Any advice appreciated

throwaway95

Good afternoon,
Just looking for advice as to whether we're doing everything we can and going about this the right way, basically we're expecting our first child in a couple of months and have cleared our credit card debts and have two loans left we took out for home improvements (so sort of spending beyond our means but not caused by bills or shopping per say). I've got a couple of months before starting SMP so am just wanting a sense check as to whether we are going about this the best way possible and whether there is anything else we can do.

This is our SOA as it stands currently: 

[font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]

Household Information[/b]

Number of adults in household........... 2

Number of children in household......... 0

Number of cars owned.................... 1[b]

Monthly Income Details[/b]

Monthly income after tax................ 1267.2

Partners monthly income after tax....... 1284.13

Benefits................................ 0

Other income............................ 0[b]

Total monthly income.................... 2551.33[/b][b]

Monthly Expense Details[/b]

Mortgage................................ 667

Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0

Rent.................................... 0

Management charge (leasehold property).. 0

Council tax............................. 130

Electricity............................. 40

Gas..................................... 40

Oil..................................... 0

Water rates............................. 30

Telephone (land line)................... 0

Mobile phone............................ 46.98

TV Licence.............................. 0

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0

Internet Services....................... 26

Groceries etc. ......................... 250

Clothing................................ 10

Petrol/diesel........................... 20

Road tax................................ 0

Car Insurance........................... 0

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0

Car parking............................. 0

Other travel............................ 0

Childcare/nursery....................... 0

Other child related expenses............ 0

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 22

Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0

Buildings insurance..................... 0

Contents insurance...................... 0

Life assurance ......................... 19.12

Other insurance......................... 14.38

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0

Haircuts................................ 28

Entertainment........................... 75

Holiday................................. 0

Emergency fund.......................... 0[b]

Total monthly expenses.................. 1418.48[/b]

[b]

Assets[/b]

Cash.................................... 0

House value (Gross)..................... 15000

Shares and bonds........................ 0

Car(s).................................. 2000

Other assets............................ 0[b]

Total Assets............................ 17000[/b]

[b]

Secured & HP Debts[/b]

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Mortgage...................... 139000...(667)......NaN[b]

Total secured & HP debts...... 139000....-.........-   [/b]

[b]Unsecured Debts[/b]

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Loan 1.........................5454.19...166.......4.8

Loan 2.........................3917.88...108.......4.4[b]

Total unsecured debts..........9372.07...274.......-  [/b]

[b]

Monthly Budget Summary[/b]

Total monthly income.................... 2,551.33

Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,418.48

Available for debt repayments........... 1,132.85

Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 274[b]

Amount left after debt repayments....... 858.85[/b]

[b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]

Total assets (things you own)........... 17,000

Total HP & Secured debt................. -139,000

Total Unsecured debt.................... -9,372.07[b]

Net Assets.............................. -131,372.07[/b]
Some extra relevant info: we've got the next mot booked and paid for, the next two lots of car insurance saved for and also pet and house insurance have been paid for upfront and we have £200 put aside for Christmas and a £2.5k emergency fund which worst-case scenario we will use towards an overpayment if we have to (my cc is pretty high interest and since my income is changing soon I can't get another one and DH is waiting to hear if he can get a new deal on his, we owe nothing on both). 

throwaway95

Our current plan is to throw everything we've got left each month to loan 1 which we may just be able to clear before my SMP would stop.

TheAble

You seem to be doing fine on the expenses front. All I'd say is maybe explore some avenues to increase your incomes somewhat. Could your husband get a better paying job for example.

throwaway95

TheAble said:

You seem to be doing fine on the expenses front. All I'd say is maybe explore some avenues to increase your incomes somewhat. Could your husband get a better paying job for example.

I did his income without bonus  for the SOA so it is normally higher (there could be say a month a year he doesn't get it so don't ever count it as guaranteed just to be safe )  and he also gets fully paid paternity and sick leave so wouldn't be wanting to consider that yet.  I've been doing online surveys but struggling to find much else risk free to increase income. 

MallyGirl

It looks OK - you missed a zero off your house value which is why there is a big negative number at the bottom.
Do you not get life assurance through your employers?
My best advice is to not get sucked into buying new stuff for the baby (beyond a new mattress). It can be tempting but they poop or spit up on it whether it was second hand or shiny and new from a posh shop. Most people are really glad to pass on equipment/clothes once they have stopped having kids - you think they are being generous but they just want the space back
Try freecycle or your nearest Buy Nothing group on FB.

throwaway95

@MallyGirl yes I missed off a zero, it should be around 150k house value. Yes we get some through our employers but it's only about 40k in total so isn't anywhere near enough. We've gotten nearly all his clothes second hand and the rest was either on offer or we'd already saved up for it or kindly gifted by family so all we need to pay for when he arrives for a good few months is the milk and nappies I hope. 

PommeVerte

To minimize expenses with the baby, u can get some washable wipes instead of baby wipes. I bought "cheeky wipes", and i just wash babies bum with water and dry well, and some olive oil lotion for softness. Then just pop them in the wash with everythinf else. Saves on space in your bin too, so less bin bags to buy ! I do use wipes when out n about tho obviously. 
Also breastfeeding saves loads of money, time and hassle ! 

enthusiasticsaver

You seem to be doing pretty well and certainly clearing the credit cards and presumably have no overdraft and a £2.5k emergency fund is great.  I think that given you will be on a reduced income for a while building up your savings might be a better option until you go back to work so that you do not have to resort to credit cards at all.  Even if you have saved up for mots and car insurance there is no guarantee the car will not need money spending on it so having a fairly large savings buffer will give you confidence you are as prepared as you can be. The loan is not a really high interest rate and you could always clear it in full just before going back to work if you have not needed to touch the savings. I agree that looking for savings with the new baby is a good move.  Loads of baby stuff can be bought second hand as they rarely use it for long although if you intend having more children obviously things like prams and cots can be reused.