Do you budget?

23-06-2016 02:09PM

I did try to budget but it was just too depressing. I would set targets and goals and not meet them and feel awful about it. For me budgeting just ended up as a way to by hyper aware of how much money I was spending and not succeeding in doing much about it.

So instead I moved to observe where most of my money was going out and just make ongoing changes to reduce it. I did not overly track money going out V. money coming in V. target savings and goals. I just made general goals of "find cheaper and easier ways to do X or Y" and let the rest take care of itself.

I find cooking and making and - where possible growing farming or hunting or producing - my own foods was one of the biggest savings I made. Especially when I got good enough at it to start streamlining the process and never wasting anything and aiming for meals with shared ingredients I could then buy cheaply and/or in bulk.

Not carrying much cash around also made a big difference. I have always been more inclined to spend money needlessly when I had more on me.

Learning to do things myself where I might otherwise pay others to do it - also made huge differences over the last few years. Especially in the areas of DIY and Repair. There is always a temptation when switching between summer and winter tyres to get my car and my girlfriends' cars and send them into the garage to do it. But switching 12 tyres yourself does save dosh. And thats just one random example of many many examples.

My monthly house party is also a great saving because A) I do not spend the huge amounts of money people can often spend on a night out in Dublin City for example but also

my friends who come to it throw money into a box to cover all the beer and food I put on. And generally I break even or even make a tiny profit from that. So the most social part of my social life is essentially free.

The list goes on but in the end I found simply being more cogent of how I spend my money needlessly was less depressing that trying to track the figures on paper or in spreadsheets.

We do have a shared bank account however where we drop a % of my salary and the girls 2 incomes into every month as a buffer against surprise or less regular bills. More often than not those are car related. Sudden repairs unexpected - or the more expected tax and insurance and the like.

Your Face · 23-06-2016 02:12PM

Is stealing a form of budgeting?

Winterlong · 23-06-2016 02:16PM

I dont really budget. Some months I can save a bit. Some months I dont.
Suppose I am just waiting for the mortgage to be paid and the end of childcare fees...will be rich then!

23-06-2016 02:20PM

Winterlong wrote: »

I dont really budget. Some months I can save a bit. Some months I dont.
Suppose I am just waiting for the mortgage to be paid and the end of childcare fees...will be rich then!

Did no one tell you about teenagers and how much they cost and then there is the little matter of college fees

Winterlong · 23-06-2016 02:21PM

mariaalice wrote: »

Did know one tell you about teenagers and how much they cost and then there is the little matter of college fees

Ah no...stop....cant cope...

draiochtanois · 23-06-2016 02:36PM

This post has been deleted.

intheclouds · 23-06-2016 02:37PM

OldNotWIse wrote: »

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

Initially I found going from weekly to monthly very difficult and I would run out of money by the end of week 3 and then be completely broke for a week and a bit.

Thats when I really started doing the monthly budget.

Ive already posted above but on payday I pay the mortgage, bills, credit card etc... Then I pay money into various savings. Then I apportion out what I can live on for the month.

Living on money is used for the weekly grocery shop, petrol, lunches, social life...etc.... Also for small unexpected stuff like doctor, chemist, physio, small bits and pieces for the house etc...

When you know how much it costs you to live for a week then withdraw that amount on a Saturday and live on it til the following Saturday. Some weeks you spend a lot less so you dont need to withdraw the same amount next week - if you get to the end of a month with a surplus - save it or splurge it.

23-06-2016 05:04PM

intheclouds wrote: »

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.

You can pay most bills in the post office. I often do it for gas, esb etc as they are in the LL name so can't be direct debits and it's quicker to pop into the post office to pay them which I pass going to get lunch everyday than go through the 20 menus it takes to pay stuff over the phone.

Penny Tration · 23-06-2016 05:21PM

Yeah, I budget. I'm on awful money cause I'm currently an unemployed student

Each week, I hand write what money is needed for what. X amount to the mother, x amount for the internet, x amount for travel, bins, etc.

Then I put that money away. Then I allocate money for seeing the other half, because I like to pay my way and go out.

