Getting a household budget up and running???

nirvana78

Please excuse me this is my first ever post, I'm probably in the wrong place if I am then please direct me. I have sat down and worked out a monthly budget based on yearly expenditure. My question is how do I get it started when there is no spare cash? For example let's say house insurance works out at €360 a year, so I think ok, €30 a month, now the problem I face is what if its due for renewal in two months time, and the same applies to a few other large expenses?

jester77

nirvana78 wrote: »

Please excuse me this is my first ever post, I'm probably in the wrong place if I am then please direct me. I have sat down and worked out a monthly budget based on yearly expenditure. My question is how do I get it started when there is no spare cash? For example let's say house insurance works out at €360 a year, so I think ok, €30 a month, now the problem I face is what if its due for renewal in two months time, and the same applies to a few other large expenses?

If you have no spare cash, then how would you be able to pay it in 2 months, budget or no budget?

Gaillimh1976

Might be better to put things in the month they are paid
So instead of putting 30 a month for insurance, put zero in 11 of the months and 360 in the month you have to pay it
Will look a bit scarier than your current version but should give you a more realistic idea of when the problems are

Say if it shows a 500 problem in August, you now know about it so you can start working out a plan to have 500 saved by then by cutting back on something in the meantime

(Instead of spending money on discretionary stuff in May/June and then realising when a bill arrives that there is a problem)

mikom

nirvana78 wrote: »

Please excuse me this is my first ever post, I'm probably in the wrong place if I am then please direct me. I have sat down and worked out a monthly budget based on yearly expenditure. My question is how do I get it started when there is no spare cash? For example let's say house insurance works out at €360 a year, so I think ok, €30 a month, now the problem I face is what if its due for renewal in two months time, and the same applies to a few other large expenses?

Don't pay the house insurance and use the saved money to pay your TV licence.
Your house may burn down....... but console yourself with the though that Ryan Tubridy will be getting a whopper of a salary to show youtube clips on a Friday night.

nirvana78

That's a great point, thankfully at the moment it's paid by direct debit, perhaps that wasn't the best example to use

jester77

Gaillimh1976 wrote: »

Might be better to put things in the month they are paid
So instead of putting 30 a month for insurance, put zero in 11 of the months and 360 in the month you have to pay it
Will look a bit scarier than your current version but should give you a more realistic idea of when the problems are

Say if it shows a 500 problem in August, you now know about it so you can start working out a plan to have 500 saved by then by cutting back on something in the meantime

(Instead of spending money on discretionary stuff in May/June and then realising when a bill arrives that there is a problem)

What the OP is doing is something similar to envelope budgeting and is a good way of being on top of upcoming expenses. You spread the costs across 12 months, makes it much easier to manage and budget for things instead of getting landed with one big bill. I also do it this way, 7 or 8 of my insurances all come in June, would not like to suddenly have to pay for all of them in one go.

Lapin

OP. Don't forget to factor in the minimum charge of €240 per annum for water rates that has just been announced by the government. :mad:

mikom

nirvana78 wrote: »

That's a great point, thankfully at the moment it's paid by direct debit, perhaps that wasn't the best example to use

Drip drip.............. just like water............ which will have to be paid as well.

keeponhurling

mikom wrote: »

....... but console yourself with the though that Ryan Tubridy will be getting a whopper of a salary to show youtube clips on a Friday night.

****feels blood levels rising****:mad:

Stone Deaf 4evr

If you're going to be paying things like house insurance on direct debit, be advised that this usually works out more expensive than paying for it in one lump sum. however your cashflow might not allow this.

1.look at all your annual bills - insurances, tax, etc. then look at when they are due for renewal, calculate how much it would be to convert them to monthly direct debit payments, and then look at when they'll all overlap - this will transition you to where you'll be when these have been converted from annual bills to monthly.
2. Start keeping receipts - ALL receipts, even if its only from a quick trip to the shop for a loaf of bread. you're still paying for it with money that has to be accounted for. we did an exercise on this and you'd be shocked at the amount you spend when you go to the corner shop and end up forking out 20 euros 3 times a week on small odds and ends. Add them up at the end of the month and you'll very quickly get an idea of where your money is going.
3. Start shopping around, the amount of people who never price around for their utilities (gas / electric / phone) is nuts.
4. As we're on phones, look at the plan you're on. I made the mistake of signing up for a package with 400 mins / texts and 2 gig data, when at the end of every month, I'm lucky to have gone over 100 mins /texts and 500mb data. just waiting for my contract to expire to rectify that boo boo.
5. Pick a realistic budget for personal items, holidays etc. dont be tempted to put stuff on the credit card/ over run your budget.

there are plenty more tips you could apply, but they're the first thing that spring to mind from my own experience.

nirvana78

Thanks Gaillimh1976, that's a good starting point, I'll work it out differently and with a clearer picture. Fortunately there is enough income to cover the expenditure, I just need to organise it a bit better.

nirvana78

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

If you're going to be paying things like house insurance on direct debit, be advised that this usually works out more expensive than paying for it in one lump sum. however your cashflow might not allow this.

1.look at all your annual bills - insurances, tax, etc. then look at when they are due for renewal, calculate how much it would be to convert them to monthly direct debit payments, and then look at when they'll all overlap - this will transition you to where you'll be when these have been converted from annual bills to monthly.
2. Start keeping receipts - ALL receipts, even if its only from a quick trip to the shop for a loaf of bread. you're still paying for it with money that has to be accounted for. we did an exercise on this and you'd be shocked at the amount you spend when you go to the corner shop and end up forking out 20 euros 3 times a week on small odds and ends. Add them up at the end of the month and you'll very quickly get an idea of where your money is going.
3. Start shopping around, the amount of people who never price around for their utilities (gas / electric / phone) is nuts.
4. As we're on phones, look at the plan you're on. I made the mistake of signing up for a package with 400 mins / texts and 2 gig data, when at the end of every month, I'm lucky to have gone over 100 mins /texts and 500mb data. just waiting for my contract to expire to rectify that boo boo.
5. Pick a realistic budget for personal items, holidays etc. dont be tempted to put stuff on the credit card/ over run your budget.

there are plenty more tips you could apply, but they're the first thing that spring to mind from my own experience.

I like point number 1 and I sniggered when i seen the mention of the word holiday, but who knows it may be possible one day