Perhaps this is a peculiarity of Irish tradesmen - tilers in particular...

My mother, father (gamecock - we roped him in - hehe) and myself are paying for getting my brother's kitchen tiled...

My mother is making all the deals... The tiler reckoned it would take him a day and a half - and he wanted 450 for just his own labour - we're buying all the materials etc...

My mother agreed to this - I was shocked but didn't make too big a deal as I didn't want to upset mother - I work in a graduate job in my home town and earn approx 500 a week after taxes... this guy wanted almost 500 (450) for a day and a half !!!!.... you gotta be kidding right ? In a country where the construction industry (new houses = tilers) has collapsed and unemployment in that sector is huge ???? (supply of tilers greater than demand)

And you can bet your bottom dollar he will not be declaring all his income to the Tax-man (self-employed)...

Grrrr...... :-)

Rant over.

Went to visit my best friend in Dublin yesterday... spent the night up there and went out partying...

Spent 183 euro in total..(including 20 euro that I "left" somehow in the back of a Taxi -drunk - Grrrr).

There it is.... I really enjoyed it tho... and today was a beautiful day weather-wise in Dublin...

So this is effectively my 3rd short vacation this month !! So my 30th is well and truly celebrated now !!

On a positive financial note, my friend doesn't think our July sun, sand and chasing girls holiday will happen due to his own financial goals and holidays with his gf... so thats 2000 I won't be spending :-) I am looking forward to taking a lot of long weekend breaks around Ireland this year - cheaper and lots of fum...

However, I think it is STILL possible for me to spend less than I earned this month (due mainly to working a lot of overtime recently).... which is pretty awesome when you consider I took 3 short vacations this month..

The tiling money for my brother's house is gonna come from money I had saved for night-class fees (and nearly deplete that account) so I won't be including it as money spent in my May budget.

My brother, whom I love dearly, is moving into a new home soon.

He's basically getting all his bits n pieces bought before he moves in. My family is paying for the vast majority of the stuff...

I'm a bit put out with this - in so far as why can't he make do initially and then buy stuff as he goes on - month by month. Now if he was buying the stuff himself, then fine but my older brother and parents are paying for a lot and they're earning less than/the same as him...

For example his budget for the kitchen floor only stretches to buy linolineum for 400/500.... However my mother, who is a homemaker with a very limited income, decided to buy him tiles for his kitchen floor for 1000 to 1100... she hasn't the cash for this & decided to get a loan to pay for them !!

I stressed that's it's a bad idea to get into debt for tiles when lino will do the job fine for a year or two... that will give my brother enough time to save for the tiles..

but no.... new tiles it is.

This probably sounds like jealousy on my part... and maybe it is to a small degree... But I am really really happy for my brother and wish him every happinesss....it's just that I don't like seeing mother taking on a loan for a non-essential item when my brother is earning more that she is - she's already bought him a new dining room table and chairs...

SO.. to stop her getting a loan... I offered to go half on the tiles... I was planning to give him 100 cash house-warming present but that's going to jump to 500/550 mainly to help my mother...

I'll take it from a fund I'd started for night-course fees and overtime....

I hate to sound like I'm begrudging my brother his good fortune... when I'm not...

I guess I'm just peeved at handing over a week's wages when I wasn't planning to...

that's how frugal I've become !!

But then I tell myself, I love my brother, wish him all the best and hope he gets good service out of the tiles for years - I can feel satisfied I did my bit to help him... and I guess you can't put a value on sibling relationships...

My EF is no longer an EF.....Its an Opportunity Fund... which I like the sound of... I said "I'll need if I lose my job"... She said "yeah, but losing your job will be an opportunity... if a chance at doing something you really love comes along you may need a bit of money to get yourself set-up"... or along those lines... good point.

Work-life balance. Currently I work on the evening shift which rules out a lot of social activities during the week- I live in a small town. That leaves the weekends. I've worked 7/8 of the last 10 weekends - 3/4 hrs overtime on a Saturday or Sunday morning. I find that getting up at 8 am on a weekend morning really knocks me out of my rhythm when I am used to getting up later during the week...

Action - Transfer to day shift when the opportunity arises. This will mean losing the evening shift premium, which will impact on my budget, but it will improve my work-life balance - so it is a good idea. Also no more overtime at weekends. I normally work overtime on weekdays in addition to the weekend work. I've decided to cap the overtime at just during the week and keep the weekends entirely to myself (until I get on the day shift at least).

When we looked at my "Wheel of Life" my family relationships and finances were the 2 strongest areas. A big thank you to all the bloggers here for helping get my financial plans in order !!! kiss kiss :-) (not you BA ! hehe).

