85....10........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,088
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 950.9
Available for debt repayments........... 137.1
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 10
Amount left after debt repayments....... 127.1

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 17,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -16,632
Total Unsecured debt.................... -891.85
Net Assets.............................. -523.85

andyfromotley

Hi,

your SOA is pretty skinny.

You pay for Satellite tv. How much do you watch it? That is a potential saving.
Some councils let you spread your council tax over 12 months instead of 10.
You don't appear to be saving enough to maintain a car.
You need to put some money aside for the dentist and prescriptions.
You must establish a small emergency fund, otherwise the smallest emergency will push you into more debt. Aim for £500-1000?

You have a car which is worth more than your annual salary? This is crazy!
i assume your loan relates to the car? If so you are spending about 30% of your income on your car, whilst living precariously close to the breadline.

If i have summarised correctly then you need to get rid of the car.

myteeduck

Hi

Thank you for your reply andyfrommotley.

The car is an issue but I have looked at it countless numbers of times and unfortunately its something I can't get rid off.

I was in severe negative equity with the car I had previously, so I am paying my car now, plus the previous car. The mistake was the previous car. However I am in a deal whereby I don't pay car tax (its exempt), it has free servicing. I pay £10 a month to the MOT pot which will be enough to clear it in June/July when it is due and it is a very reliable car, so I a stuck for an additional 2 years before I can do anything about the car as i will probably have to give it back as I will still owe £10K on it.

The car was the very first thing I looked at. The only thing I have to deal with is insurance and I usually find a way around this as its pretty low.

I don't watch satellite, I use the a lot of internet however and only have a virgin phone line not a BT one, so packaging for internet will involve me putting on in. I can't do anything about this until May (not long left at least).

My council tax is over 12 months and is single person discounted. I'm lucky that when it was just renewed it only went up by £1.

ReadingTim

If you can't decrease what's going out, you need to increase what's coming in - a better paying job, or 2nd job for example.

Pixie5740

myteeduck wrote: »

I was in severe negative equity with the car I had previously, so I am paying my car now, plus the previous car. The mistake was the previous car. However I am in a deal whereby I don't pay car tax (its exempt), it has free servicing. I pay £10 a month to the MOT pot which will be enough to clear it in June/July when it is due and it is a very reliable car, so I a stuck for an additional 2 years before I can do anything about the car as i will probably have to give it back as I will still owe £10K on it.

The car was the very first thing I looked at. The only thing I have to deal with is insurance and I usually find a way around this as its pretty low.

If I understand this correctly, you had another car with finance on it which ended up in negative equity? I'm not surprised since cars are depreciating assets so taking out finance to pay for a depreciating assets is silly to say the least.

What difference did it make if the previous car was in negative equity anyway? Was it still usable? If so, there was absolutely no need for you to get another car, another depreciating asset on more finance. You're a car salesman's (or woman's) dream.

You've really rooked yourself with these cars but if you won't get rid of the car then you'll need to increase your income somehow as there's not much to trim from anywhere else.

Do you actually find that you have £127 left at the end of the month? If not then your SOA is not accurate and you should keep a spending diary to see where that £127 goes.

Tixy

Agree with others I don't think there are any other reductions you can make if you exclude the car and the TV/broadband.

Do you have the surplus of £127 a month? what are you doing with that? is it also going to the unsecured debt? or are you building up an emergency fund with it?

myteeduck

Hi

I have the majority of the £127 a month and it goes on to the credit card or covers birthdays etc.

I have no choice with the car, I tried exactly 1 year ago to get rid of the car, but everywhere I went said the same, that it would cost me £200+ per month, even for an lesser, older car. It is because I went mad a few years back and traded my perfectly good mini for a convertible mini, but I hated it sooooo much that once 2 years was up, I tried to get rid of it. The car I have now I love, but I could have kept my first mini and been better off, so I am paying for past mistakes. I just don't want to make anymore.

As for the career, I am retraining and trying to get a better paid job, but the industry I want to work in, I can't because I have no experience, but that may be about to change once I have passed the course that I am taking, which I should do in 6 months or so.

Thanks

Tixy

myteeduck wrote: »

I have no choice with the car, I tried exactly 1 year ago to get rid of the car, but everywhere I went said the same, that it would cost me £200+ per month, even for an lesser, older car.

Are you in negative equity with the current car? According to your SoA you are not. So can you hand back this car at the current time and owe nothing on it?

No reason an alternative car needs to cost you £200 a month.

japmis

Just by the by, in my "reckless" 20s, I got a £5k loan for a Peugeot 307 that had low mileage (I still have it!). I paid it off over 3 years at £162 a month. Could you do something like that? You could definitely pick up a good runner for less than £3k, second hand cars are very affordable.

I just can't get my head around having a car worth £17k on your salary, regardless of how much you love it.

myteeduck

Hi

I don't think I am correct with the value of my car, I put what the price was when I bought it a year ago and I think I was in negative equity then, so I will be now, that's why I can't give the car back.

I won't be in a better position until at least the 3 years has lapsed. The last year has flown so I think I will be ok for the next 2 and it will be here before I know it.

Pixie5740

And at the end of the 3 years will you trade your current car in for yet another car? There was nothing wrong with the Mini Convertible other than you not liking it, you didn't have to trade it in. If a balloon payment was due you could just have handed it back and got an old car for under £1k.

See what Mr Money Mustache has to say about buying cars on finance.

Do you live on your own? Would you consider moving into a house share to reduce your rent and utility bills?