Help with SOA

Scared1980

Hi Guys...

HAven't been on for a while... am now mangaing my debts reasonably well... apart from the natwest one.... next court date is OCt 10th!!!

I have just redone my SOA and wondered if anyone can see any areas that I could improve on.... I am in credit at the end of the month (just...) but would love to be able to get some extra for paying things off quicker.... any help really appreciated...

Incoming - Monthly
Child Benefit £118.70
Tax Credit £51
LB Wages £1,210
RH Wages £1,100

Total £2,479.70

RH Phone £35.00 – Cancelling next month as contract ends and he now has company phone!!!
LB Phone £35.00 – Still in contract for 10 months!!!!
Gas £9.00
Electric £35.00
RH Life Insurance £13.67
LB Life Insurance £10.10
Water Board £18.00
Sky TV £15.00 – Most basic package…. Can’t get freeview in my area
Mortgage £680.00 – Just gone up… Interest only
Council Tax £137.89
Home Phone £25.45 – This includes Broadband…. Can’t ditch this until March 08
First National Secured Loan £291.90 – Secured Loan
TV License £11.37
Car Insurance £28.63
B&C Insurance £22.00

Food Shopping £200.00 – Family of four… 2 adults two children (4 and 10 months)
LB Petrol £120.00 – Trying to cut this down… but I don’t go far really!
Car Tax £15.00
Car Service and MOT £20.00
Tyres W&T £25.00
Childcare £600.00
Clothing £15.00
Other £30.00 – This includes school trips/activities, and other kids bits


Total £2,393.01

Thanks in advance

Lyns
x

floss2

Scared1980 wrote: »

Hi Guys...

HAven't been on for a while... am now mangaing my debts reasonably well... apart from the natwest one.... next court date is OCt 10th!!!

I have just redone my SOA and wondered if anyone can see any areas that I could improve on.... I am in credit at the end of the month (just...) but would love to be able to get some extra for paying things off quicker.... any help really appreciated...

Incoming - Monthly
Child Benefit £118.70
Tax Credit £51
LB Wages £1,210
RH Wages £1,100

Total £2,479.70

RH Phone £35.00 – Cancelling next month as contract ends and he now has company phone!!!
LB Phone £35.00 – Still in contract for 10 months!!!! Can you reduce the tariff?
Gas £9.00
Electric £35.00 Are you on the best supplier?
RH Life Insurance £13.67
LB Life Insurance £10.10
Water Board £18.00 Is this on a meter?
Sky TV £15.00 – Most basic package…. Can’t get freeview in my area
Mortgage £680.00 – Just gone up… Interest only
Council Tax £137.89 Can you pay over 12m instead of 10?
Home Phone £25.45 – This includes Broadband…. Can’t ditch this until March 08
First National Secured Loan £291.90 – Secured Loan
TV License £11.37
Car Insurance £28.63
B&C Insurance £22.00

Food Shopping £200.00 – Family of four… 2 adults two children (4 and 10 months) Take a look on the Old Style board for help with this
LB Petrol £120.00 – Trying to cut this down… but I don’t go far really!
Car Tax £15.00
Car Service and MOT £20.00
Tyres W&T £25.00
Childcare £600.00 Can you get any tax credit help with this? Childcare vouchers through employers?
Clothing £15.00
Other £30.00 – This includes school trips/activities, and other kids bits


Total £2,393.01

Thanks in advance

Lyns
x

I've just had a quick look....I'm sure others may see other things! :wave:

Scared1980

Thanks for the reply....

I will call 02 and see if I can reduce the tarriff, I really only use the phone for texting... and emergency calls... so I am sure there is a cheaper tarriff out there!!

I have checked my gas/elec supplier and they are actually really reasonable... can't find a cheaper one anywhere....

My water is not on a meter.. it is a standard monthly payment.

I had no idea you could opt to pay council tax over 12 months... will call the council and enquire!!! - thanks :0)

I am starting to look at the old style board... and am setting myself a challenge for October!!!

I need to call Tax credits as my childcare has just gone up... so fingers crossed I may get a couple of quid extra from then...

Thanks for all your suggestions... I think I may start thinking of meal plans for October....

Lyns
x

Shineyhappy

I cant think of any other suggestions on cutting things back, except that when you get insurances/utilities make sure you investigate whats available on Quidco and maybe you will save some cash.

Have you looked on the discounts boards? These will often have tips about using vouchers to reduce the cost of shopping and usually as long as you shop in Tescos or Asdas then they will accept some of them.

I noticed that there wasnt a budget for gifts/presents and with 2 kids I think that you will need some money for this. Are you a memeber of Pigsback and online survey sites? These are a good way (for me anyway) of saving for Christmas. There is a thread on here about cheap presents and plenty of ideas on the occasions board too.

If you want to get the debts down quicker, have you thought about Ebaying/car booting etc? There are some threads like the Olympic Challenge threads on here that give plenty of ideas on raising some extra cash.

Best of luck and keep checking on here as there are always new ideas/tips/freebies to be had!