# Advice Please



## 007007

Age: 29
Spouse’s/Partner's age: boyfriend (does not live with me)
Annual gross income from employment or profession: 27k


Type of employment: finance (not qualified)


Rough estimate of value of home 220k
Mortgage on home 200k
Mortgage provider:First Active
Type of mortgage: fixed for 5 years
Interest rate 5.53%

Other borrowings – none

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? No
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? 1,100

Savings and investments: savings about 3k

Do you have a pension scheme? No

Do you own any investment or other property? No

Ages of children: None

Life insurance: Yes, as a result of mortgage. Cheapest 1 I could find!


*What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you? *

i just bought a house and my first mortgage payment was this month, EUR1,100, my take home pay is EUR1,900 per month. 

bills include, petrol, mobile, heating, electricity, TV, health, life, home insurance etc...

socialising every few weeks, like to keep up with the latest fashion... foreign hols every year.

im afraid i wont be able to keep paying the mortgage payments every month........

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks.


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## quinno

Sell your house - you plainly can't afford it.


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## ccraig

Have you considered going interest only on your mortgage?


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## janedoe06

the other poster was right , interest only possibly

and have u got a spare room to rent out -

U are in danger of not meeting your repayments and what is going to happen is that u 'll be constantly in Over draft


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## efm

How did you get a mortgage of 200k on a salary of 27k?  If you are serious about keeping the house you need to get your priorities straight.

Pay off the credit card with the money in the savings account; then rip it up and never use it again.  Sell your car and use public transport.  Forget about socialising and foreign holidays - you can't aford them.  Then look at what's left and see if you can save any more money.  As the previous poster suggested rent a room to help pay the mortgage.

If you don't take drastic action you'll find yourself at the end of a repossesion order in the future!


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## moondance

Firstly I think you'll have to forget the holidays! 

Your mortgage is way too much considering your earnings.

i think your options are either:
a) keep house, rent out room, get part time job and work towards getting professional qualifications that would eventually get you higher salary.

b) rent out whole house and either move home or rent a room somewhere until you can afford the mortgage yourself easier and ask boss for pay rise

c) sell house (but if you're only after buying it you'll be back to square one and no longer a first time buyer)


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## Noor77

I have to agree that you should sell the property. It will only cause you undue stress in the long term. The lender was very irresponsible in my opinion.


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## pinkyBear

hi there 007007,
The reality is for the first few years it will be tough - you will have to budget.
*Mobile Phone - change to ready to go 
*Heating - if possible turn thermostat down a few degrees
*Where you can bring a lunch to work 
*Fashion - OK be realistic you really cant afford at the moment the latest trends - so if you are shopping buy fairly classic stuff.. You know the kind stuff that will go with every thing. When we baught our place - I got hand me ups from my sister as I simply could not aford to replenish my wardrobe. 
*You will have to budget for nights out - have nights in with friends.
*Rent a room.
*Switch visa cards and use the 0% intest free period to pay off card. Cancel the other card and put the new visa card in a bag of water in the freezer - so you cannot go out and buy stuff when you feel like it - but you can still book holidays if you need to..


Do note you have a bit of a buffer in the savings - so dont panick - but do start organizing yourself quickly...
All the best,
P


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## ClubMan

How on earth did you manage to get a €200K mortgage on €27K gross income!?!?


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## 007007

thanks for all your replys.

wont be selling the house, i only just bought it!! dont know why the bank gave me a mortgage on my salary...i even said to them many times are ye sure, my wages are crap!

wont be renting out a room, its only a 2 bed, house is tiny-no privaticy..

will look into the interest only mortgage, all that stuff is so over my head..

wont be getting rid of my car, i have no loan on it, why would i want to get rid of it, public transport is crap!!!

i am just going to have to tighten the purse strings big time.....


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## efm

ClubMan said:


> How on earth did you manage to get a €200K mortgage on €27K gross income!?!?



Indeed - that's what I said - surely there was additional income counted somewhere when the lender made the decision - possibly from the renting of a room?


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## moondance

007007 said:


> thanks for all your replys.
> 
> wont be selling the house, i only just bought it!! dont know why the bank gave me a mortgage on my salary...i even said to them many times are ye sure, my wages are crap!
> 
> wont be renting out a room, its only a 2 bed, house is tiny-no privaticy..
> 
> will look into the interest only mortgage, all that stuff is so over my head..
> 
> wont be getting rid of my car, i have no loan on it, why would i want to get rid of it, public transport is crap!!!
> 
> i am just going to have to tighten the purse strings big time.....



On your second point - think you need to wake up, you may HAVE to rent the room whether you like it or not if you want to keep the house.

