would you move back into shared accommodation at 38

Lukeskyrunner

I m a 38 year old single man , I have a decent job that pays me 3k net into my hand every month but I always have had a problem saving money. To be honest I spend way too much on drink but that s a topic I don t want to get into here, let s just say I am aiming to kick that in the bud . I rent a 1 bedroom apartment which is 500 a month, my car which I only use to drive to work and around town is costing me 200 a month(insurance 140, petrol 60). My internet bill is 45 euro a month and I also pay 60 rising to 90 for all the tv channels plus sky sports. Other bills include electricity at about 100 euro a month. I have wanted to move to Australia for a long time and its about time I start moving forward with my plan. It s going to take 9-12 months before I get my visa so I m considering moving out of my apartment and into shared accommodation near work, I m also planning on selling my car since I plan to move near where I work. I should still be able to save a lot of money with all those bills but my capacity to save money if I moved into shared accommodation is massive, would appreciate some advice

fits

Id stay in the apartment and cut back on the drink.you should be able to save loads. How much do you want to have saved when you go? Divide that by number of months and put money aaway at start of month. Adjust lifestyle to fit the remaining budget. Btw sky is mad expensive along with broadband. You could cancel that and make do with something cheaper. Im stingy so we pay 35 a month on broadband and a tenner a month on netflix. Shop in aldi. Cut out thd takeaways. Cut back on booze.

the_syco

Lukeskyrunner wrote: »

I have a decent job that pays me 3k net into my hand every month but I always have had a problem saving money.

Moving into shared accommodation will cost more, as you'll probably be socialising with your housemates at the weekends, etc.

Lukeskyrunner

Here are my expenses itemised , the only reason I get the TV is for the soccer. united are ****e anyway so I may reconsider LOL

Rent 500
Internet 45
Car 200
TV 60 rising to 90 in 6 months(but in 6 months the soccer will be over so can get rid of the sports for 2 months)
Electricity 100

If I moved into shared accomodation Id imagine the costs would be

Rent 300
Internet 10-15
Car-0 since I would be getting rid of it
TV 20
elec-30

So Id save about 500-600 a month from the move, not as much as I thought

jive

Lukeskyrunner wrote: »

So Id save about 500-600 a month from the move, not as much as I thought

Plus money from selling the car, presumably?

If you're goal is to save then i would. 600 per month, is 7,200 a year, not to be scoffed at... given your current salary to make up that difference would be a raise €12k/year.

It depends if you want to share with someone or not, really. If you can find someone suitable to live with then it can be better than living alone...although this is rare

Lukeskyrunner

Na the car is a banger, wouldn't even get a few hundred euro id say

Geuze

Elec bill seems very high.

I pay 66 pm for a 4-bed detached house with 4 occupants.

Ursus Horribilis

Have you any thoughts on what age group you'd like to share with? I mean, by the time most people are 38 they're gone past the house sharing stage. I'm the same age as you and I'd lose the will to live if I had to go live with a bunch of people a decade younger than me.

You're also spending a lot on TV and you could probably save on broadband. Kick the drink and you'd have more €€ in your pocket. You're probably blowing a lot more money on other things too. I'd sooner tighten my belt in those areas than go back to sharing again. But that's just me.

Rented Mule

Respectfully, I believe you already know where you need to cut back.

Spanish Eyes

Rent at E500 for a one bed is something others would bite your hand off for!

Your take home is good and there is no way sharing will help you save unless you try to do it in your current situation.

There are so many ways to cut back and save, but you have to WANT to do it, consistently with a goal in mind.

Otherwise, just enjoy your life, be thankful your accommodation cost is so low for a single occupant and either make the decision to scrimp and save, or forget about it.

Only you can decide really.

The_Honeybadger

I'm a bit younger than you op. I don't think I could move back into shared accommodation at this stage tbh. You could get lucky and meet sound housemates or you could end up with a bunch of headcases. Either way, having your own space is the ideal, and I wouldn't be moving if I was you.

Your income is good and your outgoings look reasonable overall. You say yourself that you drink too much. That's where you need to cut back. If you are sensible you should be able to save near half your income each month.

Lukeskyrunner

I dont understand why my energy bill is so high either? I have the water in my emersion set to be heated for 1 hour twice in a 24 hour period . I cook once a day for about 1 hour using my oven, I have storage heaters to heat the house , i have my tv ps4 and laptop on a good bit

Spanish Eyes

You can save mightily where you are. No need to move anywhere really.

