My SOA - all advice appreciated

sharon2510

After several encouraging replies to my first posting here is my SOA.

Incomings (monthly) -

Maternity pay - £451 (usual wage is £950)
Husband's pay - £1100
Child benefit £120
Tax credits £78

Total = £1749

Outgoings (monthly) -

Council Tax £126
Mobiles £19.99
House Ins £15.24
Bank ac. Fee £15
Rent £450.00
Electricity £61.00
T.V Licence £11.41
Barclay Loan £300.24
Child Trust Fund £5
B.T (phone and internet) £44
Sickness Ins £30.32
Abbey credit card £10 (min amount)
Turkey apartment £110
Barclaycard £20.00
Car Ins £17.67
Food/nappies/toiletries £300
Petrol £150
Coal / wood £30
Childcare £40
Hairdressers £20

Total £1775.87

Debts -

Barclaycard - £506
Abbey credit card - 1947
Barclayloan - £23,000
Overdraft - £1000

Total - £26,453

By these calculations, we are still £27 in credit at the end of the month. However, I actually tend to spend more on food than I budget for. Furthermore, we live 20 miles away from the nearest town where we both work. The nearest village is also 4 miles away and we have to make frequent trips to take my son to pre-school, so petrol costs are very high (although I am not travelling to work at the moment).

Up until now we have been running two cars, but as my husband is about to lose his licence, this will soon only be one. MOT's and vehicle maintenance have previously cost us a small fortune. I am aware that I have also not budgeted for misceallaneous costs such as days out with the kids / cinema / newspapers / birthdays / clothes. Obviously we can really cut back in these areas but I am sure there will be some further expenditure here.

Looking at these figures it is clear that we have been overspending but I could not pin down on what!

The Turkey apartment was an investment that I now cannot sell and cannot afford to use! i have tried to rent it out to no avail.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

immoral_angeluk

Bank account fee £15
switch to a non fee charging account and you've instantly saved yourself £15...
The turkey apartment is another one you need to look at... check out the house buying board for help with that...
Also have a go at keeping a spending diary to see where all those extra pennies go..

moz86

Your phone and internet look very high. I have virgin. for £30 a month incl line rental, I get 85 tv channels, free calls all day and unlimited broadband.

twinklie

I agree the internet package and phone we have with BT is at least £10 cheaper than you are currently paying. As for the coal/wood, is that your only heating? Or is there anyway you could cut back on that too.

I recommend a spending diary too, it's scary how much we waste without realising it!

Lavendyr

sharon2510 wrote: »

Council Tax £126
Mobiles £19.99 cut this down, do you have PAYG? if not, get out of contracts ASAP and switch to PAYG
House Ins £15.24
Bank ac. Fee £15 get rid of this and go to a free bank account as well, check out Martin's articles to find one that suits you best
Rent £450.00
Electricity £61.00 this is very high, I assume you have electric heating? try and figure out where you can cut down, turn off appliances at the wall when not using, etc
T.V Licence £11.41
Barclay Loan £300.24
Child Trust Fund £5 I hate to say it but it may be worth just stopping this for now until you are back on your feet, £5 towards your debt may be worth more than it is earning for your children right now
B.T (phone and internet) £44 this is extremely high for a monthly bill, look into switching providers and/or getting a bundled deal
Sickness Ins £30.32 do you need this? It seems very high in any case, have you got any quotes from other providers?
Abbey credit card £10 (min amount)
Turkey apartment £110 you must get rid of this any way you can! There must be someone out there who will take it off your hands, even if you have to settle for less than you paid - it is a huge drain on your finances and you must find a way to cut this loose
Barclaycard £20.00
Car Ins £17.67
Food/nappies/toiletries £300 even for a family this is quite high, have a look at the Moneysaving Old Style board for some budget cooking ideas, and cut the toiletries down to absolute basics as far as possible
Petrol £150 again is this necessary (e.g. for a commute) or can you cut it down by car-sharing with colleagues or each other?
Coal / wood £30
Childcare £40
Hairdressers £20 can you cut yours/partner's haircuts down to once every two or even three months and cut your children's hair yourself?

However, I actually tend to spend more on food than I budget for. you really need to look at this part of the budget then as it's obviously an area you've identified as a problem area. Meal planning and budget foods are the way forward - have a look at the board I mentioned above and good luck.

tyllwyd

Looking at your SOA, apart from saving bits here and there like cutting back on your BT bill and child trust fund (and the sickness insurance - have you double checked that it does cover your needs?), the real killer in your SOA is the £300 barclay loan. Added with your £110 turkey apartment, that means that your maternity pay is spent before it arrives, so no wonder you are struggling. Is there any way of rearranging either of those loans so that you can bring your payments down to a level that you can afford on your family income?

What is the situation when your maternity leave ends - do you intend to go back to work, and if you do, will your childcare go through the roof?

dancingfairy

Just wondering if you have considered any ways to make a bit extra spare cash ie mystery shopping,pigsback, ebay stuff you no longer need,carboot etc. I know it won't make you a fortune but it might help a little.

nicola1982_2

Incomings (monthly) -

Maternity pay - £451 (usual wage is £950)
Husband's pay - £1100
Child benefit £120
Tax credits £78

Total = £1749 - OK you earn a similar amount to my OH and I after I start maternity leave - it's manageable I promise!

