Noor77's personal budgeting thread

Re: clubman

I know you are not trying to be smart Clubman, and I appreciate your advice. Re: the €250 subsidy, I have been thinking of reducing this to at least €200 a month because I do feel bad about it. I know my parents can afford it, but that isn't enough of a justification for accepting it. They don't give me any other money though ( well apart from Christmas and birthday presents ). As well as their own house (which has a medium sized mortgage), they also have an apartment with no mortgage and another house (with a mortgage). They let out both the apartment and the other house. They are not rich by any means, but they aren't struggling and I think they like helping me by putting €250 towards my €1,000 mortgage. Obviously, they didn't get what they have now by being a "financial flippant" like me. But you are right Clubman, I probably shouldn't be taking any kind of a "subsidy". Another thing, and I don't mean this in a funny way. they probably worry about me a bit because of the blood thing so that could be a reason for the €250.

re

Charity shops can have great bargains, not only just for clothes but also for childrens toys, books etc. I dont have children, but I sometimes pick up a present for my nephews/niece for a euro or so at a charity shop and it keeps them entertained.
With regard to buying gifts for parents, I used to always do that too but have cut back lately. Now I occasionally buy flowers for my mum (2.99 in Aldi) or a second hand book (again, charity shop or else 2nd hand book store) for my Dad. I figure its the thought that counts, and all siblings club together to buy them something nice at Christmas and birthdays. Mother's Day is coming up, and it will be 2.99 for flowers, I will probably cook dinner for her and might buy a cake for 6/7 euro. Always buy cards in your local pound/euro shop, you'll get 3 cards for what you'd pay for 1 elsewhere.
Mo, do you and your husband take money out of the 'left over' amount for entertainment? Just noticed that was one category that was missing from the list.

Birthday gifts etc. used to cause me huge trouble also, but thankfully a group of us decided last year to stop buying each other presents, and instead we all go out for a nice meal at Christmas where everyone pays for themselves. Sort of a girls night out to celebrate all the birthdays together!
If you can't do this, then I would indeed try and buy some items in the sales and have a present box with general gifts if that is possible.

If its any help, I am really trying to sort out a budget myself at the moment, so best of luck.

www.rollercoater.ie has some good threads about saving/budgeting, particularly under general tips, one called 'living on less in 2005'. Worth a look at the very least!

Going out - Whats that

Nope, entertainment is very limited, especially with a child in the house!

I do collect pigsback.com points for cinema tickets & enter competitions for nights out/meals/tickets where I can - to great success I might add. Babysitting is normally at the good grace of our brothers and sisters

I know it sounds sad but I actually do get great enjoyment out of bargain hunting and trying to get the best deal. Like I mentioned before though, overtime does get used up on the Christmas fund or suchlike.

Re: re

they probably worry about me a bit because of the blood thing so that could be a reason for the €250.

I'm sure that my mother worries about me too but she doesn't express this emotion in the form of cash subsidies! :lol

Re: re

Very funny Clubman, I'm starting to think you really don't like me!

Sinead and Ms. Mo : I am getting great tips from both of you, forget Eddie Hobbs - I reckon if I had you two in the house I would be saving money in no time : ))

Long term what I feel I should be saving for:

home improvements - I need to get painting done badly and still don't have a sofa (after 2 years!)

Laptop - I'd like to have one for studying

the unexpected - in case my roof falls in, my water tank explodes etc...

parent's subsidies

Parents are very good, like my own mother saving me god knows how much by minding my daughter during the day. She also gives her lunch and dinner while she's there so that saves me money as well and she won't take a penny for her troubles. I tremble when I hear how much some parents pay for creches!

Re: parent's subsidies

Very funny Clubman, I'm starting to think you really don't like me!

Only joking. Hope some of my attempts at more constructive suggestions prove useful to you.

Re: parent's subsidies

One of my "problem areas" with discretionary spending is buying bath stuff - I love all the scrubs, rubs, oils etc... Usually I buy scrubs from The Sanctuary range at Boots, these are about €13 a pop. Yesterday I was in Tesco and saw they had an interesting looking 'Icelandic Salt Scrub' for €6.50, half the price! I was impressed. The Body Shop scrubs are even more expensive than The Sanctuary, they are about Eur24 now so I only ever have them if someone gets them for me as a gift.

oops, that should have read www.rollercoaster.ie

Re: Going out - what's that

Cheap and cheerful days / nights out can often be the best fun. For instance, I always try and meet friends in eateries with early bird menus. Some good ones are:

Poco Loco (Mexican) on Parliament Street - early bird €12.95 for two courses and a glass of wine

Mexico to Rome in Temple Bar - early bird about €14

The Cedar Tree (Lebanese) - off Wexford Street - early bird about €14

For days out, the National Art Museum is nice and so is an ice-cream and a stroll around Sephen's Green (if it's sunny!).
There is a second hand book market in Temple Bar Square at the weekends - get a takeout coffee and just browse the books, almost free!

sofa

think vincent de paul or other organisation have a second hand furniture shop...

can get real bargins on furniture there...

my father was there and he mentioned this to me...

get something cheap...or borrow a sofa, put a throw on it and that'll do you until u have enough saved for a decent one...

laptop...i believe dell do 12 month interest free purchases now...can get a really good laptop for under a grand...don't particulary like the design of their laptops...but dixons, pc world etc also do interest free deals...laptops tend to be a little bit pricier tho...but still u shud be able to get a decent laptop for not that much money...they have come down an awful lot in price in the last 2 years...

bupa give money back towards doctors visit after your over the excess threshold...€20 per visit returned...threshold is €220 I think

Re: Going out - what's that

OK, so you say you love eating out.