Do you WANT to do this or not? If you do, you can and you will. Set some goals every three months to have so much saved for example, with a picture of Oz on the fridge and elsewhere.

if you are dithering, forget it and just go with the flow.

The_Honeybadger

Lukeskyrunner wrote: »

I dont understand why my energy bill is so high either? I have the water in my emersion set to be heated for 1 hour twice in a 24 hour period . I cook once a day for about 1 hour using my oven, I have storage heaters to heat the house , i have my tv ps4 and laptop on a good bit

Storage heaters are one of the most inefficient ways to heat a home, especially if you work during the day. Is the bill still high in the summer months when they are off?

It's very high for one person

Spanish Eyes

OP, how do you think you would save massively by moving to shared accommodation?

If you are not saving now when you really can, what's the advantage in sharing with a bunch of people when you are used to your own space at a reasonable cost. Bills have to be paid, which will be included (or not) in a shared house too.

I really don't get your logic about a share being cheaper. Maybe a few bob a month, but it's a high price to pay for lack of privacy that you are now used to.

Get a plan where you are now. See how that goes. Should be very doable on your figures.

But YOU have to want to do it. We can't say.

Graham

Lukeskyrunner wrote: »

So Id save about 500-600 a month from the move, not as much as I thought

A good chunk of the savings you identified are from getting rid of the car. Could you start saving there?

Irish_rat

Lukeskyrunner wrote: »

I m a 38 year old single man , I have a decent job that pays me 3k net into my hand every month but I always have had a problem saving money. To be honest I spend way too much on drink but that s a topic I don t want to get into here, let s just say I am aiming to kick that in the bud . I rent a 1 bedroom apartment which is 500 a month, my car which I only use to drive to work and around town is costing me 200 a month(insurance 140, petrol 60). My internet bill is 45 euro a month and I also pay 60 rising to 90 for all the tv channels plus sky sports. Other bills include electricity at about 100 euro a month. I have wanted to move to Australia for a long time and its about time I start moving forward with my plan. It s going to take 9-12 months before I get my visa so I m considering moving out of my apartment and into shared accommodation near work, I m also planning on selling my car since I plan to move near where I work. I should still be able to save a lot of money with all those bills but my capacity to save money if I moved into shared accommodation is massive, would appreciate some advice

You get 3k net and rent on your own for 500, no way should you consider sharing!

Apart from tv charges the spending on essentials is on the average scale. There is a lot left over there really.

There is 2k you forgot to declare there a month :-D

Lukeskyrunner

Well as I have mentioned before the only reason I have gotten the TV is because of the soccer , that's the reason 90% of people get the channels. The other option here is to watch the matches in the pub and I don't know if id be disciplined enough not to have a load of pints, I don't want to put temptation in from of me regardless. My fixed expenses add up to around 1000 a month, I forgot the gym and my phone

Rent-500
Internet-45
Electricity-100
Car-200(my insurance costs a bomb at 145 a month)
TV-60 rising to 90
Gym-29
Phone-30
Food,drink, entertainment(the rest-2000)

I cant really get rid of the car if I stay in the apartment

Wesser

I think you. Need to look at the breakdown of where the 2000 goes every month. Keep a list of everything you spend on your phone and then tot it up at the end of the month and see what it says. You could easily save a grand a month.

Wesser

To answer your question no I would not move back into shared accom
Aged 38.

Geuze

I earn approx 3,000 net, a bit more.

Not much above your earnings.

I have four mouths to feed out of that.

I save 600 per month, after paying mortgage.

So clearly you can save much more.

Grolschevik

What's your car? My insurance only comes in about 30 a month...

Lux23

I don't think you even need to start getting rid of TV or Sky Sports, just put €1,000 into a savings account every month and live on the rest. I think its easily done and at least you will have the Sport to keep you occupied when you can't afford to go out.

Giblet

Lukeskyrunner wrote: »

Food,drink, entertainment(the rest-2000)

You are taking the piss here, you have loads of money, but it seems you are trying to live well beyond your means. Stop pissing your money down the jacks, and learn to cook a decent meal for yourself, you're 38. You won't survive in Australia with that lifestyle either. I would put half of that out of reach on payday, and live on the rest. Somehow I think you won't be starving.

