Surviving on €58 per week

Lunaarli

Who else is surviving on very little?
I'm on a pathetic starting wage.
After paying rent & Hse bills per month I have exactly €58 left over.

Have to buy food, phone cred, Luas ticket, everything else with that!

Anyone else in the same boat? Any hints on how to survive without contemplating the unspeakable every week?!

I know it's illegal but I think I'm just gona hav to try & get cash work somewhere!! Any suggestions pm me. I promise I'm not a secret spy. I babysit, cook, retail, office work, bar etc!

Are you talking about the dole?
For a start, it's not a wage. Get that out of your head.
I live bang city centre. Just left the dole to do a FAS course (I wnat to do). I have €7 a day to spend. If I wanted more, I'd get a job.

It's not there for you to live comfortably. It's there for you to get by.

I take it you're young and not getting full dole?

CyberJuice

suntottie wrote: »

Have to buy Luas ticket

Any hints on how to survive without contemplating the unspeakable every week?!

Stop buying luas tickets,that will save you some money.only suckers pay on the luas,ive been using it well over 3 or 4 years now,i used to pay the first 5 or 6 times i used it but after realising nobody ever knew if i had a ticket or not i decided to not buy anymore and ive never had any issues,im sure if your caught you can just get away with it easily enough

Gavin "shels"

Second job maybe? Advertise babysitting or whatever else? Maybe a weekend job when shops are looking for Christmas staff?


How many times a week do you use the Luas, and how much is it pre week? Would it be of benefit to buy a monthly ticket? Or even buy a bike and cycle?

Regards food you could buy in bulk, so say if there's a special on Mince, use what you need and then divide it up into portions. Shop in Lidl/Alid maybe? When it comes to fresh food only buy what you need when you need it.

Bring packed lunch to work?

Lunaarli

Deleted User wrote: »

Are you talking about the dole?
For a start, it's not a wage. Get that out of your head.
I live bang city centre. Just left the dole to do a FAS course (I wnat to do). I have €7 a day to spend. If I wanted more, I'd get a job.

It's not there for you to live comfortably. It's there for you to get by.

I take it you're young and not getting full dole?

I said I was on a 'starting wage', that would be a funny euphemism for the dol. I am working 9-5 and like I said after taking away rent & esb bills €58 is what I'm left with.

Is that €58 for a month, or a week?
Are you full time or part time?

Lunaarli

Deleted User wrote: »

Is that €58 for a month, or a week?
Are you full time or part time?

As I stated in the title it's €58 per week and I'm working 9-5.
My pay will be reassessed in 6 months & hopefully go up quite a bit.

deconduo

Food:
€12 meat - Dunnes do a special offer of 2 portions of meat for €6. These are stuff like thin steaks, chicken fillets, peppered steak, mince etc. 4 packs is enough for 8 dinners.

€10 fruit/veg - Lidl is pretty good for fruit and veg. Stock up on carrots, peppers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, apples and bananas.

€10 staples - Bread, milk, pasta, rice, cereal. Lidl and tesco for these. Asia market is good for noodles, and you can find some nice bargains on other foods there too.

Breakfast - Cereal and a glass of water.
Lunch - Sandwich, piece of fruit and water.
Dinner - Make batches of Chili Con Carne, Carbonara, Chicken Curry. Freeze them and eat during the week with plenty of rice or pasta.

Should work out at less than €35 a week if you budget properly, and you get the benefit of eating healthily.

Transport:
Get a cheap 2nd hand bike, anything with wheels and a brake will do. Cycling in the rain sucks, but its the cheapest mode of transport. If you're living near the Dublin Bikes scheme that's it will only cost you €10 for the year and you won't need to worry about your bike getting stolen.

Credit:
Most companies will have some deal that will mean you only need to spend €20 a month. If you're spending more than this then just find a way to make less calls.

jill_valentine

deconduo wrote: »

Credit:
Most companies will have some deal that will mean you only need to spend €20 a month. If you're spending more than this then just find a way to make less calls.

Webtexts are wonderful, magical things.

Also, join your local library. I know that sounds lame, but when you have no money to do anything you can go nearly mad. The library was a godsend when I was on the dole - free wifi, books, DVDs, CDs etc.

If you can do so without looking excessively creepy, swing in to the student union area of your nearest college. Companies looking for taste-test panels, or other one-off, cash-in-hand nixers will often advertise there.

petethebrick

Try to find one or two evenings work in a pub or restaurant. Drop your CV round everywhere (and don't be afraid to elaborate on it about your experience of course). If you look hard enough you will definitely get work of this sort. That should sort out your finances and besides, I'm guessing on 58euro a week you don't go out much in the evenings so working one or two would also be something to do I'd imagine!

