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Do you budget?

Melisandre121

Do you budget, or do you just spend as you go? If you do budget, do you use some sort of budgeting tool?

I tend to just spend as I go and always end up completely broke at the end of the month. Would love to be better at budgeting.

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bren2002

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

In 2007/2008 I took out two loans (one for over €25,000 and the other for €4,000) and racked up a credit card to nearly €6000. Separated from my ex that year and he took off with all our savings. But before that, I had taken out a loan so I could move out of our house. Paid for a deposit, couple months of rent and some other stuff. Also had to pay him some money he claimed I owed him. Easier to pay than to fight it. Anyway, back then I was bad with money and didn't budget. Once I moved out, he refused to pay the mortgage or any bills associated with the property (still lived there though, until he took off and left the country for god knows where) so I was paying both a mortgage, rent and bills for two places. I tried renting out the first place but that was a disaster so I broke the lease on my new place and moved back in to the old one. I'm really not proud of myself for all this.

Congratulations on this achievement.
Maybe you've already handled this, it isn't clear from the post.
Does you ex still have an interest in the house? If he's taken off to god knows where, he could turn back up and look for half the house. Or prevent you from selling in the future. Worth dealing with ASAP.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

Cork2015!

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Another Excel budgeter here. Am two months away from paying off over 30 grand in debt. Never would have crawled out of it without learning how to stick to a budget. Harsh lesson but one well learned!!

Did it take you long if you don't mind me asking? Nice to see that it is actually possible well done

bren2002

draiochtanois wrote: »

Not really a new mindset. It's definitely been around since Dicken's if not before:

“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.”

That's a massive over simplification of the complex world of personal finance

zedhead

I do a very rough budget on excel. I know exactly what will need to be paid in bills and how much I will be saving along with my planned spend on essentials (groceries, petrol etc). At the start of each month I look at what I have planned for a month ahead and try to estimate what I should be spending on other areas. I then keep track of everything coming out of my account and allocate it a category - rent, groceries, medical, travel, car, entertainment, eating out, shopping, gifts, savings so that I can ensure as the month goes on I am not over spending on any one category. I have no loans and I only use my credit card for online payments or for a large unexpected spend. i always pay my credit card balance in full at the next payday and just adjust my personal spends for the following month accordingly.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

Walter H Price

We budget big style , save roughly 60% of our salery's every month , then have rent , bills etc , leave's about 15% - 20% for food and lil luxurys ... do allot of the shopping in bulk in the wholesalers so that works out a good bit cheaper and make serious use of the freezer.

saving for a weeding and a deposit at the minute so need some serious cash reserves all ready have well over €30k in 13 Months saving

This Fat Girl Runs

Cork2015! wrote: »

Did it take you long if you don't mind me asking? Nice to see that it is actually possible well done

Thank you. I took the loans out in early 2007. 9 years. The first 5 of those years were pretty brutal, gotta say. The last two were better. But I'll never do it again.

Butters1979

storker wrote: »

Yes if the buyer hands over the money but doesn't do anything with the tool; no if using the tool saves multiples of that €50.

Or you could get a pen and paper and do a budget yourself. And save everything you saved plus €50.

Bubbaclaus

Transfer 38% of my net salary out of my current account and into a savings account the day I receive it. Live on the rest. Use excel to track everything.

You'd be amazed at how much you save when you track your spending and realise where you are wasting it.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I live with an accountant that has me sitting on the naughty step when I don't save. The past two years he's got me into the habit of saving. 1/3 of my wages go straight from my acc via direct debit into my savings account. That's my grown up fund.

Then I have the rest of my wages, that's my living money. Bills, food, lunches etc.
Then sometimes I work from home and depending on what that is, or what I need it's for the fun things in life. Sunglasses, designer shoes, bags, new makeup, Asos binge. Sometimes I'll save a bit.

But as for sitting down and allocating 50 euro to three, 45 to sky, 120 to dunnes/tesco - no I don't do that. I could not live like that.

A friend this weekend is going out. He's allocated X amount of money for the night and is even planning how much to spend in the off licence before we go out. I absolutely could not deal with that. Money isn't everything. Go out. Order what you want. Order the nice wine is teas of the house white.

intheclouds

LexieOnRale wrote: »

But as for sitting down and allocating 50 euro to three, 45 to sky, 120 to dunnes/tesco - no I don't do that. I could not live like that.

I dont get you - how do you pay those bills? Or do you just not have them is it?

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

intheclouds wrote: »

I dont get you - how do you pay those bills? Or do you just not have them is it?

They come out of my account and that's it.

andekwarhola

Would assume most people have to make out a budget of some sort unless they are actually wealthy or they've very few financial responsibilities.

Not sure about using tools. Calculator and notepad application does me fine.

intheclouds

LexieOnRale wrote: »

They come out of my account and that's it.

Ah I understand. Nothing, absolutely nothing, comes out of my account. I do it all manually (a hold over from the days it was near impossible to cancel a direct debit). I prefer the idea that I control when I pay who. So if I was stuck, the money is in my hands to decide.

bren2002

How much extra does it cost you to avoid the direct debit discounts from virgin etc.?

Lisha

I get paid into my account every 4 weeks. All direct debits, esb, three, eircom, property tax, house/car insurance are paid from that account.
I transfer what's left into my other account, that is for food shop, car expenses etc.
credit card is paid off every month, limit is only €600. Some goes into savings but big enough. I need to tackle my overall spending. Money seems to go nowhere.

