THE total amount an Irish family is predicted to spend over the course of a year has been estimated.
According to the cost-of-living survey by AA Home Insurance published by The Irish Times , the cost of mortgage payments, food, childcare, schooling, driving and maintaining a car, phones and things such as socialising and insurance adds up to approximately €50,000 spending a year.
It's reported the cost of keeping a family home has risen by 3% since 2016 due to rising petrol prices and housing.
Conor Faughnan, director of consumer affairs for the AA spoke of the difficulties facing new parents who may still have yet to buy a home: "The big story for 2017 has been rising house prices and increased difficulty for those trying to get on the property ladder this year...However, for those fortunate enough to already own a home, 2017 hasn’t seen any major increases across the range of bills an average homeowner will face."
"For new buyers, the concern is that house prices are going up, especially in Dublin. However, one thing this piece of research does demonstrate is the effectiveness of shopping around. Across all the bills we factor into this study, you’ll see considerable variations between competitors. Spend a little time on the research and it can certainly save you money."
For those who already have houses to maintain and pay for, the survey conducted found that a typical homeowner will spend €707.75 on heating their home in 2017 and up to €857.81 on bills for electricity use.
Faughnan added: "Across all the factors that the AA measured, home-heating costs saw the largest jump, an unfortunate piece of news for homeowners as we move into the winter season...
"However, when you weigh up every cost a homeowner faces, there has only been a relatively modest increase this year, but unfortunately this largely applied to the post-purchasing costs. Getting a foot in the front door remains a challenge for many as a result of continued increases in house prices."
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