Garda Sergeant can't afford food

dvpower

Milk & Honey wrote: »

I do not believe there is any such person however. this is a journalist trying to write an article describing what she thinks is a typical person of the allegedly squeezed middle class.

I would very much doubt that Kathy Sheridan would make any of this up.

snubbleste

Leo Varadkar & Joan Burton both stated that they'd received letters from this sergeant's wife about their situation.
Tbh there's a budget coming up and the unions are agitating imo.

orl

My guess about the child missing out on the prestigious college is that the course was outside Dublin and they couldn't afford the accommodation costs. Probably didn't want to put it like that as it could identify the teenager who I think we will agree are notoriously self-conscious at that age. Just a guess like a lot of the other posts.

I think that the suggestion that the Garda Representative Association or the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors fed this story to Kathy Sheridan is daft. Both organisations were smart enough to negotiate very generous allowances for their members; they would be smart enough to pick someone who was willing to be identified and a situation where people would genuinely empathise e.g. living 50 miles away from the station, handsome widower, handicapped child, recently burgled, mortgage on variable rate.

RoverZT

kylith wrote: »

I shop in Lidl:
1 bag potatoes
1 bag carrots
4 tins beans
Tins sweetcorn
2 tins tomatoes
1 whole chicken
800g mince
1 bag fozen scampi
2 pizzas
1 loaf bread
500g pasta
1 block cheese
1 litre milk

I might pick up a couple of odds and ends during the week, but that's my basic shop for two people. Other people might eat more than we do, I suppose. It usually comes out to around €50. I get my rice, noodles and fish in an Asian shop; it's much better value.

mince, scampi, a chicken and two frozen pizza's.

rest is tinned food, carbs and a litre of milk.

Better menu's in prison, serious.

Wouldn't fancy Breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and a snack from that list.

I am fairly cheap myself, but I couldn't deprive myself like that.

I have to eat some beef, chicken fillets, fresh fish, pork with my dinners.

Menu in our house.

Breakfast.

Usually cereal ( cornflakes, cheerios etc ) or rolls with ham, cheese, tomatoes etc.

Lunch

Have it a work, usually sandwhich ( ham, lettuce, grated cheese, tomato ) with capri sun, banana and snack bar.

Dinner.

Have it around 6 - 7.

Potatoes, meat, veg, gravy, always with some meat.Always have a dessert too, usually apple tart with ice cream, trifle, cheesecake, vienetta.


Supper

Don't eat much for supper, usually have a few biscuits with tea, yogurt, snack bar like nutrigrain etc.

I love coca cola as well and drink about 12 bottles of miller at the weekend, been drinking blossom hill rose last few weekends.

Show Time

65K a year they are on??



Not like they earn it the lazy b******s.

orl

orl wrote: »

My guess about the child missing out on the prestigious college is that the course was outside Dublin and they couldn't afford the accommodation costs. Probably didn't want to put it like that as it could identify the teenager who I think we will agree are notoriously self-conscious at that age. Just a guess like a lot of the other posts.

Then why mention the fee? And showing my true colours here but I would have thought there was 1, at a stretch 2 "prestigious" colleges in Ireland, both in Dublin. Also as I said, sending a kid halfway across the country for college is expensive and always has been. They're overspending by 15k per year and apparently she thought the 5-7k for sending them to college was going to be on hand. I strongly doubt they've been cut by 20k per year to put them in this situation.

Milk & Honey

dvpower wrote: »

I would very much doubt that Kathy Sheridan would make any of this up.

Kathy Sheridan said herself details were changed to protect the identity of the alleged sergeant's wife. So much for your doubts.

kevthegaff

Theo Shapely Thanksgiving wrote: »

You don't believe 2 people can live off 50 euro for groceries? That's more than doable once you don't eat out. I don't think myself and my OH have ever spent more than that and we eat very well. We'd usually get a bottle of two of wine, loo roll and other bits and pieces as well as a week's worth of groceries for under 50 quid. You just have to be careful, plan a few meals without meat (which we do for health reasons anyway), make sure not to waste anything and take a packed lunch to work.