Gae

Deleted User wrote: »

Are you talking about the dole?
For a start, it's not a wage. Get that out of your head.
I live bang city centre. Just left the dole to do a FAS course (I wnat to do). I have €7 a day to spend. If I wanted more, I'd get a job.

It's not there for you to live comfortably. It's there for you to get by.

I take it you're young and not getting full dole?

He never said he was on the dole, but I'm sure he appreciates your condescension.

jodaw

deconduo wrote: »

Food:
€12 meat - Dunnes do a special offer of 2 portions of meat for €6. These are stuff like thin steaks, chicken fillets, peppered steak, mince etc. 4 packs is enough for 8 dinners.

€10 fruit/veg - Lidl is pretty good for fruit and veg. Stock up on carrots, peppers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, apples and bananas.

€10 staples - Bread, milk, pasta, rice, cereal. Lidl and tesco for these. Asia market is good for noodles, and you can find some nice bargains on other foods there too.

Breakfast - Cereal and a glass of water.
Lunch - Sandwich, piece of fruit and water.
Dinner - Make batches of Chili Con Carne, Carbonara, Chicken Curry. Freeze them and eat during the week with plenty of rice or pasta.

Should work out at less than €35 a week if you budget properly, and you get the benefit of eating healthily.

Transport:
Get a cheap 2nd hand bike, anything with wheels and a brake will do. Cycling in the rain sucks, but its the cheapest mode of transport. If you're living near the Dublin Bikes scheme that's it will only cost you €10 for the year and you won't need to worry about your bike getting stolen.

Credit:
Most companies will have some deal that will mean you only need to spend €20 a month. If you're spending more than this then just find a way to make less calls.

Very good advice and very well put together post

Musiconomist

How much is your rent? If it's above 100 EUR a week, you need to look around.

Mr. Presentable

OP, 9-17 five days per week is 37.5 hours paid. Even at legal minimum wage of €8.65 per hour that's €324.37. Your rent must be huge - find a cheaper place to live?

Victor

CyberJuice wrote: »

Stop buying luas tickets,that will save you some money.only suckers pay on the luas,ive been using it well over 3 or 4 years now,i used to pay the first 5 or 6 times i used it but after realising nobody ever knew if i had a ticket or not i decided to not buy anymore and ive never had any issues,im sure if your caught you can just get away with it easily enough

This is somewhat legally fraught.

charlemont

Victor wrote: »

This is somewhat legally fraught.

Ah sure he means well, Yes OP you should get a cheaper place, And try keep your electricity to a minimum.

Gae

Gae wrote: »

He never said he was on the dole, but I'm sure he appreciates your condescension.

No, it was misapprehension. When some says, "Any hints on how to survive without contemplating the unspeakable every week?!"

To me, that sounds dodgy. When they go on to say

"I know it's illegal but I think I'm just gona hav to try & get cash work somewhere!! Any suggestions pm me. I promise I'm not a secret spy. I babysit, cook, retail, office work, bar etc!"

I will assume they are on the dole as all the people I know that are doing cash-in-hand jobs are on the dole.

As someone else pointed out basic full time minimum wage is €324.37, Minus their €58 left over would mean they are spending 266.37 a week on bills and rent. Which is an astronomic amount for any person.
I think it's more feasible to take from the OP's post that they are on the younger dole and have only €58 left.

Also, I'm certain that I'm not the only person who has heard the dole described as "a wage".

not even wrong

Deleted User wrote: »

No, it was misapprehension. When some says, "Any hints on how to survive without contemplating the unspeakable every week?!"

To me, that sounds dodgy. When they go on to say

"I know it's illegal but I think I'm just gona hav to try & get cash work somewhere!! Any suggestions pm me. I promise I'm not a secret spy. I babysit, cook, retail, office work, bar etc!"

I will assume they are on the dole as all the people I know that are doing cash-in-hand jobs are on the dole.

As someone else pointed out basic full time minimum wage is €324.37, Minus their €58 left over would mean they are spending 266.37 a week on bills and rent. Which is an astronomic amount for any person.
I think it's more feasible to take from the OP's post that they are on the younger dole and have only €58 left.

Also, I'm certain that I'm not the only person who has heard the dole described as "a wage".

Why would someone on the dole be worrying about commuting costs? ("Luas ticket")

Also not everyone is entitled to the minimum wage, not everyone is full-time, and not all employers obey the law.

Yawns

OP did mention they had HSE bills to pay which could be taking up a huge portion of their pay packet. OP you should apply and see if you are eligible for a medical card to help cut down the cost of medicines you may be on.

Be prepared for a long wait for it tho, keep ringing them and get in touch with a local TD to help push it through if necessary.

FreudianSlippers

not even wrong wrote: »

Also not everyone is entitled to the minimum wage, not everyone is full-time, and not all employers obey the law.

Bad point, good point, ridiculous point.