# Money makeover & what amount we 'should' be able to save each month, please?



## justme2011 (12 Aug 2011)

Age: 33
Spouse’s/Partner's age: 32

Annual gross income from employment or profession: €36k (1,600 per month)
Spouse’s/Partner's €25k (2,200 per month)

Type of employment: permanent (both)

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

we are just breaking even, but want to be able to save

Rough estimate of value of home €170,000
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: € 190,000
*What interest rate are you paying? 3% (tracker)* (790 per month)

Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc

1) Ford Credit €10,000 o/s repayments = €191pm
2)BOI Loan €5,000 o/s repayments = €145pm
3) BOI overdraft 1,000 x2 


Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? yes


Savings and investments: None

Do you have a pension scheme? Yes (only one)

Ages of children: n/a

Life insurance: €28pm 
Car insurance 51pm
Airtricity varies 30pm
2nd car insurance 58pm
House ins 46
Sky 11.50
Internet 20
Mobile 40 per month (for 2)
bins                       pauid  for year upfront
petrol                     160 pm each - hubby works shift hours
food                       ?? this I dont know..



Just want to try to find out what amount we 'should' be able to save each month - thanks.


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## horusd (12 Aug 2011)

You might consider reviewing the following:


Mobile. Check www.callcosts.ie
Insurances. Motor annual costs around 1,100. Have you shopped around? House insurance at nearly 600 pa is also pricy enough, have you shopped around? Is the life cover one or two persons? Have you shopped around ?
What are the interest rates applying to the loans and overdrafts? Do you use the overdrafts consistently?
Set up a spending budget. See here. You need to work out what is spent on food etc.
Consider making a specific budget for food and sticking to it.Say 500pm  and see how you manage.
160 pm on petrol is a lot. Can this be reduced? See [broken link removed] for AA tips on reducing fuel usage.
If bills vary (as they do) and you are always breaking even, then you are likely spending what you have rather than working to a budget. You need to start a rough budget and adjust it. Estimate and set a preliminary shopping budget, save differences between it and your income. Include an emergency budget amount, ie Doctors, car maintenance etc.


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## justme2011 (12 Aug 2011)

Cool, thanks 

Mobile. Check call costs website - will check this out
Insurances. Motor annual costs around 1,100. Have you shopped around? - yep, there are a few claims there.
House insurance at nearly 600 pa is also pricy enough, have you shopped around?- yep only recently
 Is the life cover one or two persons? Have you shopped around ? It's for 2 and we have
What are the interest rates applying to the loans and overdrafts? Do you use the overdrafts consistently? - need to look at this and always use the o/d


Thanks again ;-)


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## serotoninsid (12 Aug 2011)

justme2011 said:
			
		

> Annual gross income from employment or profession: €36k (1,600 per month)
> Spouse’s/Partner's €25k (2,200 per month)


€36K/€25K=€1,600/€2,200? 



justme2011 said:


> petrol  160 pm each - hubby works shift hours


Your either doing high mileage or driving a gas guzzler.  Look at switching to a car that's got a fuel efficient 1.4TDI engine.  May not be feasible right now if you've got finance on your current cars - but maybe one for the future.


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## niceoneted (14 Aug 2011)

Your income is €3,800 and your outgoings as listed (not including food) is € 1730.50. Therefore a difference of €2069.50. 
What you really need to do is start a spending diary. See where your money is going. Cut out unnecessaries for a while until you get a handle on the overdrafts for a start. Thus bring lunches to work, no takeaways, mags, newspapers etc. 
You should also look at all your out goings, plan for them ahead of time by setting up a separate account to cover them. Include things like spending for christmas, birthdays, weddings, haircuts, and the likes. You know they will be an expense so plan for them. Even €100 or €150 a month. 
I think you are doing ok with mobiles considering you don't have a landline. 
Petrol too is ok as you probably have a commute. I pay twice that but if I lived nearer to where I worked I would be paying twice the mortgage. I am nearer family and friends where I live. 
Insurances need to be looked at too. I appreciate you say you have claims but still shop around.

One last thing, how long is left on the payments of the loans.


