SOA advice - thank you

fieldend

Hi everyone, here's my SOA draft. Please help with suggestions mostly on the daily/discretionary expenses part - anything that's not a regular bill. Those are estimates as I'm trying hard to come up with a future budget and stick to it. Many many thanks.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2508
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 89.7 (child benefit)
Other income............................ 500 (work bonuses and child support; year-end bonus NOT incl)
Total monthly income.................... 3097.7

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1025 (this will change as fixed rate ends July)
Management charge (incl bldg insurance).. 71.15 (this will be £65 from April)
Council tax............................. 98.9 (12-month DD; single occupancy discount)
Electricity............................. 25 (DD - just switched suppliers; accts in credit)
Gas..................................... 40 (DD - same as electricity)
Water rates............................. 30 (DD; account in credit)
Telephone & Internet ................... 29.4 (this is phone, line rental, Internet)
Mobile phone............................ 28 (can get this to £25 w lower data usage)
TV Licence.............................. 12.13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 5.99 (Netflix)
Groceries etc. ......................... 250 (currently shopping ASDA online)
Clothing................................ 50
Other travel............................ 145 (Oyster card and top ups)
Childcare/nursery....................... 245 (monthly avg over 12 mths; childcare vouchers)
Other child related expenses............ 95 (school lunches & after school clubs)
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15
Contents insurance...................... 10.19
Mortgage insurance....................... 35.42 (mortgage unemployment insurance)
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 50 (this is haircuts and cosmetics)
Entertainment........................... 100 (fun and eating out)
Holiday................................. 0 (this is £0, no holidays 'til debt paid off )
Emergency fund.......................... 50 (this is PLANNED. current EF balance is £0)
Work lunches............................ 100
Child savings........................... 30
Total monthly expenses.................. 2591.18


Assets
Cash.................................... 0 (didn't include savings here; only around £300)
House value (Gross)..................... 380000
Total Assets............................ 380000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 199000...(1025).....2.7(mortgage balance rounded up)
Total secured & HP debts...... 199000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit cards...................9251......500.......0 (min payments £92, £500 PLANNED)
Total unsecured debts..........9251......500.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,097.7
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,591.18
Available for debt repayments........... 506.52
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 500
Amount left after debt repayments....... 6.52

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 380,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -199,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -9,251
Net Assets.............................. 171,749

Created using the SOA calculator
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

HappyMJ

Does Thames Water give discounts for direct debit? My supplier does not so I pay when the bill comes in.

You're right on the edge with £6.52 left over each month and a very well thought out SOA. Be careful. You can of course pay the minimum on your credit card payments and you would have left over money but it's a good SOA.

fieldend

No they don't but I prefer to pay each month the same amount so that my bills are spread out evenly over the year - I do this for all council tax, service charge, water, electricity, and gas.

HappyMJ

fieldend wrote: »

No they don't but I prefer to pay each month the same amount so that my bills are spread out evenly over the year - I do this for all council tax, service charge, water, electricity, and gas.

You could pay by standing order instead which will give you control over the amount you pay.

DawnW

Hi, one thing that stands out for me is 'lunches' for you and your child. Could you not make packed lunches for both of you and save much of this money?

You could also cut down on cosmetics and haircuts - and do you spend £50 on clothes every month?

I am assuming your buildings insurance is covered by the management charge?

fieldend

What would be the advantage of the SO for water? Thames Water didn't change the DD amount, even though I'm a bit in credit. I supposed I could call them up to reevaluate, altough two years ago I ended up going from £20 to £30, I was not paying enough monthly.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

fieldend wrote: »

Hi everyone, here's my SOA draft. Please help with suggestions mostly on the daily/discretionary expenses part - anything that's not a regular bill. Those are estimates as I'm trying hard to come up with a future budget and stick to it. Many many thanks.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2508
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 89.7 (child benefit)
Other income............................ 500 (fixed bonuses from work and child maintenance)
Total monthly income.................... 3097.7

