Budget Spreadsheets - How do u stick to them......

frantic_mel

Hi guys,

My problem is at the end of the week we dont seem to have money left. To be quite honest i know where it goes and thats on take-away foods about 5 times a week. I know its crazy but im at the addictive stage now and were trying to get out of it for our finance sake. Our combined income each week is 500

Weekly Income = 500

Weekly Outgoings

rent = 130
loan = 100
take away = 100
Other = 50

Outgoings (we never have the money for this so whatever we use we dont get to save)

Eircom (approx) €200 every 2 months (including 2 months broadband, charges & vat - calls are very low)
ESB = 60 ever 2 months
Chorus = 25 every month

We need to be able to put money away for when a bill comes but we cant do that when were trying to pay off all bills, we dont get a chance to do this.

Any suggestions, i have tried several times to start a spreadsheet but its impossible to stick to it.

hedgetrimmer

what do you mean by take away?

frantic_mel

oh sorry,

that bloody addictive fast food

Stark

Take-away food I would imagine.

ToxicPaddy

Jeez a €100 a week on take aways is a lot...

You could buy a hell of a lot of food a week on €100..

First I would look at is cutting this out straight away, maybe have one night over
the weekend where you get a take away and the rest of the night cook.. it may
seem tedious and if you're lazy after coming home from work then the last thing you
want to do is cook.. I used to be the same as you and ordering a take out seemed
to be the best option..

Now what I do is cook twice a week, but do a big batch and then eat what I want
and freeze the rest in an air tight container.. so at any one time I have at least
3 meals frozen and all it takes is 5 mins in the microwave and whatever to cook the
pasta/rice/noodles to go with it..

So if you cook a chicken curry make a huge batch.. and save whatever you reckon
you wont eat, out it aside to cool as you eat and when you've finished eating,
scoop what you put aside it into the containers, label it and put it in the freezer..
next time your hungry and think of going to the take out, go to the freezer, bung it
in the microwave, put on some rice and vola, a lovely chicken curry..

It takes some will power at first to actually get off yer ass and do it but believe me
when you look in yer wallet at the end of the week and see €40 or €50 more than
you thought you had then it will be worth it..

Tox

Nala

Spending €100 per week on fast food and wondering why you've no money!
I know people in college that get by on about €25 a week for food, I'm sure you can.

ToxicPaddy

Originally posted by neev
....I know people in college that get by on about €25 a week for food

Ahh I remember the days.. Tesco's own brand.. ya cant beat it..

Tox

Dont Ban Me

Originally posted by neev
Spending €100 per week on fast food and wondering why you've no money!
I know people in college that get by on about €25 a week for food, I'm sure you can.

I did it a couple of months ago on €10!! Now I was impressed with myself there!! Took a while before I could look at toast again though!

Devious

Loan repayments of €100 a week is pretty hefty. I dont want to be nosy but can i ask what this was for? Your renting a place and dont seem to mention a car so im just curious as to what the loan was about.

You should also look into claiming rent relief if you havent already done it. Its worth an extra €250 each per year. Not a huge amount admitedly, but still.

frantic_mel

The loan i got over a year ago, but my situation changed that i had to be made part time, i just could not pay the loan back, one week i would, the other i couldnt. So over time an arrears built up on the loan account.

I have spoken to the bank a few months back and we arranged payments.

The loan im paying back was 6,000

Now i have 3,500 on the loan part and 1,700 on the arrear part.
My name is already on the bad credit list and will still there for 5 years, i was told this was 5 years from the date you finish paying your loan.
I pay 50 direct debit and 50 manually, they also told me that i should try put in extra if i could to pay the arrears off. Im hoping the total loan will be paid before Christmas, even though the loan was up next year.

I knew where they money went, but i want to get out of the situation.

Rabies

frantic_mel, cut down on the take away food. Try buying food in supermarket. Cheaper in the long run. Only thing is it does take a bit of effort to make a dinner.

Originally posted by Dont Ban Me
I did it a couple of months ago on €10!! Now I was impressed with myself there!! Took a while before I could look at toast again though!

If you weren't drunk 4-5 nights a week* you could spend more on food.




*I'm jealous

Cabaal

Originally posted by neev
Spending €100 per week on fast food and wondering why you've no money!
I know people in college that get by on about €25 a week for food, I'm sure you can.

hehe agreed,
Fast food is crazy he should be buying normal food and cooking it a hell of alot cheaper

Raz

Originally posted by frantic_mel
I know its crazy but im at the addictive stage now

This just shows you have a lack of will and determination. I bet you've decided countless times to sort yourself out and cook proper food.
Well next time you're on the brink of giving in stop yourself, as you always do, but this time when the rising voice says "I can still get by if we have it", stop yourself again and remind yourself that it's not "getting by" .... it's struggling.