My mother used to feed a family of five and never spent more than 120 a week in Tesco and she's quite extravagant. She never bought supermarket brand stuff and we wasted a lot, so I have absolutely no idea how on earth anyone could spend 200 a week. What are they eating, caviar?

i do my groceries in lidl, can come from anywhere between 25-30 euros, and i have a healthy appetite:pac:

fits

kevthegaff wrote: »

i do my groceries in lidl, can come from anywhere between 25-30 euros, and i have a healthy appetite:pac:

I know that you can live well from lidl but are people on here honestly saying they never go out for dinner, never buy a take away coffee, never go to the deli for a sandwich. Thats 'food' too. And yes it can be cut down and cut down but there has to be some lee way there.

I think MABS usually try to design realistic budgets, so that there should be a bit of wriggle room.

The system in Ireland is badly broken. The cost of living is enormous! I live in a different country (scandinavia) and while the tax is huge, the actual cost of living is way lower. The truth is, a family should be able to function decently on this 65 K salary, but because of that bubble and the ever rising costs, its getting tighter and tighter.

My former boss was on a similar salary (public sector) and had three young children under six. His wife just couldn't work. They had a big mortgage too. One car, hadn't a holiday in years, never went out. Genuinely struggling I think. Its all very well for those of us with less commitments to go around pointing fingers and telling them its all their own fault. but people are struggling and I just don't know where things are going!

Qualitymark

Thank you so much, fits.

I had left this thread behind, because there were so many Trevalyan-like deserving-poor comments, it was too deeply unpleasant, but came back in to say one thing: joking aside, those who have posted their weekly shop should take a serious look at what they're buying. Virtually no greens, and virtually no fruit. I can practically hear your gums receding and scurvy starting to produce the characteristic sores at the corners of your lips.

You need greens, every day if possible, and you need fresh fruit. You need to increase the amount of vegetables you're buying.

I also don't see you buying fish; you should really be eating fish once a week.

I'm sorry - I don't want to lecture anyone - but I'm really worried by the weekly shops posted here. (Incidentally, does no one use toilet paper? What is your secret?)

robp

fits wrote: »

I know that you can live well from lidl but are people on here honestly saying they never go out for dinner, never buy a take away coffee, never go to the deli for a sandwich. Thats 'food' too. And yes it can be cut down and cut down but there has to be some lee way there.

I think MABS usually try to design realistic budgets, so that there should be a bit of wriggle room.

The system in Ireland is badly broken. The cost of living is enormous! I live in a different country (scandinavia) and while the tax is huge, the actual cost of living is way lower. The truth is, a family should be able to function decently on this 65 K salary, but because of that bubble and the ever rising costs, its getting tighter and tighter.

My former boss was on a similar salary (public sector) and had three young children under six. His wife just couldn't work. They had a big mortgage too. One car, hadn't a holiday in years, never went out. Genuinely struggling I think. Its all very well for those of us with less commitments to go around pointing fingers and telling them its all their own fault. but people are struggling and I just don't know where things are going!

The country needs deflation and lots. Budget cuts in the right places might achieve that. Deflation and plus new culture of house renting instead of mortgages.

Qualitymark

robp wrote: »

The country needs deflation and lots. Budget cuts in the right places might achieve that. Deflation and plus new culture of house renting instead of mortgages.

Or an end to the planning culture typical of Ireland - http://www.villagemagazine.ie/index.php/2012/10/2010-village-article-on-carlton-oconnell-st-corruption-allegations/

Thing about renting: Ireland is so much about grabbing as much profit as possible that landlords traditionally grind their tenants and do as little maintenance as possible. I bought the house because the rents kept going up and going up, whereas once you had a mortgage, that was it - your payments stayed more or less the same, you were buying something you'd eventually own, and you were saving into an asset rather than fattening a landlord's wallet.

Shenshen

RoverZT wrote: »

mince, scampi, a chicken and two frozen pizza's.

rest is tinned food, carbs and a litre of milk.

Better menu's in prison, serious.

Wouldn't fancy Breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and a snack from that list.

I am fairly cheap myself, but I couldn't deprive myself like that.

I have to eat some beef, chicken fillets, fresh fish, pork with my dinners.

Menu in our house.

Breakfast.

Usually cereal ( cornflakes, cheerios etc ) or rolls with ham, cheese, tomatoes etc.

Lunch

Have it a work, usually sandwhich ( ham, lettuce, grated cheese, tomato ) with capri sun, banana and snack bar.

Dinner.

Have it around 6 - 7.

Potatoes, meat, veg, gravy, always with some meat.Always have a dessert too, usually apple tart with ice cream, trifle, cheesecake, vienetta.


