Family budget

Digs

Ordering Tesco online was a game changer for us. My husband was sceptical but he can’t get over it. We’re a family of two adults, three children. I’d go into Aldi weekly and spend and fortune and still have to top up.

Now we budget monthly, so at the start of the month I’ll get all the big tickets - washing powder etc and then I set myself a weekly Tesco budget of €70 which is ample. I make all from scratch including brown bread. I use the delivery saver which is €10 a month and you can take any delivery slot as often as you like. So we take a Saturday morning slot which would usually be €7 but for a tenner a month we can take as many €7 slots as we like. We then have a weekly budget for extras - family days out, wine etc

I build up points with Tesco during the year and next summer will be using the points partners with Irish Ferris (I also buy diesel in Tesco). €200 worth of points is quadrupled and there’s our fare to France. Happy days.

We have three girls so I buy good quality clothes that can be passed down. Generally Next and M&S. Things like knickers, vests, socks etc in Penney’s as they generally don’t get passed around.

ted1

pwurple wrote: »

Single income 2 adult 2 kids here too. Small kids consume a budget for a couple of years alright, so it is very tight, but it eases for sure. We dropped the savings first.

We also budget, but include discretionary for it. 50% bills, 30% discretionary, 20% savings.

That discretionary includes a family holiday for example, birthday parties ... all things which are needed to have some kind of life.


Electric driving saved us thousands a year as well, but I know that's not suitable for everyone, if you do a lot of driving for example.

I wouldn’t agree with small kids getting cheaper as they get older.

Our kids now do Swimming lessons, ballet, karate etc. Add the cost of them Adds up fast

SusanC10

ted1 wrote: »

I wouldn’t agree with small kids getting cheaper as they get older.

Our kids now do Swimming lessons, ballet, karate etc. Add the cost of them Adds up fast

Agree. Our eldest is 13. He was a lot cheaper when he was younger ! He is now an adult size in Shoes too which makes everything more expensive.
Just spent a small fortune on him starting Secondary - big leap from Primary in terms of costs.

bladespin

OP's other half has it pretty sweet IMO, similar enough situation, 2 adults and 2 kids under 12, one working full time the other part time, we do the vast majority of shopping in Aldi/Lidl with Tesco for the items you can't get elsewhere, Penneys generally for clothes etc etc.
I gave up buying lunches years back, they're ridiculously expensive and crappy (in general) compared to home prep.
Pints would be once a month (if we're lucky), even then that would be on a date night, not as well.

highly1111

One way I've saved money massively is by having a girl who comes to the house to do haircuts - she charges €25 for me and €10 for the boys. I also do our shopping in Aldi/Lidl and I've taken inspiration from the thread and just did my first Tesco online order (they've a promo going for a month's delivery is €1 for a trial). However, like others on this thread the main saver for us has been moving to electric cars - I know it's a big move to make but it has saved a fortune in petrol/tax/insurance/tolls and we haven't seen a mechanic in 3 years!! Best of luck with the move - delighted you got out of the negative equity rut - I've been there and it's not a nice place. Sounds like the move will be great for your family. (Oh finally, invest in a good travel mug - you'll never have to buy a tea/coffee on the road again!!)

Sunrise_Sunset

OP here. Yes, I feel the other half has it pretty sweet. Up until now we've both managed to have personal money, mine was always a bit lower as I don't need (or want in his case) to buy lunches at work, and I rarely drink. I find that the footie is a great excuse for him to get out and have a few pints. I don't begrudge him having time out with his friends like that but it could do with being reigned in a bit. I will have to discuss with him how our budget has to change going forward, and we just don't have enough disposable income for his current amount of personal money. I'll also let him know that I'm decreasing mine. I could easily live on 100 per month to myself.
Regarding kids clothes, yeah the reason I hadn't shopped in places like Penneys is because I've never liked the quality of their clothes. I shop in Next and M&S and occasionally H&M and Boden. I can't really shop ahead in the sales as they are always at the end of the season, so they'd have to be put away for a year, and by the time the next year comes around, the kids have changed their mind about what they like and don't like. This has actually cost me money in the past, it's been a waste.
Reading the posts here about meal planning, I think that'll be my biggest take away in terms of saving money on food shopping, it sounds like a lot of you have had great success with that. I never would have thought that Tesco would work out cheaper in that way, by meal planning and online shopping. It would also mean more vouchers which I love trading in for days out. I do find that I am in Aldi every feckin day or every other day at the very least. We spend about 400-450 on groceries and take aways per month.
I'm almost a year with our current energy provider so I'll be shopping around again soon.
Our car costs us very little, tax and insurance are cheap, but when it's time to change I will definitely be looking at hybrid or electric.
I generally get my hair cut in classes, and I colour it myself. Big savings there.

