need to trim , cut slash

dizzybuff

Okay due to the impending child tax credits cut I need to trim , slash , hack my budget .


Can any one help or point me in the right direction .


Only debt I really have is the mortgage and my student (spit) loan.


As my childrens maintianince is 260 it pushes up my (??) income and they demand I pay it back .


Any ideas where I can slash costs .

midnight_express

Post a S O A.

[Deleted User]

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

dizzybuff

Will do tomorrow. On my phone

dizzybuff

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 plus
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1258
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 132
Other income............................ 260
Total monthly income.................... 1650
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 608
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 80
Electricity............................. 10
Gas..................................... 50
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 12
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 15
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 70
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 12
Car Insurance........................... 40
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 150
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 26
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 32
Other insurance......................... 20
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1417

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 95000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 3000
Total Assets............................ 99500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 82000....(608)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 82000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
student loan ..................2500......72........0
Total unsecured debts..........2500......72........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,650
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,417
Available for debt repayments........... 233
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 72
Amount left after debt repayments....... 161
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 99,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -82,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -2,500
Net Assets.............................. 15,000
Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.
I havnt included my ctc or wtc as im due a new claim , my childcare is 243 more but I pay this by vouchers.

edwink

Minus your Satellite and Cable TV that would save you £70 a month. Saying that I don't see a figure for entertainment so maybe that is the only entertainment you have.

Your electric looks good but your gas use looks a bit high but maybe you cook with gas and not electric so that might explain the £50 per month.

Where do you do your biggest weekly shop. Could you change to a cheaper supermarket maybe? Just a thought.

Do you make meals from scratch if you have the time? That would save a bit if you don't do that already.

You have not allowed any money for birthdays and Christmas. What do you do for those? And haircuts, surely you all have a hair cut from time to time.

Your car insurance is quite expensive but that maybe because of your age. Could you shop around for a cheaper insurer? Maybe you have already done that.

Your monthly petrol seems quite high. Is your car juicy on fuel? If so could you not look to change it for a more economical one.

Just a few ideas for you to ponder over.

Hope that is some help.

dizzybuff

edwink wrote: »

Minus your Satellite and Cable TV that would save you £70 a month. Saying that I don't see a figure for entertainment so maybe that is the only entertainment you have. - looking at It , don't have Netflix this is an all inclusive package

Your electric looks good but your gas use looks a bit high but maybe you cook with gas and not electric so that might explain the £50 per month. - heating and cooking is gas , but tend to use my halogen or slow cooker if I can,

Where do you do your biggest weekly shop. Could you change to a cheaper supermarket maybe? Just a thought. - aldi and lidl all the way , local market for veg and meat deals. will look at reducing this . but this also includes cleaning stuff,

Do you make meals from scratch if you have the time? That would save a bit if you don't do that already.- yep most of the time, I bulk cook , im called the left over queen at work although we try to eat clean.

You have not allowed any money for birthdays and Christmas. What do you do for those? And haircuts, surely you all have a hair cut from time to time. - Ill have to look at this , I restrict presents at birthdays to 30 and Christmas is usually 150 per child ( although I shop around) hair cuts , my sons is 7 and mine and my daughters 30 .

Your car insurance is quite expensive but that maybe because of your age. Could you shop around for a cheaper insurer? Maybe you have already done that.- done this , recently sorted it , I have a claim thanks to my ex so this was the cheapest I could find.

Your monthly petrol seems quite high. Is your car juicy on fuel? If so could you not look to change it for a more economical one. been thinking about this its an 03 1.8 petrol I can usually get a week and a few days on 20 quid , only problem being is I need to take over the mortgage ( court order ) and I don't want the debt of a loan . so this will have to be looked at after a mortgage deal is sorted .

Just a few ideas for you to ponder over.

Hope that is some help.

Thanks , im a bit of an old school saver , to the extent I make my own soap as well. but ill definatly look at your suggestions.

andyfromotley

Are you working full time? If so you are earning quite a bit below the national average? If so formulate a plan to increase your income. Ask for a rise, promotion, new skills and responsibilities, change jobs? This will impact your situation more than anything else.

Your SOA is already fairly trim and won't offer to many savings.

sugarcube84

Lots of helpful suggestions. I would look at cancelling the tv package and go for freeview then the £70 can go towards an emergency fund and the other bits and bobs you have left out (haircuts etc).


I think you might have to curb the present spending, I spend less than a tenner for family birthdays, £5 for school friends. In the very lean years my ds xmas budget has been £30. Have you looked at surveys to contribute to present spending and cashback as well. Since March I have earned £254 in cashback, £50 in surveys and then there are my tesc0 and b00ts points as well. That lot will see xmas paid for.


Cleaning stuff, look on the old style board for stardrops!! It can be used for everything including washing up and washing clothes. I dilute in a spray bottle and use everywhere. Also soda crystals to add to your washing powder means you only need to use a fraction of the recommended dose and keeps your washing machine clean.


Your insurances seem quite high


£26 for building (including contents?) I've got decent cover for £12.38 and earned cashback.When was the last time you switched/did a comparison?


£32 for life cover. Mine is the basic cover needed for mortgage purposes level term for £6.08. Earned £90 cashback taking it out.


£20 other - what is this for?


Hope that helps a bit

dizzybuff

sugarcube84 wrote: »

Lo

Your insurances seem quite high


£26 for building (including contents?) I've got decent cover for £12.38 and earned cashback.When was the last time you switched/did a comparison? - Buildings and contents


£32 for life cover. Mine is the basic cover needed for mortgage purposes level term for £6.08. Earned £90 cashback taking it out. - Mine covers the children having an income as well as they have no other support .


£20 other - what is this for? - Motorbike


Hope that helps a bit

Nice to know its lean , Ill move onto star drops although i have drain cleaner etc with sodium hydroxide . :T

Your all really helping. I work full time and am currently in the public sector. i am being developed and im not at the highest scale yet so i still have a grand or so rise to go .

I just wanted to know I was on track. Im going to phone sky to see if I can get any packages. my ctc arnt going to be as bad as I thought so Ill just cut what i can and put some into a hedge fund

asparagus1968

I don't think child maintenance is taken into account as "income", you really need to check that out!