# 28yr old - how do I save?



## smiler26 (10 Jan 2009)

Age: 28

Annual gross income from employment or profession: €45k

Type of employment: employee

In general are you:
*(a) spending more than you earn*


Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc
€2,500 Car Loan from CU - Payments €200 per month

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

Savings and investments: Approx €30k in shares (majority vests in July)

Do you have a pension scheme? YES, 4% contribution

Do you own any investment or other property?  NO


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

3 years ago I had €20k debt, crazy I know. However, since then I paid everything off and my first new debt only started today (€2.5k car loan). I'm pretty sure I can pay that off every month, but I'm worried that I still seem to be broke 1 week before pay day every month. Any advice appreciated. Here's a summary of my incomings/outgoings.

Incoming: €2800

Outgoing:

Rent: €950
Credit Union : €200
Gas: €50
Electricity: €100
Broadband: €20
Car Insurance: €30
Credit Card (since I usually end up spending on it in the last week): €200
Cigarettes: €200
Groceries: €250
Lunch at Work: €210
Sundries: €200
Mobile (PAYG): €40


And yet, how am I always broke? I desperately need ways to start saving properly. I went through hell and back when I was in debt and I dont want to go back there!

Smiler


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## Guest110 (10 Jan 2009)

Your electricity is 100 a month ? You must have 1,000 light bulbs on all day, that is extremly high.

Your  lunch at work is very expensive too.You spend 210 a month on your lunch which works out at just over 10 euro a day. Thats alot of money to be spending, You could just buy a fresh roll from the shop each morning and make your own lunch. Thats 50 euro a week, if you saved 30 euro of that each week, that saves you 120 euro, which is 80 euro less than the 200 on the credit card !


Also, you are paying 950 a month on rent? Are you renting a whole house for yourself ? If your renting ,the average rent price for a room is around 400 a month.You could drastically save on this !


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## Sue Ellen (10 Jan 2009)

A very quick look at the above would indicate you should:

1.  Get rid of the credit card altogether as it is too much of a temptation
2.  Cut out the cigarettes are they are costing you too much money and shortening your lifespan - sorry to be so blunt but realistic
3.  The lunch at work seems very expensive - if that figure is correct it would work out cheaper to bring a packed lunch
4.  The Ready to Go is too much at €40.  The €20 a month deals give free calls and texts to anyone on the same provider.  Ditch friends if they are costing you the extra €20 a month because they are with another mobile phone provider


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## allthedoyles (10 Jan 2009)

Change your diet ......this is the 1st step

Have a decent breakfast ......bring fruit/ health bars to work and avoid going to nearest deli for cholesterol boosting food .

Oatmeal/honey in the morning will keep you going all day ......and therefore you will notice this both in your pocket and appetite .

When you do so shopping ... stick to buying only what you really need .

Buy Tesco UHT skimmed milk....It wont go sour and will save you buying milk daily
Buy Wholemeal Pitta bread and keep refridgerated and toast when you feel hungry.( filled with choice of fillings )

When you go shop to buy cigarettes .......ONLY buy cigarettes ......nothing else 

They are tempting ........but avoid take-aways ...maybe once a week treat 

Use webmail ( desktop text /webtext ) to communicate with friends ...send them ' call me ' messages and let them call you .

Wash your car at home ..( hose and brush ) 

Claim your rent tax credit ........Its worth at least € 300 annually

Pay Credit Union by Direct Debit ( save petrol money driving there )

Turn off all lights at home except those in the room you are using.

If you are regular tea/coffee drinker , buy the new kettle that boils just one cup of water in 3 seconds ( as electric kettles are deadly on ESB )
Dry your clothes on outdoor line instead of dryer ( when weather improves )


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## baldyman27 (11 Jan 2009)

Just read through this thread and am givingmy honest opinion;


smiler26 said:


> Electricity: €100


 
This is crazy. Up to a year ago I shared with three others and our ESB bill was always between E10 and E15 a month each. Even if you are renting a whole house yourself there is something wrong here (unless you have 4 50" plasmas and floodlit swimming pools!!) 


