Worried about getting into debt

LegacyUser

I recently moved into my own place, I paid for the first months rent and part of the deposit with some savings that I had. I know that I will be entitled to rent allowance but that takes time to come through, i had to do this as things were getting very bad at home and it was either this or become homeless. I don't have any debt at the moment, but my income is quite small, I am on a social welfare payment, and I am just worried about how I am going to manage. My rent is coming up to nearly half my monthly income, I also have a car that I need to keep on the road, phone bill, food costs, electricity, heating costs etc. I have done a budget and I will have less than €100 left over at the end of each month as disposable income and that is with me being very careful which I will be.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Catkins407

Just throwing things out there but have you thought of getting a housemate or flatmate to share the rent and utility bills? Can you switch your phone to pay as you go ? Have you looked at the best deals from electricity gas tv and bin service providers? Can you cut down on the use of your car ? Living on your own away from the family home is expensive. Bills are just a part of life I'm afraid. I have less then 25 euro most weeks. In fact often don't even have any money but my bills are paid have petrol in the car and food in the fridge so am not complaining.
Can you look for a job at all ? Rent allowance will help and I assume you gave applied for that. Most people on social welfare are in the same situation as you. It's just the way things are at the moment. Things like cars and digital tv and broadband are luxuries most people can't even afford these days.

Stick to your budget , shop in the budget supermarkets and don't buy fast food at all . Keep a close eye on your money and as hard as it is you should not get into debt. Good luck

December2012

Do a weekly meal plan and stick to it - it can keep a firm budget on your shopping costs and you can get great value on nutritious food if you shop cleverly. Cucumber, celery, 3 pack of peppers, carrots, olives = approx €5 for a weeks supply for one person, and the carrots can be used as a side or for adding to another dish.

Spaghetti bolagnese is cheap, would do two meals.

Freeze bread and take it out for defrosting two slices at a time. Would doing a job bridge scheme be better - you'll get an extra €50 plus your entitlements.

LegacyUser

Thanks for the advice, due to some Heath issues I can't work at the moment, I am not on job seekers but disability allowance, I have not applied for rent allowance yet but will be next week, all this happened very quickly. I am starting a FAS course in September so I need to keep the car on the road for that, it will last until September and is in a field I am planning to go to college in so I think to will be helpful. I don't have sky or anything like that and my broadband comes from using the personal hotspot feature on my phone, which saves me a lot as my phone and bb are only €40 a month. I am not at all wasteful with money which is why. Thankfully have no personal debt. The car is parked up for the weekend, I can walk pretty much anywhere I need to at the moment, but since I am living out in the country I can't be without for doctors appointments and shopping etc. living in the county also means that it would be very difficult for me to find someone to share with. I have also given up smoking as it is a luxury I cannot afford anymore.

I am used to paying all my own bills so that does help, food, clothes, plus paying half the bills at home. I am being very frugal I just worry about getting into debt because my parents have been saddelled with it their entire lives. Thanks December 2012 that it very practical advice that I will definitely put into practice. I have never missed a bill payment in my life, i dont't intend to start, I did live alone before but this time it is much different as I had a much better income. I have made a budget today and I will be sticking to it.

fussyonion

Money's tight for me at the moment too.

Making your meals from scratch is a fantastic suggestion.
Make all your meals (find recipes online) using cheap, nutritious ingredients; Spaghetti Bolognese/Curries/Chillies/Lasagne, etc, and freeze your leftovers.
Defrost these leftovers during the week and eat them again.
(They often taste nicer!)
This is the biggest tip I can give you because it's what I've been doing for the past year and it has helped.

See about getting a pay-as-you-go ESB/Gas meter installed if possible.

You can buy credit as you go and it's AMAZING how much electricity you'll get out of €20-you will be stunned.
Same for heating but obviously this is a bit more expensive and you should really keep tabs on how often you're using the heating/hot water.
Getting these meters has dramatically helped me in my quest to live on a tight budget because I am not faced with huge bills every two months.

Try to drive less if you can. Maybe get the bus or car-pool. Or even walk.
Shop around for the cheapest petrol/diesel if possible.

Switch your supermarkets.
THIS has been the biggest thing for me.

We used to shop in Tesco and I'd spend €160 for two people. Now I buy 90% of my groceries from Aldi and I spend €40.

I don't really go out to the pub much; I buy wine and beer from Aldi and stay in, but I don't mind. Sometimes you have a better night in than you would out!

Get rid of Sky and get a Saorview combi box and a satellite dish installed.

This will cost you around €200. I know you don't have that kind of money right now, but consider it when you can because then you can get rid of your cable subscription and have over 800 channels/terrestrial AND satellite and you'll have no bills ever.
This will be a great investment for you.

Look in the Buy & Sell for guys who install the satellite dishes or perhaps you know someone?
I can't think of anything else.

