Key Post How to cut your day to day expenditure

Re: Top ten suggestions

BillPoster said:
For casual spending don't have loads of cash always in your pocket............ He now draws out £50 max and not going to the cash machine twice as much thus is spending less. I know in theory this shouldn't work but it does.
Try not carrying any cash around and you'll be amazed how much you won't spend
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This works for me. I found this accidently with the kids being off school I didn't get to the ATM so I'd be trying to make 50 quid last as long as possible. I think I saved a small fortune between that....and not having a school run for two months!

I've also discovered coupons. Although there's no saving to be made with those unless you would actually buy the product anyway.
 
Cut out buying newspapers everyday. Some of them you can read freely on the internet, if you cant chances are the most interesting stories will be available on rte.ie or other websites anyway.

Magazines are a drain on finances also, if travelling by bus buy an mp3 player with a radio or print off interesting articles off the net.

Cut out the fags - goes without saying!

Cut down on the booze, if you are a habitual weekend nightclubber, try leaving home an hour or two later than normal. Amazing how much this saves!!

If you eat choc bars everyday see what 6/10 packs are available in the supermarket (although danger here is that you end up consuming more)

Also dont give to charity. The government tells us we shouldnt give money to beggars on the street as it only encourages them. Likewise by giving money to charities it only encourages the government to neglect their responsibilites. It might seem harsh, but I've been giving money to Trócaire for years, and we all used to bring home those boxes at Easter - has poverty in the Third World been elimanated, no, in fact I'm told in some places it is getting worse. By not contributing, we should eventaul force the hand of those in power to finally act.
And you save yourself a few quid in the mean time.
 
Firstly, definitely agree if you track your expenditure everyday, it does help you realise how much you spend and more importantly where it goes.
This made it much easier for me, to cut my day to day expenditure.

I use this free application that should work on most mobile phones. I have a nokia 6230i.
Is handy, as always have my mobile on me.
To copy over to your mobile, I used a data cable. [broken link removed]
(I am not affiliated to the this company.)

Have stopped the three times a week coffee going to work. Cost in a month was approx €28.
Also, for me, have both a 30 day Bus and Luas ticket. Cost €92.
Used to get daily tickets at one stage, then weekly tickets. Weekly equivalent is €25.
Not doing tax saver ticket, as may be changing jobs soon.
 
get your company to pay you directly into your savings account, choose one with high interest e.g. rabo. Any money you don's use straight away will attract interest. Rabo is an online only bank so getting money out reqires you to plan ahead by a couple of days - makes you budget.
 
Ensure you are on the correct 'price plan' or 'package' for the services you use. Mobile phone plans are an obvious one and we noticed quite a difference when we changed to a more suitable plan with Bord Gais.
 
As well as buying fruit and veg seasonally (and freezing it for other times), make your own dinners from scratch. Make in bulk and freeze a couple of portions - for the same price as 1 M&S spag bol, you might get 3/4 yourself from a bag of mince, couple of onions and some garlic and a tin of tomatoes.

Also, grow your own veg and fruit. There is lots can be grown in very small spaces (tubs on balconies, windowboxes and hanging baskets), have a small space in the garden and you can get a lot, or take on an allotment which is very good value if you have the time to spend. There is some outlay involved, especially in the first year (tools, pots, seeds etc), but you can get lots on freecycle, arrange seedswaps and plantswaps, and have some much cheaper than supermarket, organic and really tasty veg, with some fresh air and exercise as an added bonus!
 
Re: Top ten suggestions

Bob_tg said:
This does work but after you cancel it you might have to wait for a couple of weeks to receive all the free to air stuff (when I did it the signal jammed for a couple of weeks)
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Whats this all about (Free to air?)
 
Re: Top ten suggestions

SPC100 said:
DVB alternative?), are you heating your house and water effectively? are you using the cheapest broadband provider, are you getting free banking?
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sorry for my ignorance but what does DVB stand for?
 