You say your situations changed. Does that mean a second job is out of the question? Well how about a different job? tbh €250 a week (assuming a 50/50 split between the two of you) is pretty crap. That's what you get on a student work-placement.
Have a look at http://www.nixers.ie or http://www.monster.ie or if you're a graduate http://www.gradireland.ie
You don't have to commit to anything just because you're looking for a new job. I mean, don't leave your current job until you know you have a new one.
my 2c

Oriel

/edit - wrote a reply then read though your previous posts on boards. Will hold reply, until I hear further from you.

frantic_mel

I am full time in my job now, thats when i arranged my finance with the bank. Were the only company in Ireland that does what we do. I started off with 16,000 and then after a year it rose to 17,500 with a review during the summer.
As of my previous posts, it would be impossible to get a second job because of other circumstances. Well i started on Monday to stick by a spreadsheet and so far doing ok. Still craving like mad though for garlic chips & cheese or a taco chip, thats the worst, its hard coming off it as u have that craving ever night. I bought some lovely cottage pies in the supermarket, and i make a lovely pasta dish also.
So fingers crossed it will save us alot of money, especially since we are interested in getting a car, going on holiday and saving for a deposit for a house.

dudara

My boyfriend and I, both PhD students with limited income, shop in Tesco once a week and spend in the region of E50 for food for a week. We keep an eye out for reduced price products, the ones tecso sell off half price or less because they'r coming to their sell by date. We get lots of meat that way, that we really couldn't afford otherwise. Just pop it in the freezer when you get home and it's fine.

We rarely have meals out, it's just far too expensive, but often chips on Friday or Sunday night. I couldn't imagine spending E100 a week on take-away food when you can cook much nicer things yourself.

Epitaph

A ton o' euroids a week is bloody unbelieveable, I wouldn't spend that on a weekend on the beer(well ok, I would!) .

Tesco do decent-ish frozen Ready Meals: chicken curry, sweet'n'sour, tikka masala (avoid that one), and lasagne. They're about 1.89 each I think, really handy for when you could not be arsed prepping a big meal - just throw them in the oven.

I find Uncle Bens' sauces, Tesco chicken fillets or chopped pork, some onion, pepper and/or mushrooms, and some rice =
a fairly decent nosh-up for yourself and your "co-habitor"

What else is cheap & quick...?

Mix large tin of tuna, tin of sweetcorn, a small chopped onion, some chopped pepper and mayo in a bowl. Fry some and add to hot pasta. Don't even need sauce!

Pasta and sauce, with some chopped veg thrown in. Not those 2 euro stir-in sauces that wouldn't fill your tooth (and are manky anyway - carbonara one stinks!), but a big jar that'll last you yonks and costs about e5.

Frozen pizzas, about 4 euro each?

dudara

You don't even have to buy jars of sauces, which are terrible in general. To make a simple tomato sauce for pasta,

sweat some garlic and onion in plenty of olive oil. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, stir well and add sugar, salt, pepper and oregano. Leave to simmer and reduce it to the consistency you want. I personally like to add a tiny bit of chilli (ready chopped from a jar) and some chopped chorizo or just plain sausage. If you start this before you cook the pasta, both will be just about ready together. Cost minimal. Knowing you cooked it yourself from scratch, priceless...

seamus

Originally posted by frantic_mel
Well i started on Monday to stick by a spreadsheet and so far doing ok. Still craving like mad though for garlic chips & cheese or a taco chip, thats the worst, its hard coming off it as u have that craving ever night. I bought some lovely cottage pies in the supermarket, and i make a lovely pasta dish also.

The cravings will pass. What you're largely craving for is the fat and sugar in those dishes. Try drink water whenever you get cravings. Aside from pissing like a trooper, you can retrain your brain to almost crave water (not as much as the fast food though). Which isn't a bad thing.

Pretty much what everyone else here has said is sound. You should begin to notice the difference very quickly when you're not getting takeaway every day - both in your wallet and your waistline

The money that you have between you is relatively low. You need to look at where you can start saving money - in your situation, every €5 counts, and also take a look at your tax situation - are there any benefits that you're not claiming that you qualify for?

You rent may be higher than it needs to be. Can you afford to move 2-3 miles further away from where you are? It could save you in the region of €50 a month.

(Sorry, I'm just throwing out random thoughts here....)

My personal spreadsheet has two sets of figures - a control set and a current set. Basically, when you get paid (end of the month for me), you fill in both sets of figures. Take your net pay, itemise all your expenses (if you don't know how big a bill will be - make an educated guess), and come out with a figure of what you should have at the end of the month, after expenses. Then make an estimate for sundry spending (beers, eating out, clothes shopping) and come out with a figure of what you should have left for saving. Round this down to a sensible amount (give yourself €50-100 per month spare cash, but obviously don't be saving pittance per month) and then include this in the spreadsheet as an expense called savings. Open a savings account.

