Hi everyone,
I have been activily reading the blog and also reading some on the forum for quite a while now and would love to get some advice on my personal financial situation. My situation is like this:
28 year old European woman who lives of about 1000 a month. Due to illness (starting from teenage years and therefor not able to work enough) and lack of education (had to give it up as I got sick. Have high school diploma but never able to finish a college education) my income is very limited. Here is an outline of my spending:
Mortgage: 230
Electric/gas: 110
Water (including various taxes): 25
Local taxes: 80
Health insurance: 93
Home/liability insurances: 17
Internet: 22,50
Maintenance: 9
Food/toiletries: 200
Gym: 15
Various healthcare costs: 50
Mortgage: very low, would never be able to rent for that kind of money. There is a spare bedroom but I live in an area with more than enough housing and no interest in rooms. No colleges or such around.
Electric/gas: Used to be 150, brought it down thru cheap insulation and lowering temperature during winter. Am actively trying to bring it down even more but as I already keep temperatures low in winter and try to do laundry as little as I can (some handwashing for clothes helps) and have LED bulbs and other electricity saving options I dont know how much lower I can bring it.
Taxes: set amounts.
Health insurance: is not optional where I live. I have the most basic version I could find and got a small discount for paying annually instead of monthly. I do this by setting the monthly amount in my savings and once a year pay them in full.
Home insurances: cheapest options I could find while still having the basic insurances. I have no extra insurance or insurances that I am not legally obligated to have.
Internet: cheapest I could find anywhere. I have no tv/cable or phone plan. Internet is my only cost.
Maintenance: monthly payment for maintenance on water heater/heating for the house. Needed for safety reasons and is the most affordable option.
Food/toiletries: trying to get this lower but so far having trouble even staying at this amount, let alone under it. Using frugality websites like these to help and do some meal planning and keeping to basic bulk items.
Gym: the cheapest subscription offered by my gym or any gym in the area. Great as a hobby, for social contacts and to improve my health. Really want to keep this for those reasons but should perhaps cancel due to costs.
Various healthcare costs: these vary per year but so far this year I spent around 600 that was not covered by my health insurance. So about 50 a month. There is another bill coming though of which I dont know the amount yet. Actual costs counted per month might be higher therefor.
Then there are the costs that happen every so often like needing some new clothes or shoes, small maintenance around the house, busfare to visit a family member or friend (only once in a while and when it is too far to go by bike) etc. These can vary ofcourse. I don’t really buy clothes when I dont need them so I can go without buying them for a long time but when I need boots or a winter coat it can add up quickly.
So, this is the point where I apologize for such a long story and thank anyone who has made it this far and is willing to offer their advice. :D
Assuming these costs stay the same that leaves very little to none to spare each month. Luckily I have a small emergency fund of around 3000.
Right now I am hoping to save, by being more frugal, 75 to a 100 a month (and more whenever possible). But what would be the wisest thing to do with it? The options I came up with:
-Saving account (hardly any interest)
-Paying down extra on mortgage (will only be a small amount extra a year but mortgage is also small at 50.000)
-Invest this amount every month and use it for the long run. Setting it aside for years to help with mortgage or something down the line.
-Education. As I never finished any education past high school I would love nothing more than to get an education and hopefully when I get better get a fulltime job. However my illness prevends me from attending a regular school as it is now, meaning that I can only take courses offered though online sources which is way more expensive allowing me to only take one or two classes at the time. I have already done a couple of classes this way, it takes way too long to get any degree at this speed though and courses available where mostly art/philosophy related uni courses, not something that would help much in finding a job in the future.
-Education in some more practical skill instead of uni. Would not know what. Not very much available where I live and no knowledge of what is sought after and within my abilities/skillset.
Are there any options for being more frugal that I haven’t thought of? Any tips on what best to do with the little money I can save? Basically I feel rather stuck at the moment. I have always been a very good student and working hard, when I got sick all plans derailed and quite a few years passed. Now that I am in my late twenties I don't know where to best go from here.