On your third point - you need to speak to your mortgage provider asap to find out what your options are.

On your fourth point - again you may need to wake up, cars are expensive to run and maintain, you may HAVE to resort to public transport

You really need a reality check!


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## Noor77

007007 said:


> wont be renting out a room, its only a 2 bed, house is tiny-no privaticy..
> 
> .


 

I was in a position similar to yours a few years ago. My place is two bedrooms too but I rented out a room for 3 years. I had to!!! I have been in the place on my own for the last 2-ish years now and having it to myelf is great ... but if my financial circumstances changed I would have to rent a room again.


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## quinno

Your earnings to mortgage ratio is 58% - as a rule of thumb over 35% would be on thin ice, so if you're not going to something realistic, you';re going to really struggle with this.

As other posters said, it amazes me firstly that the bank have been so irresponsible in lending you this money, and that secondly you had no idea of what you were getting yourself into....


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## susie1

is your boyfriend on the mortgage too?


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## efm

007007 said:


> wont be selling the house, i only just bought it!!



That doesn't matter a damn if you can't afford it!



007007 said:


> dont know why the bank gave me a mortgage on my salary...i even said to them many times are ye sure, my wages are crap!



I find that hard to believe, but regardless, did you work out a budget before you bought the house? How did you think you were going to live with nearly 60% of your net pay going on a mortgage?



007007 said:


> wont be renting out a room, its only a 2 bed, house is tiny-no privaticy..



Which do you value most - privacy or your house? If you want to keep your home you're going to need to find some way of paying for it



007007 said:


> will look into the interest only mortgage, all that stuff is so over my head..



Have a read through more of this site and you should find your knowledge increasing



007007 said:


> wont be getting rid of my car, i have no loan on it, why would i want to get rid of it, public transport is crap!!!



Do you get your petrol, car insurance, road tax and servicing for free then? Once again which do you want to have a car or a house?



007007 said:


> i am just going to have to tighten the purse strings big time.....



To be honest that isn't going to be enough - the scary part is that you don't seem to realise how bad your situation is - you can't afford to keep your house unless you do something drastic - "tightening purse strings" when you won't consider renting a room or selling your car is not going to cut it.


Or are you just trolling?


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## Nige

I find it hard to believe that the OP works in finance.


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## ClubMan

efm said:


> Indeed - that's what I said


Sorry - missed that! 



Nige said:


> I find it hard to believe that the OP works in finance.


I don't - even apart from this qualifier:


007007 said:


> Type of employment: finance (not qualified)


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## efm

Nige said:


> I find it hard to believe that the OP works in finance.



Funnily enough of all the things the OP has said that surprises me the least!


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## 007007

nige-thanks for the smart comment-didnt log on here to get insulted.


i'll take all your replys on board.


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## Caveat

ClubMan said:


> How on earth did you manage to get a €200K mortgage on €27K gross income!?!?


 
I believe some 'brokers' have all sorts of means and methods to get relatively high mortgage approval based on a relatively low income...


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## efm

ClubMan said:


> Sorry - missed that!
> 
> 
> I don't - even apart from this qualifier:





efm said:


> Funnily enough of all the things the OP has said that surprises me the least!



Ha! - once again we are in agreement


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## momomo

Hi 007007

Im pretty much in the same situation as you but im managing quite well.
I got a mortgage of 270k on my wage of 33k (first active must really be throwing them out at us young ones LOL)
After bills i really wouldnt have a whole lot of extra money, but im stil getting my 2 holidays this year. 
Its just down to cutting back, Instead of out every friday night with my mates and out for dinner on the saturday or sunday with boyfriend. Now I go out every second/third friday, the girls come up to me for a bit of dinner and a dvd instead of heading out. Ive become a goddess in the kitchen. really doesnt feel like im scrimping and saving cause im stil socialising as much and having my holidays, just everything in moderation. Also couldnt tell you what the canteen looks like in work, i bring my own lunch in and actually have dropped a bit of weight in the mean time


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## snowey

Hi 007007

Good advice there from MoMO - I think you should concentrate on qualifying and getting your gross salary up higher.  Give yourself 6 months of focusing on increasing your earnings with the incentive that if you don't you will rent out a room.  Renting a room is a great source of (legitimate!)tax free earnings

good Luck!


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## pinkyBear

Would agree with snowey - we had to rent out a room in the begining. See how it goes. Since you dont have to give the person a lease - you may only end up doing it for a few months. But in the begining it is a really handy source of income.
If it was a choice of loosing home/and or getting up to my neck in even more debt - or renting out a room and getting some additional income... I know which I would choose.

P.


