Noor77's personal budgeting thread

Re: That's where it goes

ClubMan, I think you have a very bad impression of me!

No - I'm just going by the information that you've posted and responding to your solicitation for comments. If you feel (rightly or wrongly) that you "never seem to have any money" on a net income of €2,300 and a tax free mortgage subsidy of €250 per month then I honestly believe that you are indeed doing something wrong and, regardless of your past experience in managing credit card debt, that taking out a credit card now might be a bad move until such time as you do an honest, detailed and comprehensive assessment of your incomings and outgoings (down to the smallest purchase if necessary) and make any changes to your spending patterns that you deem necessary to rectify the "problem". Please note that I am not being unnecessarily negative here - I am just trying to be objective, realistic and helpful.

I suppose I just don't know how to save

Have you read some of the resources that I link to ?

Re: That's where it goes

While I am occassionally tempted to get a credit card I am determined not to get one. For the past two years I have lived on a cash basis, if I don't have the money in my account, that's it. I did have an overdraft facility before but got rid of it over the course of a couple of months. I am thinking of getting a laser card though, someone in the bank told me there is a new one coming out in the next couple of weeks, so I will wait for that one.
I do a night course as well, which costs about €40 a week.

Re: That's where it goes

I do a night course as well, which costs about €40 a week.

Again, no offence, just assistance, intended but you seem to be adding new outgoings in your posts in dribs and drabs (e.g. your socialising spending, your medical expenses - don't forget that you can probably claim [broken link removed] on these if they are significant and not otherwise reimbursed, and now your night course etc. If you want to post a comprehensive list of your outgoings here then people might be able to make more constructive suggestions as to where you might be able to make savings (if necessary/applicable). But at the very least you should draw up such a list for yourself and make sure that even small sporadic/impulse purchases are factored into your "account".

Hope this helps.

Re: That's where it goes

You are right ClubMan. I did say I was a bit useless with money though! It's no wonder my spending diary never really got off the ground.

Net Income per month: €2,300

Total Mortgage per month: €1,000, but I pay €750
Conventional Medicine per month: €75
Night Course per week: €40
Newspapers and Magazines per week: €40
ESB and Gas per month: €80
Food per week: €60-€80
Socialising per week: €60 - €100
Vitamins and herbal remedies per month: €30-€40
Travel to Work per week: €15
Lotto syndicate per week: €2
Spending on gifts for others: Averages at €80 per month

That's as much as I can think of right now

Hi there Noor

im 26 out all the time and a year into a mortgage, renting out a room too

i have a cc but pay it off religiously before i pay any interest

best tip i would have for you is as soon as you get paid take the money you want to save out, try a small amount maybe 100-130 first month, i put my savings into the credit union, because when i have to q up with the book to put cash in i think about how much i am saving!

i also rent dvd's and have mates around, we can have a few drinks they enjoy my house and i save a few bob on the trip to the cinema without scrimping on a night with mates

plus at least nce a month i dont drink and drive the car instead, cost me next to nothing

hope this helps

Re: That's where it goes

One immediate issue:

Conventional Medicine per month: €75

As with the medical expenses that you mentioned earlier drug costs will also qualify for tax relief. See the link above and [broken link removed]. Note also that the [broken link removed] may be of interest to you even if you seem to be marginally below the threshold. Worth checking out though.

Lotto syndicate per week: €2

Personally I'd ditch this - the Lotto is a tax on the innumerate in my view.

The expenses above total a maximum of €1,302 so you should have €1,000 spare for savings and other purposes so I don't see where the problem is. As mentioned earlier if you have an SSIA then you really should endeavour to maximise contributions to this (€254 p.m.).

Re: That's where it goes

I've thought of a few more

"Beauty" stuff - e.g creams, shower gels, make up - about €40 a month

Hoildays - approximately €1,000 a year
Books - about €50 a month on average
SSIA - €20 a month (€80 a month from June 2005)
TV License - €152 a year
Doctors bills - €25 a month on average

Re: That's where it goes

Beauty" stuff - e.g creams, shower gels, make up - about €40 a month

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There are probably ways to cut down on this amount but it depends on what products you use, if you "need" to wear full make-up every day for work etc. You could always try the discussion boards on www.ivenus.com for some tips from others about how to cut this amount down, if you wanted to.