miamee

Sign up to the bonkers.ie newsletter, they will keep you informed of any great new deals with electricity and gas providers as well as broadband providers. They have some great comparison tools on the site as well.

shesty

Re:the sales-keep an eye out.There are current season sales for a week or so throughout the year.....so the next one should be Sept /Oct.....and you will get Autumn/Winter stuff in them.Particularly online where you can get good deals on those brands.I also do Gap and Benetton in those sales, you can get good deals.

AulWan

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

I think this has to be knocked on the head going forward, or at the very least decreased. He doesn't see it my way and says he needs his money. He spends it on lunches, a few pints to watch the footie, maybe one bigger night out per month, and a small amount on clothes.

I would agree to asking him to reducing the spends on pints, and the bigger nights out, but not the lunches or the clothes.

Maybe I'm alone in thinking this, but being part of the working world outside the home means sometimes having to have lunch with colleagues, or a coffee break, and you need to have some spends in your pocket for this. I work 4 days a week and budget 10 euro a day for this. Likewise you need to be dressed for work, and this costs a little bit, depending on the workplace, though I wouldn't be buying clothes every month.

Good luck with the new house.

CIARAN_BOYLE

AulWan wrote: »

I would agree to asking him to reducing the spends on pints, and the bigger nights out, but not the lunches or the clothes.

Maybe give him the choice of where he cuts but make it clear he has to cut.

Giving someone a strict budget is not a way to behave.

charlietheminxx

Yeah I feel a bit awkward for saying this because I know as a family you've to make sacrifices etc. but I would be very upset if my partner told me I couldn't have enough of my wages for a few pints or the odd lunch out. I say this as someone who has spent the last 3 years budgeting everything and having very little to spend on myself, it just doesn't sit right with me. It's important for everyone to have a few small things that matter to them in the budget.

I would be looking at where else to make cuts first, there are some great suggestions in this thread. Alternatively are there any ways to supplement your income?

CIARAN_BOYLE

By the way it sounds like he needs to realise the problem. You can't tell him there's a problem he needs to accept it.

SusanC10

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

By the way it sounds like he needs to realise the problem. You can't tell him there's a problem he needs to accept it.

Think Ciaran has hit the nail on the head there. Your husband needs to understand that cuts need to be made and row in with you.

When we had my Redundancy and the Pay Cuts all in the space of a year, it was obvious that spending would need to be reduced. But when I tracked for 2 months and then sat down with the results, my Husband could see it in black and white. The key thing for us was that we agreed on a way forward. We made the spending rules together.

Sunrise_Sunset

charlietheminxx wrote: »

Yeah I feel a bit awkward for saying this because I know as a family you've to make sacrifices etc. but I would be very upset if my partner told me I couldn't have enough of my wages for a few pints or the odd lunch out. I say this as someone who has spent the last 3 years budgeting everything and having very little to spend on myself, it just doesn't sit right with me. It's important for everyone to have a few small things that matter to them in the budget.

I would be looking at where else to make cuts first, there are some great suggestions in this thread. Alternatively are there any ways to supplement your income?

