advice on my SOA, please

fallen_angel_shelley

below are my SOA, i think i have included most things. i don't spend on my C.C any more and am waiting for my new C.C to arrive to BT the Lloydstsb one on to. any advice would be greatfully recived.

water- [strike]£70- paying arrears of it.(never gets paid on time or full amount)[/strike]turns out im £20 in credit!!!!!
phone, inc t.v- £28 (that includes calls i make as well0
elec- £40 (this gets paid every quarter)
internet- £18
rented garage- £28, this going in the new year
mobile- £10
food- £200-250
tesco cc- £20
lloyds cc- £40
next sc- £10
money for son, bus, extra for lunch and pocket money- £100
fags- £154.00, i know i should give up and i will in the new year

income-£498.20p(benefits)
out-going-£648.00p-£698.00p

what i owe to credit cards is on my sig. thanks for taking time to look and thanks for any advice. i paid of some CC & my arrears rent with some comp i got, also my late mother use to help me Alot. i want to sort out as much as i can befor i go uni next year, but at this rate im going to have to give up college and forget uni.

thanks, shelley

angelavdavis

Hi Shelley and welcome to DFW,

Find my comments below:

fallen_angel_shelley wrote: »

below are my SOA, i think i have included most things. i don't spend on my C.C any more and am waiting for my new C.C to arrive to BT the Lloydstsb one on to. any advice would be greatfully recived.

water- £70- paying arrears of it.(never gets paid on time or full amount)
phone, inc t.v- £28 - is this Sky? Why not see if they will add internet on for a better price?
elec- £40 (this gets paid every quarter)
internet- £18 as before
rented garage- £28, this going in the new year
mobile- £10
food- £200-250 Is this just two of you?
tesco cc- £20 apr?
lloyds cc- £40 apr?
next sc- £10 apr?
money for son, bus, extra for lunch and pocket money- £100 - make your son sandwiches and cut this down.
fags- £154.00, i know i should give and i will in the new year switch to rollups to reduce the cost


what i owe to credit cards is on my sig. thanks for taking time to look and thanks for any advice. i paid of some CC & my arrears rent with some comp i got, also my late mother use to help me Alot. i want to sort out as much as i can befor i go uni next year, but at this rate im going to have to give up college and forget uni.

thanks, shelley

fallen_angel_shelley

angelavdavis wrote: »

Hi Shelley and welcome to DFW,

Find my comments below:

hi angela
my phone,tv & net are all from virgin.
yep the food bill is just for 2 of us, i really need to get a frezzer.
tesco cc apr 14%
lloyds cc 16.62%, i could only work them out by X the monthly pr
next 26.49%:eek:

my son gets free school meals but moans that what he gets isn't enough.

just phoned water the board and turns out im in credit, £20 :j :j :j

lindsaygalaxy

I think you know what im gonna say, the fags are gonna hve to go or get reduced!

Is there any way you could do a part time job, even a few hours a week cleaning? Im not sure on the exact rules, but im sure you can work so many hours a week without losing your income support/other benefits. try www.entitledto.co.uk and it will check the figures for you.

frosty

HI,
fallen angel shelley, Is your son old enough to earn his own pocket money?
a paper round or doing odd jobs for friends,washing cars.
I know what its like trying to fill a teenager up,but if he receives free school dinners could you send him in with something homemade like scones,flapjacks or a sandwich + fruit.
We used to save empty juice bottles and refill them,it took my son along time to catch on that he was the only one who knew his coke a cola bottle had cheap cola in it and people couldnt tell by looking at it.
The old style board is great for ideas on cutting your food bill.
I used to spend £500+++ a month on food now its down to £200 (6 adults)
Good luck.

fallen_angel_shelley

hi frosty. i will make something later for my my son to take to school so that he can 'top-up' with at lunch in school. he is 16yo, so i guess he should be able to get part time job, after school but i dont want his school work to sufer. im going to have a look in the 'loot' and see if anyone is giving away a frezzer or even a fridge freezer, that way i could sell my fridge then. i know then that i could cut my food bill down, because at the moment im going to tesco' about 2-3 times a week! plus i must start using my bread maker more. have you got a recipe for flapjacks?