Am currently on a big overhaul of the expenses, have found that the following changes at home help:
  • switch off appliances/lights when not using them;
  • only use a tumble-dryer when your electricity switches over to the night-saver rate;
  • make a shopping list and stick to it - we (2 of us) set ourselves a budget for the weekly shop. Generally we're able to do a big Aldi/Lidl shop once a fortnight and save loads. We buy the rest in the local supermarket as needed (bread, milk, meat, etc);
  • 3 for 2 offers are only economical if they're for items you use on a regular basis; otherwise it's just money wasted & taking up space in your cupboard/bathroom cabinet;
  • Make use of advantage cards/ clubcards every time you shop. Especially handy in the run-up to Xmas for extra treats/ stocking fillers;
  • Cook your own dinners! Keep the takeaway for the occasional treat. For the price of a large pizza & extras you could cook dinner for 4 days. Freeze extra portions for the days you don't feel like cooking;
  • At the weekend, go out a little later and leave a little early. More money in your wallet in the morning, no hangover, no cravings for curry on the way home! ;)
  • Invest in a smoothie maker or hand-held blender - it saves loads of money in the long run if you like smoothies and it means you won't throw out your leftover fruit;
  • Cut down on the takeaway cappucinos - you can make your own with the blender and a jar of instant. Tastes just as nice. Honest!
  • Open an account for short-term savings and deposit a regular amount by direct debit/S.O. Use it for presents, unexpected outings, etc.
  • Make sure you're signed up for transaction fee -free banking.
  • Keep a spending diary, or at the very least check your balance regularly, you should be able to estimate your balance before you check at the ATM;
  • If you're having trouble with the credit card (as I am!), get tough with yourself. Set yourself a target amount to be paid off within a reasonable period and stick to it, even if it means foregoing the nights out for a while. Your friends aren't going to pay off your credit card, are they?
  • On the subject of friends, don't be afraid to tell them you're broke/ saving/ budgeting. If they ARE your friends there's no need for embarrassment, and chances are one or two of them are in the same boat but trying to keep up with everyone else as well. Suggest having the odd dinner party, or just a night in with friends and a few bottles of wine/ beer.
 
Gettinthere said:
  • only use a tumble-dryer when your electricity switches over to the night-saver rate;
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You need to be careful here - this will most likely be when you retire to bed and having such heavy appliances running while in bed ias not a good idea due to the (possibly small but not insiginificant) risk of fire hazards.
  • 3 for 2 offers are only economical if they're for items you use on a regular basis; otherwise it's just money wasted & taking up space in your cupboard/bathroom cabinet;
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And sometimes multipacks are dearer than buying the items individually! Caveat emptor.
  • Make use of advantage cards/ clubcards every time you shop. Especially handy in the run-up to Xmas for extra treats/ stocking fillers;
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But don't shop just to get points!
  • Cut down on the takeaway cappucinos - you can make your own with the blender and a jar of instant. Tastes just as nice. Honest!
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Sorry - have to totally disagree here! :D

  • If you're having trouble with the credit card (as I am!), get tough with yourself. Set yourself a target amount to be paid off within a reasonable period and stick to it, even if it means foregoing the nights out for a while. Your friends aren't going to pay off your credit card, are they?
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If you habitually find that you are not clearing your CC bill then either address the spending patterns so that you can or get rid of the card!
 
Thanks Clubman for qualifying those points!;) Agreed.
In any case, tumble-dryer could easily go on early a.m. before day rate kicks in, all down to whether you're an early riser I suppose.
As for the credit card: done and done! Was just suggesting a bit of discipline when you DO decide to address the problem. No point in being tough on yourself one month, only to "reward" yourself by melting the plastic the next, obv. :)
And as for the coffee dilemma(!), some companies "use the same beans for their instant as they do for their ground", har har!
 
If you are male and thinning on top (like me) don't even think about going to the barbers. Your other half can give you a grade 1 or 2 in 5 minutes with €40 hairclippers.
 
most vets will agree that dried dog food is a lot better for the dog anyway and is much cheaper. Eg a good quality food such as burns costs about 10 euro and will last a small or medium dog almost two weeks. i feed my hound with it and she is incredibly healthy. i supplement it with left over meat (not bacon) one or two days a week and a lidl cod liver oil supplement..
 
Though UK based perhaps this web site may be of help?
I think the link here to an excel type Budget Planner is quite good

Interesting point,when you plan a yearly budget most volk forget to include the extra outgoings at Christmas & Summer holidays e.g they work out a budget based on 4 weeks expenditure and multiply by the rest of the year, they should be budgeting for 4.33 weeks outgoing to get a more accurate balance.
 
As someone who has found myself in severe financial difficulties on several occasions in my adult years, the best tip I have for anyone who can manage it is to not have a credit card at all, rely instead of a debit card when cash is not an option. When I really need to use a credit card to book concert/hotel tickets, etc. I use my brother's/mother's/good friend's credit card details and INSTANTLY transfer the money into their account. This has forced me to develop very good habits and not tick my brother/mother/friend off and I now never have to worry about clearing a card or racking up nasty interest payments.
 
A web site called thezeal.com was mentioned before to download a money manager, wondering is this site safe to download from. Thanks
 
Maybe this is irrelevant to this post but straight off why not consider this. (as saving is really a long run endevour that works by being consistent day to day.)

For a married couple both traditionally have Credit Cards. But if you are both like minded in terms of not using them, apart from the odd online payment for convience purposes then really you as a couple only need one Credit card ( straight off thats 30 euro + interest not coming off one of your cards annually ) and you can then both better manage the one card. Sure its been mentioned before but just in case not.
 
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