Anything left, half goes into savings, the other half I can spend as I like. works well for me.

philstar · 23-06-2016 06:07PM

do I use some sort of budgeting tool??

sure do its called my bank account :P

Winterlong · 23-06-2016 06:13PM

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Dont ask!

ToddyDoody · 23-06-2016 08:43PM

https://irelandafternama.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/when-i-have-it-i-spend-it-and-when-i-dont-i-dont-and-other-tales-of-budgetary-madness/

trixychic · 23-06-2016 08:49PM

Yes I budget. I just do.it in a ledger book though. Once I get my money (weekly) I take everything in the budget out then I know what's left I can do what i what with. It's normally enough for a bag of crisps or something. Ha ha

23-06-2016 09:20PM

Kind of. Ish. It depends if there is anything coming up. I do keep an eye on things but nothing gets written down or that.

I like nice things and going places. So as long as I can continue in that vein I'm happy. Of course nice things to me is a new pair of earrings or a book and going places might be a night or two away down the country.

24-06-2016 09:17AM

Thinking more on it I definitely think the key for me is not making money so readily available. It focuses the mind on being frugal better. If I am buying lunch for example and I walk in with 50 euro I think "What will I have today?". If I walk in with 2.50 I am more thinking "What CAN I have today?".

It is useful that the day I get paid each month - money is diverted to emergency accounts, billing accounts and even a small amount to a saving account. So what I spend at my leisure in any month is frugal merely due to convenience.

misstearheus · 29-06-2016 12:26AM

Don't budget. Keep meaning to start. Find it diffficult being paid weekly to do so. I love the idea of several accounts maybe a Rent Account and a Bills Account or whatever. When ya get yer money paid to you, first thing to do is distribute rent money to Rent Account, and bills money to Bills Account and so forth. But would ye not get absolutely slaughtered with charges and fees left right and centre with multiple accounts?!?

My Siblings work in Banks, and 1 of them lives and breathes by their Bank Statement! Everything on there is their, like, well whole life! Transfers and possibly sub-Accounts or whatever ya want to call them, and they take care of everything that way. Like, the text fields on a Bank's Lodgement / Withdrawal Transactions Slips, detail their precise concise transactions and that's it, that's all ya see on that relating Statement then. No Ledgers, or Accounts Copies or Budgeting Apps or anything. But I guess precise and exact and concise is all ya need to see! That sums up all there is needed to know. And pay. It's a whole life written and accounted for in an A4 Bank Statement!

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5 · 29-06-2016 01:04AM

Nope I'm terrible. I've gotten pretty good at saving recently though so that's a start. If I have €50 to last the week I'll manage fine and if I have €500 for the week I'll still be broke at the end of it. I don't have expensive tastes but jesus when I have money it burns a hole in my pocket. Growing up my mam had the steady job whereas my dad would make a lot of money, but very sporadically, and that "woohoo, let's spend this bitch" mindset got locked in pretty early I think, I do realise it's not ideal.

kfallon · 29-06-2016 08:15AM

Yeah, have an Excel spreadsheet with all my outgoings for the month

sbsquarepants · 29-06-2016 08:25AM

I have a very simple system - I get paid, all my bills come out automatically within a few days, whatever's left is there for the spending until it's gone.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat

I wouldn't have the time or the inclination to track anything on a spreadsheet.

sbsquarepants · 29-06-2016 08:33AM

Ari Crooked Policeman wrote: »

I don't have expensive tastes but jesus when I have money it burns a hole in my pocket. Growing up my mam had the steady job whereas my dad would make a lot of money, but very sporadically, and that "woohoo, let's spend this bitch" mindset got locked in pretty early I think, I do realise it's not ideal.

Pretty much describes me. I've learned that I need to remove myself from the equation, internet banking is fantastic - I set up all these standing orders and everything is paid as if by magic. If I had to be putting money away for this bill or that bill I'd be forever robbing Peter to pay Paul.

