Hi,
Just a few points:
- You say your husband is self employed, so is the €5000 before or after tax
- Is he claiming his expense.....deisel, insurance, tax, van loan etc
- The VAT isn't an expense, he is a collector of VAT for the government
- He should visit an accountant to make sure everything is being accounted for and to assess his real income
- If his net income really is about €60k, maybe he can put you down as an employee (doing the books) so you can take some income off him and pay less tax....check with an accountant!)
- Keep a money diary and work out exactly where your money goes and decide what you can cut back on.....some great treads on AAM on this
- Your situation isn't too bad overall as you have €30k in saving and a nice managable mortgage (compared to what some people have) and no other debts. Many of the people you see living life to the hilt are maxed out on credit cards, overdrafts and loans. At least you are living within your means!
Good luck