Skint_Catt

Look for your local Freecycle Group on Google and get yourself a freezer and onto the Oldstyle board. It's so much cheaper to batch cook, then you can have quick healthy meals at a fraction of the cost! Pretty much anything can be frozen - so you can stock up on the supermarket offers!

Could you do some cleaning as mentioned above or take in some ironing?

frosty

fallen_angel_shelley wrote: »

hi frosty. i will make something later for my my son to take to school so that he can 'top-up' with at lunch in school. he is 16yo, so i guess he should be able to get part time job, after school but i dont want his school work to sufer. im going to have a look in the 'loot' and see if anyone is giving away a frezzer or even a fridge freezer, that way i could sell my fridge then. i know then that i could cut my food bill down, because at the moment im going to tesco' about 2-3 times a week! plus i must start using my bread maker more. have you got a recipe for flapjacks?

I have sent you a PM..........frosty

fallen_angel_shelley

Skint_Catt wrote: »

Look for your local Freecycle Group on Google and get yourself a freezer and onto the Oldstyle board. It's so much cheaper to batch cook, then you can have quick healthy meals at a fraction of the cost! Pretty much anything can be frozen - so you can stock up on the supermarket offers!

Could you do some cleaning as mentioned above or take in some ironing?

hi, Skint_catt. i have been on the freecycle site and have asked to join the group. i will look in to trying to fit a cleaning job in around college, but as for irorning that a no go, im rubish at it :rotfl: . i have a slow cooker so once i get a frezzer i will be busy filling it up. my son loves the stuff i cook in it, currys, stews and chicken with toms, pepers and shalots, yum yum, only thing is with no frezzer, we then live of it for 2-3 days.

Jacks_xxx

:wave: Hiya honey,

First of all chick... Those fags? They're killing you...financially as well as literally. See your GP for free help to give up. As far as I can see it's a straight choice between fags and Uni. You can't afford both.

Next, shop around for a better phone / tv / internet deal. these start at £18 and would be fab if you don't use your landline all that much.


http://packages.sky.com/buy/


It's important that you pay off your debts in the right order. (highest interest ones first) so check out the snowball:


http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx


You punch in all of your debt info (including min payments) and it tells you how much to pay each one each month and how long it'll take you to get clear.

Cut back on your food shop by hanging out on Moneysaving Old Style and doing the Grocery Challenge We were spending £600+ a month but I'm in my fourth month of doing it and we're down to between £250 and £300 for two adults and two teenagers plus a cat with a taste for prawns.


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=33

Definitely encourage your son to get a Saturday job. If you're really concerned that he won't have enough time left for his studies then keep track of how much time he spends on MSN, playing games and watching telly. It'll make you feel better about it I promise.

And keep posting on here, it really helps.

Welcome to the gang hon!

Love Jacks xxx

fallen_angel_shelley

Jacks_xxx wrote: »

:wave: Hiya honey,

First of all chick... Those fags? They're killing you...financially as well as literally. See your GP for free help to give up. As far as I can see it's a straight choice between fags and Uni. You can't afford both.

Next, shop around for a better phone / tv / internet deal. these start at £18 and would be fab if you don't use your landline all that much.


http://packages.sky.com/buy/


It's important that you pay off your debts in the right order. (highest interest ones first) so check out the snowball:


http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx


You punch in all of your debt info (including min payments) and it tells you how much to pay each one each month and how long it'll take you to get clear.

Cut back on your food shop by hanging out on Moneysaving Old Style and doing the Grocery Challenge We were spending £600+ a month but I'm in my fourth month of doing it and we're down to between £250 and £300 for two adults and two teenagers plus a cat with a taste for prawns.


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=33

Definitely encourage your son to get a Saturday job. If you're really concerned that he won't have enough time left for his studies then keep track of how much time he spends on MSN, playing games and watching telly. It'll make you feel better about it I promise.

And keep posting on here, it really helps.

Welcome to the gang hon!

Love Jacks xxx

hi jacks. first thing in the morning im phone doc's to get help with giving up them fags. im going to see about swap my elec suplier as well every penny helps. i will check out about my t.v, phone and net package as well.

thanks, shelley xxx