Noor77's personal budgeting thread

sandals

hadnt they a tv show about this one place that was for swingers only?

mmmm dont think so

http://www.sandals.com/

Back to topic I blew my budget the weekend. Bought Bridget Jones 1 & 2 for 35 euros. Got himself Ricky Gervais for 20 euros. 15 euros in Supermacs.

Well Its back to the drawing board for me again.

Perhaps Gar123 meant Galway?

Bills to pay - not sure how though

Chorus TV - 100
ESB - 300
Eircom - 300

Total: 700

I want these paid before April, so i can budget proparly ie 10 for chorus, 20 for eircom, 15 for esb etc.

weekend spend

My weekend spend came to this:

Friday - groceries & easter eggs €57
Saturday - €0
Sunday - €3.30 on papers and €1.40 on a loaf of bread

Saturday is usually my most dangerous day so I stayed at home and gave the house a long overdue clean. I even washed my car!

Re: BUDGETING

Melybaby!

I thought you only had €21 for groceries ...so how did you manage to splurge all that at the weekend?!!! And there was me, worrying that you would starve!

Re: BUDGETING

lol Hi Norr,

They money that i was supposed to use for other things I have now used up. So i didnt starve.

My goals for the next few weeks is to pay off all bills, join the gym which is over 550, the medium term is save for holiday and pocket money for tenerife, oh and also clothes/bikinis/creams/shorts/tops etc. A holiday is always worth it though especially since coming out of a finished debt and not been away in years.

Gym

hi there

are you near westpoint or carlisle , a lot cheaper than 550 !

Re: Gym

Hi Gar,

I think I got it wrong. Im in Limerick and with Crunch Fitness the options I have are:

Option 1 is 395 per year
Option 2 is 40 per month with 100 deposit thats 580 per year.

Re: Budgeting and holidays

Melybaby, holidays do tend to blow the budget quite a bit. I'm lucky because a former Mr. Noor is treating me to a week in a 5 Star hotel on the Venetian coast in Italy. All I will have to think about financially is my spending money

€550 for a gym is way too much. Buy a thigh-master and an abs roller from the Argos catalogue. That will only set you back €60. Using them, combined with a few walks (free!), should have you Cindy Crawford-like in no time at all!!! You can use the money you would have spent on a gym as holiday spending money

Noor

Re: Budgeting and holidays

mmmm I guess ure right. I might have a look in the good auld argos book.

Re: Budgeting and holidays

I joined a gym myself...about 4 years ago. Luckily it was a pay by month one because I paid IR£140 for two months and only ended up going three times! Generally, I think eating relatively healthily and trying to walk as much as you can is better than the gym any day - and a lot cheaper of course

I'm still waiting to hear someone say they think that spending more on clothes makes better sense - it seems that everyone on this thread is of the 'cheap and cheerful' mode of thinking...

re: clothes

Have been following this thread but first contribution!
I do think that often buying cheaper clothes is a false economy as the quality isn't good. Also notice that Penny don't include the country of origin in their clothes anymore so don't know where they are made!
i get my high fashion items from dunnes,Next,Oasis,Wallis and also go to smaller boutique for special occasion gear. Often you can get great bargains in the smaller shops and the quality better. It depends on what you are buying. I love the Coast brand in BT's for dressy items. I have 2 small kids now so don't go out as much as before so don't need as many one-off tops for a SAturday night anymore. Like better quality clothes for work and have some trousers for years as the quality of the cut/fabric means they last. It's a very personal thing but I think Pennys cater more for teenagers and as you get older you tend to go for quality over quantity (or maybe i'm the odd-one out here!)

Clothes horse

Well if you're looking for someone to admit to buying expensive clothes rather than cheep & cheerful, look no further! I'm not sure I can justify it, but I'll try though!

I believe that, depending on what you do for a living, it can be necessary to' dress for success', or as my mother used to say 'fine feathers make fine birds'... I buy what might be considered expensive clothes for work. I have to wear a suit for work, and so I buy about three to four a year. I buy in the sales, usually two in the January sales, and one to two in the summer sales. They cost between €400 to €500 each. I then buy tops in places like Principles and Next.