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## 007007

thanks momomo and snowey

i dont mind staying in and only going out maybe once a month, my work place has a great sports & social nites out and a lot of drinks are for free so that will help.

i have already cut down on the take-aways and have cooked all meals since i've moved in, so thats a good start...

at the moment im going a course so hopefully i'll pass and get a better job... and in sept i'll start another course.  

thanks


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## ClubMan

To be honest your situation sounds a bit more grave than something that can be sorted by cutting back on a few nights our and takeaways. Even with these cutbacks the risk of you not being able to meet your repayments, having to incur further debt (if possible) and thus digging an even deeper hole for yourself and maybe defaulting on your mortgage (worst case scenario repossession) seems extremely high. Your situation is arguably untenable unless you consider some of the measures mentioned earlier (e.g. rent a room tenant, selling up etc.).


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## momomo

007007

Your living on in your own in a 2 bed house, same as myself.
My esb and gas bills, tv etc arent huge. with 900euro a month for bills and food, your in exactly the same situation as me.
I cant see how clubman and everyone else is telling you to sell up.
Did all ye guys moving into your house not have to make ends meet???


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## ClubMan

momomo said:


> I cant see how clubman and everyone else is telling you to sell up.


I never told him to sell up.


> Did all ye guys moving into your house not have to make ends meet???


Yes - but I never had a mortgage that was c. 10 times my gross income. Absolutely crazy!

What are *your *suggestions as to how the circle can be squared here and the original poster can reasonable afford the house and other expenses?


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## 007007

thats true moomo, my heating bills and electrictly bills wont be that expensive.... i think 900euros per month is ok to live on..

clubman, we all have to start somewhere, at the end of the day its better than renting....we all dont have great salarys (you sound like you do)


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## ClubMan

007007 said:


> clubman, we all have to start somewhere, at the end of the day its better than renting....


Not if you cannot reasonably afford it and end up falling into an even more precarious debt situation such as I described above it's not.



> we all dont have great salarys (you sound like you do)


Why don't you read the posting guidelines about personalised comments. 

To be honest I agree with an earlier poster in wonder if this is just somebody trolling...


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## deedee80

gosh I really am amazed at the banks lending the amounts that momomo and 007007 got.  2 years ago I bought an apartment for 270 with my boyfriend, we had a joint income of 63k and a lot of banks turned us down because we had a (modest) car loan.  Have things changed that much in that last 2 years?  Apologies as this is prob going off topic.....


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## momomo

ClubMan said:


> I never told him to sell up.
> Yes - but I never had a mortgage that was c. 10 times my gross income. Absolutely crazy!
> 
> What are *your *suggestions as to how the circle can be squared here and the original poster can reasonable afford the house and other expenses?


 
Its absolutely crazy to you but its reality for alot of people, and im having no problems making ends meet.
The OP seems to release themselves that 900euro is quite a good amount of money to live on


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## momomo

deedee80 said:


> gosh I really am amazed at the banks lending the amounts that momomo and 007007 got. 2 years ago I bought an apartment for 270 with my boyfriend, we had a joint income of 63k and a lot of banks turned us down because we had a (modest) car loan. Have things changed that much in that last 2 years? Apologies as this is prob going off topic.....


 
Hi deedee
As you can see from the op they have no loans , i didnt have any loans either, so i was told by my broker that made a difference.
Ulster bank and first active both offered me a mortgage no problem on my own.  If your under 30 they offer a 40year term


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## ClubMan

momomo said:


> The OP seems to release themselves that 900euro is quite a good amount of money to live on


They don't have €900 p.m. to live on. Read the original post again.


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## CCOVICH

Can people please try and address the OP's issues and keep it on topic please?

Thanks.


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## quinno

Sorry, my last post seems to have disappeared.

My advice is that the OP can't afford the property, and seems to be making little effort to get out of a grave position. Recommending a 40 year mortgage is, IMHO, crazy as although this might lower the initial payment of principal and capital, it also condemns one to a life of repayments well into post-retirement. Likewise, interst only mortgages are only post poning the repayments of capital on the mortgage.

The bottom line is if you are weighing the cost of any item, from a house, to a car or a sandwich, if you can't afford it, then don't buy it. 

If it was me, I would be renting out a room, and maybe taking a few other measures such as cutting back on socalising / holidays to at least let me settle down into a patternm of expenditure that I am confortbale with. Sacrafcing my privacy would be vastly preferable to a repossession and subsequrnt difficulties in buying property in future due to a bad credit history. But, as I also stated above, with almost 60% of your take home pay going on servicing a mortgage, you are already in trouble and this situation might not be easily solved.