Books - about €50 a month on average

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Do you ever use 2nd hand bookshops? Are you a member of a library? I could easily spend twice this amount on books in a month but in reality (because I'm broke, and I don't even have a house, you're already doing well in that respect!) I spend about this much every year. Also try The Book People for some good deals.

SSIA - €20 a month (€80 a month from June 2005)

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Max this amount and, if as you say you are used to living on a cash only amount, you'll probably manage to still do that. If you don't have it, you can't spend it. Or consider the suggestion about to open a credit union account and put money into it as soon as you get paid.

TV License - €152 a year

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You could try buying the savings stamps for this, it may seem less painful to fork out 2 or 4 euro every week than the whole lot all at once.

Doctors bills - €25 a month on average

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Are you a member of HSA? I've recently joined HSA and figure I'll be saving a few hundred on medical expenses this year. There are some restrictions on pre-existing conditions but it would probably be worth a phone call to find out if you could use it.

I think you should be able to claim a fair amount of tax back if you go to the doctor this often.

Are you a member of VHI/Bupa/Vivas - I've never managed to claim for anything from VHI but if you go to the doctor this regularly would it be worth your while?

Otherwise, check out the links already posted to other threads - seeing how other people manage their money might give you some ideas. Try to keep a detailed money diary every day for a week. Why not try to get a couple of friends to join you in doing this - you might feel less self-conscious of it if everyone else at the table in the cafe pulls out their own piece of paper to make a note of what they have just spent. If you don't want to do this at least start asking for a receipt for absolutely everything you buy and at the end of the day write the amounts into a notebook.

Re: That's where it goes

Thanks for the advice Janet,

re: the €50 a month on books - most of the books I get would be for study purposes. I have tried second hand places but usually they don't have what I'm looking for. I go to the library sometimes but, again, frequently they don't have what I need.

I'm with the VHI - I did manage to get money back off them for a week a spent in hospital in at the end of 2003! I was quite shocked!

Re: That's where it goes

magazines, books, gifts = €170/week!

stop that, there's your savings

NEXT!

Re: That's where it goes

Hey!

What I said was €50 per MONTH on books, and average of €80 a month on gifts and €40 a week on papers and magazines. That isn't anywhere near €170 a week...but I am going to cut way down on the magazine buying!

More thoughts

Just some more thoughts about possible expenditure you haven't mentioned (basing this on what I spend/used to spend money on)

Don't see any mention of a car - do you own one? Running a car & tax & insurance are expensive especially if you are also spending 15 per week on travel to work (I assume it's bus/train/tram you're referring to here). How far away from work to you live? Is cycling/walking even one day a week an option for you?

Are you a member of a gym - another big drain (and waste if you don't use it regularly).

Telephone costs?

Internet costs?

One thing you could consider is to open a savings acount of some kind and put a certain amount of money in it every time you get paid (set up standing order to do so) and then use this money as your house expenses money. By that I'd be thinking of bigger, annual amounts rather than ESB and gas bills. I do this to manage my car expenses. Have a smartsave account with BoI which only allows me to withdraw money once a month. 70 euro goes into this every month on the day I get paid and I use this money to pay for my car expenses - tax, services and anything else that needs doing (got new tyres recently and would otherwise have had to put it off and for safety's sake I didn't want to do this). I'm paying off a big loan at the moment but as soon as I'm able this amount will be increased so that eventually I'll get to the stage where I also have money for insurance every year. I'm not saving money long term but it means I have money available when I need it so there's less stress about possibly not having the use of my car - although I don't need it to travel to my job I do also sell Tupperware in evenings/weekends to make extra money and my car is essential for this.

Basically, what I have found is that a large amount of money in my account just seems to float away on nothing. I need to divide it up and just say right, X for this, Y for that, Z for the other. It's up to you to find the ways that'll work for you to control your money in a better way.

