Going bankrupt. Need advise on budgeting

Man_chester

Hi All,

I am around 21K in debt. I'm robbing Peter to pay Paul, and have been advised to declare bankrupt

I work full time and live in Manchester on my own

Here are my outgoings

Rent - 675
Council tax - 73
Electric - 77 - 99
Water - 30 - 40
Prescription -24
Meals at work - 50
haircut - 10
Mobile - 50 - 55
Sky (internet) - 20
Tv Licence - 13
Public Transport - 80
Dry Cleaning - 30
Pets - 30

675 + 73 + 77 + 30 + 24 + 50 +10 + 50 + 20 + 13 + 80 +30 + 30 = 1162

Personal - 210 (food, toiletries etc)
Clothes - 30
Dentist - 12
Hobbies - 20
Sundries - 20
Magazines - 20

210 + 30 + 12 + 20 + 20 +20 = 312

1162 + 312 = 1474

Which leaves £6

Can someone advise me if the figures look too high, and will they laugh at me? I'm a nervous wreck. I feel I should have nothing because I'm doing this, but I need to get my life back, and these are my living expenses

I would appreciate advise, if I'm putting too much somewhere or too little somewhere else. I would like someone has gone through it

Thanks,

tigerfeet2006

Do not use x to x figures you need to put an accurate figure in.

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php is great because it adds it up.

You wont be allowed hobbies/entertainment or magazines or sundries.

Add an Emergency fund £10 and Holidays £25

Banquo21

I don't know if these replies are being sarcastic or not. You could add £20 to your Household Expenses, Clothes could be upped to £60. Lose the Dry Cleaning, magazines and possibly the meals at work. Pets is fine, OR's don't expect you to get rid of your pets. TV License is a legal requirement so put that in even if you don't have one.

Fill in a proper SOA using the link provided and stick it back up. Do a Google search for House Hold Expenditure guide for the Office of National Statistics. The latest one is from Feb 15.

*edit* Unhelpful posts removed 😊

betterdaysahead

It all depends on the OR as to what they deem to be acceptable. There is nothing to say that hobbies won't be allowed, maybe drop it to £10 though. Contents insurance? £10 a month. Do you wear glasses/contact lenses? £10 a month minimum if you do. Remove magazines but do you need books to keep on top of things regarding your profession? £5 per month.

philnicandevan

Banquo21 wrote: »

Do a Google search for House Hold Expenditure guide for the Office of National Statistics. The latest one is from Feb 15.

*edit* Unhelpful posts removed 😊

but please use as a GUIDE only.. a few people suggested here straight copied the figures from insolvency service and ended up in a whole heap of trouble..
best course of action OP is put down with link suggested what you pay now and then it can be tweaked.....

Banquo21

philnicandevan wrote: »

but please use as a GUIDE only.. a few people suggested here straight copied the figures from insolvency service and ended up in a whole heap of trouble..
best course of action OP is put down with link suggested what you pay now and then it can be tweaked.....

I was presuming the OP had a bit of common sense as not to copy it script and chapter. But you are right to point this out!

Man_chester

Hi All,

Thank you for the information, and not seeing me as a fool. I have spoke to a debt manager and he talked it through last night. Everything came up to £1570 and my take home is £1480. I did ask will they laugh at me. I would hate to be put on the spot as suffer with anxiety as it is. He said it all look reasonable and the OR should accept it. They might try and bring it down about a hundred and it will be £50 or so I will need to pay back. He said it on an individual basis. Did I hear right, whilst you are bankrupt, and you don't have to pay anything aback in the first year and then the bankruptcy get lifted, I will never have to pay anything else back in that 3 year, even if I move to somewhere cheaper and the fist year has ended and the bankruptcy has lifted?

tigerfeet2006

I hope you didn't pay for that service?


As your SoA stands you will not get an IPA as you have no surplus. If the OR identifies a surplus before the end of your BR then you will get an IPA which will last for 36 payments. If you are discharged without an IPA in place then you will never get one and that is it end of BR.


You need to get your budget under control. You cannot survive if you are spending more than you have coming in. How will you pay the bills if you don't have enough to pay them with. So first look at the SoA you have and work out how you are going to pay for it.


What did the person you spoke to suggest for your SoA?

National_Debtline

Hi Man_chester


There's nothing on the expenditure list above that strikes me as out-and-out excessive. That's not to say that the Official Receiver won't expect some reductions here and there, but I would expect it to be nips and tucks rather than swingeing cuts.


When giving an electricity figure, try to estimate an average based on the whole year i.e. taking into account your winter usage as well as summer.


Also, your prescriptions figure of £24 suggests that you are paying three charges each month. Could you save a few £ by ordering a prepayment certificate?


https://www.gov.uk/get-a-ppc


Dennis
@natdebtline

Man_chester

He did say I need to get m budget in control. I did advise him that the rent is extremely high for one. He did advise that for me to stay there for a year as if I did move somewhere cheaper that I will have o pay IPA. He was the one that did advise to go for bankrupt, as I had contacted the creditors and they just laughed in my face, so I have nothing to lose, no asset etc. I think after paying my rent, and bills etc, I will be able to control the amount I have each month as my take home is the same every month so I will be able to budget and live a 'normal' life. At the moment i'm robbing Peter to pay Paul just to keep one creditor quiet for a month . My fiances was in such a mess for a long time, I did not know what was coming in and out and buried my head, but seeing all the living expenses ( minus the loan and creditors) I could see what I had coming in and what I needed to pay out. So by seeing that I can focus on moving forward with out debt. I have given it a lot of thoguhts, and some friends telling me not to do it as well as family. but like I look at it, I am not living at the moment.

HappyMJ

National_Debtline wrote: »

Also, your prescriptions figure of £24 suggests that you are paying three charges each month. Could you save a few £ by ordering a prepayment certificate?


https://www.gov.uk/get-a-ppc

It is in the OR manual to reduce the figure for prescriptions down to £10.40 per month for a prepayment certificate. Plus any dental and optical as required.