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## Nige

007007, have you claimed your TRS? If not, it could reduce the cost of the mortgage by €166 p.m.


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## Flax

007007,

Is the need to own your home worth living in poverty for a few years?

Why are you in such a hurry to get in such incredible debt?

I am agreement with the other posters who think you need a reality check.


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## momomo

i cant believe what im reading!
007007 is not living in poverty, she just needs to budget her money carefully.

Im sorry but i really cant get over people thinking that a girl with no debt other then 1000 euro on a credit card can not afford to pay bills and survive on 800euro.


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## ClubMan

momomo said:


> i cant believe what im reading!
> 007007 is not living in poverty, she just needs to budget her money carefully.
> 
> Im sorry but i really cant get over people thinking that a girl with no debt other then 1000 euro on a credit card can not afford to pay bills and survive on 800euro.


Here's a mad theory - perhaps it has something to do with the original poster's own comments:


007007 said:


> *What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you? *
> 
> i just bought a house and my first mortgage payment was this month, EUR1,100, my take home pay is EUR1,900 per month.
> 
> bills include, petrol, mobile, heating, electricity, TV, health, life, home insurance etc...
> 
> socialising every few weeks, like to keep up with the latest fashion... foreign hols every year.
> 
> im afraid i wont be able to keep paying the mortgage payments every month........
> 
> Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
> Thanks.


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## momomo

she says im afraid i wont be able to keep up the payments.
im telling her from experience at this second in time its possible as im doing it myself


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## ClubMan

momomo said:


> she says im afraid i wont be able to keep up the payments.
> im telling her from experience at this second in time its possible as im doing it myself


Maybe you can do it. I would wonder about the original poster's ability to do it though.


007007 said:


> bills include, petrol, mobile, heating, electricity, TV, health, life, home insurance etc...
> 
> socialising every few weeks, like to keep up with the latest fashion... foreign hols every year.
> 
> im afraid i wont be able to keep paying the mortgage payments every month........





007007 said:


> thanks for all your replys.
> 
> wont be selling the house, i only just bought it!! dont know why the bank gave me a mortgage on my salary...i even said to them many times are ye sure, my wages are crap!
> 
> wont be renting out a room, its only a 2 bed, house is tiny-no privaticy..
> 
> ...
> 
> wont be getting rid of my car, i have no loan on it, why would i want to get rid of it, public transport is crap!!!


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## plant43

momomo said:


> Im sorry but i really cant get over people thinking that a girl with no debt other then 1000 euro on a credit card can not afford to pay bills and survive on 800euro.



I guess it depends on your definition of "survive". I wouldn't get a mortgage unless I could pay it off every month, have enough money to live comfortably and have enough money that I could put a little by in savings for a rainy day.

It's all well and good saying that you're surviving, but are you saving anything? What happens if something unexpected happens like losing your job or you become ill and have to give up work for a while?


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## Noor77

I think the OP could manage if they took in a lodger, otherwise it is too much of a stretch to pay a mortgage and bills out of their salary.

Why not let the whole apartment / house out for a few years and rent somewhere affordable. You would be able to cover the mortgage with the tennants and might be able to save a bit of money while renting yourself.  

You say that you will be able to afford everything, but what about if something went wrong ....like needing to get  a plumber or electrician out .... you wouldn't really have the money for that type of emergency expenditure.

As I said previously, I rented a room to someone for 3 years. It had its ups and downs but at least it gave me the money to get by. Now I am in a position where I can live by myself and also afford to only work four days a week. I would not be able to do this if I hadn't rented the room out.


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## Nige

Noor77 said:


> Why not let the whole apartment / house out for a few years and rent somewhere affordable. You would be able to cover the mortgage with the tennants and might be able to save a bit of money while renting yourself.


 
stamp duty clawback, tax, hassle of renting.


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## momomo

plant43 said:


> I guess it depends on your definition of "survive". I wouldn't get a mortgage unless I could pay it off every month, have enough money to live comfortably and have enough money that I could put a little by in savings for a rainy day.


 The OP has savings, so that is a rainy day fund


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## jprender

Noor has made a very valid point in relation to emergency expenditure.  Tradesmen can be v.expensive and that 800 per month can take a serious dent.  Never mind if OP had to replace something like a washing machine or its ilk.

Still fair play to you as up til now you have managed to 

(1) save at least 20k as a deposit (220 value, mort 200)
(2) have other savings of 3k after kitting out your home with furniture
(3) Have a car fully paid for that I am sure keeps up with modern fashions


I wish I could have done that back in the day.

This is of course assuming that you are not the daughter of a millionaire or are indeed dating one !!