I used to spend €500 a week (groceries/bills/social life etc) and now I spend around €250 for everything.

I know it's tough right now, but any changes you can make will really help and you should notice the difference.
All the best.

thefeatheredcat

OP have you factored in that with rent allowance, you still have to pay some of the rent yourself as not all of it is covered? Have you a back up plan or cushion in case there is a delay in the payment, a long waiting time or if you don't qualify?

If you are renting accommodation on your own, like a flat or apartment, you might have to face the possibility that it might be outside of your financial means in the medium to long term and that for the sake of keeping your head above water financially and away from financial stress and anxiety over finances, you should consider moving into a houseshare. There are pluses with shared household bills, although you may not have control over how certain things are used which can in some cases when you've crap housemates, increase the costs overall (like with having someone who wants the hot water on all the time, lights left on, heating left on, electricity eaters like tumble dryers being used at peak rate times). But with a lower rent base, you could have more of a cushion for yourself financially.

Have you also factored into your budget for emergencies, say when a bill is higher than you expected or when the rates increase? Or visits to a doctor? Or if something happens with your car?

With the stuff you've mentioned:

You car: do you really need it? Is it absolutely essential? Is it diesel or petrol? What are the prices like around you, are there cheaper stations close by?

Phone bill: I assume mobile, can you alter your bill plan with your provider if needs be to something cheaper or more in line with how you use your phone? Do you take up on your free webtexts and use them up rather than if for example, you have free texts and keep your free texts rather than using them all but leaving loads of free webtexts?

Food/Grocery: some great suggestions already mentioned like cooking from scratch and particular vegs mentioned, and freezing and shopping at the supermarkets where your money will go that bit further. You should also keep an eye on the pattern of special offers and compare before you buy. Dunnes and Tesco for example, sometimes do very similar special offers around the same time. You didn't specify if you were male or female OP but definitely with toiletries for women if you follow the cycle of special offers of both Dunnes and Tesco you may be able to save more. For example, usually my shampoo and conditioner (the larger sized), sanitary towels, toothpaste and shower gel are all on special offer at the same time. And if I've missed some of it in Dunnes, Tesco often has some of those same products running on special a few days later. Sometimes they're good, even if it's 49c cheaper only, or half price or €1 off, it can make a difference and can allow for stocking up at a cheaper price if you have a bit of financial room so you don't have to pay the regular price all the time. Even if you're male, chances are a similar pattern exists. The same for various foods as well, both own brand and branded. I would say though, be careful of being tempted by a cheaper price say €1 special offer or half price for something you wouldn't normally buy because you could be wasting your money on something you don't like and you'd be kicking yourself for having done it.

Electricity: again a great suggestion if you can switch to the pay as you go meter; shop around for the better deal, examine what the bills are and familiarise yourself with the rates and do as much as you can at cheaper rates where you can. Keep track of your electricity usage and patterns. Check what sort of lighting you have, and see if you can get more cost effective bulbs if needed.

Heating: Is that gas, storage heaters (electricity) or central oil heating or stove or open fire? Depending on what, shop for a good deal. Take a look at the state of windows and doors, especially if you have doors that lead to a balcony, if they're causing drafts and warm air is getting out, it's going to be useless and you'll waste money and electricity trying to heat a room that's impossible to keep warm as a result. Any drafts under the doors, pick up a draft excluder (shop around as prices vary) or make your own. Keep an eye out for those small portable oil heaters - worth maybe researching how effective or expensive they are to run, they are definitely better and more effective than those small fan heaters that only heat and keep the room warm when they're on (electric storage heaters in my experience are generally the same). Are there curtains on all the windows and patio doors? Might be worth investing in, helps keep heat in.

Just on tv - before you subscribe to a package or get a dish, or even invest in saorview, if you already have a broadband package with say UPC it is worth perhaps considering how much you can watch online. There is a service called aertv that has all the saorview channels and various channels of their own (some sport, travel) and a few of the BBC channels as well and there are various different sorts of streaming sites online where you may be able to view other channels. It might be worth it if you have a good broadband connection, and I would stress that if you are on a small allowance through your mobile, a dongle, or even with a provider, it will eat up your allowance very, very quickly.