I always know account balances and use a notebook to track dds, and other spends.

AppleBottle

I have a note on my phone about what needs to be paid every month and review it come payday for anything that's coming up in the following month - the likes of nights out with the girls, birthdays etc.

I usually stick to it. It gives me an idea of what's left to play around with for the rest of the month.

enya kenny

Yes had to as never thought of drinking was the reason im broke. Was spending 800 euro a month or more on beer and thinks related to beer like taxis etc.

Few Pints Wednesday night to break up the working week 30 euro.

Friday night 50 euro

Saturday 100 euro or more

Sunday 20 euro

intheclouds

bren2002 wrote: »

How much extra does it cost you to avoid the direct debit discounts from virgin etc.?

No idea, but I consider it worth it to hold the control over my own money.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

intheclouds

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Yes, I have already mentioned earlier how this didnt used to be possible and trying to cancel a direct debit was a protracted and difficult process.

Which left me with the mindset that I prefer to be in control of my own money and who gets paid what when.

For that reason I dont use direct debits.

I do have control of who gets paid what and when by handling it manually.

You are, of course, free to have as many direct debits set up as you like, but for me the control over the amount and the timing is more important.

Bubbaclaus

intheclouds wrote: »

Yes, I have already mentioned earlier how this didnt used to be possible and trying to cancel a direct debit was a protracted and difficult process.

Which left me with the mindset that I prefer to be in control of my own money and who gets paid what when.

For that reason I dont use direct debits.

I do have control of who gets paid what and when by handling it manually.

You are, of course, free to have as many direct debits set up as you like, but for me the control over the amount and the timing is more important.

Do you ever fear you will forget to make a payment in time and potentially tarnish your credit rating for 5 years?

Utah

intheclouds wrote: »

Yes, I have already mentioned earlier how this didnt used to be possible and trying to cancel a direct debit was a protracted and difficult process.

Which left me with the mindset that I prefer to be in control of my own money and who gets paid what when.

For that reason I dont use direct debits.

I do have control of who gets paid what and when by handling it manually.

You are, of course, free to have as many direct debits set up as you like, but for me the control over the amount and the timing is more important.

Does it involve a lot of trips to the post office or can you pay online directly when you choose to?

Day Lewin

Yes: have made quick-n-dirty assessments of available funds vs. looming expenses ever since I was a student (long time ago)

Pencil and a jotter page is all you really need, but over the years, rearing a long family on a short purse, etc, it evolved into a still very simple but foolproof method of keeping track of income / outgoings /and whats-left-over-to-spend. Divided by four, for a weekly sum, since my income has always been monthly.

It STILL features a brief handwritten list on blue paper, since the original ("monthly recurring bills") was scribbled on the blue lining of an envelope. Gets updated once in a while but still the same layout.

EVERY MONTH: Mortgage, fixed outgoings and credit cards.

January - Fuel, subscriptions, heavy credit card bill
February - Phone, gas, lecky,
March - Property Tax

and so on and so forth. Details vary but it works as a system.

Back when I WAS a student, I remember the result that happened quite often, after I had bought a couple of needed books, etc:
there was about a pound a week, left to spend. [early 1970s]
This worked out to a daily ration of about 18 pence a day which bought ten cigarettes which were shared between me and my boyfriend, and 2 cups of tea daily in the cafe to accompany the sandwiches-from-home.

Clothes from Oxfam, transport by bike. I still do some of those things. And I always budget.

[Deleted User]

The only way I don't spend money is if I don't have the money to spend. I found what works for me is putting money into a savings account that requires 7 days to withdraw. I am always broke at the end of the month but at least its slightly on my own terms now.

intheclouds

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

Do you ever fear you will forget to make a payment in time and potentially tarnish your credit rating for 5 years?

You might have the wires crossed here. Missing a payment to a utility company has no impact on your credit rating.

Being a few days late with the mortgage doesnt affect your credit rating either.

Theres a good article on it here.

Theres a lot of scaremongering around credit ratings (which is probably why you think that being a bit late on a bill damages your credit rating) - but the truth is much more reasonable.

Although in saying that, Ive never once missed a payment on anything, as I handle the finances the day I get paid.

Utah wrote: »

Does it involve a lot of trips to the post office or can you pay online directly when you choose to?

Online directly and I generally do it the day I get paid (or occasionally a day or two later). Its just part of the process of the monthly budget.

Why would you think Id be going to the post office? Is that how most people pay bills if they are not on direct debit?

Utah

intheclouds wrote: »

Why would you think Id be going to the post office? Is that how most people pay bills if they are not on direct debit?

Haha I don't know! I just had it in my head that that is where one pays their bills!

intheclouds

Utah wrote: »

Haha I don't know! I just had it in my head that that is where one pays their bills!

I think I did pay a gas bill once in the post office? Maybe you can do it for all types of bills? Who knows! I try to avoid post offices - although they can be handy for lodging cash to a bank account on Saturdays.

OldNotWIse

I'm terrible at budgeting. I earn good money but spend a lot on the animals and bailing out my parents who weren't bothered to pay off their fúckin mortgage fully before they retired. I also just completed a very expensive degree that bled me dry. I find being paid weekly doesn't lend itself to proper budgeting because I always feel I can spend all my money and sure it'll only be a few days until I get some more

Decided to switch to monthly and am due to start this next month. Any tips on monthly budgeting and also how to transition?