Outgoings (monthly) -

Council Tax £126
Mobiles £19.99
House Ins £15.24
Bank ac. Fee £15 - Switch to a better bank - Nationwide offer a number of services other banks charge for under premium accounts, check out their flexaccount
Rent £450.00
Electricity £61.00 - Uswitch for this and see if you cn lower it, get out the economy lightbulbs etc and look at ways you can save electricity such as economy wash, switching off standby etc
T.V Licence £11.41
Barclay Loan £300.24
Child Trust Fund £5 - While you kids are young why not put something into CTF as Christmas or birthday pressies and encourage relatives to do the same?
B.T (phone and internet) £44 - Get BT basic phone package and use an alternative ISP such as AOL
Sickness Ins £30.32 - These things are a waste of money, you are better putting the amount into a rainy day savings account or repaying debt with it
Abbey credit card £10 (min amount)
Turkey apartment £110 - Keep putting this on the market, it's a luxury you can't afford and by the sounds of it you're not using anyway
Barclaycard £20.00 - Could this not be combined with your loan to get a better APR and lower repayments?
Car Ins £17.67 - Again Uswitch for better deal, I find Tesco are the best for me but every case is different
Food/nappies/toiletries £300 - Nappies etc use you child benefit, that is what it's for and it helps you to budget properly. Join every parenting club to get discounts etc. Bulk buy on 241s etc. Food - visit the OS board, try Aldi/Lidl (on the shop till you drop board there are recommendations of good food in these stores), make sure you use loyalty cards where available. Toiletries, buy your basics ranges, take advantage of offers etc.
Petrol £150 - WOW! Why so high? Visit petrolprices.com to find your cheapest. Supermarkets are often cheap and you can collect loyalty points.
Coal / wood £30 - Have you tried local suppliers etc, sometimes people want to give away skip wood etc so keep your eyes open and scour the local ads
Childcare £40 - Why do you need childcare if you're on mat leave? Can you not get relatives to help out?
Hairdressers £20 - A luxury, I spend no more than £30 a visit and I certainly don't need to go every month, every 3 months is a luxury for me!

Total £1775.87

Debts -

Barclaycard - £506
Abbey credit card - 1947
Barclayloan - £23,000
Overdraft - £1000

Total - £26,453 - Jointly or just under your name?

Hope this helps - I've done a lot of budgeting lately planning for my maternity leave so I'm used to this. It's worth mentioning that on the same income my OH and I manage rent of £525 PCM, SKY TV (our treat item), Internet, Telephone and mobile phones and CC repayments or circa £350 through sensible spending. It can be done.

dsljfreeman

sharon2510 wrote: »

After several encouraging replies to my first posting here is my SOA.

Incomings (monthly) -

Maternity pay - £451 (usual wage is £950)
Husband's pay - £1100
Child benefit £120
Tax credits £78

Total = £1749

Outgoings (monthly) -

Council Tax £126
Mobiles £19.99 Look to go payg
House Ins £15.24
Bank ac. Fee £15 Switch to non fee account
Rent £450.00
Electricity £61.00 Use quidco to see if you can get lower payments, I made £177 in past 2 days from changing life insurance and home insurance
T.V Licence £11.41
Barclay Loan £300.24
Child Trust Fund £5 Maybe stop doing this until you go back to work
B.T (phone and internet) £44
Sickness Ins £30.32 Is this absolutley a must, could you cancel for a year
Abbey credit card £10 (min amount)
Turkey apartment £110
Barclaycard £20.00
Car Ins £17.67 Quidco as above
Food/nappies/toiletries £300 Look at meal planning, saving coupons to lower payment, we are a family of 2 adults 1 child and I can spend £75 on monthly shopping
Petrol £150
Coal / wood £30
Childcare £40
Hairdressers £20 Do you have to go to the hairdressers every month

Total £1775.87

Debts -

Barclaycard - £506
Abbey credit card - 1947
Barclayloan - £23,000
Overdraft - £1000

Total - £26,453
quote]

Maybe have a look at lowering shopping bill if cutbacks can't be made elsewhere, I used to spend about £75 a week on food and still have nothing to show for it, now I can easily spend that a month on food and make it last, plus we have good home cooked food, no ready/processed meals.

lauradora

sharon2510 wrote: »

After several encouraging replies to my first posting here is my SOA.

Incomings (monthly) -

Maternity pay - £451 (usual wage is £950)
Husband's pay - £1100
Child benefit £120
Tax credits £78

Total = £1749

Outgoings (monthly) -

Council Tax £126 - wow thats a lot!! do you live in a mansion??
Mobiles £19.99- i disagree with everyone else I think you've got a good deal here, who's that with???
House Ins £15.24
Bank ac. Fee £15-i agree get it switched
Rent £450.00
Electricity £61.00-wow again thats way too high-uswitch
T.V Licence £11.41
Barclay Loan £300.24
Child Trust Fund £5
B.T (phone and internet) £44-too high I pay 11 a month for both!!
Sickness Ins £30.32
Abbey credit card £10 (min amount)
Turkey apartment £110
Barclaycard £20.00
Car Ins £17.67
Food/nappies/toiletries £300 -how many kids do you have??
Petrol £150
Coal / wood £30
Childcare £40
Hairdressers £20-not necessary, beleive me!!!

Total £1775.87

try not to worry about misc costs...worry about getting rid of them all together!!! I haven't had one since i've ben a DFW.

there are many many things you can re budget here, honestly

lunar

Hi well done for posting your soa, difficult i know but it gets better from here. Pandapaws posted a link on her cant cook thread for a online spending diary. www.spendingdiary.com which i have just been brave enough to sign up for, stopped me buying anything when i picked up my OH from work today!