Any Budgetary Tips?

Budgeting has become a much discussed topic in our household recently. Primarily my fault. However, the SU told me last week what she was buying me for Christmas. I then got out a catalogue and specified what computer chair I liked and also looked at the cost. Then I had one of my few brain-waves ever. I suggested by sister-in-law and niece chipped into the purchase. I could upgrade the chair but reduce the per person cost input. Sweet. I got a better chair and everyone spent less money on me, and I won't be getting all those pressies again this year I didn't use. (I recently donated two large boxes of clothes, half still in their wrappers!, to a new charity shop that opened in Monaghan.)

My SU and me still have to buy our secret pressies and we'll overspend as we usually do, but that habit can be addressed in another year in the future.

I've always tried to work on the 10% savings rule which states one should save 10% of net pay. Kinda of ok but doesn't address the big issue. Recently I've tried to budget the way I maintain a trading account. One is always trying to add to the equity curve through winning trades that offset drawdowns (essentially, losing trades and fees). I look at our captial spending (ie big ticket items) as a drawdown. So we must raise the equity curve (savings) before any new capital good can be bought, and the cost of the capital good (bed, for example) must not bring the savings account below its previous level.

Just wondering does anyone else have any tips or ideas? Would be very interested in hearing other's tips or, indeed, viewpoints.

we've taken to bringing in our own lunchs to work. save approx 10 a day on that.

we've also banned takeaways (on cost and health) and convenience (microwave) food in favour of raw veg and meat which we cook ourselves. probably save about 30-40 a week doing that.

zakalwe wrote:

we've taken to bringing in our own lunchs to work. save approx 10 a day on that.

we've also banned takeaways (on cost and health) and convenience (microwave) food in favour of raw veg and meat which we cook ourselves. probably save about 30-40 a week doing that.

Yep. Excellent suggestions. The cost of prepared food, which often look cheap at the time, shows up on the back end of the health equation. And as you point out, the costs of unprepared food are ultimately cheaper, barring the gas/electrical cost which are still make the exercise far cheaper. (I can help myself these days. I'm over-analysing. Just over-compensating for years of sticking my head in the sand.)

Myself and the other half have a spending limit of 15 (yes 15) euro on each other for birthdays and Christmas. It makes buying more of a challenge because you have to get them something they will like with limited resources!

I tend to bring lunch with me every day but recently have been buying just 'cos of circumstances. Will change again in a couple of weeks.

Do most of your shopping in Lidl. You don't need Finish Power Tabs (no offence to them) for your dishwasher. That stuff costs a fortune.

I got a great leather chair from Viking Direct for about 25 euro by the way. They do great offer periodically.

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Understandably my situation is different to many here as I am a student who lives at home and lives off the resources of my parents via an allowance! However, I do so at a much reduced cost to many of my friends. I cycle everywhere - zero on transport costs. Tend to bring my own lunch - little on food. Think bottled water is a joke - only spend to replace the bottle which I re-use again and again and again. Tend not to drink when I am out - just drink in people's homes before hand! Never get taxis anywhere, either walk home or get the nightlink.

Well for some I guess.

John's distaste for dishwasher tablets reminded me of another thing. Ecoballs! You put them in with your laundry instead of detergent, and they magically suck the dirt off the clothes. (It's prob not magic, but I don't understand it.) They cost €50 for the set of three, and will do about 1000 washes. Relatively high initial outlay, but it'll be made back. We have these and we're very happy with them. They come with an eco stain remover product, just in case you have something particularly dirty (ink, blood, etc.)

are those for real??? how do they work?

Writing down everything you spend for a week is a good one. I haven't done it for years - its about time I tried it again.

I've seen those down in the Eco Shop Bear - you recommend them? We might have to get some if you do. Does each ball do 1,000 washes or is that the total between the three balls? That isn't expensive at all if it does what it says on the tin, that should be lasting you several years! Sometimes I find products which call themselves Eco can be a bit of a scam so it is good to hear reports from people who have used them. We have an eco kettle, not only is it more energy efficient, it is also uber-cool. Many people would be shocked how much boiling the kettle costs them - particularly when you find people boiling and reboiling 5 minutes later!!

Cactus, that reminds me of 'Household Budgets' in Junior Certificate Business! Really good idea for people who are trying to cut down. You should measure how much you are earning then do a line for your fixed costs (rent, mortgage, average electricity etc) substract it. Then do a line for discretionary stuff and try and reduce that week on week and then you will have a pool of money which will be increasing and you can do whatever you want with it - invest, spend etc!

dvd's vs cinema.
eat and drink in rather than out.
put on that fleece rather than cranking up the heating whilst in your shorts and tshirt (like i was last winter, i've since invested in thermals!!!!).
walk into work (i do, get 1hr10mins exercise every day, have invested in solid pair of waterproof walking runners and excellent wet gear). this lowers your carbon footprint and saves you about 2000 a year!!!!