Michael D Not Higgins

Frankly OP, you need a budget. You haven't run into trouble before because you salary is high enough but you can't continue to spend every single penny every month. Your living costs are reasonable so that's not where you should be focusing. You're clearly spending too much on your nights out.

witchgirl26

OP I think the others are right in that you need to look at where the excess is going. While your electricity and sky sub is high, it's the other part I think that is destroying your ability to save. I live in a house with 2 others (other half and good friend who's our licencee). My salary would be comparable to you & so would my payment towards the mortgage. My bills are probably comparable too as we have a 3 bed house versus a 1 bed apartment (having lived on my own in apartment I've noticed this). All in I'm able to save circa €1k a month and I'm not limiting myself in terms of having a social life to some mad degree.

Be harsh with yourself and completely honest - for a week write down every time you spend something. No matter if its €0.10 or €10. That will show you pretty quickly where your main income leakages are. Sometimes the big spends aren't as bad as that €3 every day on the way to work coffee. Make batch foods and bring your own lunch to work for a while. All make a difference but only if you know where you need to be cutting back.

As for going back to shared accommodation at 38, I wouldn't. I found it difficult to move from living on my own to living with just my partner in my late 20's so I can imagine that if you've had your own space for a while, it could wreck your head. And then would the savings, really be worth it?

rawn

You will always spend money if you have it. Put half your wages into the credit union immediately when you get paid then live off of the rest, you won't even notice it gone. I would not move into shared accommodation , the savings, if any, would be minimal compared to what you're giving up. 500pm for an apartment all to yourself is a steal, you'd be mad to give it up

Graham

witchgirl26 wrote: »

All make a difference but only if you know where you need to be cutting back.

It sounds like the OP is already aware where the big changes in spending need to be made but finds it easier to consider lower impact changes in the non-discretionary spending before tackling the spending that could really make a difference.

bucketybuck

I'd kill to have a one bed flat for only 500 p/m!

I'm mid 30's, get less than 3000 net per month and am paying nearly 700 p/m in rent, I go out regularly yet I can easily save 400/500 p/m.

You would be mad to move to a house share, especially when the savings you might make would be dwarfed by changes in other areas. It almost sounds as if you want to focus on that one change so that you don't have to address those other problems.

newacc2015

Lukeskyrunner wrote: »

Well as I have mentioned before the only reason I have gotten the TV is because of the soccer , that's the reason 90% of people get the channels.

Rent-500
Internet-45
Electricity-100
Car-200(my insurance costs a bomb at 145 a month)
TV-60 rising to 90
Gym-29
Phone-30
Food,drink, entertainment(the rest-2000)

I cant really get rid of the car if I stay in the apartment

No most people with Sky or Virgin have a basic package. They aren't paying close to €1200 a year to watch sports. €1200 is basically half a months pay gone just to watch sports.

Do you use the gym? Most people don't and refuse to accept that

Are you paying for insurance monthly? If so you are paying about a 13% premium to do so (insurere charge you interest on this). Did you do any price comparisons before buying insurance

Moving in shared accommodation won't solve your financial issues. Rent isn't even anywhere close to your take home pay. You need to cut back on 'entertainment'. Spending about €75 a day on drink and food is insane. €75 is most of grocery bill for a family of 4.

You just need to accept you have to cut down on drinking and mindless spending. There is plenty of spending apps to show you where you are spending your income as you don't really seem to know at the moment.

Elemonator

With respect, there's no point going to the gym if you are drinking that much. My dad taught me a life lesson last year, called "JFDI".

Stands for "just f***ing do it".

Doesn't take discipline to give up the drink. Just do it.

Plenty of savings and benefits there, not all monetary.

JDI

Ursus Horribilis

The insurance one is baffling me. He's 38 so by that stage of his life, his premium shouldn't be too onerous a bill. Even with the price hikes. The only thing I can think of is that he had a car accident and didn't protect his no claims bonus.

Food and drink is something you can fritter away a surprising amount of money on if you're not careful. You'd be amazed how much money you'll save if you do some pre-planning and cook/freeze meals. All those coffees, rolls, takeaways, bottles of beer or wine and other impulse buys at the supermarket add up. I bet if you decided to cook up a pot of spaghetti bolognaise, chili con carne, chicken curry or a casserole, you'd be amazed how far it goes and how cheap it is. I find I get three days out of something like that. Usually now, I freeze the third portion so that there's a ready meal in the freezer for those days when I can't be arsed cooking.

BetsyEllen

If you're bad at saving, and have an issue with spending spare money on drink then I don't think having more spare cash is actually going to help you here.

