Galway Advertiser 2005/2005_03_10/GA_1003_E1_018.pdf 

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Galway Advertiser

March 10 2005

NEWS

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FASHION

BEAUTY

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H E A LT H

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LIFE

MARY
Last month everything seemed so much brighter. You had just got paid and seemed flush with cash. That was until you did the weekly shop, had a few nights out with friends and paid the mortgage. Now your bank balance looks very miserable and you are trying to devise ingenious ways of stretching out your remaining euro to the next pay day. Or maybe the scenario is much more bleak. Perhaps you are struggling on benefits with a young family. You find it hard to make ends meet, the bills are mounting up and you feel constantly overwhelmed by it all. For many people, debt and money problems are a way of life, says Anne Walsh, a local lifecoach who gives workshops on money management. "It's horribly easy to slip into debt. Credit has never been so easily available, interest rates are low and we are bombarded by messages to consume and enjoy. It's almost unheard of for people to actually save up for anything. It's just too easy to go to the local lending agency and get a top-up loan." But family situations can change and this is when financial problems often rear their heads. "People can get sick, children arrive on the scene with the difficult choices of childminder versus stay at home parent. All of a sudden, the credit card bills seem to be swelling and it seems so much easier to make the minimum payment and ignore the rest. However, it all catches up with you in the end. Reality can hit when one of your cheques bounces or your credit card is refused. It's then time to take a long cold look at your finances." Of course, you do not need to be cash strapped before you opt for a financial makeover. Managing your money is something you can learn or begin to practise at any time. Sometimes, a milestone such as getting married, buying a house or changing jobs can be just the trigger you need to take action. So where should you start? Ms Walsh advises you to approach the task in a step-by-step way. This will make the job appear more manageable and you will be more likely to succeed. 1. Accept you have a problem: The first step is to acknowledge that you have a problem with money, be it that you do not have enough or that you fritter it all away on useless things. 2. Get a money buddy. This could be your spouse or a family friend. Make sure it is someone who is a good financial manager but who is also supportive. Or you could contact MABS, the money advice budgeting service at (091) 569349 or www.mabs.ie 3. Know your income: Begin by recording your income from all the various sources. Include overtime payments, child benefit etc. This is normally relatively straightforward (unless you are self-employed whereby simply reviewing a couple of months' bank statements will give you a good idea). 4. List your outgoings. Write down all the money you owe. Include car loans, mortgage and credit card bills. Identify the monthly payment on these. 5. Keep tabs on day-to-day expenses. For the next month, write down everything you spend each day in a notebook. Or you could collect

O'CONNOR

Managing your money

For many people, debt and money problems are a way of life, says Anne Walsh, a local lifecoach who gives workshops on money management. 10. Get creative. Instead of seeing receipts and keep them in a box. By * Eat out once a week instead of this as a dreary exercise to squeeze the end of the month you should have every day the life out of you, why not see it as a clear picture of where your money * Get a smaller car. You will make an interesting challenge to get the is really going. Expect to be considerable savings on fuel, tax and same level of enjoyment but at a surprised. insurance. And it's more much cheaper price? Shop in environmentally friendly cheaper stores, look out for bargains, 6. Balance the books. Now compare * If you want to buy something develop other hobbies and interests your income with your expenditure. really expensive, mull over it for 30 that do not drain you financially. Identify how much of a monthly gap days. You may find your mind has Keep in mind that this is all being you have. changed by then done to get you in good financial * Consider swopping skills with shape. 7. Elimination Round: At this stage someone else. If your neighbour is a you should be able to identify areas keen gardener maybe he would tidy up 11. Assess your progress. Do this where you can cut back or eliminate your lawn while you help him with his after a month. Review how your (at least until you get your finances computer spending has changed and see how back on track). * Buy your groceries online and much you are saving each week. have them delivered 8. Start saving. Even if it's only a * See if you can split household 12. Debt-busting: Try to pay your small amount, it all adds up. Get into maintenance expenses with a credit card bill in full every month. If the habit of putting some money neighbour you cannot do that right now, aside weekly. * Get a commuter ticket if you use consider moving your credit card public transport balance to one of the many providers 9. Finger off the trigger. An * Take holidays during the week offering free balance transfers and important part of changing your instead of at the weekend. You will six months 0 per cent credit. Then, spending habits is actually save a lot on fares and hotel come up with an amount that you can identifying what triggers your accommodation realistically pay every month to clear spending. Do you shop when you are * When you finish paying off your the balance. Set it up as a direct debit feeling fed-up? Or are you tempted by car loan transfer the amount you so that it happens automatically. It's sale signs and the prospect of a would normally pay to a savings going towards a bigger goal. bargain or want to be the first with account the last gadget or boys' toy? Take the * Declutter your home and sell off time to write down these triggers. anything you do not want at a car boot Then decide what you need to do to sale. avoid them. If you spend a lot of * If you pay more off your mortgage money on clothes, make a conscious now, you could save money over the decision not to purchase any for a term of your loan * Bring your lunch to work. month. If you are spending 100 a week on entertainment, go out once a month instead. If your credit card is Anne Walsh is running a Master Your Money workshop at DMIT your downfall, ask your money buddy Computer Training Centre, Ballybrit Industrial Park (near Quicktec) on to take care of it, only releasing it for Saturday April 2 from 10am to 1pm. The cost is 60. You can register online emergencies! at www.masteryourmoney.net (click on upcoming workshops) or send a text to (087) 2825578 for a booking form.

Saving without suffering