My weakest areas were Personal Growth and Relationships/Friendships so I'm gonna be directing my attention to those areas (e.g. at the now free weekends).

The next stage is where we determine what my values are. These are things I need to have present in my life in order to feel complete. When I determine what these are, then I will think about decisions in terms of whether they're compatible with my values or not...

so definitely a positive experience so far !

I've reduced my Target EF from 6 mths take-home pay to 4 mths take home pay.

I think that is plenty for a single guy without a mortgage.

It will mean I can start saving up a deposit that bit sooner...

Saw an ad up in a local shop...

Not sure how qualified these guys are... I'm pretty sure most Irish ones don't have Degrees in Psychology...maybe just a 6 month course or the like..

Then again there are uber-qualified doctors who would bore the last drop of inspiration out of the most inspired....

I guess it really depends on the individual coach.

Rang one today and she came across as really positive on the phone....basically all areas of your life are up for discussion...

Its 240 for 4 sessions and you get the 5th one free - so works out at 48 per session. If I go every fortnight that works out at 24 per week - I can live with that - the cost of 4/5 beers a week.

The reason I made an appointment on Thursday is that I hope these sessions could actually help me save money by:

Determining what my passions are
Defining a plan to bring me closer to them
Implementing the necessary changes..

You see I don't want to spend 5 years wandering around in my thoughts, half-formed dreams lost in the tedium of work, rest and exercise - spending money on things that I think will lift me but that invariably bring me no closer to a permanent sense of fulfillment....

I think the help of a professional could be good for me...

Has anyone else tried one of these ?

To buy a TV..

My best friend was visiting and we were discussing my love life (or lack thereof !) hehe....

We were saying we should make the most of my apartment and turn it into a social place for congregation post night-club. My current TV is a 14" portable. He reckons I need at least a 37".

This weekend an electrical retailer was offering 2 years interest-free credit. Very tempting. Yet didn't indulge. There are a few things I want to buy before a TV...(I don't really watch it that much)

The thought of taking on a monthly payment was like kyrptonite to me... yes thats have bad/frugal I have become... I've decided to save up the money at some point in the next year or two and buy one than.

Also, my friend suggested we go on a "late-deal" holiday in July. The flights and accomodation will be cheap but spending on partying could bring the cost up to 1000 euro or more.

A lot of money. The main objective would be to meet females also on holiday, party and get laid....

My friend is confident with women.. and it would be fun... even a learning curve for me.... When we discussed it I was up for it... but now I'm having second thoughts due to the money involved...

but I also thinking... this is a good chance to spend fun time with your best friend; have some sun, sand and hopefully sex; you only live once ( thinking about my recent 30th birthday and the lack of love life in my 20s)

hmmm.... I could just save like crazy up until July so that it won't throw me off track financially too much ?

Inspired by ceejay74, I've decided to do a budget to reflect my finances should I become unemployed. It is, dear Readers, as follows:

Rent 500
Debt Repay 555
Food 180
Electricity 50
Internet/TV 41
General bits 50

Total 1376

Social welfare 720

So a pretty big deficit of 656 a month.

Thsi 656 would have to come from EF. Also I would be waiting for 3/4 months for the social welfare to get processed.

Hmmm... moving swiftly on... if I was debt free - my last Debt repayment is in October 2010, then the deficit would only be 100 per month... MUCH more manageable.

Also, I wasn't expecting to add anything to my EF this month due to my 2 short holidays but it looks like I will be able to !!! Due to overtime, good fortune etc..

I love this world !! :-)

years

on this planet... breathing on my own...

Just back in home town after spending 2 nights in the West of Ireland... had a great time... one of highlights was vising Kylemore Abbey - home to Benedictine nuns... beautiful place.

I'm making a Banoffi pie for my family this evening... will be spending some times with them this evening/tonight and tomorrow it's off to Belfast for 2 nights !! I'm tracking my spending and hoping to pay for the 2 trips out of my April and May budgets...

I'm kinda of a delayed reaction guy... being 30 hasn't affected me yet... but I have decided to look on it as follows:

There are things I didn't experience in my 20s that I would have liked to - due to shyness, low self-esteem, lack of practice, lack of courage and even fear of a lot of work....well I've decided to look at my 30s as a do-over of my 20s (with the benefit of hindsight)...

So that when I reach 40, I can sit down, drink a coffee and think "yeah, what a ride !!"

It is funny that 10 years into the future seems so far way but 10 years into the past seems like last week ? hehe

Here's to health, happiness and Fun !!! :-)

My Honda is due a service so I booked it in with the closest Honda Dealership.