I very much live by the lets spend this bitch motto also - just this way it's a smaller bitch and I can actually spend it without dire consequences!:D

the.red.baron · 29-06-2016 11:54AM

There is zero point trying to do any kind of detailed budget for a family income. It fluctuates too much. Just track what you spend, doesn't have to be massive detail. Just categorise down to whats workable, say petrol, split it between each car, if you have more than one, groceries/work lunch etc. That way, you can see where you spent the money, rather than where you think you will spend it. I do forward plan the fixed items and have a goal on how much to save, but besides rent/mortage what else fits this category. That way, try to cut back on different items if they look excessive. Is the leccy bill suddenly after sky rocketing? Am I spending 2 grand on work lunch when I could be spending 1? How much oil/gas am I burning through, does dropping the heating a degree make any actual difference.

trixychic · 30-06-2016 06:33PM

misstearheus wrote: »

Don't budget. Keep meaning to start. Find it diffficult being paid weekly to do so. I love the idea of several accounts maybe a Rent Account and a Bills Account or whatever. When ya get yer money paid to you, first thing to do is distribute rent money to Rent Account, and bills money to Bills Account and so forth. But would ye not get absolutely slaughtered with charges and fees left right and centre with multiple accounts?!?

I get paid weekly but there is no way it would go into a bank account. I tend to give it to my other half to mind each week. His job is very secure and I feel safer knowin he has it. But every wk when I get the money it gets split according to the budget.

lawlolawl · 30-06-2016 07:59PM

I have one bank account that everything goes into /comes out of. Wages go in and bills are all direct debited out, I've never once actually taken a physical bill into a place and paid it, seems archaic to me when I can do it online or set up a direct debit. Don't buy anything frivolous because I have fairly simple wants/needs and I'm single. Don't need to budget because there's always plenty left over. The concept of living pay check to pay check or running out of money at the end of the week is completely alien to me and I couldn't live like that.

When a bit of money starts to accumulate I pay a lump sum off the mortgage, have it more than half paid off after 6 years and I'm saving literally tens of thousands in interest in the long run. Started doing some small bits of investing recently and I'll get into that more once the mortgage is cleared and I'm already planning to retire early.

MoltonMan · 22-07-2016 11:27AM

It is very tough, I have a ex wife and payments to make, as well as trying to manage my own finances.

It can seem like an impossible hill to climb, especially with mortgage payments.....

I have tried various budgeting methods and it is the only way to make any real progress, the natural tendency is to spend without thinking to much, which leads to lots and lots of small amounts eating massive holes in the budget.

Second account is a good way to go, with a set amount set aside for personal or additional spending. Or simply withdraw a set amount every week and deal in cash. It has to last or there will be nothing more.

Im always looking for new ways to quickly boost income, but have had no real successes, even consider gambling briefly...bad idea. Investments, stocks, pyramid schemes etc...

My plan now is to work hard, and grow career.....and with discipline regain control over these elements, so that money and managing it does not forever dominate every waking moment of my life.

This Fat Girl Runs · 09-11-2016 01:19PM

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.

Moving back didn't help much with the recession on. Eventually I came to a deal with the bank re the credit card (close to €6000 on it, they kept upping my limit and I kept spending it! Wayhay! Free money, right?!). They transferred the credit card debt to my existing loan (I had one loan with this bank, another loan with a different bank) then cancelled the card. I hadn't a hope of paying it off with interest accruing all the time. We're talking paying max 10/20 euros a month.

Anyway, consolidated the card and loan, then sat down with the bank and worked out the maximum amount I could pay each month. It had to be done and was actually the kick in the rear I needed to sort myself out and get my finances together. With the other bank I arranged a small overdraft facility to cover me for when payments overlapped. If anyone takes anything away from what I'm saying I'd say this is the most important. If you're having difficulty, TALK to your bank! Both my banks were willing to sit down and talk with me and come up with a solution that worked for them and for me.

Anyway, the other loan was smaller, the payments were smaller too. I paid that one off last year and oh my god was that the best feeling. As soon as I paid that off I finally began paying into a pension. I've been fretting about not having a pension for 10 years so it's a relief to get that started! (I'm 40 this summer!).

