Caitríona Redmond: How to set a family budget to avoid a rolling debt

Plus my recipe for Irish pie

You could eat this pie still warm from the oven, or you could wait for it to go completely cold

How do you allow for all the costs during the year, ensure the bills are paid, there are enough savings for special occasions, and not end up pulling your hair out in frustration? I’d love to tell you it’s easy to manage the family budget, but it’s not. Setting up a management system will take time. I’m not going to pull wool over your eyes. My best advice is to put the time in today, and you’ll find it much easier in the future.

Pull together all of your bank statements for the past year, household bills, school bills, and spending records. It’ll probably take you some time so take a break once you have a big satisfying (intimidating) pile on your desk. Compile a spreadsheet of all your spending. Online banking normally allows you to download a “.csv” file to analyse and this is very helpful too. If you’ve never ever done a spending spreadsheet the first will take ages. The good news is that once set up it’s sorted for the next time and easy to maintain.

Bunch costs under sections such as “utilities” for electricity and heat, “housing” for rent/mortgage, and “groceries”. Some categories won’t change through the year, others are bunched expenses that happen at the same time each year, for example back to school expenses, car tax, or Christmas. Don’t forget to add in your income; you can’t work out a family budget unless you know how much you have to spend.

If your earnings are monthly then divide your costs across 12 months so you know how much you need to save for the bunched expenses. If you get paid weekly, then divide your costs by 52 weeks, 26 weeks for fortnightly payments.

Consider moving to monthly payment plans for utility bills. Most utility providers offer a monthly payment plan so you pay the same amount every month and don’t get hit with a surprise big bill in the middle of winter. I do this for the gas and electricity. It makes it so much easier to plan.

Ideally you’d have enough savings to cover at least one full month of your costs in case of an emergency — that’s housing, household, groceries, and more. That might seem pie in the sky right now but consider taking your full month of costs and dividing the cost by 52 weeks so that you can start accruing it over the year ahead.

If you have a car then you factor in an annual tyre change, and at least one full service. If you need an NCT this year include its cost too. Don’t be disheartened. It will take time to figure out this family budget, and you can do it and manage your budget well so that you don’t get into rolling debt.

Home truths

I’m selective about what I put on the table each week. I chase value when I go shopping but I also prize quality — I buy products I believe in. On my ingredients-led shopping list I always prioritise items that are not only produced in Ireland but also local to my area if possible.

I believe that Irish core produce — fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy — is the best in the world. Think cured meats, creamy yoghurts, and a smear of golden butter on warm baked bread.

There is a wide range of food cupboard choices for us to select, from outstanding organic oats, jams made with beautiful Irish berries and preserved for another day, to honey from a select few beekeepers, and confectionary such as nougat, chocolate, and biscuits.

If I am to measure my wealth by the Irish ingredients in my presses, fridge, and freezer I am an saibhir or maybe even rich beyond measure. Yes, even with sticking to my pesky grocery budget.

Irish Pie

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond

You could eat this pie still warm from the oven, or you could wait for it to go completely cold, wrap it in a snug covering of greaseproof paper, then put it in the fridge overnight. Some meals are best if you can resist eating them for a while.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 2 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 300g shortcrust pastry

• 20g butter

• 2 large leeks, cleaned and

• roughly chopped

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

• ½ head of savoy cabbage,

• finely sliced

• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

• 100g strong cheddar, cubed

• Beaten egg (for decoration)

Method

1. Cut the pastry into 2 pieces — 200g and 100g. Roll out the larger piece of pastry on a floured smooth surface until about ½cm thick. Line a medium (9cm diameter) springform tin with the rolled pastry, eaving the edges of the pastry hanging over the side. Place into the fridge. Cover the smaller piece of pastry and put it into the fridge until later.

2. Take a large frying pan, place it onto a medium heat and melt the butter. Gently fry off the leeks until they just begin to soften. Add the potatoes and coat in the leek/butter mixture. Stir around until the edges of the potatoes begin to soften. Add the finely sliced cabbage and ground nutmeg, stir well and remove the pan from the heat.

3. Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes before stirring in the cubes of cheese.

4. Preheat a fan oven to 180°C.

5. Remove the lined tin from the fridge and trim the excess pastry. Fill the lining/pastry case with the cooked vegetable mixture. Roll out the reserved smaller piece of pastry and use this to cover the top of the pie. Tuck all the extra edges inside the casing and crimp (pin with your fingers) the edges together to create a seal.

6. Put the tin onto a baking tray and place into the oven for 50 minutes.

7. After 50 minutes, leaving the oven on, gently take out the pie and remove from the tin. Put the pie back onto the baking tray. Brush with a little beaten egg and return it to the oven for a further 20-30 minutes, until a dark golden colour. Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool before serving (or see instructions above to keep the pie for the following day).