We spoke about it this afternoon, and we agreed to cut 50 each from our personal money each month. That's 100 more in the joint account for other things that are needed. I'm happy with that. I will be looking into lots of the other suggestions here too. Regarding supplementing the income, yes I'll be doing a few hours of childminding and babysitting. It's not just for bills, we also need money for furniture for the new house and the house also needs some work done.
As one poster said, he does need clothes for work, and I appreciate that.

Sonny noggs

Sonny noggs wrote: »

Strange decision to trade up slightly when it appears you can’t afford it without affecting your lifestyle on an already tight budget.

I take this comment back, the OP has since clarified why they are trading up.

Stheno

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

We spoke about it this afternoon, and we agreed to cut 50 each from our personal money each month. That's 100 more in the joint account for other things that are needed. I'm happy with that. I will be looking into lots of the other suggestions here too. Regarding supplementing the income, yes I'll be doing a few hours of childminding and babysitting. It's not just for bills, we also need money for furniture for the new house and the house also needs some work done.
As one poster said, he does need clothes for work, and I appreciate that.

There are loads of groups on Facebook where you can get furniture for free. Where are you based?

LuasSimon

How are you going to manage when kids get older ? Secondary school etc not to mention third level ???
Everyone here sounds honest people trying to survive financially by been prudent and thrifty to the point of life can’t be much fun . Having two kids because it’s as much as they can afford .
Meanwhile other members of Irish society are having seven or eight children expecting the state to pay for everything without ever doing a days work .
Seems so unfair .

Sunrise_Sunset

shesty wrote: »

Re:the sales-keep an eye out.There are current season sales for a week or so throughout the year.....so the next one should be Sept /Oct.....and you will get Autumn/Winter stuff in them.Particularly online where you can get good deals on those brands.I also do Gap and Benetton in those sales, you can get good deals.

Yes I think Next do a mid-season sale in September actually.
I love Gap, they always send me 35% and 40% off codes but even at that the items can be pricey.

Loveinapril

Stheno wrote: »

There are loads of groups on Facebook where you can get furniture for free. Where are you based?

Zero Waste Freecycle and Zero Waste Freecycle Child and Family are great on Facebook. I have used them for furniture and kids clothes but it is also a fantastic way to get rid of things you no longer need.

OP, sit down with your husband and write down your usual meals and do a rotation list so there is not too much repetition. I use Tesco online about once a month and Lidl (cheaper than Aldi) the other weeks. I buy meat in the butchers (and get them to do all the cutting) but we have also moved to a few meat free days per week too. It was more environmental as a choice than financial but it has made a difference in our food budget. Batch cooking is a great way to save money and time!

Sunrise_Sunset

LuasSimon wrote: »

How are you going to manage when kids get older ? Secondary school etc not to mention third level ???
Everyone here sounds honest people trying to survive financially by been prudent and thrifty to the point of life can’t be much fun . Having two kids because it’s as much as they can afford .
Meanwhile other members of Irish society are having seven or eight children expecting the state to pay for everything without ever doing a days work .
Seems so unfair .

I will hopefully be back working long before mine are in Secondary school.
Yes it can be frustrating hearing stories like that, and I even feel a tad bitter about it sometimes but I try not to. And yes, we would have had another child if we could afford to. But unfortunately we couldn't.

pwurple

ted1 wrote: »

I wouldn’t agree with small kids getting cheaper as they get older.

Our kids now do Swimming lessons, ballet, karate etc. Add the cost of them Adds up fast

Mine got considerably cheaper when we went from Creche to school... to the tune of 2k per month. It was a year or two after that before we dropped an income.

And I agree above btw, this spending money allowance thing is infantilizing your husband, making him be one of the kids. You should be a team. Tell him to look at the numbers and figure it out.


On the “little things adding up”... I approach budgeting from the other aspect entirely. Note the big things, and see what can be adjusted there. The small things are an absolute time burn for me... I cant go to 6 shops for the cheapest washing powder, it wastes the time I could be making extra money.

Biggest impact by far is upping the income. Can the earner , it seems to be your husband, put some solid effort into a raise. We did extra training, pushed hard for big projects at work etc.

Then you look at spending, starting with the top 5.

