# Seriously tight budget any comments please...



## colc (20 Sep 2012)

Age: 34


Annual gross income from employment or profession: 26312

Monthly take-home pay 1592

Type of employment: e.g. Civil Servant (For 4 years so far)

In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or
(b) saving?

*Generally spending slightly over what I'm earning.*

Rough estimate of value of home N/A
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: N?A
*What interest rate are you paying? N/A*

Rent is €500 a month

Bills (i.e. tv, gas electric, bins approx. 90 a month at the moment and will obviously get higher over the colder months)

Travel costs: 23 a week for public transport

Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc N/A 


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

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? Yes (at the moment)

If not, what is the balance on your credit card? 

Savings and investments: maybe 300 in deposit accounts approx.

Do you have a pension scheme? Yes (though doesnt appear to be worth much more than the state pension on my wages and thats after 40 years service)

Do you own any investment or other property? No

Ages of children: N/A

Life insurance: No


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

*Specifically i am wondering if I am crazy to keep working seeing as my budget is so tight approx €24 a day after all bills and that has to pay for food haircuts doctors, etc.  I dont drink or smoke or do drugs either it just seems such a tight budget...   I also hate my job and would rather re-train to work for myself any comments or suggestions every welcome thanks.  Colc *


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## Kkma (20 Sep 2012)

Hi there, a brief look at your figures seems to indicate you have 900 euros a month after all your bills, rent and transport costs are paid - leaving you with over 200 a week to live. I feed our family of 3 - 2 adults 1 child - including cleaning products etc on 70-100 a week and this includes many luxury items (out of season strawberries/steak for example) and I'm sure I could do it for less. I would think that you could feed yourself for 50, leaving you with 150 for yourself for savings, clothing, entertainment etc. If you were on the dole you would be on something like 188 a week, 30 of which would go towards your rent if you got rent supplement for the rest of it, 20-25 towards your bills, leaving you with 133 approx. So if your figures are correct you have over 70 euros a week more the way you are. If you really hate your job I would consider retraining for your own personal satisfaction and happiness, regardless of money.


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## colc (20 Sep 2012)

HI Kk thanks very much for your practical objective look at my situation.  I suppose I should also say I've had a good few medical bills over the last few years due to stress associated with the position.  900 sounds ok looking in from the outside I know.  I also tend to snack constantly (comfort eating really) to keep myself going in the role which really eats into the budget when its in the city centre with no subsidised canteen or anything like that to help with the food budget and by the weekend I cant face going to the nearest Tesco or Dunnes which are not close by and I dont drive ( I literally couldnt afford to drive anyway as I can imagine yourself and others could relate to..

Thanks again any other info comments etc again I'd be grateful.

Colc


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## vandriver (20 Sep 2012)

On those figures you should at least get a GP visit card.


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## Janet (20 Sep 2012)

Okay, so what you really need is to start dealing with the problems you have, which are leading you to overspend, rather than find a way to earn money.  Believe me, been there, done that - unless you get your spending under control, it will always expand to eat up every bit of your available money (and then some).  The best way to save money is to not spend it.  

So, it sounds like you're very down (possibly depressed) about your job.  You will know yourself how bad that is, but if you think you need it or would benefit from it, please consider getting some counselling.  Yes, you will probably have to pay for this yourself and it's not cheap but it is possible.  And getting help, knowing you have to put money away for that and therefore cannot spend on other things, might be enough to kick-start you into changing things.

Otherwise, you need to start doing all the things that it sounds like you already know you should be doing.  Namely, never buying food at work/in town and only eating what you have prepared at home and brought in with you.  Do you have access to a microwave in work?  If not, invest in a good, wide-neck flask.  It's coming into colder weather now so it's soups and stews all the way.  Cheap and easy to prepare and you can cook once at the weekend and have enough for the week (albeit a bit boring to have the same thing every day).  Or, if you have a decent sized freezer, invite a good friend over to help you and spend a day cooking enough for lunches for a month.  If you can't face going to the supermarket, order online (less chance of impulse buying anyway).  I nearly fell over when I saw I'd have to pay 40 euro for a non-glass wide-neck flask (to replace the Thermos one that I broke the second time I used it) but then realised that even if I just used it every day for one week, I would have already saved as much as I had spent on it.

