SOA advice please

Freddiesmum · 15 March 2017 at 4:45PM

Hi, would someone mind helping me? I'm considering a DRO and have just done my SOA. I live alone but need to move due to difficult circumstances and have included saving for fees/deposit to move. I also pay privately to see a counsellor and have included that. I also have 3 cats and a dog. Could someone review my SOA please?

My income is £1590 but I am allowed a bonus of £2000 a year (gross), this can be withdrawn or reduced depending on how my work the previous month is assessed. It was reduced/removed a couple of times last year so I have used last years figures to calculate it.

Income £1670

Outgoings:

Rent 450
House insurance 11
Employment insurance 30
Life insurance 15
Council tax 75
Gas 53
Elec 53
Water 33
Calor gas 20
TV 13
Home phone 25
Mobile 30
Car ins 39
Car tax 19
Petrol 120
MOT etc 40
AA 10
Parking 20
Food/milk 200
Cleaning/toiletries 30
Newspapers 15
Clothing 30
Dry cleaning 10
Pet food 40
Prescriptions 11
Dentist/glasses 15
Repairs 20
Hair 10
Virgin TV 20
Hobbies 30
Gifts 40
Vet 25
Emergencies 10
Holiday 15
Save deposit 50
Counsellor 25
= £1652

EssexHebridean · 15 March 2017 at 4:55PM

OK let's take a look - comments in red as usual

Freddiesmum wrote: »

Income £1670

Outgoings:

Rent 450
House insurance 11
Employment insurance 30
Life insurance 15
Council tax 75 Single person reduction on this I assume? And paid over 12 months? or 10?
Gas 53 Turn that thermostat down a few degrees and pop a jumper on!
Elec 53 This is VERY high bearing in mind I take it your heating is gas? You need to work out where this is going - have you read your meter to check that the figures the supplier are working on are accurate? Also look at using the MSE energy club to check you're on the best deal
Water 33 You could save money with metered water as a single person, most likely.
Calor gas 20 Bearing in mind the high gas & electricity bills what's this for?
TV 13 TV License? If so it's £12.12 a month
Home phone 25 Does this include internet? Have you checked you're on the best deal?
Mobile 30 Are you close to the end of a contract or out of contract altogether? If so switch to SIM only
Car ins 39
Car tax 19 Do you actually pay this monthly?
Petrol 120
MOT etc 40 Do you set this aside to make sure that there's money there when the service. MoT Test, new tyres etc are needed?
AA 10
Parking 20 Can you park a little further away and walk?
Food/milk 200 This is high - you could halve this figure with some savvy shopping. Visit the Old Style board for inspiration and swap/downshift brands. Aldi & Lidl are great for saving some money too
Cleaning/toiletries 30 A month? This is very high! Look at store brand cleaners etc rather than branded stuff - it'll do the same job I promise!
Newspapers 15 Can you read online instead?
Clothing 30
Dry cleaning 10
Pet food 40
Prescriptions 11
Dentist/glasses 15
Repairs 20
Hair 10
Virgin TV 20
Hobbies 30
Gifts 40
Vet 25
Emergencies 10
Holiday 15
Save deposit 50
Counsellor 25
= £1652

There are savings there you can make. You've not included details of your debts so we obviously can't see what surplus/shortfall you have. Might be worth redoing the SOA and taking the "format for MSE" option to post in here as that will assist others with running through it.

ReadingTim · 15 March 2017 at 5:54PM

Comments in red

Freddiesmum wrote: »

Life insurance 15 - if you're single/live alone why do you need this?
Mobile 30 - get PAYG/Sim Only for c.£10
Parking 20 - is this necessary?
Cleaning/toiletries 30 - per month?!?
Newspapers 15 - read 'em online for free - you can't afford this
Clothing 30 - wear what you have for a while - you can't afford this
Repairs 20 - repairs to what?
Virgin TV 20 - freeview costs nothing. You can't afford virgin TV
Hobbies 30 - think you might have to stop this for a while - you can't afford it
Gifts 40 - you can't afford to be this generous

Finally, you say you're considering a DRO - where are the debts you're looking for relief on? All this shows is that your day to day living expenses are greater than your income. Sure you'll get into debt this way, but until you have it, you can't get a DRO...

angelpye · 15 March 2017 at 6:46PM

Hi,

What is the employment insurance for? Is it truly necessary?

Agree with EH about the electric and gas - mine is £59 a month for both in a three bedroom house. Definitely worth checking if correct and if it is investigating energy saving behaviours. I am not hardcore energy saving so hopefully you could save some money with a few small changes.

Food is a big spend - I feed myself and DD on average for £140 a month. Taking lunches to work, making big portions and freezing them for another day but also using up leftovers for another day.

Toiletries - trying to think what £30 toiletries consists of? Strip back to bare essentials and try other brands - that show 'spend well for less' has shown people don't really know their brands but buy for the label and because we get into habits.

Clothing - you could strip that to £10 and only buy essential replacements when your clothes wear out?

Pet food - can you bulk buy this on the internet?

What is the 'repairs' category for? I see you have car maintenance so I am guessing its for other things?

Virgin TV could go if you are not in contract?

I realise some of these might seem a bit hardcore but could save quite a bit if you put your mind to it

SOA advice please

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