MABS - Passionate about Budgeting - Top 10 tips from www.mabs.ie

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ajapale

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I met a MABS advisor in a social context recently and to say that she was passionate about domestic budgeting would be an understatement!

She was saying the even if you are not currently in difficulty it is good to get into the dicipline of budgeting.

She said that the www.mabs.ie site is a marvellous resource.

I wonder whether AAMers would help me develop a "top 10" list of the best tips on the site?

Thanks,
aj
 
01. Destroy your credit card(s) and get a lazer/ debit card.

02. Compile a monthly list of incomings and outgoings as things stand now.

03. Prioritize that list into necessities, desirables and luxuries.

04. Include one holiday for all the family regardless of income.

05. Draw a yearly forecast of your largest once off outgoings.

06. Relate these back to monthly and weekly amounts by simple division.

07. Review your monthly and weekly list again.

08. Note your incidence of bi-monthly or quarterly recurring bills on a year planner.

09. Schedule payments of other bills around these bills

10. Do not allow one billing point to always take the hits - this helps avoid large arrears building up

11. Review and cancel all direct debits and set up payments directly in your bank, the post office or online.

12. Review and assess the need for transport against the desire to keep cars on the road.

13. Do not start cooking bread and/or biscuits in your home oven to "save money" - it doesn't.

14. Following the bargains in your weekly shop and cut out all sweets, desserts and high price "treats" - it is possible to feed a family of four for €100 per week.

15. Do essential maintenance and preventative work around the house before its needed - don't wait for it to rain to fix that leaking gutter/wet wall you knew about.

16. Get an extension arm and clean your house windows yourself - its safer than climbing up ladders, gives as good a finish as your window cleaner and pays for itself first time used.

17. Seek alternative quotations for every service and outgoing starting with phone and broadband - if you're on Sky more than a year IIRC you can cancel your subscription and you get to keep the dish

These were some of the major steps we went through to manage our finances in the past 18 months following our discussion with our local MABS office - happy to share.
 
To add to the list above

18: Review your taxes and make sure you are claiming for every tax free allowance you can and for any you can claim retrospectively and that personal allowances are being claimed for in the most tax efficient manner

19: check if you have any old cheque books in the house and check if you've been charged stamp duty for them by your bank, if so take them back and get it refunded

20: have a house clearance, we did one recently of crap in the attic and shed and sent it to a house clearance auction specialists near where we live, raised €650. You'd be amazed what people would pay money for, especially as some of the stuff would have only gone in a skip. Royal Oak Auctioneer in Bagnalstown do a monthly auction and I'm sure there are others around the country
 

I think it is a ludicrous suggestion to even consider a family holiday if you are at the sametime trying to restrict yourself to 100 euro per week to feed a family of 4.
 
I laughed out loud at the idea of a family of four surviving on one hundred euro per week. Can somebody please tell me how this is done? Am I missing the point?
 
Mpsox said:
19: check if you have any old cheque books in the house and check if you've been charged stamp duty for them by your bank, if so take them back and get it refunded
Click to expand...
Didn't realise there was stamp duty on cheques. Thankfully, my bank didn't send me a cheque book when I moved back to them (UB) from Halifax. Still the occassional dinasaur out there. Last time I was asked for a cheque payment was by a firm of solicitors. Asked them if they would accept bank transfer and they wouldn't! Had to get a bank draft on two occasions for them.
 
ANORAKPHOBIA said:
I think it is a ludicrous suggestion to even consider a family holiday if you are at the sametime trying to restrict yourself to 100 euro per week to feed a family of 4.
Click to expand...

I think the family holiday is one of the best tips provided by ONQ (It needn't be in the Seychelles...it could be a house swap or a camping holiday...the kids won't care). I would also add that each family should spend weekends doing stuff that's cheap/free together such as walks in the woods/beach and going swimming. Having activities such as these to enjoy will make it easier to cut back on other things....the reason so many diets fail is that people become miserable...
 
Kerrigan said:
I laughed out loud at the idea of a family of four surviving on one hundred euro per week. Can somebody please tell me how this is done? Am I missing the point?
Click to expand...

We set aside 120/week for groceries. We sometimes go over it, but only if there is washing powder etc neeeded.

We buy organic foodstuffs where possible and eco-washing powders etc.

If we really tried, cut out the organic stuff, then we could easily get it <100. 2 adults and 2 kids.
 
Also would like to recommend hot water bottles. Very simple and cost effective and could be a great help if you have to cut back somewhat on heating.
 
I would have thought that €100 per week for food for a family of four would be more than doable.

Sure the likes of Superquinn, Tesco and Supervalu have meats at 3 for €9/€10. Veg is three for €5.

In fact, €100 per week would be easily managed.
 
I also agree that €100 per week is more than doable!! We spend €60-€70 per week on shopping for a family of 3 including nappies and a case of 12 beers for my husband. We meal plan doing lots of dinners that last for 2 nights such as bolognese, chillis, shepards pie, chicken chasseur, chicken curry etc and do online shopping. I found online shopping brought the cost down dramatically for us- was €100-€120 per week before that.

This post from rollercoaster is also great for families trying to save money- think there was a link to it on here before
[broken link removed]
 
Also forgot about this post for how to do shopping for a family of 4 for under €50
[broken link removed]
 
Kerrigan said:
I laughed out loud at the idea of a family of four surviving on one hundred euro per week. Can somebody please tell me how this is done? Am I missing the point?
Click to expand...

In a word, Aldi (or Lidl, if you prefer)

Very do-able.
 
Mpsox said:
To add to the list above


19: check if you have any old cheque books in the house and check if you've been charged stamp duty for them by your bank, if so take them back and get it refunded
Click to expand...

Mpsox,

You mean unused cheque books right? Or has the stamp duty on all cheque books been rescinded?
 
Booter said:
Mpsox,

You mean unused cheque books right? Or has the stamp duty on all cheque books been rescinded?
Click to expand...

unused cheque books,

stamp duty is €0.50 for every cheque you write but historically it was charged when you got the actual cheque book. Hence if you got a book of 30 cheques, you were charged €15. Haven't got one in a while but I know the last time I wrote one, I was debited an additional €0.50 from my account for stamp duty
 
Kerrigan said:
I laughed out loud at the idea of a family of four surviving on one hundred euro per week. Can somebody please tell me how this is done? Am I missing the point?
Click to expand...

I agree..we are a family of six and it still costs on average 200 a week to feed us...and that's with buying own brand goods and checking up on special offers..a growing family are constantly hungry!
 
There seems to be two distinct groups. Those who can manage well on <100 and those who just can't understand it.

I wonder if there is a difference between what the two groups eat?

Perhaps one group is buying ingredients and making meals, and the other is buying processed/ready made?
 

most weeks we would be under €100 for food ( that's with a baby and a 5 yr old). We tend not to buy processed foods, get our meat from the butcher rather then the supermarket and no one in the house eats sweets or drinks fizzy drinks (mainly because none of us like them). Have to say it astonishs me sometimes if I am in the supermarket to see people with trollies piled with junk.
 
It depends on what you like to eat.

Mince meat is a lot cheaper than steak.

Vegetarian meals are often a lot cheaper than meat based ones.

Tinned fruit can be cheaper than fresh.

Frozen vegetables can be cheaper also.
 
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