Supper

Don't eat much for supper, usually have a few biscuits with tea, yogurt, snack bar like nutrigrain etc.

I love coca cola as well and drink about 12 bottles of miller at the weekend, been drinking blossom hill rose last few weekends.

I can see how you would struggle to get all that for 50 quid all right.
Not eating meat at all probably is saving us loads, as is drinking way below Irish average (we'd have maybe 2 or 3 bottles of beer a week between us, and thankfully Lidl and Aldi stack decent German beers so we don't spend a fortune on big brewery slosh).

As for sweet treats, I do like baking, so all fruit about to go off gets transformed into tarts and cakes. If I compare the price of baking at home vs. the price of cakes and pastries in a shop, I often think I should start selling them myself....

Shenshen

Qualitymark wrote: »

Thank you so much, fits.

I had left this thread behind, because there were so many Trevalyan-like deserving-poor comments, it was too deeply unpleasant, but came back in to say one thing: joking aside, those who have posted their weekly shop should take a serious look at what they're buying. Virtually no greens, and virtually no fruit. I can practically hear your gums receding and scurvy starting to produce the characteristic sores at the corners of your lips.

You need greens, every day if possible, and you need fresh fruit. You need to increase the amount of vegetables you're buying.

I also don't see you buying fish; you should really be eating fish once a week.

I'm sorry - I don't want to lecture anyone - but I'm really worried by the weekly shops posted here. (Incidentally, does no one use toilet paper? What is your secret?)

Can't honestly be referring to my post there, most of our shop is fresh veg.
No, I don't buy fish, we don't eat animals, why "should" people eat fish once a week? We're not living in Elisabethan England, after all?

As for toilet paper, Lidl occasionally has bulk-buy offers, and we buy it then. Last time we got 45 rolls of Cushelle for a fiver, that usually lasts 2 months or so.

Chucky the tree

Qualitymark wrote: »

Thank you so much, fits.

I had left this thread behind, because there were so many Trevalyan-like deserving-poor comments, it was too deeply unpleasant, but came back in to say one thing: joking aside, those who have posted their weekly shop should take a serious look at what they're buying. Virtually no greens, and virtually no fruit. I can practically hear your gums receding and scurvy starting to produce the characteristic sores at the corners of your lips.

You need greens, every day if possible, and you need fresh fruit. You need to increase the amount of vegetables you're buying.

I also don't see you buying fish; you should really be eating fish once a week.

I'm sorry - I don't want to lecture anyone - but I'm really worried by the weekly shops posted here. (Incidentally, does no one use toilet paper? What is your secret?)

This from the lad who defends the mother feeding her kids cornflakes for the day. :rolleyes:

Rebelkell

12vdc wrote: »

The letter – unsigned to protect her husband’s identity – was written after a Mabs (Money Advice and Budgeting Service) adviser had offered to refer the couple to the St Vincent de Paul Society for assistance.

Her husband has gross earnings of more than €65,000 – including allowances and unsocial hours coverage. After tax, Universal Social Charge, pension, health insurance, mortgage and utility deductions, a typical weekly payslip shows a net payment of €109.

By the Mabs analysis, however, the weekly household budget was running a deficit of nearly €300 and there appeared to be no means of reducing it.

Doesn't say much for the clowns in Mabs. More public servants doing what they do best a crap job where they are unaccountable for any output:(

Shenshen

Qualitymark wrote: »

Or an end to the planning culture typical of Ireland - http://www.villagemagazine.ie/index.php/2012/10/2010-village-article-on-carlton-oconnell-st-corruption-allegations/

Thing about renting: Ireland is so much about grabbing as much profit as possible that landlords traditionally grind their tenants and do as little maintenance as possible. I bought the house because the rents kept going up and going up, whereas once you had a mortgage, that was it - your payments stayed more or less the same, you were buying something you'd eventually own, and you were saving into an asset rather than fattening a landlord's wallet.

I think a look across to the continent could provide inspiration: in Germany, for example, rent rates are calculated on a price per sq meter, and on the area the renting property is located in. Charging over a certain percentage over this price can bring a landlord to court. There are very clearly outlined tennant's rights.

So renting, even renting for life, is actually viable and a good alternative to buying.