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## ClubMan

Noor77 said:


> I think the OP could manage if they took in a lodger, otherwise it is too much of a stretch to pay a mortgage and bills out of their salary.


Yeah - but...


007007 said:


> thanks for all your replys.
> 
> ...
> 
> wont be renting out a room, its only a 2 bed, house is tiny-no privaticy..
> 
> ...


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## ClubMan

momomo said:


> The OP has savings, so that is a rainy day fund


Her rainy day is here in the form of an outstanding balance of €1.1K on her _CC _at the same time as she is finding the general finances tight or difficult to manage.


007007 said:


> Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? No
> If not, what is the balance on your credit card? 1,100
> 
> Savings and investments: savings about 3k


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## efm

Ok, momomo may well be right!  Maybe it is possible to live on 800 a month after paying a mortgage - my gut, and hence my posts, tells me that it is very very difficult to live on 800; but maybe if we had some monthly expenditure figures from 007007 and momomo we could see that it is possible.

I would reckon the following expenses as it stands at the moment:

ESB                            50
Gas                            50
Phone                         50
TV                             50
Mortgage Protection     15
House Insurance          15
Health insurance          50
Life assurance             20
Waste charges            20
Car insurance              60
Petrol                        50
Car tax                      35
Lunch / coffee           100
Food                        400

That gives a grand total of 965 Eur per month expenditure


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## jprender

any management fee to be added to that ?

or clothing, footwear ?


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## ClubMan

And don't forget the original poster's lifestyle expenditure:


007007 said:


> socialising every few weeks, like to keep up with the latest fashion... foreign hols every year.


_efm _is on the right track though - the original poster needs to do a clear and realistic budget outlining income and all outgoings (including annual and some allowance for contingency/emergency expenditure) in order to see if the existing situation is viable. The fact that some other poster might manage on €800 p.m. is irrelevant unless their circumstances and lifestyle match the original poster's identically.


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## jprender

Agree totally, a full budget detailing expenditure needs to be prepared by OP to ascertain if it can really be afforded.


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## Noor77

Because I now work just 4 days a week, after all my bills (incl. mortgage) are paid and my savings scheme money comes out I am left with €230 a week which has to cover food, socialising, any holidays, buses and clothes. I wouldn't be able to manage if that €230 had to cover my bills too.

I really think the OP should rethink her position on a lodger


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## 007007

ESB 50 (for 2 months)
Gas 50 
Phone 50
TV 50 (26 per month)
Mortgage Protection 15
House Insurance 15
Health insurance 50
Life assurance 20
Waste charges 20 (i share with a neighbour)
Car insurance 60
Petrol 50 (per month)
Car tax 35
Lunch / coffee 100 (make my own lunch)
Food 400 (that amount on phone would last me 3 months!!!)


i have a friend who is an electrian, another is a plumber, my boyfriend has helped me decorate my house including painting, putting down floors and fitting lights...

i had other savings to buy furniture and stuff for the house.

i have applied for the tax relief it just hasnt come through yet.

no my parents are not millionaires, if they were i wouldnt be on this site..

basically now i do believe i can survive on 900 per month, other people can do it so i dont see why i cant..

Flax*Re: Advice Please*
007007,

Is the need to own your home worth living in poverty for a few years?

Why are you in such a hurry to get in such incredible debt?

I am agreement with the other posters who think you need a reality check. 

i dont need a reality check Flax..


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## momomo

have to agree with 007007 about the food, 100 for lunch and 400 a month for food for a girl living on her own, not a chance. 
Half that is what i live on, and thats not by budgetting, i just couldnt eat anymore food


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## moondance

momomo said:


> have to agree with 007007 about the food, 100 for lunch and 400 a month for food for a girl living on her own, not a chance.
> Half that is what i live on, and thats not by budgetting, i just couldnt eat anymore food



I'm also a girl living on her own (bought place last Oct) and you've got to remember that 400 for groceries a month would also have to include the expensive items like washing powder, toilet roll, cleaning stuff (eg bleach, flash, cif, dettol, etc), bin bags, etc. I'd easily spend 400 a month on shopping for essential item + food.


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## jprender

even if you take half of that amount for lunches and food as is suggested, that leaves only about 130 euro per month for everything else.

Toiletries / cosmetics / haircuts / nights in/out etc etc

Thats very tight.


Not saying its impossible but not a great life imo.