You'd be far better working on how you manage your finances.

Maybe open a type of savings account that you can't withdraw from without giving notice, or is locked for length of time (ie. 12 months) and set a standing order to go directly into it on payday.

Withdraw a set amount of cash and put it into your wallet and tell yourself this is your spending allowance for this month.
Take out however much you need to cover food, petrol etc and then put your bank card in a safe place at home so you're not carrying it with you daily.
You'll likely find you spend less when you can see the actual cash in your wallet.

Try this for a month and see how you go. If you can save say €200 and get to your next payday without touching it you'll feel great and I can guarantee you'll feel spurred on to do it again next month.

Ursus Horribilis

Elemonator wrote: »

With respect, there's no point going to the gym if you are drinking that much.

Or as I've often heard, you can't outrun a bad diet. Going to the gym is not a bad thing in its own right but I think sometimes people think it'll right the wrongs of what they're eating and drinking.

pilly

I wouldn't give up my privacy for any money and paying €500 p/m rent is great in current circumstances.

Could you not get rid of the car anyway and use public transport. If you're insurance is €145 a month you're paying a lot more than €200 p/m for the car. Again you add up petrol, servicing, wear and tear etc.

I have no TV subscription at all, tons of channels for free but then I'm not into the football.

Not much else I'd advice but keep your independence. Imagine if you gave up that apartment and moved into shared accommodation and then decided in a years time that you're not going away. You wouldn't get another place back for €500 so think very carefully.

Viscount Aggro

Without being too critical to the OP, if you want to beat the system, theres ways around it, by being more efficient.
20 quid a week will feed you, look at alternative house shares - how do you think foreign nationals working minimum wage jobs are managing? I would take nothing as a fixed cost, go animal on expenses, cycle or walk everywhere, cook everything from scratch and freeze the rest. Depends what the objective is here? Getting your savings rate up? pay yourself first, at end of the month, then live on the rest.

PhoenixParker

Would you even find a house share at 38?

Most people prefer to share with people roughly they're own age. Anyone I know sharing in their 30s has been sharing with the same people since their 20s. If the house share splits up they don't look for new stranger housemates, they move to their own place or in with a partner.

Cyrus

Lukeskyrunner wrote: »

I have wanted to move to Australia for a long time and its about time I start moving forward with my plan. It s going to take 9-12 months before I get my visa so I m considering moving out of my apartment and into shared accommodation near work, I m also planning on selling my car since I plan to move near where I work. I should still be able to save a lot of money with all those bills but my capacity to save money if I moved into shared accommodation is massive, would appreciate some advice

can i ask what the motivation is to move to australia?

spaceHopper

Can you cut the sky, are you under contract, will there be a penalty if you do?

I wouldn't move, you have stability now, what if you end up with bad house mates or get kicked out.


Your fixed costs are less than 1K a month! That is very good. Where is the other 2K going? Moving would save you 570 a month based on your figures. Turn down the heaters, put on jumper.

Shop more carefully, bring your lunch to work....

Also check that your electricity meter is the correct one and you aren't being charged for another appointments! It's been know to happen. Get the management agent to show you the meter. Pull the fuse on your fuse board and see that it stops. Then put it back in, run the oven, immersion and heaters, see it spin. Keep an eye on other metes too. It might not save you much if it's wrong but you would be due a refund!

Goya

Certainly would not if I had a choice. And you do have a choice. My friend had to at 38 because her relationship ended and she earns less than 25k before tax. She doesn't like it but it has to be done.

You however are definitely not in a financial situation that requires it - your rent is very reasonable and you earn good money (especially when you have no dependants), fair play.

At the same time though, if you actually want to share, what does it matter how others feel about it? I don't agree with those saying you wouldn't save. You would of course - lower rent and split bills. But it doesn't seem necessary - if that's your only concern.

riclad

You can just go for basic entertainment and music channels,
cost 30-35 per month.
drop sky sports ,if theres a big match on go to a pub that has sky sorts.
For 50-60 you can get broadband plus 50 tv channels from upc or virgin media .
if you cut your sub from sky ,you,ll still get all the fta channels, bbc,itv,c4,
channel 5 ,true movies etc
https://switcher.ie/broadband/

bucketybuck

dont bother wrote: »

usually in a house-share there is always one older person - and the other housemates, IME, always view them as a bit odd, weird, strange.

