Can't seem to ever manage my money!

petethebrick

Basically my PI is just as the title says.
I've been working for the past year at a new job in dublin and every month without fail I'm completely broke a couple of days before payday.
I don't earn a lot as it's an entry level position but in the past it was always the same - no matter how much I earn I always seem to go broke.
I go out a normal amount, say once or twice a week but other people who go out the same as or more than me never seem to be broke like me!!!

I then get depressed because of the cycle of being broke! And I've often borrowed money from friends which I hate doing and which I'm sure some of them are sick of by this stage. I'm 28 now so should have developed better money management skills by now. I'd appreciate any advice people might have regarding developing better financial management. Thanks!!!!

LegacyUser

At least u've realised u have a problem and want to get it sorted!! Do u buy a lot of other ppl drink wen ur out? Lik get stuck in rounds etc, and then they dont buy urs back?

Make out a budget for urself for every week, set aside certain amount for food/transport/rent/bills/goin out, etc and then maybe set aside an extra €20 incase u need it, save the rest!

When ur goin out be wise with how much u bring out, think of entries into clubs, then taxi money and plan2 only spend certain amount on drink, only bring out this much cash and leave ur cards at home!!

Be wise when it comes2 wher u do the liks of ur grocery shoppin, tesco branded goods mite be the way2 go for a while! Cut out al unnecessary shoppin for a while and see if that makes ny difference 2ur pockets!

fricatus

petethebrick wrote: »

I go out a normal amount, say once or twice a week but other people who go out the same as or more than me never seem to be broke like me!!!

Ever consider that others are probably worse at managing their money and just resort to credit cards, etc? I often feel the same as you, but one day I was chatting to a mate and we got around to salaries. I couldn't believe that he only earned as much as I do, but even more surprising was that he knew the salaries of loads of our friends, and some of them were lower than mine, and they had hefty outgoings like mortgages, etc., just like me - so considering their lifestyles, they were definitely living on credit!

petethebrick wrote: »

I'd appreciate any advice people might have regarding developing better financial management. Thanks!!!!

If it's just a case of managing your money, I'd suggest that you do up a budget. There are plenty of sites that can tell you how to do this better than I can.

Also, what I do is I keep an Excel spreadsheet of estimated money coming in and money going out of my current account, so even though some outgoings are irregular, I can see them a few months ahead and budget accordingly. I use conditional formatting to make the negative numbers red, so I can see if I'm going to be broke well in advance.

Another thing I do (because I'm useless at managing the cash in my wallet) is to keep separate ATM and current accounts and only pay myself a certain amount weekly into the ATM. This stops me from going mad on payday and then being broke at the end of the month. I'm just broke all the time then!

Hazys

How many accounts do you have?

On AIB.ie you can easily open a second/third account to use for paying bills. It does wonders for putting money away for rent and expenses that you cant touch with your atm card when on a night out.

Looking after your money is about self-control, common sense and disipline. Setting out a weekly/monthly budget is a very easy to do. Find out what your expenses are and can you afford them. Then budget what you wantcan afford to spend on food, entertainment, etc

FibbersON

Ring 1890 283 438.

Ask for a Money Management Guide, and Spending Diaries.

MABS send them to you free, lets you easily work out a budget, and the spending diary literally write in every penny you spend, you'll soon see where you blow your cash.

Hazys

Also I live in the US so this may not apply to you but Mint.com is awesome for giving you an overview of your spending, income and savings.

I'm sure theres a website in Ireland you can use.

LegacyUser

I work out a simple budget showing my income & necessary outgoings each month & pay all my bills by direct debit. From this budget, I work out how much I can allow myself for miscellaneous spending & only take that amount out in cash each week. Once that cash amount is gone for the week I dont take out any more money and if that entails staying in until the next week then that's what I do. It's the only way, as it's too easy to go to the ATM day after day & lose track of what you're taking out.

idontknowmyname

I was in exactly the same position as you until two weeks ago.
I left my job 6 months and it took 3 months to find work. As the job market is so dire, I took what I could which meant a salary drop but I was still spending like I was earning previously, I also have bigger rent outgoings now as I had to move to London.
Like yourself, come payday, had very little left in my account if anything at all. I don't have a huge amount of credit card debt compared to some, it will take about a year to pay off. So I decided to do something about it.

I compiled an excel sheet and put down all my fixed outgoings like rent, paying credit card, transport, bills, travel loan, phone credit etc. Then I put a column with everything else, I broke the estimated spend in monthly and weekly. Like groceries I'll spend £20 on a week, have a small amount £10 for cosmetic things a month, £100 a month for going out, £60 for misc as well as other things you need. I totalled everything up (thank god for autosum), put my salary that goes in each month and then have a figure which says money I have left over.

Below everything , I'm also entering everything I buy to the penny.
By making the list, it makes me stop and think do I actually need it. It's extreme but it should work.
Maybe try something similar.....
I've set some goals I want to reach in the next 3 years, like go back to college part-time to do a post-grad, buy a car and buy my own place. It gives you more motivation.

batperson

Hazys wrote: »

How many accounts do you have?

On AIB.ie you can easily open a second/third account to use for paying bills. It does wonders for putting money away for rent and expenses that you cant touch with your atm card when on a night out.

Looking after your money is about self-control, common sense and disipline. Setting out a weekly/monthly budget is a very easy to do. Find out what your expenses are and can you afford them. Then budget what you wantcan afford to spend on food, entertainment, etc

Be careful with this - look out for the sneaky quarterly charges for having more than one current account with AIB. I did this about 2 years ago only to find I was being charged for each extra current account I had opened:eek:

ohohoh

I find I can save alot on not spending money on unneccessary food.