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## moondance

I'll tell you my monthly spends as I'm in a similar position but with lower mortgage and higher earnings:

- Supermarket Shopping  400
- Car Insurance  35
- Car Tax  35 (not sure on this)
- Petrol 80 (about 20 a week)
- ESB  40
- Mobile  40
- Gas  40
- Mgmt Fee  75
- Lunch 100
- Mortgage  639

- Socialising 200
- Holidays 200 (spread over year)
- Misc (weddings, gifts, family occasions, etc) 100

- Savings 10K and save 50 a week 

- Loans 0
- Overdraft 0
- Credit Card  0

- Take Home Pay per month  2540 
- Total Spend (incl savings) 2184

So technically I should have about 350 extra to play with a month but I don't! No idea where it goes but there's always stuff you don't think of. I know there's a lot on holidays  there and that's because I haven't had one in 2 years so going a bit mad this year but I always make sure to keep within budget. I just can't see how I could survive on less than half that.


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## pc7

op could you boyfriend move in and pay rent? I don't know if there are legal implications with this if you split up?  but it removes the problem of a stranger as a lodger.


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## paddi22

007007

that budget doesn't look realistic.
There doesn't seem to be money factored in for doctors, dentists, hairdressers, clothing, gifts etc (close friends and family will marry and you will realistically have to go to them) repairs of car, depreciation of car and macinery.

It's all well and good putting figures down on a page and making them fit a budget but in real life you often need a decent cushion.

I live frugally and save money but this month for example, my car tax and insurance had to be paid, i had to buy medicine and my car needed repair, on top of that my kitchen kettle broke as well!. It's those kind of months you need the extra per month to cover. Cause the mortgage still needs to get paid. These should be the years of your life where you can travel and enjoy yourself. It seems mad to be a slave to a mortgage. 

And it's rubbish when people say well everyone always struggled to get their house. My parents struggled, but they never signed up for 45 year mortgages. And they stuck through it cause it was a house they could stay in forever, with a garden and spaces for their children.


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## ClubMan

Keep a spending diary for a few months. Log *EVERY *item of expenditure, get receipts and keep them. (Pretend you are on expenses - because you are - just that you, rathre than an employer, are paying!). Obviously you may not encounter all annual expenditure items in that time but it will be a reality check on which to base and sanity check any budget that you have prepared separately.


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## Guest114

Can I ask the OP a relevant question ? Was Christmas a big struggle ? How did you manage with presents ? Did you have to pay for them on the credit card ?


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## outspann

"- Misc (weddings, gifts, family occasions, etc) 100"

Moondance,

I think you may have hit on the critical point. If you ONLY buy the minimum amount of food, ONLY use the minimum amount of electricity, ONLY socialise with the minimum amount of friends, etc you may be able to live on 900pm (unfortunately the OP doesn't have 900pm - that was the figure metioned my momomo).

What you won't be able to afford is those "Misc" items. Now it's true that you can get by without these. But it's also true that you can survive without toilet paper. It's just that going without either is guaranteed to make your life less enjoyable.

OP, I applaud your determination - there's nothing wrong with making a stab at budgeting. But do yourself a favour : Set yourself a definite financial target, say 4 or 5 months from now, and if you find that you are slipping below that financial waterline, then you need to make changes. You may not want to take in a lodger, but at that stage you'll have tried the alternative. Agree now what those drop-dead figures are, and write them down where you can see them every day. It's very easy in four or five months to start convincing yourself that it's okay to move the goalposts. Don't.

At the moment your situation is serious but not critical. But for your own sake, don't be back here in two years time, 40k in debt and in real desperation...


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## molls

hi 007007,

first of well done on having your own house

I would strongly encourage you to heed the advice of people on the site, most of it is from their own experience. I must say that when I started using this site I was having problems budgeting and the advice here has been very helpful.

Like you I have a mortgage of 1100 pm.It's a 3 bed house and I rent out the other two rooms giving me 550 pm. I could coast along like you are but I would end up eating into my savings for the extra things that come up - and something always does. I'm lucky in that I can save 500 euro additionally but you only have to read the papers about job losses and rising interest rates to see that it's mad not to save a bit where you can. You only need to read the stories here on the site to see that things can go badly wrong very quickly for people - sensible ones at that.

Best of luck. You wouldn't have asked for the advice if you weren't worried so make use of it. I wouldn't wait six months and see how things were then. If you have a tenent for six months and things are grand, then you can ask them to leave.


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## floydmuppet

I agree with other posters, its time to face facts.You will have to seriously curtail your lifestyle, if you wish to hold on to the property.I would be interested to know based on your mortgage to salary ratio, if you got your mortgage from a sub prime lender.IF so my advise is don't fall behind on repayments whatever you do.Those guys don't mess about in getting their money back, especially in the current financial conditions.