OP having little to live on is very hard. It will be stressful and you really don't have a lot left over to live on. If you find yourself struggling and getting stressed or anxious, find you just can't make ends meet or struggle to feed yourself properly or have a difficulty with an emergency that crops up, don't be too proud to go to SVP and other agencies and others who might be able to offer help and assistance. Don't put yourself under too much pressure with money either or be hard on yourself over it all.

mikemac1

I can't top the great posts above ^^^^

A car is a moneypit, you say you need it but do you really? It's hard to keep a car on the road and if you suddenly find yourself with a bill of two or three hundred euro you'll be fit to cry.
Now you might be in a rural area but even then there will be others without cars. If you realy need to be somewhere you can thumb at the crossroads which I did many, many times but that's died a death since the 90's.
If you are in a city then get a cheap rothar or walk it. It's far easier to get around in a city


There are so many fixed costs in the ESB bill there comes a time when it's not possible to get it any lower.
You can be careful about everything, watch every tiny use like switching off lights and your bill will come down but not as low as you think.
So be sensible for sure but at the same time don't be a nazi over it. You need a bit of comfort too


Also if you find yourself struggling and have just a few euro for a few days then Tesco sell flavored noodles for 20c. About 600 calories in them.
They certainly are not healthy! But they'll keep you going if you're stuck for a few days. Worked for me anyway

Moneyworries

Moneyworries wrote: »

I recently moved into my own place, I paid for the first months rent and part of the deposit with some savings that I had. I know that I will be entitled to rent allowance but that takes time to come through, i had to do this as things were getting very bad at home and it was either this or become homeless. I don't have any debt at the moment, but my income is quite small, I am on a social welfare payment, and I am just worried about how I am going to manage. My rent is coming up to nearly half my monthly income, I also have a car that I need to keep on the road, phone bill, food costs, electricity, heating costs etc. I have done a budget and I will have less than €100 left over at the end of each month as disposable income and that is with me being very careful which I will be.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I hardly know anyone who isn't spending at least half their income on rent. I find that some people who have just moved out aren't realistic about how much it costs. It costs a fortune just to survive these days. I work full time and have very little left over, and I don't have a car! Do you REALLY need the car or could you make do without it? Do you really need your own place or could you share with strangers? Most young working adults I know don't have a place to themselves or their own transport, so I can't even imagine how you'd do it on SW. It seems to me that you're living quite a lot beyond your means and in that situation, cutting back on the small things isn't much use.

That said, you can save loads of groceries by shopping at Lidl/Aldi and buying lots of fresh fruit and veg. Don't even think of going near Tesco or Dunnes. If you have to buy those cheap noodles, don't use the powder in the sachet (it's so bad for you). Fry a few bits of veg and mix those in with some soy sauce. Try not to eat crap. Food is the first thing people cut back on when they have no money, but it's a bad idea. It's not worth the resulting fatigue/health problems/vitamin deficiencies.

LegacyUser

Hi all, OP here.

First of all I want to thank everyone for the advice they have given, there is some real practical stuff that I can put into use here, that I will be putting into use.

Due to a medical condition I can't work at the moment so I am recipt of disability allowance, a jobsbridge scheme is not possible for the same reason.

I know that a car is a serious expense, but I really do need it, it's not just a luxury. I am living in quite a rural area and even getting to town to do grocery shopping, or attending regular doctors appointments are why I need it, I couldn't depend on anyone to take me all the time. Also I am starting a FAS course in September which will last until next April, there is no public transport where I am living so it just isn't feasible to give it up. I have parked it up for the entire weekend and walking where I need to.

Due to my rural location a house share isn't really an option as there aren't many looking to share, if I was in a town or whatever it would be something I would be looking into, I even asked around to see if anyone would be interested but there just wasn't anyone.

My broadband comes from the personal hotspot feature on my phone, so my phone and Internet comes to a grand total of €40 per month which I think is very reasonable.

I dont't have sky or anything like that and don't intend on getting it, I watch everything on Netflix, RTE player etc. that does me fine.

I am getting a power meter installed so will be only paying for what I am using and I know that being able to see what I am spending will make me more conservative in my use of power.

I am sharing bins with a neighbour instead of getting my own, it will save us both money.

The house has an open fire and central heating, I will be buying €20 of oil in a drum, I have already done this and I am being very conservative with the use, I light the fire in the evening and my bedroom is right above the living room so it heats it, so I am only using the oil in the morning.

I am a decent cook and I will be freezing meals, I don't believe in buying ready meals, I am going to make a stew, bolognese this week and freeze the leftovers, I am also going to make a big pot of soup and freeze that for when I am broke. I am used to buying my own food so that is not an extra bill. And I already shop in Aldi and don't care about brands.

I really want to make this work as I am so much happier since I have moved in, it's what I needed. I have never missed a bill in my life and i don't intend to start now, I made a budget plan over the weekend which I will be sticking to and I will be cutting back on all unnecessary spending, I have even given up smoking to save money. It's going to be a difficult few months, but I need to make it work.

StillWaters

I know you are probably tied into your lease now, but really living in a rural isolated location is a luxury. Far better and cheaper to live somewhere you can walk to shops, training centres, bus stops etc. Rent might work out a bit dearer, but overall it's much cheaper.

December2012

Giving up smoking is fantastic and will save you loads of money. Well done.