Moving out and hope I can afford it all

loey93

Not sure why some of the words I!!!8217;ve used has numbers and !!!!

loey93

Thanks Suki1964

I recognise now that my food bill is excessive. I will do everything I can to reduce this by carefully meal planning and shopping at cheaper shops.

I will definitely start putting money away for an emergency fund. It!!!8217;s strange as my mum, dad or anyone that I know personally have never done that, they have always just saved for holidays etc. But I have never known anyone to save 3
Months wages

Marvel1

loey93 wrote: »

Salary (After Tax): £1718.00

Household Bills
Rent: £400.00
Council Tax: £60.00

Live on my own and have less than your salary, you will be fine.

suki1964

loey93 wrote: »

Thanks Suki1964

I recognise now that my food bill is excessive. I will do everything I can to reduce this by carefully meal planning and shopping at cheaper shops.

I will definitely start putting money away for an emergency fund. It!!!8217;s strange as my mum, dad or anyone that I know personally have never done that, they have always just saved for holidays etc. But I have never known anyone to save 3
Months wages

Ah, but then thats probably why you think its so strange, because you don't know of people that do, but stick around on these forums and you will find many people that do

Im a lot older then you, but it was at your age that I had debt, bills I couldn't pay and an eviction notice on my HA home served which would have left me on the streets as I had not a single real penny to my name

I was lucky that my bank manager sorted things out for me, consolidated my debt, gave me a loan to cover them, cut up my cards and gave me weekly spending money. Took me two years to pay it back and build that saving pot and Ive never been without it since

I now have other pots, I have my holiday fund, my Christmas fund, my lets go mad now and then fund as well as the boring stuff like car maintenance and insurance, replacing white goods etc. Once you get in the habit of saving money it becomes second nature. It doesn't mean you have to sit indoors watching the world go by without you, it just means you spend wisely

I have a good life, I don't go without anything. I just like to know that my rainy day is going to be covered

Moosk

I think it would be wise to do a full SOA - especially as what you have posted initially would leave you £77 short every month.

Im not saying you cant afford to move out. On what you are earning you can easily afford it. I earn less than you, and my rent and council tax are more than you will be paying, and I think I am doing ok, even if I don't have as much in savings as I'd really like (currently saving £200 a month in HTB ISA plus £125 emergency fund). And as others have pointed out, there are plenty room for savings (I can feed myself (slimming world friendly meals), my horse and two dogs for under £200 a month). And you probably don't need to spend £100 a month on clothes whilst you are paying off credit card debts (though I'm no fashionista and know I spend very little on clothing so easy for me to say!)

Lauralou79

I don't have have saving pots to be honest. But I've just bought a house and my savings are lower and I can manage it fine as I've no debt bar the mortgage.

No one of my immediate family or friends has 'Emergency funds', very few have much savings to be honest! I'd never heard of the phrase until I joined here. My family were credit users not savers too.

Having even two accounts may help, one for bill/flat emergencies and then general savings for holidays, presents or wants etc should be fine for now while you get yourselves sorted. Use the different boards on here for tips, debt free wannabe may give you ideas to pay off your debts faster too.

As for the pcp cars a lot of my work colleagues (NHS) purchase cars in this was and they are older than you, people will always have different ideas on purchasing a car. There just are
Much cheaper ways to do so.

Dont worry you will find your own way, you will be able to enjoy things as you should at your age but get some money behind you first. Summers coming so cheap days out in parks etc, less shopping trips, invite friends round rather than nights out.

loey93

Hi Everyone!

Feeling really positive today and I've done a proper SOA with more detail on. I've just noticed the only thing missing is the gym member at £20.00 a month, I'm in two minds whether to cancel this anyway as I only go twice a week .. I could easily just go for longer walks or even take up running

I have cancelled itunes today as that is an expense I don't really need. Even though its only £10.00 a month its not really worth it and it all adds up!