Now, what I do, is not change the control set. They are a hard copy of your estimates, so you can gauge how it's going.
Update the other set over the month. Reduce expense amounts to zero as bills get paid off. Update your current balance every few days. As the month progresses, it helps me keep track of a) How much spare cash I will have at the end of the month and b) What bills/expenses I still have looming. Knowing how much spare cash I estimate I'll have at the end of the month is very useful for me. If that balance is zero, I can still live comfortably, but can only just live - no sudden nights out, dinners out, etc. Coupled with knowing what bills are left to pay off, it avoids the problem where you buy something one week, only to realise next week that you have to pay off bill x, but you can't afford it due to frivolous spending. If you find your spare cash balance being consistently more money than you need at the end of the month, you can increase your saving expense. If you find yourself consistently in the red, you can reduce it.

Lump

I have a little problem, I don't budget. So I'm either very rich, or broke.....


John

seamus

Originally posted by Lump
I have a little problem, I don't budget. So I'm either very rich, or broke.....


John

From the amount of moaning I hear on IRC, I'll go with door number 2 Bob.

daveg

I'd be as concerned about your health as I would about your financial situation if your eating 100 yoyo a week on take aways.

hedgetrimmer

If you even saved that 100 for takeout a week, you'd have about 5 grand saved each year. I have lived quite happily food wise, with the odd takeout, on 150 a month (for 2 people)

frantic_mel

My personal spreadsheet has two sets of figures - a control set and a current set. Basically, when you get paid (end of the month for me), you fill in both sets of figures. Take your net pay, itemise all your expenses (if you don't know how big a bill will be - make an educated guess), and come out with a figure of what you should have at the end of the month, after expenses. Then make an estimate for sundry spending (beers, eating out, clothes shopping) and come out with a figure of what you should have left for saving. Round this down to a sensible amount (give yourself €50-100 per month spare cash, but obviously don't be saving pittance per month) and then include this in the spreadsheet as an expense called savings. Open a savings account.

Now, what I do, is not change the control set. They are a hard copy of your estimates, so you can gauge how it's going.
Update the other set over the month. Reduce expense amounts to zero as bills get paid off. Update your current balance every few days. As the month progresses, it helps me keep track of a) How much spare cash I will have at the end of the month and b) What bills/expenses I still have looming. Knowing how much spare cash I estimate I'll have at the end of the month is very useful for me. If that balance is zero, I can still live comfortably, but can only just live - no sudden nights out, dinners out, etc. Coupled with knowing what bills are left to pay off, it avoids the problem where you buy something one week, only to realise next week that you have to pay off bill x, but you can't afford it due to frivolous spending. If you find your spare cash balance being consistently more money than you need at the end of the month, you can increase your saving expense. If you find yourself consistently in the red, you can reduce it. [/B][/QUOTE]



That sounds like a great spreadsheet. Is it ok if maybe you could forward me the template for it.

seamus

Originally posted by frantic_mel
That sounds like a great spreadsheet. Is it ok if maybe you could forward me the template for it.

I'm in work at the moment, so I don't have it. Tis not too difficult. I'll hack something together and forward it onto you. PM me your email addy.

frantic_mel

I agree with you all on this. Thats why im asking for help to get this sorted.
It was a habit we got into since we moved into an apartment. But it does look up when u are told that if 100 was saved for a year it would build to 5,200 a nice holiday to mauritus, florida, cayman island u name it.
Well at least im on the right step.

frantic_mel

Hi Seamus,

Thanks for your email.
Im very impressed, it looks so simple and friendly to use. Im going to have fun implementing my info into it.

in your sheet it says that you have 220 at the end of the month, lets just say that you estimated 200 for dining out, but actually spent 100 instead, do u still enter 200 with the actually spent and have an extra 320 left instead of 220 but just not logged.

Lump

Originally posted by seamus
From the amount of moaning I hear on IRC, I'll go with door number 2 Bob.

Well I'm actually rather rich at the moment.


John

seamus

Exactly. The extra cash will be reflected in your current balance. If you updated it, say the morning after your dinner out, your current balance would be reduced by €100, but the amount in the 'dining out' column will be reduced by €200, so your cash in hand will increase by €100....

That way, you get an accurate figure at the end of the month of how much you are over or under budget....

frantic_mel

sorry, i didnt quite understand u there on ure last post. lol


another question, the cash in hand at the end, is that then decided to go into lets say the credit union or a savings account, or can u also enter this into the sheet.

seamus

Yeah, I'd add that in as an expense, once you get a feel for how much cash you normally have left over. Unless it's added as an expense, I'd leave it till the end of the month before throwing money in the credit union, or you coudl find yourself short