Just turned 30 and decided I need to sort my life out

Willing2Learn

I believe your SOA is flawed.  This is because every penny of income should be allocated to all your monthly budget category.  You should not have a penny remaining, and definitely not £395 left over.  Not to worry though.  It always takes several attempts before an SOA becomes realistic.


I am going to press you on the need to put a bit aside each month toward your EF.  Otherwise, how will you budget for those emergency expenses.

How come your monthly gas and electric is so low?
Mobile phone needs to be cut down.
TV license is wrong (too low)
Internet/TV/Landline costs are way too low.
Clothing could be increased.
EF EF EF EF is vital 
Entertainment could be reduced

Mr87

Just to comment on the lifetime ISA. I'm pretty sure you can withdraw from it , just not penalty free. The 'penalty' is (generally) loss of the interest top up (25%) and the loss of some of your yearly £20k ISA allowance (but the latter is not going to be a problem for you unless you suddenly have £20k a year to be putting in an ISA!) But if you think about it, in practice that means you can withdraw exactly what you put in, so it's not exactly locked up. Check your T&Cs to be definitive. But as w2l says, if you have EF you're also putting in to, you shouldn't have to dip into the ISA anyway... 

Drawingaline

Your mobile is insane! Assume you are in contract?

Assume your other low outgoings are because they are split with housemates?

When does the very interest free end? Or is it an old debt? I would be inclined to save bare min in the Lisa, £100 into ef (see excess car repairs could come out of that in the future) and the rest to debt. So the ef can build up as a new rental deposit if needed. Most people go for 1k, but it's up to you. Our is pretty small as we save for sinking funds so surprises are few, last one was last year, travel to a funeral, and it was nice to know we could do it without any stress. I you are paying around £150 to the debt then it will come down, and the more you overpay the more you will want to. It can become quite addictive!

You have got off to a great start, keep going. 

Wannabehousebuyer

Willing2Learn said:

I believe your SOA is flawed.  This is because every penny of income should be allocated to all your monthly budget category.  You should not have a penny remaining, and definitely not £395 left over.  Not to worry though.  It always takes several attempts before an SOA becomes realistic.


I am going to press you on the need to put a bit aside each month toward your EF.  Otherwise, how will you budget for those emergency expenses.

How come your monthly gas and electric is so low?
Mobile phone needs to be cut down.
TV license is wrong (too low)
Internet/TV/Landline costs are way too low.
Clothing could be increased.
EF EF EF EF is vital 
Entertainment could be reduced

I live in a house with 3 of us, so its divided into 3, I have also rounded up to the next easier figure so there becomes so 'change' in the pots to eventually add up to getting a month in front of bills etc.
I am in contract until december next year - i had to take it over 3 years as the handset was soooo expensive! but we live and learn. 
so for example- my wifi is £30 between 3 is £10. 
how much should i be looking for the EF to be? 
x

Wannabehousebuyer

Drawingaline said:

Your mobile is insane! Assume you are in contract?

Assume your other low outgoings are because they are split with housemates?

When does the very interest free end? Or is it an old debt? I would be inclined to save bare min in the Lisa, £100 into ef (see excess car repairs could come out of that in the future) and the rest to debt. So the ef can build up as a new rental deposit if needed. Most people go for 1k, but it's up to you. Our is pretty small as we save for sinking funds so surprises are few, last one was last year, travel to a funeral, and it was nice to know we could do it without any stress. I you are paying around £150 to the debt then it will come down, and the more you overpay the more you will want to. It can become quite addictive!

You have got off to a great start, keep going. 

@Drawi@Drawingaline
Yeah my phone has another year and a hafl - bloody mental - but thats hindsight for you!
yes, i live with 2 others and all split between 3 
its 0% forever as its defaulted and been passed to a 3rd party, so... what you suggest is £150 debt, £100 EF £100 lisa?
then any extra surveys etc/ left over pots etc i just pay to the debt? then get the EF to £1000 , then chuck everything at savings?
sorry if i sound like an idiot,  still trying to get my head all around this.  
I can imagine its addictive, im buzzing that the others are done! 
Thank you so much

x

Dreambox

Wannabehousebuyer said:

Dreambox said:

I have to say that smoking is a quite expensive thing. When I left smoking, I understood that not only my health was better, but my wallet also. So if you can and want to feel better, both economicaly and yourself, quit smoking from my experience my life became better since I quit smoking! .
Best regards! 

Hi @Dreambox
I have been smoke free Since the beginning of Lent and trust me- feel a million times better - i cant imagine how many i would have been smoking during this lockdown and how poor i would be !!
Thank you for stopping by

You are welcome, yes, I used to smoke because I was bored as well... Can imagine how I would destroy my health right now!! But happily I prefer doing something more interesting than smoking!! :D

Willing2Learn

Something for you to have a look at Wannabehousebuyer 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6121638/the-value-of-building-an-emergency-fund-ef

Drawingaline

Yes, that split looks good. Will there be an additional £100 once the car repairs are finished, or is that coming out of the £350?

I would go for 800-1k ef initially. How much would a move cost? The ef can be used towards that, and assume you would have some notice so could just ditch everything for a couple of months and funnel it all into that.

Look forward to reading about your progress. 

Moneywhizz

Just been reading through your diary. You have come a long way already and seem to really have a handle on getting rid of your debts. I also think you need to build up an emergency fund so that if you have to move unexpectedly or have more car excess to pay, you will not be stressed about it. If you have £395 spare at the moment and £50 extra come August you actually have a good amount of money towards your goals. Is there any urgency to paying off the Very account? Is it interest free? I am not very familiar with Full and Final Settlements but I know that many people on these boards have managed to save themselves quite a bit by offering to pay a percentage of their debt. Again not sure how that would impact your credit rating when you are hoping to apply for a mortgage. Something to look into though. If you are serious about buying a house it doesn't make sense not to take advantage of the Lisa and build up your deposit while getting the government's bonus. It would be good discipline for you to put the money away and not be able to touch it, in preparation for when you are paying a mortgage. It's not easy to save for a deposit while renting but one you have your emergency fund in place and have no other debt, you could be saving £400 monthly which will soon mount up. Good luck with your plans.

Wannabehousebuyer

Willing2Learn said:

Something for you to have a look at Wannabehousebuyer 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6121638/the-value-of-building-an-emergency-fund-ef

From end of may pay - i will be contributing towards an EF