SOA first draft

Santiago99

Karonher wrote: »

Sorry if I have missed it but I cant see if you have already defaulted on your debts. If you have not then the companies will not accept full and final and if you do decide to do it - even dropping from the minimum payment - it will ruin your credit file for 6 years.

You will also have an issue with your budget as I am not sure they will allow some of the figures you have quoted in your SOA.

I think I’ve defaulted on most — all but one are with debt collection agencies and not the original creditor, which I think you need a default for?

theoretica wrote: »

It is tricky trying to budget before you have settled into a place and know your costs. My advice would be to keep records of everything you spend and record if it is a one off moving expense or not. Try to avoid signing up to any long term commitments you can avoid until you see how things are working out (like new phone contracts or the great gym near your new place).

Do you know how much back payment you are getting? It should then just be subtraction to work out how much you will have left after pre-paying rent and car repairs etc.

If you are paying rent upfront and then 'paying yourself back' the £450 a month, I would use that to kickstart the pet insurance savings and emergency fund.

I’m keeping £1,000 back from the back pay (which I’ve already received) for an EF, but I will need the back pay for moving costs too. The new house is not guaranteed to be mine yet so it’s possible I might end up with a different house which will mean different rent prepayment costs etc, so I’m unable to calculate the exact amount I’ll have left over.

I see what you mean, but I don’t want to get into the habit of using the £475 a month for anything other than paying myself back rent, since a) that’s a slippery slope, and b) if the landlord decides to sell up for example and I need to find another house, I can use that money to prepay another six months’ rent if needed.

katsu

As you are moving to a new place and trying to get your life into a good place I would consider some options. You say you like buying books, maybe stick to the ebook library options and one new book a month until your pet savings have built up? £30 on books is quite a lot.

Look at local charity bookshops as well as local charity shops. Places like Oxfam do specialist book shops and music shops as well as regular charity shops.

Consider selling your new books back on using eBay after reading? You can't be keeping all those new books all the time surely?

I personally love ebooks via the library.

HampshireH

I get books from the charity shop. I also donate all my books there unless anyone in my family/small circle of friends want them.

If I buy books they turn up on a charity shop brand new. Tatty books still have the same words on the page as an expensive new one. The story won't change;)

Perhaps see if there is a book club locally you could join to meet people and do book swaps with.

The car insurance is crazy high as a monthly rate. That's what I pay annually:( definately make use of cash back sites or multi policies to include your contents insurance to capture some savings.

DCFC79

I take it the books are just your standard reading books etc, definitely go the charity route, some are £1.25 in a charity shop near me, cant say if new releases, Cheaper than Amazon and Ebay at times.

KxMx

With Pet Insurance as long as you read the full policy document and know what is/isn't covered, and go with a reputable provider, there is no reason claims will be refused for minor reasons. They have a complaints procedure and there is an Ombudsman too for any declined claims.

My claims with Pet Plan were all settled fast and quibble free, they ranged from £30 to £3000. The latter was settled as quickly as the former. The latter was also a diagnostic bill, I didn't put my cat through expensive treatment for the sake of it.

For that same £50 an insurer is going to cover much more than you ever could self insuring, unless all three go problem free for years.

theoretica

Santiago99 wrote: »

I see what you mean, but I don’t want to get into the habit of using the £475 a month for anything other than paying myself back rent, since a) that’s a slippery slope, and b) if the landlord decides to sell up for example and I need to find another house, I can use that money to prepay another six months’ rent if needed.

I think maybe we are saying very similar things - once you have used the money to pay yourself back rent you still have it. Savings for if you need to move again sounds like a good start on an emergency fund to me!

Kentish_Dave

I don’t think that you’ve mentioned work, are you looking for work, are you able to work, or is that not an option at the moment?

Santiago99

I have dropped the book budget to £20. If I go over this, the money will have to come from any surplus in my entertainment budget. If it comes under then it can roll over to the next month. I can review it in a few months once I’ve worked out how much I actually spend.

I’ve found the potential new house’s current gas and electric suppliers so will do calculations as I’m fairly sure I’ll have to switch suppliers — which means the money I’ve budgeted will be adjusted in the next version of my SOA.

Pet insurance is staying at £50 for a year and then the monthly amount will be reduced next year (assuming no poorly pets). Unfortunately my car insurer gave a shockingly high quote for contents insurance but I’ll try them again with the new address and see if that’s any better, I suspect I’ll end up with separate insurers though.

I’ll post again soon once I’ve looked at a few more numbers and done a second draft of the SOA.

Thanks, everyone.

Silver_Queen

Not sure if it's a real option (I dont know the ins and outs) but could you look into criminal injury compensation for your back problem caused by the accident?

Santiago99

Silver_Queen wrote: »

Not sure if it's a real option (I dont know the ins and outs) but could you look into criminal injury compensation for your back problem caused by the accident?

I have legal cover on my car insurance but due to illness last year and then severe financial issues this year, I’ve not been up to tackling this before now. Not sure if I would have to claim with last year’s insurer or this year’s insurer but might be worth looking into once I’ve moved. :think: