SOA Advice Please

Beth2 · 3 December 2018 at 1:35AM

Hello All,

I was officially bankrupt 27/11 - caused in large by a hefty mortgage shortfall from a previous relationship swiftly followed by redundancy and my husbands failed business. Using Credit cards to make ends meet etc.

I am yet to speak to the OR. but have had contact from a lady to take some basic info and have been told to expect a letter with details of telephone interview.

I filled out my Bankruptcy forms but have since realized there are some pretty essential things I'd missed off the income and expenditure.

I've since re done this in preparation for speaking to the OR and will post bellow and would be really very grateful for any advice/constructive criticism.

Just some background info to explain the figures:
We are a family of 2 Adults and 2 Children

I have a car on HP which I've not listed as I am giving it back to the finance company because quite frankly even if I could keep it I don't want to be living outside of my means any longer. I have listed all of mine and husbands income and filled it out as a household rather than just myself.
We run an old banger Nissan Micra which my husband uses to commute to work and run the children to school etc. As my finance car will be going asap, my mother has agreed to loan me her car for as long as needed to get back on our feet again, i will however have to tax and insure this. So figures below are for tax, insurance and maintenance on 2 cars. We both work over 30 miles from home and public transport is not an option due to my husbands work location and I work nights.
Our Grocery spending is genuinely very high due to our eldest daughter having a Dairy and Gluten allergy meaning she has "her items" each week in addition to what we'd normally spend.
Eldest daughter also suffers from conditions that require her to bathe twice a day, we've been told we could qualify for watersure - but have not done this yet.
Other Child expenses : I've listed this as their swimming lessons. however am i allowed to add anymore for school trips or will they have to miss these for a while?
Medical : Both Husband and I were glasses, I also have repeat scripts for inhalers.

one area I'm not sure about - my husband does not get sick pay, should I deduct anything from his wages to allow a contingency for this?

Is there anything I have forgotten and should add , or anything that is too much?

I really appreciate your help and thank you for taking the time to read this.

Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet
Summary
Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
Total monthly income 2,699.5
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 2,591
Available for debt repayments 108.5
Unsecured debt repayments 0
Amount left after debt repayments 108.5
Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 300
Total Secured & HP Debt -0
Total Unsecured Debt -0
Net Assets 300
Household Information
Number of adults in household 2
Number of children in household 2
Number of cars owned 1
Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details
Income Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax 1500
Partners monthly income 1050
Benefits 149.5
Other income 0
Total monthly income 2699.5
Expenses Amount(£)
Mortgage 0
Secured/HP loan payments 0
Rent 675
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 119
Electricity 50
Gas 45
Oil 0
Water Rates 60
Telephone (land line) 25
Mobile phone 80
TV Licence 14
Satellite/Cable TV 30
Internet services 25
Groceries etc. 600
Clothing 50
Petrol/diesel 350
Road tax 35
Car Insurance 78
Car maintenance (including MOT) 50
Car Parking 25
Other travel 0
Childcare/nursery 0
Other child related expenses 55
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 40
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 40
Buildings Insurance 0
Contents Insurance 14
Life Assurance 11
Other Insurance 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 50
Haircuts 25
Entertainment 0
Holiday 20
Emergency Fund 25
Total monthly expenses 2591
Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Mortgage 0 (0) 0
Secured & HP Debt totals 0 - -
Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Unsecured Debt totals 0 0 -
Asset Description Value (£)
Cash 0
House Value (Gross) 0
Shares and bonds 0
Car(s) 300
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets 300

debt_doctor · 3 December 2018 at 5:10PM

Hi,

For the purpose of this exercise, your housekeeping costs are not high. I suggest that you put another £100 pm on your groceries.

DD

Beth2 · 3 December 2018 at 9:31PM

Debt Doctor, thank you for your advice. Do you think I should lower my husbands income by 50 a month to allow for times when he may not be paid due to sickness. Or is that not allowed?

Are there any areas I have budgeted too much for / or not enough?

I have found the whole process of actually writing a budget very interesting and it has shocked me how much just paying for those everyday things costs. Has made me realise more than ever how much difficulty I had got myself into!

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post.

enthusiasticsaver · 4 December 2018 at 1:09AM

The groceries figure looks high to me but you can make a case for this due to your DDs allergies. The mobiles also looks high.

Having 0 in entertainment is unrealistic. No cinema, takeaways?

TheGardener · 4 December 2018 at 4:29AM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

The groceries figure looks high to me but you can make a case for this due to your DDs allergies. The mobiles also looks high.

Having 0 in entertainment is unrealistic. No cinema, takeaways?

When people who are going BR are posting their SOA the aim is not on making savings (laudable and certainly good advice) but on reducing the amount of 'surplus' when determining an IPA.
The OR uses the Standard Financial Statement which gives a benchmark for reasonable flexible or discretionary spending based on household composition. Traditionally, a BR has not been able to include 'entertainment' within their SOA and although the SFS is more flexible - it may be that the family are already utilising their budget in other areas.
Once the OR is satisfied with the SOA and the application for BR is complete - then the family can spend their income on what they choose.

luvchocolate · 4 December 2018 at 1:09PM

Totally agree with the above post and also to add you can trust the Debt Doctors advice he knows how the S.O.A works with the examiner.

Beth2 · 11 December 2018 at 4:09PM

I would just like to thank all of you once again for your help with this.

This morning I had my phone call interview with the OR - a lovely chap in Birmingham and his trainee listening in (which I didn’t mind too much).

I was very nervous and a bit tearful at times but he was so lovely and understanding.

We talked through my application and he was so understanding of some of the mistakes I’d made on it.

We went through the application but by bit and then my SOA before finally having a little chat to explain the timeline of my debt and how I’d got into this situation. There was absolutely no judgement from him whatsoever.

He was very helpful with my SOA (posted in above posts) and actually suggested that my figures for gas and electric were too low and that he’d suggest upping it a bit with the cold winter that is forecast.

I explained to him that my income was ever so slightly more a month than the figure he had in front of him as I get an unsocial hours payment for working nights. However it’s less if working days or I’m sick , take annual leave as no unsocial payment then. He said that although this was a regular income for me it was not consistent and would fluctuate and so he’d base it on my standard wages which I though was incredibly nice of him.

All in all it was an ok experience. I had become quite ill with worry over the last fortnight waiting for it and I’m glad it is over but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Thank you again to all who helped and gave advice .

broaps · 11 December 2018 at 5:07PM

Hi Beth2

I think your post will be very helpful for anyone thinking about applying for BR. Your description of the worry before the interview certainly rings lots of bells for me. We're so lucky to have this forum to seek help from people with knowledge and experience. 3 months on for me and I still have sleepless nights worrying about the future but I'm convinced the worst is behind. Good luck.

SOA Advice Please

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