As a matter of interest, what is your nightcourse in? Is it something that long-term you'll be able to work at/make money from? Or is it purely for pleasure?

Re: More thoughts

Thanks again Janet.

I have no car, I don't even drive - so no expenses in relation to that! I live and work in Dublin 7, albeit not within walking distance of each other, so I have no need for a car. I don't have a landline in my home, I just use my mobile and have a pay as you go one and not a bill one. I probably spend €10 a week on getting credit for the phone. I only have the four basic channels on the tv, so no cable subscription charges etc...
The night course is art-based, and is mainly for pleasure. I wouldn't want to save by cutting it out as I really enjoy it.
Another problem for me is food shopping. I hate lugging lots of bags about (and can't really with the blood problem I have), so I tend to be always picking up "bits and pieces" in the shops, and of course this all adds up. I don't really compare the prices of food in shops either and I know I should be doing this.

Re: More thoughts

I don't really compare the prices of food in shops either and I know I should be doing this.

Have you tried getting the staples in Lidl/Aldi/Dunnes? It's easy to save money on groceries this way.

Re: More thoughts

What I really need is Eddie Hobbs to move in with me for a month - that would REALLY sort me out! Failing that, some ferocious army major with no time for expenditure on magazines or beauty products might whip me into shape ...

Re: More thoughts

As a matter of interest, what should Noor77 be aiming to save? I am kind of in the same boat (except unfortunately I dont have a mortgage). Net pay of 1800 per month, rent of 350 and currently saving 370 per month. Seem to just spend the rest of it. I do have a car alright.
Anyway, not trying to interrupt Noor77, but just wondered if there is some sort of percentage of income people should be aiming to save? Does it change depending on age?

Totally agree with Noor, maybe between us we could lure Eddie in to straightening us out eh?

Re: More thoughts

Bluebean,

The standard answer is that firstly, you should have cleared any 'bad debt' ie credit cards, holiday loans, car loans etc.

Then get 3-6 months of living expenses as (or more if you are self-employed or in an uncertain industry) savings in an easily-accessible emergency fund.

After that you should try to save a min. of 10% of your gross income.

However, that figure is a guideline only, if you can't manage it, 5% is better than nothing, or 15% is better still. It depends on each individual's circumstances.

Re: More thoughts

Bluebean

At least you are saving, and quite an impressive amount too. My little attempt at saving (i.e. €20 a month SSIA) is very tragic.

What is your weekly expenditure like?

Noor

Re: More thoughts

Did you claim tax relief on your medical expenses in previous years ?

If not you might do it now...not certain how many years you can go back ( 6 ? ) but Tommy on the tax board is certain to know.

Are you anywhere near Cabra library ? Its well worth a visit & might cut down on your book & mag bill.

( For all his talk i'm not certain that Eddie Hobbs is a low maintenance dude )

Re: More thoughts

Noor, I work on a monthly basis. And I dont have a mortgage, so much worse off than yourself in that respect - just paying dead money on rent. The usual vicious circle, dont earn enough to get enough of a mortgage, wouldn't buy anything with the mortgage I would get....

I used to think that I didn't 'fritter' away money, but am beginning to think that maybe I do. I dont go out that much, but seem to spend a lot on food (both groceries and eating out) and also petrol, car insurance, car maintenance etc.. is quite expensive. I'll admit to spending money on travel, even just within Ireland (probably go away maybe 3/4 times a year for a weekend in Ireland). Although the last time we went it was a caravan in Kerry for 30 quid a night all in, so its not like I'm staying at the Ritz or anything! I go to a few concerts a year also.

I think I am going to just try and increase my savings direct debit to 500 per month. I've realised I'm the kind of idiot that if I see 'leftover' money in my account coming up to payday, I'll find something that I need to buy. Completely stupid, but there you go. I have gotten a lot better than I used to be, but I know that for me it has to be a case of what you never had you never miss. Unless the savings money is taken out on pay day, I'll inevitably end up spending it.

I'd say Eddie would scare the bejaysus out of me to be honest, but I love watching his show. Just wish he might deal with someone who was not so much in debt, but rather like Noors and I - trying to save but finding it very difficult.