Family of 6 on €600 week net

Yes - tuition fees were abolished a few years back but capitation fees are still there and increasing as far as I know.
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Isn't great the way the whole country was up in arms about possibly introducing tuition fees, as if College was free at the moment.

Fees is Fees. The only thing we can be thankfull is they're not charging is twice for college. They would if they could get away with it.

-Rd
 
Undergraduate tuition fees are not charged to first time EU students, but they still exist and are listed in most college calendars and websites.

If a student needs to repeat a year or decides to change their course e.g. after completing one year of a degree then they will have to pay fees for the repeat/first year of the new course as the government will only pay for one year at each level. This also applies in the case of higher education grant holders, apart from exceptional cases such as serious illness. I'm not sure if any exceptional provisions apply in the case of non grant holders, but individual colleges may waive part or all of a fee in cases of hardship.

Similarly a graduate who goes back to do a second undergraduate degree will have to pay tuition fees. Previous grant holders may possibly be entitled to a second chance grant for another UG course (from year 1) if they dropped out of a course over five years ago.

Irish and EU students who pay tuition fees for a second UG course etc. do not pay the full economic fees which are charged to non EU students. These are usually about 3-4 times what Irish/EU students are charged.

Postgraduate fees were never 'abolished' although higher education grants may cover the cost of these for some students. It used to be the case that local authorities would only fund one course a postgrad level, but now it may be possible to get a grant for more than one provided that one is moving to a higher level of qualification. For example it after a student completes a masters it may be possible to get a grant for a PhD, but not a postgraduate diploma. Local authorities will generally only fund a student for a total of four years of postgrad study.
 
I stand corrected on my earlier simplified "fees abolished" post....
 
First off, you're weekly spend is not that high. We are a family of four (2 toddlers) and when I exclude expenses that you don't have (mortgage, car loans, child care) our weekly spend is about the same. And you have two teenagers to feed !

A question worth asking is what was your net income back when you did have a mortgage and because you had the mortgage, was your weekly spend on other items much less than it is now. If you were still earning 600 pw net back then and the mortgage was taking 100 pw, what are you doing now with the 100 pw?

Another question that comes to mind is you say at the end of the day, you have no savings. You mentioned you had no loans. What is paying for the replacement car every 5 years? Surely that is condidered savings if you're not taking out a loan each time.
 
I have just seen this thread for the first time and think that your original question is a fascinating one

Quote
"Would it be fair to say that we are over spending for our type of family unit or are we doing ok in term of money management."

From what you say you have childerns allowance in addition to €600 net, which brings you closer to €700 per week.

It seems to me that this is a high level of spending for no holidays and 2 nights a month socialising. Of course I have no teenagers, are they much more expensive than babies? Do you have any other major cash drain.

We are a family of 5 and live on €90 odd a week less than this after the mortgage. I certainly think of us as being well off. The average income in Ireland for a full time employee is €28,000p.a. €538 a week gross.

Everyone has different priorities, but we manage 2 or more foreign trips on this, which we really enjoy, however I would have no interest in changing the cars (2) so often.

As to practical advice on savings you obviously have significant equity in your house. You could borrow up to 40% of the value at less than 3% pa (less after tax savings). A well designed conservative high yield equity portfolio could be expected to make a profit on this cost of capital, for example AIB shares are yielding 5% at the moment.

A pension (which you could fund in a like way) would leave no flexibility for college fees.
 
€600

I think you are doing well to have an income of €31k per annum plus children's allowance for 4 kids.
Somehow life always seems to balance out - you must not worry too much about the future.
Regarding College fees- with an income of €31k and having four kids, it sounds to me that you would qualify for a grant for each student. I think the cut off is about 32k plus kids allowance.
 
statistics can be confusing

The average income in Ireland for a full time employee is €28,000p.a. €538 a week gross.
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This is incorrect. This is the Average Industrial Wage.

The average wage in many other sectors is higher, as I have posted before.
 
Re: statistics can be confusing

As to practical advice on savings you obviously have significant equity in your house. You could borrow up to 40% of the value at less than 3% pa (less after tax savings). A well designed conservative high yield equity portfolio could be expected to make a profit on this cost of capital, for example AIB shares are yielding 5% at the moment
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I don't think borrowing to invest in shares is a good idea in principal. I would be particulary reluctant to secure borrowings of this sort on the family home.
 
Congrats. Think you're doing really well. I discovered a REAL money saver a few years ago. I go into my local Tesco a half an hour before it closes (usually 7.30 on a Monday, Tues and Wed evening). They sell off everything which has that particular day's sell-by date. Last week I got a €14.75 pot roast for €3, sausages for 50cent. lamb chops from €3.99 to 99cent. Our Tesco sells all its own brand ready-meals for 50c on its sell-by date coming up to shop closing time. I have a freezer (which has paid for itself a dozen times over) and bung everything in it straight away. I've been shopping this way for the past 6 or 7 years and have Never Ever had even the mildest of food poisioning. Believe me, it's a real saver and a bit of craic too. Also nice to think you're "beating the system". Good luck.
 
average wages

Protocol,

*****
This is incorrect. This is the Average Industrial Wage. The average wage in many other sectors is higher, as I have posted before.
******

would you mind posting again? I can't find it. Thanks.
 
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