What a load of rubbish.

There are of course weird people out there but his age has nothing to do with it. In a time and a housing market where older people frequently have to back and live with their parents there is nothing particularly strange about anybody in their 30's house sharing.

athtrasna

Mod note

That's several pages of financial advice, can we get back to the Accommodation and Property aspect please.

ongarboy

Most renters in Dublin could only fantasize about only having to pay one sixth of their take home pay in rent each month as OP is doing. You must be renting far outside Dublin as most one bed apartments in Dublin are at least €1000 per month. If you were paying an extortionate amount for renting alone, then yes, I'd say consider a house share but most house shares in Dublin would cost more per month than you pay for your own place so saving a couple of hundred on rent is not going to make a big impact if you are reckless in your spending elsewhere.

I'd focus on where you are needlessly throwing away money rather than undertaking a big lifestyle change of sharing with others at this stage of your life. Yes, there is nothing strange about older tenants sharing, however, all people gradually get set in their ways as they get older and are generally less tolerant of things that they mightn't have given a toss about as much in their twenties (dirty pots on the cooker, leaving the emersion on, parties mid week etc). Could you endure that with others who may be in different age groups and stages and priorities in their lives?

Your car insurance at 1440 per year is absolutely crazy for someone of your age unless you are a provisional driver. I'm similar age as you and pay less than a third of that. I'd ditch the car unless I absolutely had no other way of getting to work. Watch out for those take away coffees each morning and gourmet paninis for lunch. That can add 50-100 per week if you are not careful although realistically a single man earning 3000 a month should be able to absorb such expenses but if you are having problems saving, then ditch such items and make packed lunches and use the staff kettle!

I binned my Sky after 10 years last year and got Free to Air and I don't miss a thing. I'm not a sports fanatic so never needed the premium channels but as others have posted above, there are ways and means of getting them for free.

It sounds like the elephant in the room revolves around how much you spend on entertainment. All other disciplinary measures you take will be a waste if you don't address that. I can spend 20 to 200 on a good or crazy night out depending but if I was reckless, I could spend 200 every night (buying shots for acquaintances I met 5 minutes earlier etc as people do, after parties, pills, continue the session into the next day etc....all fun but at a very expensive financial and health cost if doing it consistently). Not sure what your primary motivation is for going to Oz but if you think it will facilitate you changing bad habits, then it won't. That will have to be done regardless of where you live and Oz could worryingly encourage your vices as there can be a whole "away from home, let's party to celebrate or to drown out the homesickness" attitude.

Some posters have come on here saying they can feed and live as a family of 4 comfortably and still save on the same amount that you earn. You need to take a long hard look at your current lifestyle and follow the good advice that people are posting here. Best of luck!

Edit - apologies mod, just saw your post only now about veering away from main topic!!!

johnnyskeleton

Do you know anyone in a houseshare that you get on with and could move in? Probably better than moving in with strangers.

Lukeskyrunner

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this thread, I have decided to stay in the apartment. The problem isn't the 1k I spend on my expenses its the 2k that burning a hole in my pocket. I should be able to save 1500 euro every month no bother , I know the TV expense for the football is a lot but its a luxury I am well able to afford. My salary is very good and would be good even if I was living in Dublin. With regards the car, yes at 38 I am still on provisional which is why my insurance is high. With regards OZ, I have been 3 times now and love it and since I have no dependents here why not whilst I am still relatively young, I have family out there as well permanently . I suppose the main reasoning for thinking of doing this is to put myself into a militant type mind set where I am focused on spending the bare minimum and saving as much as I can in the shortest time possible

orionm_73

Would you consider setting up a bank account that you have to give notice of any withdrawals ? Then set up a standing order so that €xxx is transferred every payday. It will mean not being able to withdraw the cash on a whim.

Lukeskyrunner

orionm_73 wrote: »

Would you consider setting up a bank account that you have to give notice of any withdrawals ? Then set up a standing order so that €xxx is transferred every payday. It will mean not being able to withdraw the cash on a whim.

My problem is I have alot of expenses from now to the end of march, I have to go back over to OZ again

Lukeskyrunner

I just read some of another thread on here and 500 euro a month is pittance compared to what people have to pay in Dublin

mansize

No.

fits

After my expenses were covered i used to allow 700 euro for food, entertainment and clothes and incidentals per month. The rest was split between a rainy day account for large occasional expenses and a notice account for long term savings. You could take an approach like that.