Potential-Monke

Rebelkell wrote: »

Doesn't say much for the clowns in Mabs. More public servants doing what they do best a crap job where they are unaccountable for any output:(

I don't know where you're getting your information, but the public service is in the age of personal accountability.

Rebelkell

Potential-Monke wrote: »

I don't know where you're getting your information, but the public service is in the age of personal accountability.

For accountability there has to be consequences there are none for poor performance in the Public service unlike the private sector where you are out the door.

fits

fits wrote: »

I know that you can live well from lidl but are people on here honestly saying they never go out for dinner, never buy a take away coffee, never go to the deli for a sandwich. Thats 'food' too. And yes it can be cut down and cut down but there has to be some lee way there.

I go out to dinner quite a bit these days because I can afford to. That's the key. I love food and it's a choice I make because I'm young, childless and cut back in other areas. If you're struggling to survive and going to MABS, there's no way on earth you should be spending money in restaurants or buying take away coffees. It's money down the drain. A dinner with wine in an average restaurant is more expensive than an entire week's worth of groceries at Aldi. People need to start seeing Starbucks coffees and deli sandwiches as the luxuries they are. If you're claiming to be broke and begging for assistance, you shouldn't be anywhere near one of those places.

The system in Ireland is badly broken. The cost of living is enormous! I live in a different country (scandinavia) and while the tax is huge, the actual cost of living is way lower. The truth is, a family should be able to function decently on this 65 K salary, but because of that bubble and the ever rising costs, its getting tighter and tighter.

My former boss was on a similar salary (public sector) and had three young children under six. His wife just couldn't work. They had a big mortgage too. One car, hadn't a holiday in years, never went out. Genuinely struggling I think. Its all very well for those of us with less commitments to go around pointing fingers and telling them its all their own fault. but people are struggling and I just don't know where things are going!

True. Not disputing any of that. Your money goes nowhere in Ireland and it's been like that for years. I still don't buy that someone on 65K a year is struggling to the extent described in the article. Not going on foreign holidays is one thing, eating cornflakes for dinner is quite another.

RoverZT wrote: »

mince, scampi, a chicken and two frozen pizza's.

rest is tinned food, carbs and a litre of milk.

Better menu's in prison, serious.

Wouldn't fancy Breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and a snack from that list.

I am fairly cheap myself, but I couldn't deprive myself like that.

I have to eat some beef, chicken fillets, fresh fish, pork with my dinners.

Menu in our house.

Breakfast.

Usually cereal ( cornflakes, cheerios etc ) or rolls with ham, cheese, tomatoes etc.

Lunch

Have it a work, usually sandwhich ( ham, lettuce, grated cheese, tomato ) with capri sun, banana and snack bar.

Dinner.

Have it around 6 - 7.

Potatoes, meat, veg, gravy, always with some meat.Always have a dessert too, usually apple tart with ice cream, trifle, cheesecake, vienetta.


Supper

Don't eat much for supper, usually have a few biscuits with tea, yogurt, snack bar like nutrigrain etc.

I love coca cola as well and drink about 12 bottles of miller at the weekend, been drinking blossom hill rose last few weekends.

That diet doesn't sound that great either, tbh. Don't see the need to eat meat every day (especially not meat and two veg, yawn ) or desserts every day, doesn't mean I'm depriving myself. Horses for courses and all but for 50 quid in Aldi, I get loads of fresh veg, a bit of frozen veg, some spuds, rice and other bits and pieces. We do homemade soup in the blender which is full of fresh veg and lasts 2 or even 3 lunches, make homemade brown bread or get a ready made loaf if we're lazy to go with it. Dinners during the week would be things like lentil stew, chicken curry, shepherd's pie, chili con carne and we eat a lot of stir fries with rice or noodles, a bit of chicken and loads of veg - cheap and healthy. I find veg to be the cheapest thing of all to buy, which is why I don't get how people say it's hard to eat well on a budget. This is true in America, where fresh fruit/veg costs a small fortune, but not in Ireland.

Potential-Monke

Rebelkell wrote: »

For accountability there has to be consequences there are none for poor performance in the Public service unlike the private sector where you are out the door.

Trust me, there are consequences. The only difference being that they are not as quick to fire someone as the costs involved getting someone to a certain stage are big and it's not as if they can be easily replaced. Fines are a big thing.