I would be inclined to buy casual gear in local boutiques- so the price wouldnt be very high, but would be more than Dunnes and certainly more than Penneys. I have bought a few things in Penneys and thought the quality was appalling. I feel Dunnes is better but would be less inclined to buy there because I just don't like their clothes usually, I don't think they hang well, and theres little originality there.

So..for my sins I probably pay too much for clothes, but on the other hand I would only buy a few times a year-so quality versus quantity...

Re: Clothes horse

You are the other side of the coin Vanilla!

Where do you buy your suits by the way? And how long would they normally last you?

I wouldn't necessarily agree with the "fine feathers ..." motto -I think an attractive (as in confident and personable) person will look nice in clothes from any kind of shop - as long as the "outfit" has been nicely put together and the person appears well-groomed etc... I have seen a lot of hideous outfits on people that were bought in Brown Thomas and Escada!

I tend to believe that it has more to do with fashion sense then purchasing power. I know that for suits though, it is generally way better value to buy the most expensive you can afford

re Melybaby

Melybaby, might be worth your while taking a look at www.lidl.ie - the specials today are fitness equipment, there is a stepper for 30 quid. Personally I'd prefer to get out in to the fresh air to go walking but I'm tempted by this for times of bad weather etc.

As for clothes, I can't say that I've had anything fall apart or shrink from Penneys, but maybe thats just luck. For kids casual clothes its great, as they tend to outgrow clothes v quickly and also cut the knees out of jeans etc.

Bargain wise with clothes, I find Wallis sales + Marks and Spencer sales very good. But my latest bargain was a pair of flat shoes with strap for €2 in Heatons - hard to beat that!

And in defence of gyms

I have no problems with buying clothes in Pennys or wherever I find them. I reckon if I spend 300 a year, that's the max. It's just not my thing.

However, I pay almost 700 a year (for the last 4 years) for my gym membership and it is worth every cent. I go about 4 or 5 times a week. On a good week it can be 7 but even a bad week with an injury wouldn't see me go less than twice. It's not just a fitness thing (god knows!) because I love the relaxing atmosphere in the pool area and the banter with the regulars. Gym classes are free to members, so no additional aerobics/yoga class fees and I get to use their towels and (power) showers too. I have an exercise bike, gym ball, resistance bands, exercise dvds, weights, resistance bands and a forest and park on my doorstep (all of which I use from time to time) but give me the gym any day and it's not such an expensive hobby at €14 a week; you just have to use it.

I spend twice that a year on courses too. But I don't feel an ounce of guilt about either of those because of the enjoyment and satisfaction I get from them.

Rebecca

Re:clothes budgets

It is hard to beat that Bluebean!

I think the most I have ever spent on a single item of clothing was in 1996 when I spent IR£160 on a coat. It was green and I went off it in a matter of months!

I spent IR£150 on a debs dress in 1995, and the most I have ever spent on shoes was IR£120 in 1997. I've got much more budget-conscious over the last few years - there's nothing like having a mortgage to do that to you

I love clothes

I buy my suits in places like MacBees in Killarney- typically these would be Paul Costello ( although I'm not keen on him since his denouncement of Irish womens fashion sense), Claudia Strater, Maxmara etc I do NOT buy because of the label, and if a label showed on something I would be horrified. I buy because they look well on me, no other reason. I could not afford Escada!

I do agree that some people can look very well in 'cheaper' clothes, but dont think this applies to work suits, when I think quality shows..or at least thats what I tell my husband!

Oh and my suits would last a few years. I have some jackets that are about 5-6 years old and still going. Typically I would expect a suit to last about two years- but they would be worn up to once a week.

Re: budgets

I have to say Vanilla, that if I had more disposable income I would probably buy some good quality suits too. Maybe in a few years time! I'm lucky in that I don't have to wear a suit to work - the dress code is smart casual.

Would you be the same with kids clothes - do you go for the more expensive / better quality option there too?

I probably spend at least €1,200 a year on clothes but none of the clothes would be in any way classed as expensive!