Rent: 950, for 3 bedroom 4 miles out of village, which i share with my husband and teenage son.

Utilities: roughly 200 per month

Transport: We are lucky my son gets a bus to school which is free of charge. both my husband and i have a car, insurance each per month is 50 for me and 70 for husband, road tax is 25 per month for my car and 50 per month for his car. i spend 80 a month on petrol and he spends 200 a month on diesel.

Food: We spend 700 a month on food and this is just basics nothing to extravagent. We dont eat out to often, maybe only 3 or 4 times a year on special occasions. To eat out for 3 people would cost around 150 to 250 euro depending on type of restaurant , you could eat in a pub for around 70 euro.

Ireland is extremely expensive if you combine our two salaries we earn jointly 4 800 a month. not much left over at end of month.