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## justme2011 (14 Aug 2011)

Hi niceoneted, there is 4 years left on the car loan and 3 on the BOI one. Should be be trying to pay them off early or get rid of the over drafts?thanks


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## Macstuff (15 Aug 2011)

justme2011 said:


> Hi niceoneted, there is 4 years left on the car loan and 3 on the BOI one. Should be be trying to pay them off early or get rid of the over drafts?thanks


 
A couple of things to think about here. 
- Ideally you should pay off the most expensive debt with any spare cash, do you know the APR on the loans / overdraft?
- I would pay down the overdraft first as then at least if you have an emergency you have some money, via the approved overdraft to pay it (you currently don't have any savings). Just make sure that if you do pay off the overdraft you don't build it up again through lifestyle spending. 

As an aside, I have two personal loans and an overdraft. I was going to pay off the overdraft via a personal loan (added to one of my existing loans) but found that the rate being offered on the new loan was 4% higher than on my Overdraft. As a result I am now using my spare cash to pay the OD.

Someone has suggested starting a spending diary, this is an excellent idea as you are currently 'missing' 2k per month. 
An alternative that I use, is to limit myself to withdrawing €180 per week each Friday and using that money to pay for all spending i.e. food, entertainment, clothes, petrol etc. (I pay household bills seperately). At the end of the week if it's all spent, I don't allow myself any more money. I've found it a great way to save money for paying down my bills. Obviously you may need to increase your weekly allowance to reflect your circumsances.


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## justme2011 (15 Aug 2011)

Yeah that what I'm going to do - pay off the overdrafts first. Then tackle the loans. thanks.


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## f9710145 (16 Aug 2011)

Without your loans and o/ds you should be well able to save plenty.  We're taking home a few hundred less than you - mortgage is about 380 more than yours and we're saving a few hundred a month.  We've no loans other than mortgage, running 2 cars and also have 2 kids to pay for.  So it's very doable with your income, in fact you should be able to do it now even with your loans.  As suggested a spending diary should highlight problem areas.  I find the household grocery shop is often a major culprit.  For comparitive purposes we budget €400 per month (all food and household products) for 2+2 and usually have some left over.  However I know of people who can do it on €60 - €80 per week for 2 + 3 including nappies and formula.


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## justme2011 (16 Aug 2011)

Just got the different figures - the BOI loan is 12.9% and another 31 months on that, the car loan is 11.89% and 45 more payment to make on that and the overdraft is 12.75. So I should be trying to pay the 12.9% loan and the overdraft asap?


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## BoscoTalking (22 Aug 2011)

a quick way is at the beginning of the month (pay day let the direct debits go out and then transfer x amount into a savings account and see how you fare that month paying for everything only in cash. forget paying with cards.
 You will quickly realize how much you can realistically can afford but also what you can afford to live without.


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## horusd (22 Aug 2011)

justme2011 said:


> Just got the different figures - the BOI loan is 12.9% and another 31 months on that, the car loan is 11.89% and 45 more payment to make on that and the overdraft is 12.75. So I should be trying to pay the 12.9% loan and the overdraft asap?


 
This would make the best sense. But you really have to get a handle on where your money is going. As ted said above, there is a huge gap between apparent income and listed expenses. If you are living month to month then something is eating up this, and you need to know what you haven't accounted for in your budget. 

Assuming you have spare income, set higher payments off the most expensive loans. You will reduce both cost and repayment time doing this. 

But as a priority you need to have a spending diary/plan. You can review and amend as needs be. Likely you have large expenditure on food etc. If this is the case you need to set a provisional budget and stick to it. Without knowing where you are spending all your money you are completely in the dark.


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## justme2011 (24 Feb 2012)

*Becoming debt free*

Just wanted to pop back and say that we took on board the advise we were given and have been able to pay of our overdrafts, credit card and BOI loan, so now we just have a car loan and mortgage!! 
thanks for all the support.


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## STEINER (24 Feb 2012)

well done in just a few months.


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## callybags (24 Feb 2012)

> well done in just a few months.


 
+1. 
It looks like you paid down roughly 7K of debt in 6 months.

This should give you a guide as to how much you could save if you put your mind to it.

Treat your savings account as if it is a very expensive credit card that must be paid off


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## justme2011 (24 Feb 2012)

Thanks guys, means a lot to feel  in control again


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