I, personally, love eating in and cooking with friends and family. That's way cheaper than eating out & I love socialising in the kitchen and cooking up a storm. Myself and girlfriends try and have a cocktail & cookie evening every now and again and save a fortune.

For the prices you mention for a meal for yourself, I would normally cook for 4/6!

For cosmetics, I try to stick to tried and trusted products. Yes, the sanctuary is beautiful, but it's reserved to treats, like if someone gives me a Boots voucher. Dunnes Stores own brand shampoos and shower gels aren't bad, I have quite sensitive skin so use the own brand baby products for myself and the little one, that's handy too.

For moisturisers, you can't beat silcocks base - available from any chemist or a tub of E45. There's nothing better and less likely to give your skin a reaction. Save the nice stuff for a going out night.

Fresh fruit and veg for the 3 of us for the week costs me €25 from the local grocer. Meat from a good butcher sets me back €50 every second week. Then I make a trip to the local market and buy my detergents/toilet roll etc in bulk when it's needed.

Organise your bills so they come out at the same rate during the month - For example, ours are the same amount every week, so it fits into our budget. Then I know exactly what we have to spend each week. Internet banking is brilliant, it means I can check what's in our account everyday, so nothing slips the net. I find that if we take out €60 at the start of the week and set that aside for shopping, then we have to stick to that, instead of taking money out in dribs and drabs. You're more inclined to spend a few cents here and there if you only ever have change in your pocket.

Try setting yourself up an EBay account and see if you can trade some goods in. Set yourself up a pigsback.com account and get shopping vouchers and piggypoints that can be traded in for restaurant vouchers and cinema tickets.

Finally, always check your wallet before you go out in the morning, and plan your spending for the day. If you have to take money out, set yourself a limit. Treat yourself after you've saved a bit - not before!

Re: Going out - what's that

Very useful tips here. However I would still be inclined to look at the big picture (life goals, suitable investment strategies, current spending habits, areas ripe for cost cutting etc.) first rather than trying to make micro adjustments and hope that they just happen to address the bigger issues.

meat

My partner buys all our meat in bulk from a local meat factory. He works there but AFAIK most factories you can walk in and ask and they do sell in bulk

Re:budgeting for saving and life goals

What kind of life goals do you mean Clubman?

In 10 or 15 years time I would love to buy a little place in the Balearics - should I start saving for that now???

What I am going to do when I get my money tomorrow is take €100 out and make it last until next Thursday. That's my first objective. I'll probably end up staying in every night and eating porridge for dinner : )) I do have something to go to one of the nights next week though, so it'll be fun to see how I manage to fit that in to my €100 scheme : ))

Re: Going out - what's that

Well said Clubman

Although look after the cents and the euro will look after themselves!

Savings wise, we regard our house as a major investment. We're presently saving to make either a lump sum payment off our current mortgage/purchase investment property.

We also both have pensions - Mine is a company 10% contributory, and his is a PRSA.

There's also a savings fund for the little one for future educational/housing needs.

Re: Re:budgeting for saving and life goals

What kind of life goals do you mean Clubman?

As I said, this could get very philosophical, but I mean stuff like what do you consider your purpose here in this life? What are the main major things that you want to achieve? What are the stepping stone achievements on the way to these major goals and fulfilling your purpose? The that I mentioned earlier go into more detail on this sort or stuff but, while I enjoyed them, I can't guarantee that the writing style will be to everybody's taste.

In 10 or 15 years time I would love to buy a little place in the Balearics - should I start saving for that now???

That sort of thing. If you seriously want to do this then it makes sense to plan accordingly and aim to make it happen eventually. There's no guarantee that it will happen or everything will go to plan but you can be sure that if you don't plan then the chances of it happening are much reduced.

Re: Re:budgeting for saving and life goals

The funniest thing about my situation is that I actual work in finance and have no problem doing budgets for organisations etc... but when it comes down to doing one for myself I seem to come to pieces. I have thought about doing some extra work to get a bit more money together - I speak quite a few languages so I could give tuition in those. But the thought of doing more work AFTER a hard days work is a bit off-putting.

I do have a pension scheme and I pay about €120 a month, so I'm not entirely clueless. I've got lots of great advice here so far and I'm feeling a good bit more positive about being able to save

Re: Re:budgeting for saving and life goals

And, Clubman! - before you tell me I'm adding expenditure in dribs and drabs again, it's a deducted at source pension so it never even reaches my pockets : ))

Re: Re:budgeting for saving and life goals

Just on the pension issue - the €2,300 net per month that you originally mentioned is presumably about €35K gross annually so your pension contribution seems to be about 4% of your gross income (unless this is supplemented by an employer contribution?) so you might want to review your pension savings to consider if they are appropriate for whatever planned retirement income/fund size you had in mind. In my opinion anybody who already owns their own house (not necessarily outright!) should probably look at prioritising their SSIA and pension savings, and then determine their short, medium and (non pension) long term savings/investment requirements. This all assumes that significant debt, in particular non mortgage high cost debt, has been addressed first. However what is appropriate for one individual may not be for another due to differing lifestyles, life goals etc. There are few hard and fast rules when it comes to money.