I have also allocated the savings I will need to make to cover holidays/presents and the "emergency fund"

Please cast your eye over it and let me know where I can make anymore changes. I know the car will be mentioned as its so extortionate but i will re-iterate that I am tied into this until 2021 I would LOVE to get rid of it and its just an expense I don't need

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2 (But this is just my wages and bills 50/50)
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 0 (Don't own my car)

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 1718
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1718

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 285.1
Rent.................................... 400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 60
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 15
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 45
TV Licence.............................. 6
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 41.66 I have divided £500 by 12 months, I think £500 a year is reasonable for all clothing
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 2.5 £30.00 a year but i pay this as a one off every year
Car Insurance........................... 90 this will reduce to approx £60.00 in July
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 12.5 car maintenance is included in the PCP so I hopefully the only things that I will need are new tyres
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 6 I need to check this to be honest as does seem cheap, this is what my mum pays at the minute but need to check what this covers
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 6
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50 I spend approx £600 a year on presents
Haircuts................................ 8.33 I get my hair cut and coloured twice a year £50.00 a time
Entertainment........................... 60 I hope this is doable
Holiday................................. 83.33
Emergency fund.......................... 25
Total monthly expenses.................. 1506.42


Assets
Cash.................................... 400
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 400


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 15000....(285.1)....9
Total secured & HP debts...... 15000.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................1500......40........0
Ikano..........................1180......55........0
Total unsecured debts..........2680......95........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,718
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,506.42
Available for debt repayments........... 211.58
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 95
Amount left after debt repayments....... 116.58

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -15,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -2,680
Net Assets.............................. -17,280

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

quantumlobster

I would say that £116 a month is not very much left over, especially if you think of it on a weekly basis - you basically have £3 a day to play with. Reality is a harsh mistress and will throw unpleasantly expensive things at you on an intermittent but annoyingly frequent basis.

Consider getting a SIM-only phone contract - this will easily cut £45 in half. Also £83 on a holiday? Sorry, but I think that's a luxury you can't afford right now. Just these two items would release another £100 a month, which would be very handy indeed!

TBagpuss

I think that you can afford to move out, but I agree with otherts whio are saying you will need to be careful to keep your spending within budget, and this may be that you cut down on things like holidays and entertainment and gifts until you have built up some savings.

I'd suggest that you look at your credit cards - on the Barclaycard, you owe £1,500 and are only paying £40 a month. Even interest free, that will take you 37 months to clear. I'd be surprised if your interest free period is as long as that, so think about increasing the monthly amount so the debt is clear by the time the interest free period ends (or put enough into savings to allow you to clear the debt in a lump sum when the interest free period ends) Same with the Ikano - that will take you 22 months to clear - how long is your interest free period?

I personally wouldn't have as many separate savings pots as Cakeguts suggested, but I would (either in your head, or as separate physical accounts) separate out short term savings (e.g for holidays, saving to buy a new car when your current contract ends etc) and one for longer term savings - this would be your emergency fund and would also be where you would save for longer terms stiff such as a deposit for a house.

You and your boyfriend may also find it helpful to have a separate 'bills account' which you pay your rent and other shared bills from, and that you each pay the appropriate amount from your wages into, on pay day. This can help ensure that you always meet your essential bills, and it is easier to keep track of what you have available to spend on day to day stuff.

Once you have cleared your debts, think about a pension, too - you don't seem to have any pension contributions on your list.

Good luck.

Cakeguts

You don't earn enough to have £1000 holidays and that car. Because of the car payments until 2021 you are going to have to go without other things. A holiday is a luxury it isn't something you need it comes under something you want. Find a cheaper way of going on holiday or don't go away have holidays at home.

You don't have anything down for dentist charges. I assume that you do go to the dentist?

The emergency fund is too small. It needs to be a minimum of £100 per month. At the moment you are not saving enough to pay for a new car tyre. You say car maintenance is included. Does this include parts or just servicing? What happens if you need a new exhaust system for example?

Your income isn't large enough to spend £600 per year on presents. Birthday and Christmas presents don't have to be expensive they have to be thoughtful.