And figure out how to de-stress a bit at least.  Where do you live in comparison to where you work?  Can you walk or cycle part or all of the way?  It's amazing how pounding your frustrations out on the pavement can make you feel more positive by the time you get home.

How is your budget structured?  Do you have a proper one of the kind that involves micro-managing to a certain extent?  By that I mean, x amount for food, x for drink, x for magazines, x for snacks etc. 

Honestly, you sound a bit like how I was (and sometimes still get - depression is a very difficult thing to beat) so feel free to look back through some of my posts to see how things can go if you don't start figuring this out.


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## STEINER (20 Sep 2012)

Hi there.

I know what it is like to live on low income and separately an unhappy job also.

Back in 1998 I survived for a year on €7,600 pa or net monthly pay of €610. I had rent of about €250 pm...... You have about €900 left after paying rent and bills.

Look for cheaper accomodation, €500 is too much in my opinion.

Food in supermarkets is reasonably cheap, bring your own lunch to work. You can always buy your lunch on Fridays in a deli etc as a treat.

€23 per week is good for transport costs.  You can save a few hundred euro extra on this by getting ticket through the taxsaver scheme if you not doing it already. Annual ticket is best.

[broken link removed]

Great to see you have no loans or cc balances.

Great to see you are not killing yourself with smoking and drugs.  I have a friend who spends about €50 per week on cigarettes.

Start jotting down what you are spending your income on.  Until you know exactly, you won't be able to eliminate unnecessary spending wastage.  Are your phone bills reasonable? Are you a coffee addict? etc

What exactly do you hate about your job? You shouldn't continue in it if you are really unhappy and things can't be improved.  You should think about your ideal career and start working towards it.


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## Moose (21 Sep 2012)

Firstly, give yourself credit for managing on a tight budget. You're not in debt so you know how to do it. For me, personally, that gives a sense of freedom: I know I can manage on €20-25 a week if necessary (after bills) and not feel deprived. It can sound daft to some but frugality - a less-is-more philosophy - can be fun if you're not completely on skid row and can make it a game (google sites such as 'get rich slowly' or 'the simple dollar' + 'frugality' for topics on same). 

If you work for the Civil Service, check out what's available to you in the way of counselling. Some organisations offer free confidential counselling (outsourced) on any number of issues: stress, comfort eating, bereavement, budgeting, etc. Also, check whether there are any schemes in place to part-pay for courses. If you need to re-train, perhaps you could do it at night at a reduced fee with the help of your employer. Also, see what's on offer locally in the library (language courses on DVD/CD) or a community resource centre if you have one near. 

If you're unhappy at work - given you spend so much of your day there, it can really impact your life - so try to give yourself something to look forward to that's still financially frugal: maybe a Groupon or similar voucher for a meal that you split with a friend (got one recently that worked out at €5 each; it's way cheaper than eating junk at the desk and is more social); don't know where you're living but a bus ride to somewhere scenic for a walk; browsing your local library shelves or charity shops;  etc. 

Keep a spending diary, as people on here so often advise. Once you figure out you're spending €50+ a month on junk and that this set aside over five months would cover budget flights and budget accommodation for a city break somewhere (or whatever floats your particular boat), you'll be more loathe to spend it.


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## Kkma (23 Sep 2012)

Hi Colc I was talking to someone whose friend also works in a government job and is retraining for something else - she has had no problem arranging time off work for this. I was also wondering if you would be able to have leave of absence for an extended period. Sounds like you are in an unhappy rut and something needs to change, maybe you need time and space. I'd also suggest a chat with your GP about how you're feeling. I was also wondering if you live on your own and if so would you be happier in a houseshare? The last thing is if you have any interests or things you would like to try - look into taking evening classes or joining a club - something to look forward to in evening that is nothing to do with work. At one stage in my life I hated my job and I wish I had explored my options sooner than I did instead of feeling powerless - once you take the first step it really gets easier, although miracles don't happen overnight! Even posting on here shows you want to change your life for the better.


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## Khublei (11 Oct 2012)

I would agree that you're paying too much in rent. Rent and bills should come to 25% of your net income for you to live happily. Can you move somewhere cheaper?


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