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## 007007

boyfriend wont be moving in, he is saving for his own place....

christmast wasnt a struggle, i went on hols for a week abroad the week before christmas.    

dont have much family so i didnt have to buy lots of presents, 4 presents in total.

all your 'negativity' about me not going to manage is only making me more determined that i will!!!


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## Berbatov

007007 said:


> boyfriend wont be moving in, he is saving for his own place....
> 
> christmast wasnt a struggle, i went on hols for a week abroad the week before christmas.
> 
> dont have much family so i didnt have to buy lots of presents, 4 presents in total.
> 
> all your 'negativity' about me not going to manage is only making me more determined that i will!!!


 
007007

There's no point in asking for advice if your not going to listen to what the majority of people on here are saying i.e. you need to make changes to your current set up.


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## outspann

OP,

There would be no point if all this site did was to provide encouragement with no basis in fact - your friends and family can do that for you. What you get here is honest opinions from people who have more experience in this than you or me. 

Take the advice or don't take the advice, that's your call. But what you won't get are people trying to make you *feel* better - instead you get different opinions on how to make your finances *add up* better.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it's very easy to slide slowly into debt while convincing yourself that everything is okay....


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## Flax

007007 said:


> boyfriend wont be moving in, he is saving for his own place....
> 
> christmast wasnt a struggle, i went on hols for a week abroad the week before christmas.
> 
> dont have much family so i didnt have to buy lots of presents, 4 presents in total.
> 
> all your 'negativity' about me not going to manage is only making me more determined that i will!!!


 
Why did you post this topic? Do you just want people to say well done, you're great, you'll be grand?

I find it really sad that you've chosen to waste probably the best years of your life struggling with borderline unmanageable debt.


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## Mpsox

A lot of people have a lot to say on this one. Can we at least try and be polite on here, after all, we all started somewhere as first time buyers

I would have concerns for the OP, especially as it is a starter home, possibly is now in negative equity if she were to sell and is really going to struggle if interest rates go up. No real margin here for error

some suggestions, check that your tax affairs are as efficient as they should be, budget like crazy and stick to it. Also I'd seriously consider getting another part time job for a couple of years, even if it was stacking shelves in Tesco's for 2 evenings a week, it would help take the sting out of things and might even help you put a little bit of rainy day money away

Good luck


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## pinkyBear

> some suggestions


 
Hi there, Mpsox many people have taken the time and effort to assist 007007 with her bugeting, in her previous posts I dont really think she took the advice seriously enough. So really there is no point making suggestions as the OP does not appear to want to heed the advice...


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## ClubMan

Mpsox said:


> A lot of people have a lot to say on this one. Can we at least try and be polite on here


Who hasn't been? Calling a spade a spade is not necessarily being impolite in case that's what you're referring to.

With apologies to _Noor77 _for singling her out - I seem to recall being some people (including myself) being accused of this before in the epic _Noor77 _threads (search them out) but in the end I believe that _Noor77 _benefited from some useful advice and seems to have radically turned around her financial situation by taking some of it on board and acting on it. Not every piece of advice will necessarily be 100% accurate or appropriate but the nature of a discussion forum such as this is that among all the suggestions there should be a lot of useful an applicable advice.


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## sadie

If you understandably don't want to take in a lodger, what about a part-time job, even like every second Sat or Sunday in a shop. Or babysitting in the local neighbourhood. I know it's only a little extra cash but it'd mean a few less trips to the ATM.


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## Flax

007007 said:


> socialising every few weeks, like to keep up with the latest fashion... foreign hols every year.


 
If you dump these ---^ for a few years until your wage is a bit higher, that will certainly help this issue:



007007 said:


> im afraid i wont be able to keep paying the mortgage payments every month........


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## eileen alana

It beggars belief that nowadays, banks and financial instituations are lending such huge amounts of money to young people, when I was in my early twenties and living in England the most I or my partner could borrow to purchase a house was 3 and a half times our annual salary. I now have a twenty something daughter that's on the same salary as the OP who is currently renting paying approx 400 euro per month, and even she can't manage without the occassional top up from mum. There isn't a hope in hell that she could cope with a 200,000 euro mortgage on her own..


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## John Rambo

I've an issue with the very high five year fixed interest rate...who recommended that?! There's something about this that doesn't quite add up.


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## SarahMc

There is some seriously weighty and valid advice on this thread, mine is more trivial.  Weekend jobs do not have to be shelf stacking in supermarkets.  You said you enjoy keeping up with fashion, what about a p/t job in Oasis / New Look etc for the money and the staff discount.