Sue Ellen said:


> 2. Cut out the cigarettes are they are costing you too much money and shortening your lifespan - sorry to be so blunt but realistic


 
Not being smart here but that's so much easier said than done. They cost money, true, and they kill, also true. But (and I am in no way advocating or promoting tobacco usage here) if you're trying to re-adjust your finances you will have enough stress for a while. Don't add to it un-necessarily, sort out finances if that's your priority and that may hopefully make it easier to kick them. I'm a tobacco-hating smoker BTW.



allthedoyles said:


> If you are regular tea/coffee drinker , buy the new kettle that boils just one cup of water in 3 seconds


 
Wonderful, do you have any more info on this, where I can get one? Every time I boil the kettle for one of my numerous daily cuppas I rue the wasted energy.


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## tink (11 Jan 2009)

Hi another idea for lunches is getting food in aldi, Im not a fan of sambos but cant afford to be going out for lunch every day either so I go to aldi and get microwave lunches there for about 1.80 this has saved me a fortune. I found when I was renting that the timing of our heating was way over our needs and when we readjusted it it saved us about 40 quid off the ESB bill. Depends on what system you use though. Good luck.


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## Pope John 11 (11 Jan 2009)

Outgoing:  . . . . . . . . . . . *Savings*

Rent: €950 . . . . . . . . . . .*€200 Rent is far too high *
Credit Union : €200
Gas: €50
Electricity: €100. . . . . . . *€50*
Broadband: €20
Car Insurance: €30
Credit Card €200
Groceries: €250 . . . . . . . .*€100 Shop in LIDL & ALDI*
Lunch at Work: €210 . . . .*€160 Based on approx. €2/day*
Cigarettes: €200 . . . . . . .*€200 *
Sundries: €200 . . . . . . . .*€30 Perhaps clarify this...clothes etc perhaps*
Mobile (PAYG): €40 . . . . .*€20 Use the free texting on the Internet*

*€760 per month saved already*



smiler26 said:


> I desperately need ways to start saving properly. I went through hell and back when I was in debt and I dont want to go back there!


*Hence why I have included the €200 saving on the cigarettes*


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## Thoie (11 Jan 2009)

baldyman27 said:


> Wonderful, do you have any more info on this, where I can get one? Every time I boil the kettle for one of my numerous daily cuppas I rue the wasted energy.



I've heard bad things about those one cup machines - namely that the water doesn't actually boil, and that they spit everywhere.  If you desperately want one still, take a look at [broken link removed]

I've cut back on kettle wastage by using a covered element cheapo kettle, and filling my mug with water, then pouring that into the kettle and then boiling that.  After a while you recognise where different cup sizes come on the side of the kettle and can go back to filling from the tap again.


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## PaddyW (11 Jan 2009)

How much do you spend on petrol / diesel monthly? What's the sundries? Going out and such?


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## Mommah (11 Jan 2009)

Your rent and electricity seemed extremely high.
If you are living in a one bed apartment, might I suggest that it is not wise, financially or socially.

Last time I checked my monthly electricity bills on a 1600sqft house were €90pm. 2008 Is you main heating electric??

I notice you have no budget for what I call entertainment?(?sundries €200pm low enough for your age group)
This would have been my biggest outlay when I was 28? Still is hefty!
Where is that coming from?

I saved £500+ per month when I was 27...saving to get married and not being the most thrifty person the only way I could do it was to take an evening job 3 evenings a week...kept down my entertainment budget too!


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## allthedoyles (11 Jan 2009)

baldyman27 said:


> do you have any more info on this, where I can get one? Every time I boil the kettle for one of my numerous daily cuppas I rue the wasted energy.


 
Before xmas they were in D.I.D. Electrical for € 72 . The salesperson told me it boils water to 85 degrees .( in 3 seconds )

Friend of mine bought one in Argos and is delighted with it .( dont know cat no. though .