My brother & father think I'm crazy and should get it serviced by an independent garage that services anything and everything - cars, vans, lorries etc etc.

I know that the independent garage will be cheaper but I don't know what quality of service they will give the car.

I have doubts about:

Their knowledge of Honda cars.
The parts they will put into car.
Whether they will just do the bare minimum - change oil, filters etc.

I know the Main Dealer is equally capable of checking the bare minimum... but I'm hoping that they will have serviced 100s of cars like mine and through experience have learned to look out for certain things.

Also the Main Dealer will stamp the Service Log and that will be helpful when selling the car - (I'm no plans to do this - will hopefully get 8 or so more years of it until it becomes valueless anyway).

I bought it from a Main Dealer who said it had a Full Service History - closer examination of log book revealed it missed a couple of services - so I guess you can't trust Main Dealers either ??

What do you think ?

So my 30th B-day travels are now booked!!

2 nights in Galway in the West of Ireland - went to college there - great city.

The next night I'll be at home with my family for the actual B-day night.

Then the next day I'm off to Belfast (Northern Ireland) for 2 nights - never been there...

Staying in hotels for the 4 nights - got decent value - 60 euro per night in Galway and 72.50 sterling per night in Belfast.

To be honest, 4 nights away is kinda strething the budget but you're only 30 once right !! :-)

You see, I refinanced my debt 2 weeks ago and the new loan payments don't start until May so I had no loan repayment in April at all.

I was planning on adding that money to my EF. However, I then decided to spend it on my 30th B-day travels...

I hope to be able to pay for the two trips in their entirety out of my April and May budgets... it's just that my EF won't get any additional funding in those 2 months... but I can get back into that in June !! :-) I'll be so much older and more sensible then !! hehe

Need some uplifting in these times of apparent doom and gloom ??

A 47 yr old Scottish woman, unemployed but looking, who has never been married. In fact, she's never been kissed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

A cell phone sales man from Wales who has always struggled with self-confidence issues:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

And this is just something I can't help but share with the female bloggers here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWNoiVrJDsE

Enjoy !! :-)

Money can't buy what these guys have.

My 30th B-day extravaganza celebration travels have suffered the following downgrades:

1. Once in a life-time month-long trip of a life-time to Peru.

to

2. A long weekend in Berlin, Germany.

to currently

3. A night or two in some cool city in Ireland or a night or two in England (drive over on the ferry).

mmmm how awfully sensible of me !!

This is in the name of not overextending myself financially and keepeing to my goals as outlined on sidebar.

Ah well... At least I'm gainfully employed at the moment and I know I have a million things to be grateful for.

btw... the Peru and Berlin trips will happen... just not until I have all the money for them saved up in advance....

OOmmomph... this personal finance thing is hard work sometimes !!! hehe

Last week - on the day that the annual Government Credit Card Tax kicks in so I avoided paying it !! Wooooohhh !! 30 saved.

You see I paid off my CC debt about a year ago but kept the CC because it was useful for booking stuff online and I changed to a CC which gave me points for every euro spent - I could then convert these points into credit for my mobile/cell phone.

Well on 1st April got an email saying that the company was cutting the rewards point by half.

So...

Closed CC.

Moved checking account to a Bank which provides a VISA debit card - can use online but you can only spend what you have in your checking account.

AND the checking account pays 7% interest on balances up to 2000 - which happens to be the size of EF currently. So my EF has a new home... a very productive home !!

Big Smile !! One little victory for a consumer against the Banking Megaliths...

Well I don't really have a garden as I live in a 2nd floor apartment but I do have a balcony which I intend to make the most of... My family home has a garden but my Dad does most of the work on that.

So today I bought:

A compost bin for my balcony. I hope this doesn't smell too much or attract too many flies or dirty the balcony too much... we'll see... just want to recycle as much organic matter as possible.

A strawberry growing kit.

A mushroom growing kit - for indoors.

A growbag which is just a bag with compost in it. You make holes in the bag itself and just plant the seeds in the holes. Ideal for balconies.

Bought 2 packets of Lettuce seeds to put into growbag. Apparently I'll have leaves in 6 weeks. I can harvest some leaves and they'll just grow back !! Great !!

Also spent 25 taking my cousin's son and 2 of his friends to the bowling alley - had a good time - the kids seemed to really enjoy it - it was raining most of today.

So moved into my apartment a week ago... still have a few things to get e.g. vacuum cleaner, iron, 2 bins, compost bin and maybe a few plants.

Yesterday, my job held a get-together for those employees who had perfect attendance in 2008, of which I'm one, and gave us all 100 euro vouchers !!