Bannasidhe

Shenshen wrote: »

I can see how you would struggle to get all that for 50 quid all right.
Not eating meat at all probably is saving us loads, as is drinking way below Irish average (we'd have maybe 2 or 3 bottles of beer a week between us, and thankfully Lidl and Aldi stack decent German beers so we don't spend a fortune on big brewery slosh).

As for sweet treats, I do like baking, so all fruit about to go off gets transformed into tarts and cakes. If I compare the price of baking at home vs. the price of cakes and pastries in a shop, I often think I should start selling them myself....

Well, I didn't post what I bought -just that it came to 83 euro and will feed 4 adults for the week.

Meals will include:

Tandoori chicken - 2 packs chicken thighs & natural yoghurt & rice & salad- the spices cost me 2 euro in a whole food shop and will do 5 meals.

Spaghetti and meatballs - 2 packs of meatballs, spaghetti, garlic, onion, tin of tomatoes.

Roast dinner - loin of pork, spuds (mash and roasties), green beans, carrots.

Steak sandwiches - bake on rolls, 1 pack minute steak, onion, mushrooms, garlic with spicy wedges and corn on cob.

Omelettes - 'bumper' pack of eggs, mushrooms, ham, grated cheese.

Burger and chips - burger buns in freezer from previous shop, 4 quarter pounders, oven chips and a salad.

Casserole - stewing beef, sweet potato, courgette, onion, mushroom, mixed peppers plus mash spuds.

Also got apples, kiwi, bananas,fruit juices,cooked ham, sliced pan, 6 litres of milk, small carton of cream, pudding rice (on special offer this week!), yoghurts, coffee and a jar of lime pickle. oh - and cornflakes.

Firelighters, loo roll, dog food, refuse sacks, kitchen cleaner...

Lunches will be sandwiches, yoghurts and fruit.

Had some bread left over and a few wrinkled apples so I made a bread and butter pudding with apples - used 2 eggs, honey, milk and vanilla essence bought 6 months ago. Lovely with a drop of cream.

On Sunday after the roast pork will have baked rice pudding - will need eggs, milk, honey, vanilla essence and still have cream left.

I do not buy alcohol, fizzy drinks, salty snacks, chocolate things or other assorted junk foods.

My in-dire-financial- straits sister is currently 'picking up a few things' in Marks...

It is do-able but it requires what my grandmother ( a woman who raised 5 children during the Emergency) and lost her husband to an early death called 'good housekeeping' - i.e. cooking/baking and budgeting.

I really cannot understand how a family spending 200 euro a week on food could be reduced to eating cornflakes for dinner

gallag

So much discussion and arguing, it's simple, if you are a top ten% earner you should be able to live and if you have ****ed it up not look sympathy from the 90% who would envy your resources.

snubbleste

Bannasidhe wrote: »

.......
I really cannot understand how a family spending 200 euro a week on food could be reduced to eating cornflakes for dinner

Maybe they really really love Cornflakes.

Boombastic

Spread wrote: »

Charlie Weston thinks it's makey uppy:




http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/charlie-weston/charlie-weston-a-garda-earning-75000-and-living-on-cornflakes-it-doesnt-add-up-3263749.html

Charlie must have learned how to budget recently, he seems to be back in the land of reality:D

Here's his sob story from 2009

IF only someone had told me. I was rich before my wife was laid off from her job at the start of this year, but no one bothered to let me in on it.

There we were struggling to meet the repayments on our jumbo mortgage, pay our creche costs and other bills and we were rich all along and we did not know it.

Because when Emer still had a job we earned just more than €100,000 combined ...................
Tax, the cruel income levy, the health levy, and PRSI will leave this family with an after-tax income of around €74,000.

Potential-Monke

I love the way he says that it's an "elaborate plot so that the Gardai don't lose out on the 57 allowances they get". Os something like that. Does he think that every Garda gets 57 allowances? There is not one who would get anything near that. There are 57 allowances spread across nearly as many different positions.

Emeraldy Pebbles

Me and Mammy were talking about this last night and actually got a pen and paper and did a budget. We concluded they should be doing fine

BUT

We both agreed that people expect certain families to have a certain lifestyle so that pressure is there. But still, that shouldn't come above feeding your family properly.

Wanderer2010

Emeraldy Pebbles wrote: »

Me and Mammy were talking about this last night and actually got a pen and paper and did a budget. We concluded they should be doing fine

BUT

We both agreed that people expect certain families to have a certain lifestyle so that pressure is there. But still, that shouldn't come above feeding your family properly.