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## baldyman27 (11 Jan 2009)

For E72 I'd nearly stick to the kettle I have. My financial needs are outweighing my environmental conscience these days. Thanks for the info though.


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## BoscoTalking (12 Jan 2009)

you know i approach this a little differently. 
a singleton on 45k - you should set up DD for 200 into your CU loan and another €400/500 pm at least into a savings account. Then when you really feel the pinch of having no cash in your pocket you really do evaluate things in a more aggressive manner. I mean you say you spend 200 pm on ciggs. I am guessing as an ex smoker that you are possibly kidding yourself (20 a day but not weekends, or what if you go out do you stick to what you normally smoke - that sort of thing). 
for example you probably eat 300€ per month. I am adding in some sundries here. only when you are reaching for your last tenner and knowing its your last tenner in a shop will you probably really sit up and think. And that won't happen properly unless it is your last tenner, so get rid of the CC and direct cash out before you go shopping,


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## jimbobman (12 Jan 2009)

hi
i am 28 also ,earning 48k per year and i save 1000 per month. i spend the rest of my income and this includes 3 hols per year .

1. 950 a month on rent is mad. my mortgage is 550
2. stop smoking
3. save and pay off the loan, your giving money away on interest
4. i stopped buying newspapers and coffee when i went into a shop. (one paper a week now on sunday). all the info is on the web anyway and you have b.band
5. cut down on electriciy - e.g. turn off b.band when not at home, turn off all lights
6. you spend 60 a week on groceries and another 50 on work lunches. i spend 50 per week and this covers dinners at home in evening and lunches ( i go home for lunch)


i am not mean at all but i hate wasting money nowadays. if i go for lunch on friday and get a toasted sandwich and chips that costs 10 euro. i can go home and make toasted sandwiches for about 2 euro. 

and believe me when you see your savings account increase by 1k every month, thats all the motivation you need.


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## jimbobman (12 Jan 2009)

just wanted to add too that saving needs a mentality change. ask yourself do you really need to buy that item??? when your brain starts to think this way you will see the money pile up in the bank.


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## Pope John 11 (12 Jan 2009)

jimbobman said:


> just wanted to add too that saving needs a mentality change. ask yourself do you really need to buy that item??? when your brain starts to think this way you will see the money pile up in the bank.


 
Thats exactly my thoughts


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## allthedoyles (12 Jan 2009)

jimbobman said:


> saving needs a mentality change. ask yourself do you really need to buy that item??? when your brain starts to think this way you will see the money pile up in the bank.


 
Exactly correct ......When you go into shop , understand that they are not interested in what you buy ..........but only interested in taking money from your bank a/c into their bank a/c


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## johnno09 (14 Jan 2009)

Incoming: €2800

Outgoing:

Rent: €950
Credit Union : €200
Gas: €50
Electricity: €100 - Wear more jumpers and make sure appliances arent on standby and lights left on etc
Broadband: €20
Car Insurance: €30
Credit Card (since I usually end up spending on it in the last week): €200
Cigarettes: €200   - give yourself a kick in the ass for having the same credit card bill
as what you're paying for cigs to kill yourself. unjustifiable to be in debt over fags!! 
Groceries: €250
Lunch at Work: €210 - are the shelbourne hotel delivering lunch. try this, bring a bottle of water-free, apples, a breadroll & banana-€3.50 max!! And you'll get 3/4 of your 5 a day!! Bonus and probably reduce the chance of having doctors bills
Sundries: €200- if that includes clothes then stay away from the shops, thats just a habit of buying
Mobile (PAYG): €40 - use free online texts, text instead of calling and you can actually half this. 

You just dont seem to be tough enough on yourself. You could be saving well if you cut out wasteful spending. You need to set yourself saving goals based on cutting out those things and set up direct debits that will take the money out of temptation for you


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