Managing Your Money

Individuals and families are feeling the impact of national austerity measures and as a result, the amount of income left after paying for essential items is decreasing.

Managing Your Money

Individuals and families are feeling the impact of national austerity measures and as a result, the amount of income left after paying for essential items is decreasing.

This is yet another year that is delivering families and individuals some tough financial challenges. There are of course other factors that can contribute to financial difficulties such as illness, relationship breakdown an unexpected expense such as a fire, death, robbery etc. However, this financial year need not mean unnecessary stress and debt. Whatever your circumstances are we hope that by encouraging you to look at your finances honestly it will help you highlight where your money is going and start you on the first steps of budgeting and managing your money more effectively.

We need to change our view of and relationship with money. Budgeting is the key. While most of us find budgeting boring it is absolutely essential - a budget is a plan of money you expect to receive and how you expect to spend it.

A budget is important because it will show you:

  • How much money is coming into your household?
  • How much money is going out?
  • How much you can afford to offer to those you owe money to.
  • How you can best plan your spending in the future.

The Crosshaven & Carrigaline Credit Union Limited Top Golden Tips for Managing Your Money are:

Track

Keep track of your spending. Keep your receipts or take note of what you spend your money on. It will help you understand where your money is going and it might just be an eye-opener.

Budget

Estimate your income and expenditure for a set period and budget accordingly. But be realistic and don't underestimate!

Save

Get into the habit of saving. Try to save at least 5% of your regular income for emergencies.

Be Prudent

Shop around and get the best deals and look at cost comparison websites.

Borrowing

There are times in our lives when we run short of funds. If you have to take out a loan, be sure you only borrow what you can comfortably afford to repay. You should match the repayment term to the purpose of the loan i.e. don't make the mistake of paying off Christmas over a number of years. Best advice is to stay away from credit cards and not to use Money-Lenders.

How to Get Started

Successful budgeting requires that you take the time to examine your finances and determine your income and outgoings.

We all have times when our money runs out before the month does. It does not matter how much you earn; it is to the benefit of each of us to create a workable budget. A budget that is workable is one that you can stick to.

Therefore, it is very important to be realistic both when assessing your income and expenditure and also when setting your financial goals.

In these difficult times, working out a budget is even more important to help you make ends meet, cope with any emergencies and plan for the future.

Here are some tips to help you along the way:

Before planning your budget, it is important to see what it is that you are spending your money on. You can start a budget by simply writing down what you spend on a daily basis.

Ideally, you should do this over the period of a month. Remember, your budget is your personal tool and you can choose how much detail you want to include.

To help you in this exercise we have included a simple spending diary that you can fill in or print out.

When starting out, you may find it helpful to put your spending into categories, such as household, rather than keeping tabs onto individual expenses such as cat food, shampoo etc.

Some people might find it helpful to work with two groups of expenses:

  • Essentials- bills you must pay to keep your household and family running, such as utilities (Gas, Electricity), Housing, Groceries, etc.
  • Non-Essentials- entertainment, holidays, gifts, etc.

There are no rigid rules for creating a budget, the important thing is to make it flexible and realistic. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day, you are free to amend it as you go along to suit your circumstances. Best of luck.

Individuals and families are feeling the impact of national austerity measures and as a result, the amount of income left after paying for essential items is decreasing.

This is yet another year that is delivering families and individuals some tough financial challenges. There are of course other factors that can contribute to financial difficulties such as illness, relationship breakdown an unexpected expense such as a fire, death, robbery etc.

However, this financial year need not mean unnecessary stress and debt. Whatever your circumstances are we hope that by encouraging you to look at your finances honestly it will help you highlight where your money is going and start you on the first steps of budgeting and managing your money more effectively.

Managing Unexpected Expenses

It is inevitable that you will encounter unexpected expenses. At some time in all of our lives, things and events will crop up that we just didn’t see coming, whether it be something small such as a window breaking or something much larger such as a car accident or the passing of a loved one.

Some people worry that an unexpected bill will derail their budget. The best way to prevent this is to plan for it. We can not plan for the particular event, however, we can all be assured that these events will happen and make provision now for when the time arrives.

Try to save enough to give yourself a small buffer you can use in emergencies. It need not be anything too great if you cannot afford it. You would be surprised how quickly saving even €5 or €10 put away per week can build up if we do it consistently and stick with it.

Plant the acorns and watch them grow into a mighty oak.

What if I blow my budget?

Don’t lose heart, examine where you went wrong and try again.

If you have severely blown your budget, find yourself in financial turmoil, and can’t repay your debts the first thing to do is to remain calm.

It is important to contact the companies that you owe money to promptly and tell them you are having financial difficulties and want to discuss payment arrangements. This is particularly important if you’ve used your home, or other assets to secure the loan.

We offer many services aimed at improving access to financial services and encouraging financial inclusion.

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