HONEST FEEDBACK ON MY SOA PLEASE???????

13thlegion

As has been said by others you are doing well if this SOA is accurate. Well done.

As for next steps, you've expressed interest in snowballing the credit cards which is a great idea.

Once those are done personally (so feel free not to follow the advice) I would want to start pension savings, even if a small amount each month,  get life insurance and start emergency savings. Life insurance is cheaper the younger you get it. For an emergency savings total the usual figure I see suggested is 3-6 months of expenses. This is to be a cushion against losing your job or suddenly needing work done on the house etc. Real emergencies. Only when that is in place would I start going crazy at the mortgage.

Groovy_Chick_

@MarticoWith - I totally agree I think I would feel more satisfied each time I clear one and say when I am down to the last card, knowing it is the last one with a balance will be a relief. 

@fatbelly Great Idea but I do already have my DD's set up each month, I will overpay starting from this month, is there any other areas you think I could be saving money as I am already living pretty tight. I ideally don't want a 4th card as I think it would encourage me to spend and end up worse than I am now.

@enthusiasticsaver great ideas thank you, do you know of a good way to start saving for my pension? and how much realistically as a one person household, who will remain childfree for life should have please? Sorry I am so rubbish at this area of budgeting. I am also going to take your great advice and throw 400 at the 800 card for the next 2 months.

@WYSPECIAL - I thought pension was contributed from my salary? I work in the emergency services so could be missing out a lot if what you are saying is they contribute?

@13thlegion - My SOA is definitely correct I live very frugally and budget shop, I am definitely going to snowball my cards, could you point me in a direction of saving methods, good life insurance and what to look for, how much I should have in savings and what my pension should look like please, these are all areas I am inexperienced in. 

The main reason I wanted to be mortgage free so quickly is to then start a huge savings pot, do you think this would be worth it or not?


Sorry for all of the questions but I am so grateful you have all taken time to reply to me.



GC 

enthusiasticsaver

If you work for the emergency services you presumably have a works pension where they take it out of your pay? In which case you do have a pension but don’t pay extra into it? Is that correct? You get tax advantages and employer benefits by them contributing to it too. Is there a deduction on your payslip for pension? How old are you? How much you should have and save going forward depends on your age and current pension status. Post on the pensions board but sort the credit cards out first. 

I think focusing on emergency savings after the debt is gone is sensible. If your budget is correct that debt will be gone in less than a year. 

tigergambit

Hi GC,

Pension contribution and permanent health/life insurance are a must do imo. As has been said insurance is cheaper the earlier you start and pensions are more effective the earlier you start because of compounding. 

If you work in the emergency services (on a permanent contract?) you will get a good pension contribution from them - you need to start looking at this asap as you want to start paying in as soon as you have paid your debts.

You will probably also be entitled to a "Blue light" card which will get you discounts at a lot of high street venues and restaurants. Most importantly you will also be able to get a discount on your internet which looks a little high to me. Ask your HR person or Union rep.

Finally I agree that you should get a 0% card and transfer as much as possible to it. DO NOT use the 0% for purchases and cut up the two cards you intend to pay off first, just using the third for day to day stuff.

Hope this helps.

Groovy_Chick_

@[Deleted User] I bought the house in a run down area which has been renovated and undergone millions of pounds worth of investments and is now one of the more popular areas of the north, so my house value shot up massively, I paid around 100,000 for the house. It has been recently valued at 350,000 minimum, as I live in the north it is affordable. I took a huge risk at 22 because it could have been a huge waste of money if it didn't work out. I do also feel this was maybe a dig due to my age, that should not stop me filling in a SOA with honest details, and the equity in my home does not really need explaining as it isn't causing my debt, I work hard and don't go out partying and doing the rest of the stuff young people do as I want to set myself up for a successful future without the money worries my family experienced during childhood. I was looking for helpful replies and advice, not small petty digs but thank you for your input. 

@enthusiasticsaver I am 26, they do contribute for me I believe but I opted out of my pension to use the money as mortgage overpayments when I first started a few years ago now. 


@tigergambit - I will look into health and life insurance today - as I am trying to snowball my mortgage once my debts have gone, I don't think I would bother looking into mortgage protection, do you think that would be right for me to say?

I will also query opting back into my pension via my employer, once the cards are all gone for sure, I have a blue light card already as this is massively helpful when I do buy the odd piece of clothing or a discount on my grocery shopping. Will definitely look into my internet too. 

I will also head over to clearscore to see what offers are tailored to me for my credit score to look at switching to 0 percent, it seems for every 100 pound I pay back, they are taking around 30 pound off me each time. 

theoretica

Read the details on your pay slip - that should show if payments are being made to a pension.  You should also have a statement once a year - but it might just be an email from work telling you where you can access it.  If you did nothing about a pension and are employed then something should have been set up automatically.

Groovy_Chick_

@theoretica Hi, Thank you for your reply,  I opted out of my pension when I joined a few years ago, Just checked my payslip and there are definitely no contributions to my pension going out. I am really now thinking of opting back in once clearing credit card balance 

enthusiasticsaver

Yes definitely opt back in as you are missing out on tax breaks and employer contributions especially if public sector pension. Well done on low mortgage to relatively expensive house. That was good move. 

fatbelly

Groovy_Chick_ said:

 

@fatbelly Great Idea but I do already have my DD's set up each month, I will overpay starting from this month, is there any other areas you think I could be saving money as I am already living pretty tight. I ideally don't want a 4th card as I think it would encourage me to spend and end up worse than I am now.

You don't actually need the card. You can cut it up if it worries you. You just use the account to get a 0% transfer. It actually complicates things if you spend on it and if you want a card for spending on, you choose one that gives rewards, and clear it in full each month.

Other ideas - if your council tax is not payable over 12 months on the 20th of the month, that's an option you should be able to select on your council's website.

Do you really need a tv licence? You can self-declare on their website and save the £13.75

Are you registered with topcashback and quidco? Everything you purchase online can probably be purchased through them for extra cashback.

Who do you bank with? There are a lot of advantages at the moment for moneysavers in switching to First Direct: good service, £175 cash sweetener, free £250 overdraft, generous 7% regular savers account

gwynlas

Congratulations to you for being so financially savvy at a young age many of us take decades to learn. Do sort a pension out asap and also consider critical illness insurance as lower premiums whilst young. Also consider passive income like taking in a lodger Mon Fri or letting room for storage. Do not forget to enjoy yourself whilst endeavouring to be debt free.