100 euro, spent wisely, could just about cover the items above. It also turns out my mother has an iron she doesn't use !!

This week it really seems like the world is really helping me out !! And I am very Grateful.

p.s. I missed 2 days last week due to viral illness so no award next year - I got the email about attendance award on my return to work !! hehe

So I've been waiting for the Internet to be connected to my new apt for over 2 weeks now... no explanation been given for the delay...

Called imto store several times and called...no phone calls back to update me.... so today I researched an alternative internet provider...

Went into original store and basically said "I'm gonna cancel with you and go with Company X who can have me online tonight". They said they couldn't get in contact with installer....

Lo and behold... knock on door 2 hrs ago and set up by original provider within 30 mins.....

Jeez... all that fuss over nothing !! It's hard to believe there are small companys dragging their feet connecting new customers in this recessionary environment...

Ah well... threatening to walk away did the trick !!

I'm in one of those hellishly expensive places called Internet Cafes... have no choice tho as my home Internet is cancelled and I am waiting for the Internet to be connected in my new apartment.

Anyways....in this News Bulletin

1. Bungee Jump

Drove down to the bungee place. Looked at a girl do it before me... i.e fall off the edge screaming !! Climbed the tower in a relatively calm state of mind. When I got to the edge of the platform, after been harnassed up, I freaked out. I looked down and that was it. There was no way I was going to do it. Told the instructor twice I can't do it. He was a fantastic guy and told me I could. Looking out off that platform just terrified me... with the trees WAY down below me. Anyways I told him I'm gonna close me eyes and count down from 10. He said 10 isn't allowed. They only do 5. So I close my eyes and 2 seconds later just leant forward...... and next thing I know...... I'm off !!!

Terrifying upsidedownside feeling.... swinging and bungeeing wildly..... HOPING... those leg straps will hold tight !!!! being lowered down onto a net and feeling my back hit the net and saying "Thank God !!"

2. Today I got the keys to my apartment. A new chapter in my life has opened. In the process of moving at the moment - hence no Internet :0(. It will all come together soon tho !!

Anyhow... am a big concerned about my mother... once or twice today I caught her looking a bit teary-eyed and I don't want to upset her by her watching me moving all my stuff out..... I'm not moving to another country... just moving to an apartment in my home town....

still, nobody likes to make their mother upset... any suggestions as to how to make as small an impact on her as possible ??

Gotta go... as I'm probably being charged by the SECOND !! lol

Well I decided a few weeks to do a bungee jump to celebrate my 30th B-day...

I'm afraid of heights so it really would be a challenge for me...

Anyways my B-day isn't until the start of May and today I thought to myself: "Why don't I just drive down to the place on Saturday and do it - get it over with".

I'm calm as I write this...yet I know I will be calling myself every name under the sun as I travel down there !!

I know tho that the only way to get this Bungee thing out of my head is to just do it. I'm stubborn like that.

Anyways... looked up website and its 35 a pop... which doesn't seem too bad... I'm hoping it will be a real thrill and sense of achievement.... (stomach turning aspect aside !)

I LUV Van Morrison !! One of his works of beauty is a song called Keep it Simple.

I've been messing about with my April Budget... I've moving into my own place this weekend so the look of the budget is going to change...

What I'm wondering is do you guys find it easier to just concentrate on one goal at a time, complete it and then move on to the next ?

Or do you have 3/4 different active goals at the same and knock little pieces off each as you go along ?

Which approach has worked best for you ?

Hi all.... back under new management...

29 yr old soon to be 30 yr old bungee-jumping apartment living hero !!

oh yeah.... and modest too :-)

Bank shares... One Irish Bank has already been nationalised. The two big banks, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks, have had billions pumped into them by the Government in a recapitalisation effort. Their share prices have dropped hugely.

For example, Allied Irish Banks current share price is approx 0.60 Euro. This time last year it was approx 12.80 Euro.

However a self-made billionaire investor, who even has his own bank, recently purchased AIB shares. Obviously he is not expecting it to be nationalised in the near future and he is optimistic of an increase in share value.

All the radio pundits are saying avoid bank shares like the plague.

It has just occurred to me that these are the same pundits who advised us to get on the property ladder before it is out of reach - stoking the housing bubble fire.

Well...what about going against the pundits, following a billionaire investor and adopting a contrarian approach (a bit like Mr Buffett) and buying 100 or 200 euro worth of AIB shares.

Post recession, say 4/5 years from now, they could be worth (pie-in-sky figures I know) say 6 - 10 euro.... a 1000% increase on my investment...

What you think ?

Just squeezed it in before midnight !! hehe