SOA/Budget in Bankruptcy

timetostartafresh

Good Morning!

Following the closure of our business, I'm getting my ducks in order ready to declare bankruptcy - a real hodge podge of debts, some historic and many more recent as we've tried to prop the business up. No assets to protect, and looking forward to the clean break. I've put together a list of my expenses and income, and was hoping somebody more experienced could cast an eye over for me and let me know your thoughts. As things stand, I've got a surplus, but that's only until my dependent DS (18) leaves college and then my income will be cut dramatically.

Just me and DS living at home.

Income
Work	1040
UC	699.43
CB	91.65

Total income monthly - £1,831


Outgoings

Rent	499
Council Tax	85
Insurance	20
Gas/Elec	165
Water	40
Housekeeping	215
Housekeeping DS	150
Clothing	34
Clothing DS	18
Pension	60
Optical	15
Prescriptions	10
Hobbies	20
Hobbies DS	12
Work Meals	33
College Meals	45
Hairdressing	15
Pets	35
Phone etc.	65
TV License	13
TV Subs	25
T Expenses	20
Bus	72
Emergency	30
Total	1696

When DS leaves college, my income will drop to approx £1,220. I'd then not be funding his expenses, but  he will have to find work by then in order to contribute, and obviously things will need to be cut back to make ends meet. If he moves out, then I'll have to look at increasing my work income. 


Any feedback greatly appreciated. 


Cheers, 

timetostartafresh

If anybody can give me any pointers, I'd really appreciate it. 

I don't actually have a surplus, I wish! But following the guideline amounts shows that I do, so I'm trying to avoid a big IPA which I wouldn't be able to afford even now, never mind when my income drops after DS leaves college.

Thanks! 

sourcrates

As you are aware, there are guideline amounts for various categories, but those levels are not really public knowledge, best advice is to overbudget if anything, if it should be queried, you can always reduce it, or explain why its justified.

The worst thing you can do is underbudget, and not be able to afford the cost of living, although budget`s can be changed, its best to realistic to begin with.

timetostartafresh

sourcrates said:

As you are aware, there are guideline amounts for various categories, but those levels are not really public knowledge, best advice is to overbudget if anything, if it should be queried, you can always reduce it, or explain why its justified.

The worst thing you can do is underbudget, and not be able to afford the cost of living, although budget`s can be changed, its best to realistic to begin with.

Thanks! I tried to base the numbers on the guideline amounts I'd found online, but some don't quite cover what I actually spend, without being extravagant. So, things like Opticians costs, because my eyesight is particularly bad I have to have a really high prescription - I find it unbearable wearing my glasses if they're not made "thin and light" - as even then they're much thicker and heavier than the average - so an extra £5 a month towards that would help. 

I'll ramp it all up a little across the board, to cover myself - plus, everything is increasing at the minute anyway, so I'm sure they'll be taking that into account. If the reality was that I had a spare £135 a month then I'd feel rich, haha!

sourcrates

Best to cover your costs, if anything is queried, you can just explain why you need to spend XYZ on glasses etc.

theoretica

A budget is much less use if it doesn't match reality - so my suggestion would be to start with documenting where your money is going at present.  Then look at how you might want or need to change that.  If the guideline amounts you are looking at are not very recent then gas and electric may have gone up!

TinyPomegranate

Just to add - I spend £45 per month on contact lenses due to a combination of my eye health and my job so I require certain ones, which might be viewed as extravagant, but I just added a note explaining why my optician cost was so high and they accepted it without question. If required I'd be able to provide monthly receipts but they've never asked. I think they are very reasonable with what they will allow in terms of individual costs, I guess they'd be a bit less reasonable if you said you needed to go on holiday 6 times a year for your health or something