Really? How many people actually care what lifestyle their neighbour is living? I think beneath the superficial "Keeping up with the Jones's" comments about a second car and patios and private schools etc, most people are more bothered about their own budget and finances to care what their neighbours are up to. Especially in recent times when money is a rarity amongst the classes previously used to holiday homes and luxury cars. I dont think many people actually expect or give a damn about what car their neighbour is driving or where little Timmy is going to school.

Emeraldy Pebbles

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Really? How many people actually care what lifestyle their neighbour is living? I think beneath the superficial "Keeping up with the Jones's" comments about a second car and patios and private schools etc, most people are more bothered about their own budget and finances to care what their neighbours are up to. Especially in recent times when money is a rarity amongst the classes previously used to holiday homes and luxury cars. I dont think many people actually expect or give a damn about what car their neighbour is driving or where little Timmy is going to school.

I'm not saying this is how I think but yeah, the keeping up with the Jones's thing does seem to bother a lot of people. We were just were acknowledging it, that's all, it'd be daft not to. It isn't how I personally think.

Boombastic

Emeraldy Pebbles wrote: »

..........

We both agreed that people expect certain families to have a certain lifestyle so that pressure is there. But still, that shouldn't come above feeding your family properly.

there was an article in the independent the other day about having the 4X4 in the drive, but it not having tax, just to keep up appearances. It was all about how they couldn't afford food etc, but nowhere in the article did it suggest they actually sell the land rover:D


Here it is

"From the outside, there may be a 4x4 parked in the driveway, but it may not have insurance, it may not be moving. Lots of people are embarrassed that their neighbours might see them in dire straits."

Rodin

€46683 approx after tax - (12*1400) = Approx 30k net to live on a year, plus whatever child benefit they get.

Wifey says there's 109 euro a week, so where is the 25k discrepancy being spent?

This sense of entitlement is what has damaged this country so much.

Potential-Monke

Rodin wrote: »

€46683 approx after tax - (12*1400) = Approx 30k net to live on a year, plus whatever child benefit they get.

Wifey says there's 109 euro a week, so where is the 25k discrepancy being spent?

This sense of entitlement is what has damaged this country so much.

Welcome to the thread, your question is answered somewhat somewhere in the last 44 pages.

Rodin

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Welcome to the thread, your question is answered somewhat somewhere in the last 44 pages.

Want to summarise?

Potential-Monke

Rodin wrote: »

Want to summarise?

It's one of three things:

1: It's a fabricated story where the author/representative body didn't do her/their maths properly

2: They have hidden outgoings that can't be displayed for identification purposes and/or they don't want to show that they may have a second house/other unnecessary expenditure

3: They can't budget/can't get out of the boom lifestyle due to losing face

hatrickpatrick

Shenshen wrote: »

It's got nothing to do with his profession, and everything with him making nearly 1.5x what my husband and me earn TOGETHER.
So forgive me for not breaking down in tears for a family struggling on multiple times my own salary.
I've no idea what they spend their money on, but all I can say I've no problem coping with a fraction of what they've got.

Why should I feel sympathy for someone financially better off than myself?

So you can you feed a family with children and pay for electricity, fuel, heating etc on €109 per week?

hatrickpatrick

Rebelkell wrote: »

Indeed who hasn't had a sleepless night worrying about the washing machine breaking down.

Of course you haven't, if you hve the money to get it repaired. The prospect of having to get by in dirty clothes or wash everything by hand is not an issue for you, so of course it doesn't frighten you.

hatrickpatrick

Show Time wrote: »

65K a year they are on??



Not like they earn it the lazy b******s.

They are NOT on 65k per year, that's BEFORE any deductions.

Christ, how hard is it to understand the difference between gross and net pay?!

Rodin

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

So you can you feed a family with children and pay for electricity, fuel, heating etc on €109 per week?

Weren't utilities already taken out?

So can I feed a family on €109 a week? Absolutely

hatrickpatrick

Rodin wrote: »

Weren't utilities already taken out?

So can I feed a family on €109 a week? Absolutely

I didn't see utilities taken out anywhere, if it's in the article I must have missed it?
How many kids would be the limit for 109/week?

Rodin

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I didn't see utilities taken out anywhere, if it's in the article I must have missed it?
How many kids would be the limit for 109/week?