Mortgage was one we tackled once we looked at that, got the house revalued, changed the LTV and dropped the rate. Your rate is going up, I assume you have looked at this already. No drop in quality of life here.

The next biggest one was childcare. Dropping an income removes it, but maybe you could pick up work on the side too, like taking on some childminding or after school care at home, or some other side income. There is a drop in quality of life here.

Car was our next largest expense. We took a loan for the electric (secondhand ones are around 10k btw) and the loan repayments were covered by the petrol money we were no longer spending. Loan is paid off, car is effectively now making us 250 euro a month of spending power. No drop in quality of life.

Our next big spend was savings, pension and insurance... now you need financial advice here, but we dropped the savings, stopped the pension contributions until a raise at work appeared, and slashed back to low cover the insurances we had (critical illness, loss of income, health insurance). No drop in quality of life, but is a risk.

Next up, holidays. We started house swapping, which halved our annual holiday spend. No drop in quality of life.


Those items are all potential savings of thousands a year each. You’d be a very long time comparing apples in lidl vs aldi to make that kind of dent in spending.

ted1

^^ with 1 income and 3 kids we never had crèche fees. So that was never a cost. Hence they got more expensive as they get older

shesty

I absolutely agree with pwurple's post except for one thing -don't stop pension contributions.You can't buy those back.

Also if you happen to pay health insurance, make sure your kids on a different plan, to save you some money.You don't all need the same one.

Cakerbaker

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

Yes I think Next do a mid-season sale in September actually.
I love Gap, they always send me 35% and 40% off codes but even at that the items can be pricey.

There’s amazing value to be had in gap if you keep an eye on the sale sections, especially when you get a discount code for the sale stuff. I’ve gotten jeans and hoodies for both of mine reduced from €35-38 to €7-€10. Also handy to buy as gifts as they’re a decent present but don’t cost a lot.

pwurple

shesty wrote: »

I absolutely agree with pwurple's post except for one thing -don't stop pension contributions.You can't buy those back.

Also if you happen to pay health insurance, make sure your kids on a different plan, to save you some money.You don't all need the same one.

Yes, the pension one is for squeeze times, really is a last resort. In some cases this could mean dropping from 25% contributions down to 11% or 5% or zero, depending on whether the employer matches or pays in regardless. It needs financial advice for sure, but it is flexibility that can be used short term if needed.

Weyhey

Great thread.
I noticed a poster advertising Lidl delivery the other day - anyone try this or know the cost etc.?

ted1

Weyhey wrote: »

Great thread.
I noticed a poster advertising Lidl delivery the other day - anyone try this or know the cost etc.?

https://www.lidl.ie/online-grocery-delivery


Friends used it. Send it’s grand.

Sunrise_Sunset

I thought I would post an update on this thread, for those who are interested, in any changes we made with our budget.

1. We both reduced our personal money each month. This was the crux for us at the time of my original post. Myself and hubby discussed things in detail and he realised to reach all of our goals that this would have to decrease.
2. Hubby has managed to pick up some overtime each month and this money we will use for fixing up/re-decorating the new house, so we don't have to take it from his regular pay.
3. Sinking funds - I have always used sinking funds but have increased this and have covered all of our regular expenditures; be it monthly or yearly.
4. Meal planning - Wow I can't believe the difference this has made. I make a plan of meals for the week and go to the supermarket once a week with this list and buy only what's on the list. I'll then do one other quick dash during the week for fresh fruit/veg, milk and bread if needed.
5. Started an emergency fund. Aiming to have a minimum of 1k saved for emergencies so that we wouldn't have to try to cash flow it.
6. Started following a few budget bloggers and have learned some great tips from them.

We didn't manage to decrease any of our regular bills except Netflix which is only a 4 euro pm reduction.

zapper55

That's great OP.

If its allowed I would be interested to hear the names of the people you follow that helped.

jlm29

zapper55 wrote: »

That's great OP.

If its allowed I would be interested to hear the names of the people you follow that helped.

Me too!