Be very strick on yourself with say having €100 left for the last few days of the month. Coming up to this, instead of doing a new grocery shop for your dinner, look in your press and see what food you have that you can make a meal out of without going to your local centra etc.

Pastas, frozen veg, half jar of chopped tomoatoes, parmeason, bit of frozen meat (you can buy a kg of bacon bits in lidl for about €2 - i cut this up into one meal portions and put in freezer bags and take one out when using them for my end of month 'emergency' meals). This is just one example but all these things are so cheap to buy and you can keep in your press/freezer for a long time. Saves me spending the €5 here and there in places like centra that all of a sudden ends up draining your weekly wage.

If I buy fresh veg, I cut the veg up into portions for a stir fry and put them into freezer bags and use them as I need throughout the month. Freezer bags are my friends!

I've learnt to be smart when food shopping too, having a general plan of what ill eat for the week and only buying things that last, that ill actually get to eat and can store. Saves me a fortune Sounds like alot of effort but its just a bit of discipline and do it without thinking now

p.s. and don't be afraid to bring a good ol nagon into the pub with you

silverharp

OP, you didnt specify if you have any debts especially credit cards. These can be a killer. Also setting a savings goal might be a good idea even if its only €100 or less per month. ideally you should be saving for annual costs like holidays or any insurance like items. If you dont trust yourself setup a standing order from your current account to a savings account.

petethebrick

silverharp wrote: »

OP, you didnt specify if you have any debts especially credit cards. These can be a killer. Also setting a savings goal might be a good idea even if its only €100 or less per month. ideally you should be saving for annual costs like holidays or any insurance like items. If you dont trust yourself setup a standing order from your current account to a savings account.

I've no credit card debts thank god! - I do have one year left of a loan which is €550 per month, but that's it on the debt front. Yes, I think starting saving a regular amount is what I need to do and also making a budget on an Excel sheet like some of you have suggested. Thanks a lot!

fricatus

petethebrick wrote: »

I've no credit card debts thank god! - I do have one year left of a loan which is €550 per month, but that's it on the debt front. Yes, I think starting saving a regular amount is what I need to do and also making a budget on an Excel sheet like some of you have suggested. Thanks a lot!

Good luck with it Pete - and take heart from the fact that you don't have credit card debt. You're better off "feeling" broke at the end of the month because you don't rely on credit cards, than feeling like a great fella with loads of money, all the while building up a mountain of debt.

I know all too well what that's like - I hit €5k on the Visa last year and when I was charged €75 in interest one month, I knew that was that. I paid it off with a credit union loan and I have that half paid off now. Meanwhile the Visa is cleared every month without fail.

That was only €5k, but I've heard anecdotally about people with €30k on credit cards :eek: Nothing is worth that, so instead of thanking God that you have no credit card debt, give yourself a pat on the back for not falling into the same trap as so many others, and make sure you keep it that way. I know I've learned my lesson!

seamus

petethebrick wrote: »

I've no credit card debts thank god! - I do have one year left of a loan which is €550 per month, but that's it on the debt front. Yes, I think starting saving a regular amount is what I need to do and also making a budget on an Excel sheet like some of you have suggested. Thanks a lot!

On a loan, €550/month can be a much bigger chunk than you might think. Having that back at the end of the year will release massive amounts of pressure.

The budget is good on a number of counts. For a start, if you're brutally honest about what you're spending your money on, any blatantly stupid spends will stick out like a sort thumb and then you can adjust it accordingly.

In addition, if you keep an eye on it and adjust it every 2/3 days (online banking & google docs are great for this), then you will know in the back of your mind how much money you have. You should never be standing in a shop considering a purchase and not know roughly how much money you have, both in general and in terms of "available" cash - i.e. money that's not earmarked for a bill or another expense.
This allows you to make good decisions on the fly. So when thinking, "Can I go out for dinner tonight", you'll know whether your budget tells you that you've estimated to have €50 or €500 spare at the end of the month, and you can yay or nay dinner plans on that basis.

I maintain two sections in my budget - an "estimate" section which I fill out on payday, and an "actual" section which I update as the month goes on. This lets me see if my estimates are way off, and if they are, why. Then I can adjust my estimate at the start of next month.

Eoin

ohohoh wrote: »

I find I can save alot on not spending money on unneccessary food.

All of that is really good advice, but I think that this is probably the place to start:

I go out a normal amount, say once or twice a week

How much do you normally spend going out? Is it always in the pub or what?

Firetrap

Definitely write down or keep an excel sheet of where your money is going. You will soon see a pattern emerging and you will hopefully be able to identify changes you can make to your spending.

I suspect you may be able to save a lot of money in the food side of things. For lunch on a work day, bring in your own stuff rather than going out for lunch or getting a sandwich made up in the local deli. If you're just cooking for yourself, make up a big dinner that would normally serve a family of three or four. If you keep the leftovers in the fridge or the freezer, you can have a decent dinner for a couple of days on the trot. Shop in Aldi or Lidl if it's convenient for you.

If your weakness is impulse buying, teach yourself to stop and ask yourself if you really need that DVD, CD, game item of clothing etc. Perhaps promise yourself that you will get it next week if you still really want it. That killer box set isn't going to disappear in a puff of smoke if you don't buy it now...there's always eBay later on.

Try to save some money each month. Open up an account in your local credit union and don't get an ATM card for accessing the money (if your CU offers such a service). That way, if you do need to dip into the money you will have to go to the hassle of going in, queuing and signing forms.

aonfocaleile

Have a look at the Money Makeover forum on www.askaboutmoney.com

Its an Irish site so will be very relevant.