'' After tax, Universal Social Charge, pension, health insurance, mortgage and utility deductions, a typical weekly payslip shows a net payment of €109. ''

Boombastic

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

So you can you feed a family with children and pay for electricity, fuel, heating etc on €109 per week?

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I didn't see utilities taken out anywhere, if it's in the article I must have missed it?
How many kids would be the limit for 109/week?

You seem to have totally missed the article:p


Here you go

Now, the family’s total weekly income, including child benefit, is €807 net, according to Mabs. The following is its projected weekly expenditure, according to a schedule prepared by the same agency :

Mortgage (interest only): €280.00
Mortgage Protection Insurance €15,00
Buildings/Contents Insurance €7.00
Food/Housekeeping €200,00
Electricity Usage €25.00
Heat/Fuel Usage €25.00
TV licence €4.00
Waste Charges €5.00
Telephone/Other utilities €43.00
Transports costs €127.50
Educational costs (college registration fees, children’s uniforms) €75.00
Clothing/Footwear €60.00
Medical costs (insurance) €73.23
Repairs & Maintenance €20.00
Other Expenditure €84.00
Credit Union €50.00

Total €1,093.73

hatrickpatrick

^ So in other words, they have a €300 deficit per week, more or less.

The article says btw that they have €109 per week after deductions, so either someone isn't calculating properly or there's another deduction we're not considering here...

Shenshen

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

So you can you feed a family with children and pay for electricity, fuel, heating etc on €109 per week?

Probably not, no. But I can budget a salary that's more than twice my own (and more than my husband's and mine combined) to cover all bills, and then some.

I do not for one minute believe that they can't, either.

Boombastic

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

^ So in other words, they have a €300 deficit per week, more or less.

The article says btw that they have €109 per week after deductions, so either someone isn't calculating properly or there's another deduction we're not considering here...

Exactly!

looksee

€75 a week for school expenses, plus €60 for shoes? I can see at the beginning of the year there would be some expensive weeks, but €75 every week, all year round?

Shenshen

Boombastic wrote: »

You seem to have totally missed the article:p


Here you go

Now, the family’s total weekly income, including child benefit, is €807 net, according to Mabs. The following is its projected weekly expenditure, according to a schedule prepared by the same agency :

Mortgage (interest only): €280.00
Mortgage Protection Insurance €15,00
Buildings/Contents Insurance €7.00
Food/Housekeeping €200,00
Electricity Usage €25.00
Heat/Fuel Usage €25.00
TV licence €4.00
Waste Charges €5.00
Telephone/Other utilities €43.00
Transports costs €127.50
Educational costs (college registration fees, children’s uniforms) €75.00
Clothing/Footwear €60.00
Medical costs (insurance) €73.23
Repairs & Maintenance €20.00
Other Expenditure €84.00
Credit Union €50.00

Total €1,093.73

You know, looking at this, they're spending €200 a month on heating and another €200 on electricity.

I would suggest switching to energy saving bulbs, putting a timer on the imersion and the heating, making sure the lights are turned off when noone is in the room, and shopping around for a cheaper provider.
Oh, and cheaper phone provider, too.

GoldenLight

to the OP statement

Well I can't either on €186 a week (for everything), taking care of my Mother with Dementia and Cancer, but I'm not moaning about it (sorry I just did )

I'm sorry to hear they can't afford food, on €109 a week, that is plenty to feed a family of 4, for a week, when you budget.

I actually feel bad for a family that can't live off €65,000.00 a year, but if it was me I would actually be seriously thinking about changing my lifestyle.

When I was a teenager I slept under the dinning room table, so that my parents could put students in my room, it's a bleeding rough patch deal with it, and stop whinging to the press.:rolleyes:

Show Time

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

They are NOT on 65k per year, that's BEFORE any deductions.

Christ, how hard is it to understand the difference between gross and net pay?!

My bad.:D

Sappa

I would be highly sceptical that a Garda Sergeant does not own an investment property,isn't it schooled into them at the Garda college.

Grayson

See, if they are struggling now, they must have been pretty close to the limits of his wages before hand. That means they got a house that cost too much. Probably thought it'd go up in price and evertually they'd trade up to a mansion.

And that's their own fault. I don't see why the rest of the countries tax payers should stump up extra money in taxes so he can have a nice house. How much does he expect to get paid for his job? 100k?