Yea, would save you a fortune. As I said I cycle - I am on my second bike since I was 11 and I service it myself. Zero cost except for spare parts - need a new peddle at the moment. Compare this to a 30 day Luas ticket for a student (which some of my friends have) which costs them a whopping €51 euro every 30 days. I spent 500 odd euro on a new camera not too long ago but aside from that I can't remember when I last spent €51 all in one go .

If you have a film you really like you are also much cheaper buying it than renting it these days strange as it is. I pick up DVDs on play.com and cdwow.ie for about 7 euro with free delivery and they still charge me about a fiver to rent them down in Chartbusters.

If you want an extra special eating in Marks and Spencers do a good deal for "Eat in for Two" every few weeks where you have a main course, desert for two and a bottle of wine for €12.50.

I also buy all my clothes online - far cheaper that in the shops. That or if I want something in particular I get it when I am over in London because things are much cheaper there. Same goes for Cadbury's Fudge Bars. They are my favourite chocolater bar - they charge 47 cent down in my local shop whereas they have a fixed price (printed on the wrapper) of 12p in Britain!

Where did you get the eco-kettle johnfas?

And toast - not toasting bread would be a good thing for the planet but...
I wonder which is the lowest carbon way of making toast? I suspect it is the south american way which is on a little grid over a gas or charcoal flame.

cactus flower wrote:

Where did you get the eco-kettle johnfas?

We got it as a gift but I would have a very strong suspicion that it came from the Eco Shop which is in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. It uses 30% less energy than a standard kettle.

They have a website - ecoshop.ie

Do any of you pay for bins? Stop now! Bring everything to the recycling even if you have to walk. Insulate your house if you have a house as it helps with the cold. It's a nice bit of investment up front but is worth it in the long run.

Those ecoballs I've heard about and have been threatening to buy them for ages. Bizarrely I saw them for a tenner (two) in a €2 shop in Tipperary town there not so long ago. I should have tried them. Far as I know they are a mineral that slowly erodes away but manages to ionise water or do some static magic like that that dirt doesn't like. €50 for 1000 washes ? that's me sorted for the rest of my life

Shop for second hand stuff if you don't mind it. You know how you can go on a spending spree sometimes because you are hormonal or you are depressed or something and need some retail therapy, you can go around to all the second hand shops and €2 ones instead of all the expensive ones where you might make a rash, hormone-induced purchase on your credit card. Seriously - how do you stop making those rash purchases like buying a €299 XBox (which you hardly need) ?

Do DIY stuff (service your own car) and get a fishing rod. Shop in Lidl or Aldi if you can stand it - bread is 60 cents there and double that in Tescos. Go on a fast once a week or eat an apple a day. Eating healthily is one of the best pensions and VHI payments. I could start to grow my own food next...

That eco kettle is on my Christmas wish list. Working yourself up into a bargain-hunting state of mind (Zen and the Art of Shopping) is useful as it could save you a fortune if you're going to spend big on something like a second-hand car or a tool or a piece of technology. Find the best price - make it an activity in itself and then spread your finds around. Someone recently told me about www.dabs.ie where you can buy computer stuff relatively inexpensively.

If you smoke, God help you, but I'd recommend going to Spain for a winter holiday and bringing back 20 cartons of fags - they're around €18 for 200 fags. I should be giving out health tips for smoking but when I smoked I smoked inexpensively rolling my own and so on. But you can literally have a holiday on your nicotine addiction if you want. Ryanair to Malaga, cheap hotel in the winter and come back with cigarettes that would cost you over a thousand quid here. They'll be jacked up in the budget too ffs. There are people who simply cannot give them up and these are the ones I feel most sorry for (plus the numbers of people smoking have not dropped in five years of price hikes but that's for another thread)

Superquinn are doing some great deals which end on Saturday - get down to your local if you require them!!

1) Nescafe Coffee - 1 euro - down from 4.50
2) Dairygold - 50c - down from 2.09
3) HB Ice Cream - 1 euro - down from 1.99
4) Loaf of Brown Bread - 50c - down from 1.79
5) Carrots - 50c - down from 1.59
6) Dubliner Cheese - 1 euro - down from 5.39

Some good deals right there!!


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I tend do all my clothes shopping online (generally American Eagle because there are always good discount of 15% - 30% and shipping is cheap).

I buy any electronics I need on eBay from Hong Kong and places like that. Well not electronics in terms of say a laptop but I would buy an SD card or a memory card reader or a cable or anything like that on eBay. My girlfriend has needed a few things since she moved down to Limerick. Got her a 5 metre network cable for 2 euro including delivery and a laptop lock for 5 euro including delivery all from eBay.

