I'm new to this forum, so let me know if I'm not in the right area or if this is covered elsewhere - haven't managed to find anything thus far.
I'm working right now, having had a 'lean' period a while back that prompted us to rein in the monthly spend and cut back quite a bit - more than 25% of our spend was cut.
However, we still spend quite a lot, and income is just covering outgoings. I'd really like to find out if our spend levels for a family of six is about right or totally off the wall. Would also seek advice / input on how to go about further cuts / reductions.
I'll not go into any details just yet - every family will be different, and the devil will be in the detail for each household. We can track how much comes in and out each month down to the last Euro - its via a real simple spreadsheet that tracks end of month bank balances and takes 5 minutes to update. We also know where the vast majority of spend goes, so would be willing to open the detail if there's sufficient interest and a belief that there's something to be gained.
We're not in any financial stress - besides the angst generated where you bust your ass all month to get as close to break-even point as possible. So this is essentially an extension of an existing exercise to cut costs, with an eye on the future where we may run short of work again ..... self-employed!!