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## agapanthus

At a guess I would say this loan offer was issued prior to the change regarding stress testing of interest rates.   Up til about October or thereabouts much higher multiples were being advanced by banks based on the fact that if you took a 5 yr fixed then the loan did not have to be stress tested.   This combined with allowance for 'room rental' would get that amount of money.   However it is obvious the TRS hasnt kicked in yet which will at least help and again I do think renting the other room is essential, needs must!   Selling is probably not an option especially with the breakage penalty on the fixed rate.


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## legallady

I really would ask you to reconsider taking in a lodger. I have one and it is working out great. She is a friend so things are great between us. Its an extra €600 a month for me. Things really would be a struggle otherwise. I know you want your privacy, but it is not worth the risk of losing your home and having a bad credit rating. 

I am quite shocked at your attitude though. You seem quite immature to me. You are worried about making your first mortgage payment, yet you went on holiday before Christmas! You really need a reality check. I am not a frugel liver by any means, but you really just have to take stock when you have a property. 

I like to keep up with the latest fashions as well, but when I moved into my apartment I realised the amount of stuff I actually have! Style is not about keeping up with whatever junk is in the shops, but about making the most of what you have and putting things together creatively. Try this before you go running into Oasis, Topshop etc in the future. 

I would also suggest going through your clothes, shoes and jewelery and selling some of it on ebay. You could make a few quid on there. I would also recommend doing a spot of babysitting in your locality. Most times the kids are in bed, and you can charge around €10 I think these days. Could be very handy money. 

Forget about going on holidays this summer also, until you are comfortable with the mortgage. 

Bring your lunch to work. Stop getting coffee etc in the morning. Cut down on taxis. Have friends around to yours for dinner and drinks rather than going out. These are all things that can free up a bit of money. However they are not going to make a huge impact.

Best of luck with it.


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## liaconn

I can understand your reluctance to share your house with anyone, but you really can't afford the luxury of total privacy at the moment. I used to act as a host to foreign students aged over 18 yrs. It really just involved leaving a few dinners in the freezer for them to heat up for themselves in the evening and showing them where the bread and coffee were for their breakfast. Most of them are out in the evenings anyway, as they're usually only in Dublin for a few weeks and want to make the most of it. Also, get a second hand portable TV and stick it in their room. This will mean you should have your sitting room to yourself, even on the nights they decide to stay in. Also, you can give yourself a break of a week or two between students so you can have the house totally to yourself some of the time. Its a good compromise between trying to pay the mortgage on your own and being stuck with a permanent lodger that you might not like.


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## pinkyBear

There is also gumtree.ie and these are short term lets - anything from a night to a month...


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## Mongola

I have to say i am more than surprise than you found a mortgage provider. You are basically left with 800 euro to leave on each month. In my opinion, you are not living, you are SURVIVING. I completely agree with what a few people have said: you need a reality check.

You want everything at the same time (have your own house and keep shopping, holidays...) It wouldn t be a problem if you could afford it but the problem is that you can t! A friend of mine was in a similar situation a few years ago, she had bought a well overpriced cottage in Dublin and although the place was tiny, and i mean tiny (smallest house i have ever visited!) she had to rent out the second bedroom. She had to compromise and i think that is what you are going to have to do if you want to live and not just survive!

Best of luck anyway, you will need it!!!!!


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## 007007

legallady-you have no rite to call me immature, u dont even know the details of the holidays..

and people i dont need a reality check, ye obviously have not been in my situation, except for momomo, and they are managing quiet well. and im sure i will. when your on a lower salary like i am, you get used to not having money to buy a lot of stuff, when i said at the start i like the lastest fashions, you can easily pick up nice stuff in A-wear, dunnes etc, its not like i shop in BT or anything...

so i'll get back to ye in a few months and give ye an update.....


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## pinkyBear

Hi there,
To be honest I dont think it is helpfull of those to say "How could you get a mortgage on your salary" you have a mortgage and now you have to learn to manage your money.. 
You would be surprised howmany have been in your boat - and still are - and yes you are right when you are not used to money you dont spend it. 
That is not to say that some of the advise isn't helpfull, see how things go for the next few months you do have a small buffer but it would be nice iif rather than scraping by - that you could have some leeway..


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## ClubMan

007007 said:


> and people i dont need a reality check, ye obviously have not been in my situation, except for momomo, and they are managing quiet well. and im sure i will. when your on a lower salary like i am, you get used to not having money to buy a lot of stuff, when i said at the start i like the lastest fashions, you can easily pick up nice stuff in A-wear, dunnes etc, its not like i shop in BT or anything...
> 
> so i'll get back to ye in a few months and give ye an update.....


Since the original poster seems to only want to deal with a single poster who agrees with them and not with the advice from others who might have differing views I am closing this thread and they can continue their mutual appreciation by _PM _if they like.


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