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1025 (this will change as fixed rate ends July)
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 71.15 (this will be £65 from April)
Council tax............................. 98.9 (12 month DD)
Electricity............................. 25 (direct debit; just switched suppliers for both gas & electric, accounts in credit)
Gas..................................... 40 (direct debit)
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 30 (direct debit; account in credit)
Telephone (land line)................... 29.4 (this is phone, line rental, Internet) This can be reduced. I have phone & Net with Plusnet, my bill is £15 a month (evening and weekend calls and unlimited BB)
Mobile phone............................ 28 (I can get this down to 25 if I lower data usage) Unless in a contract, get a pay as you go sim. These can be as little as £10 a month with decent data & phone packages
TV Licence.............................. 12.13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 5.99 (Netflix)
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 250 (currently shopping ASDA online) This can be massively reduced. I spend £200 a month for 3 people, a dog and 2 rabbits use a supermarket comparison to make sure you are getting the best deals and use vouchers.
Clothing................................ 50 This is high. Do you REALLY spend £50 a month on clothes?
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 145 (Oyster card and top ups)
Childcare/nursery....................... 245 (this is a monthly average over 12 months; using childcare vouchers for before and afterschool)
Other child related expenses............ 95 (school lunches and after school clubs) Do you qualify for free school dinners?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10.19 Does this include buildings insurance? You should have both if you own your house
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 35.42 (mortgage unemployment insurance)
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 50 (this is haircuts and cosmetics) Not necessary every month - also try a barber school. People training are level 2 qualified, that's the same as people in the salon cutting your hair.
Entertainment........................... 100 (fun and eating out)This can be cut down.
Holiday................................. 0 (this is £0 at the moment, no holidaying until debt is paid off )
Emergency fund.......................... 50 (this is PLANNED. current EF balance is £0)
Work lunches............................ 100 Take sandwiches?
Child savings........................... 30 There's no point putting into a child saving account, or a savings account for yourself when the debt interest is higher than the savings interest. Remove the debt first
Total monthly expenses.................. 2591.18


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 380000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 380000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 199000...(1020).....2.7 (mortgage balance is estimate, prob just under 199K)
Total secured & HP debts...... 199000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit cards...................9251......500.......0 (minimum payments are £92, this £500 is PLANNED)
Total unsecured debts..........9251......500.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,097.7
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,591.18
Available for debt repayments........... 506.52
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 500
Amount left after debt repayments....... 6.52

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 380,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -199,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -9,251
Net Assets.............................. 171,749

Created using the SOA calculator
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Firstly you have a lot of accounts in credit. Ask for these to be refunded. pay off the debts with this

rest of my comments are in red

HappyMJ

The advantage is you can use the money to put towards your credit cards instead and save interest.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

There is very little point in you saving money when you have debts. The debts will be on a higher interest than any savings interest. Clear the debts first before starting to save. Your actually losing money by saving

fieldend

DawnW wrote: »

Hi, one thing that stands out for me is 'lunches' for you and your child. Could you not make packed lunches for both of you and save much of this money?

You could also cut down on cosmetics and haircuts - and do you spend £50 on clothes every month?

I am assuming your buildings insurance is covered by the management charge?

Yes building insurance is covered by service charge.

Thank you, I agree on my lunches, cosmetics and haircuts and clothes. I think real spend is more than that sadly.... this is how I accumulated debt. Those figures are my attempt at budgeting these things going forward.

On my child's lunches they're £11 per week and I cannot possibly convince myself to drop that. We leave house 7:30am and get back 6:45pm during weekdays. My time in the evenings is so limited, I think it's a small price to pay to free up some time for myself, and my DD gets a cooked meal at lunchtime, rather than sandwiches or cold food.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel wrote: »

There is very little point in you saving money when you have debts. The debts will be on a higher interest than any savings interest. Clear the debts first before starting to save. Your actually losing money by saving

All my credit card debt is at 0% until 2017.

ASingleParent

Shouldn't you be getting some Tax Credits?