I also, for the last few years, have let out my spare room to students. I don't charge much so it's an attractive deal as I live close to town. But the extra bit helps immensely.

For budgeting, I learned very quickly what worked for me. Excel spreadsheet calculated by the month. I have one sheet that tracks my outgoings, linked to a second sheet where I track my 'free' spending. This includes my grocery budget.

Main spreadsheet lists all outgoings: loan payments first, mortgage, direct debits, expected bills, grocery budget by the week, savings (when possible). Every single penny I will need to spend that month is accounted for.

Anything left over is mine to spend on whatever I want. I never live by the amount that's actually IN my account, instead I live by the amount that's left over. Things have been better for me the last two years but there were times I had nothing left over. But I was fortunate I had enough to pay the loans and mortgage. I never went into arrears on either of these. I count my blessings!

And now, in two months time that other, bigger loan will finally be paid off. The first thing I'm going to do is increase my pension payments. Then I'll have a bottle of Prosecco with friends.

It was a very harsh lesson to learn, but I got through it and I'm counting down the days to when I'll finally be free of that debt. It crippled me at times and I'm not proud of myself for having racked it up, but I AM proud of having gotten out of it. I've learned my lesson well and now budgeting (and sticking to it!) is second nature to me.

Just reviving the thread and updating to say I'm finally free of this debt! I made my last payment today and closed out the loan. (I miscalculated; I thought I'd have it paid off this summer but turns out I was wrong). Still, it feels amazing to have paid this off. Such a relief!

MrPudding · 09-11-2016 01:46PM

howamidifferent wrote: »

I do. I use an app called YNAB (You need a budget.) I use the YNAB classic desktop and mobile phone apps, not the new web based version.

http://classic.youneedabudget.com/

Can still be bought for once off $60 or pay $50 per year for the web based version.

Another YNABer here. I have the cloud version, but I got it free for a year due to an error with a student subscription for my daughter. I would have paid for it regardless as it has completely changed our finances.

Previous to YNAB we used a spreadsheet with DDs and dates etc, which was useful. YNAB is so much better. I think a big part of why it works is that it forces you to think about what you are spending money on and make decisions about priorities.

We are now about 3 months in and whilst the amount of money we have coming in has not really changed, the average amount of money in out account over the month is bigger. We spend less on frivolous things and impulse purchases (that was mostly me) and out general financial health is rapidly improving.

We are still having fun. We still get out and still have take away once in a while. We just make sure the money is going on the things that are most important to us.

I hate to come across as all evangelical, but it really is a fantastic product and well worth the very reasonable subscription charge.

MrP

draiochtanois · 09-11-2016 02:29PM

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Thundercats Ho · 09-11-2016 03:35PM

Yea, I budget using excel too.
I've 2 accounts, so whatever my outgoings are, get dumped into that account once a month. I usually make enough transactions so i don't pay fees.

On top of that, look into how much your utilities are costing and shop around.
Keeping the same phone and switching to sim only could save €240 a year. (€35 p/m on bill vs €15 on sim only). Perhaps cheaper if you get an online deal.

Haggling with Sky / Virgin could save over €250. eg half price for 6 months. Better deals are available depending on who you're speaking with.
Switching to direct debit saves a further 42 quid a year also (3.50 p/m)

Gas / Electric. Bundling them together gets you a better deal, and again, haggling with the provider will guarantee you the cheapest rate.

The same goes for house / car insurance. Shop around and you could save a few hundred between them.

Groceries. Bulk buy chicken / red meat when it's on offer or in a wholesaler, and freeze in individual portions.
Do a weekly shop and it'll save hundreds over the course of a year.

howamidifferent · 09-11-2016 03:53PM

Just wanted to say well done to "This Fat Girl Runs" !!!

howamidifferent · 09-11-2016 04:03PM

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

You could use Google Docs or any similar spreadsheet but the Application itself and its companion iOS & Android apps make recording spending on the go instant so you are accurate to the penny on budget amounts in real time especially if using with a spouse or other person.

Do you budget?

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