I tend to do Christmas shopping throughout the year when I see things, which both avoids the Christmas rush and insures I get the best prices. I bought my Mother a clock radio with built in CD player for 8 euro and got my brother a new sports bag for 7 euro both in and around Dublin in special sales.

I see in the news that we have to save 9 billion from current spending this year, or borrow it.

Any budgetary tips for Brian?

Sell the Government Jet. The need for that is a load of bollox, it is about prestige not convenience. Probably net us about 40 million.

Reduce the pay of all TDs by 10%. Reduce the pay of Ministers by 15%. This would save us about 2 million. Cut their expenses in half - this would save us a further couple of million.

Freeze increases in pay for the top 3 grades in the civil service for 18 months. Probably save us another load of money.

Ban colour photocopying in public departments - it is a waste of money. I would imagine this would bring lots of savings. Turn all light switches off when not needed, same goes for computers.

Stop making such fancy brochures every time they announce something. I notice James Adam auctioneers have drastically scaled down their catalogues for their latest auction, don't see why the Government can't do the same.

Cancel decentralisation or speed it up and force the bollixes to do it.

Tax Bono.


Anyway that's just some simple measures

"Bloody 'ell Jeeves, we're well down the budgetary knowledge curve."

I think I'm just going to wait until the weekend and write down the many, many excellent suggestions. My bank account will be a whole lot happier in a few months time.

Afraid I won't be able to do much on the eco-scene unless I can use the on-line facililty. When we think about insulation in Monaghan it's in terms of using a beer mat to keep our lager cool that bit longer. Never heard tell of this eco-shop yoke at all before.

[Remember a story told to me not so long ago about the bus in Rockcorry. A lady came up to the bus stop and asked what time the 3:30 bus came at. She was told it came at between 3:15 and 3:45!
Unfortunately there is a plethora of pvt school buses now but no public transportation, and riding a bike in the country is just plain suicidal. So stuck with the auld van.] gl

Surely it'd be as cheap to run a decent bus which everyone could use as to run private school buses?

Joined up thinking isn't something we do well here.

johnfás wrote:

Surely it'd be as cheap to run a decent bus which everyone could use as to run private school buses?

Joined up thinking isn't something we do well here.

Truer words never written. I take a back road into town when leaving the SU into work and at 8:30 a.m. the line of single driver cars on the road is just tremendous. All these people going in the same direction and coming from the same direction. It's has to be cheaper in the long run to take some sort of bus service , if only for part of the journey. I suppose it's eco-friendly too. Money talks and nobody walks these days. I just can't see anything changing though. People love the independence of their cars.

rockyracoon wrote:

johnfás wrote:

Surely it'd be as cheap to run a decent bus which everyone could use as to run private school buses?

Joined up thinking isn't something we do well here.

Truer words never written. I take a back road into town when leaving the SU into work and at 8:30 a.m. the line of single driver cars on the road is just tremendous. All these people going in the same direction and coming from the same direction. It's has to be cheaper in the long run to take some sort of bus service , if only for part of the journey. I suppose it's eco-friendly too. Money talks and nobody walks these days. I just can't see anything changing though. People love the independence of their cars.

How about car shares? Some people who work with me meet up on the edge of town and all come in the same car.

I think rockyracoon is right in that some of it has to do with independence, or at least the perception thereof.

[quote="cactus flower"][quote="rockyracoon"]

johnfás wrote:

How about car shares? Some people who work with me meet up on the edge of town and all come in the same car.

There are some people who do but it's usually builders. Townie workers normally couldn't be bothered with the hassle of lifting or being lifted. To be fair, the bus service in the north is fairly comprehensive compared to the south but the amount of empty or near empty buses you see on Northern roads just proves people love their cars. Until there is an economic/financial incentive to use public transport, it won't have a look in.

I was amazed when I worked on the Isle of Man. They had their own telephone service and a very comprehensive bus service. I could use my mobile to call Ireland far cheaper than doing the reverse. I could use the buses to get to nearly every job I did on the island, and they had a good time schedule. All this for a population of only 75,000. And their tax rates were rediculously cheap. Mind you, their home prices were just as expensive as ours.

Isle of Man is not really the finest example for alot of things I would say. Most people who live there are either rich pensioners, tax exiles or working for banks who manage the money of tax exiles.

johnfás wrote:

Isle of Man is not really the finest example for alot of things I would say. Most people who live there are either rich pensioners, tax exiles or working for banks who manage the money of tax exiles.

Have yee been there Johnfás? I lived there for over a year and didn't meet any of the types you describe bar maybe some pensioners. Maybe I just float about in the wrong circles? Still I can't see how anyone can complain about an 18% top tax rate. £2 per week for a social stamp. Cheap telephone calls and a well working public transporation service. They have to be doing something right.

Yea been a couple of times and anyone I know with family there is as I have said. I played a cricket match over there once and virtually the whole team was employed by Barclays!

They have no Corporation Tax and no Capital Gains Tax either.