Budget 2024, West Cork style!

From hand-me-downs to bulk cooking, Emma Connolly reveals canny tips to save money. Good news for your family coffers but it might be bad news for the youngest siblings…

• THE airwaves and papers are full of talk and speculation ahead of Budget 2024 and to be honest, I’m tuning out and switching off.

I can’t imagine anything will be announced on October 10th that will drastically change my circumstances, but at the same time I don’t underestimate the task of trying to deliver something that will please everyone, at the same time. 

It’s a big ask, and it got me thinking though of some of my own favourite budgeting hacks which I’ll share this week … mind you, all of them come with a serious health warning (in other words, have a read but probably don’t follow them, given that most of the time I’m living entirely off my wits) ...

One obvious money saver is hand-me-downs. As well as being a great way to save a few quid, it’s a sustainable thing to do. A win-win for everyone – just depending on where you come in the family. I’m the youngest of three girls, and we were quite often dressed in the same outfits. That made for cute family photos, but it also meant that I wore pretty much the same outfits for an entire decade. I had my own garment, and when I outgrew that, there was not one, but two similar versions waiting patiently in the wardrobe for me. 

I’m reminded especially of these pink wool coats the three of us got one Christmas. To say these were durable, is the understatement of the century. Hats off to whoever made them because they were indestructible, and believe me I tried my best to wreck them, pulling one thread at a time. It was the same with these Grannie Grunt dresses we had (big collars, ribbons, sort of Little House on the Prairie meets Laura Ashley vibe). 

The first one was cute, the second one was less so, and by the time I got into the third, I think I was nearly 12 and it felt like a form of torture. Naturally when you get a bit older, hand me downs aren’t an option so the money saving advice in middle-age is to shop your wardrobe – in other words have a root around at the back for stuff you haven’t worn in ages. Flares are back in I’m told so we’re in luck, but for everything else be on the look-out for the fashion
police!

• Batch cooking is another thrifty practice. The advice is to make the most of the oven being turned on and get as many dinners cooked as you can. Basically it involves lots of saucepans with lots of mincemeat on the go for dishes like meatballs, lasagne, shepherd’s pie, Bolognese, etc. You have to remain laser focused (no phone calls or Instagram browsing allowed), as one wrong move and you could lose a finger and it will all turn out a gigantic mess. I’m speaking from experience: I tried it once and my kitchen was a mess, I was a hot mess, and just like always, nobody ate the dinners despite my hours of toil. Anyway, thank the lord for the more economical air fryers and the super-handy slow cookers.

Finance Minister Michael McGrath might be able to take a few tips from Emma Connolly! (Photo: Shutterstock)

• Of course the very basic advice when it comes to budgeting, is not to spend what you don’t have. I know – a mind blowing concept! I heard a financial expert on the radio applying this approach to your summer holiday. His advice was this: if your holiday cost you €4,000 this year, that breaks down to €333 every month, and if you can’t afford to set that amount aside in your piggy bank, then basically you can’t afford to go on holiday, or you need to go on a different type of holiday. Harsh! But I can see clearly where I’ve been going wrong all these years now.

• I did make one significant saving during the week, and got a chance to take a trip down memory lane. Our childhood piano had been residing in my sister’s house with my nephews making good use of it until recently. Now, with my own smallie taking lessons, Jeffers of Bandon, where it was bought from nearly 40 years ago, moved it to our place, and while we’re not ready for Carnegie Hall (yet) it’s great to see that it’s still going strong – even if the dog is exhausted from trying to find a quiet corner to snooze in. This is the third home it has taken up residence in, which is sustainability at its best – it was just a pity that I smashed into smithereens a treasured vase belonging to my great grandmother when I was moving a table to make space for it. Never a dull moment.

• Of course when the Smyths toy shop catalogue arrived in post boxes around the country this week, any possibility of saving money went straight out the window. I considered saying ours didn’t arrive, or thought about hiding it away for a few more weeks yet but I relented for a quiet life. Besides, I read some place that the catalogue encourages kids to read and – as well as encouraging their appetite for consumerism. 

Santa better watch is all I’ll say! Oh fyi, I still haven’t booked our Santa visit despite all my talk last week. I’ve actually been too busy trying to get panto tickets. Turns out they’re in very short supply too. Oh yes they are!

• Finally, I have to say that I’m really, really missing Ryan Tubridy on the TV and radio. I’m not about to knock Patrick Kielty who has only two shows under his belt, except to say that he might benefit from a bit of bronzer next week as I find his ghostly pale complexion wildly distracting; oh and his guests seats also look very uncomfortable (just me?). As for the ‘Nine O’Clock Show,’ fair play and all to Maura Derrane for giving it a go but it’s obviously not as easy as Ryan has made it look for all those years. 

Brendan Courtney is my favourite stand-in so far, he’s back this week, but there’s still a big Tubs-shaped hole in my week day mornings and that’s for sure. At least he’s broken his radio silence and is getting more prolific on Instagram so I’m getting a little fix, but it really is a case of not knowing what you’ve got til it’s gone. Except of course for when it comes to pink coats.