[ENG] How Much I Spent in My First Month in Ireland 💸 (€X,000 Breakdown!)
🇮🇪 First Month in Ireland: My Working Holiday Budget Breakdown! 💰
Hey everyone! I’m sharing my first-month expenses in Ireland as a working holiday visa holder. I tracked everything from flights to daily spending, and honestly... it was eye-opening. 😅
If you're planning your WHV journey, this might give you a realistic idea of how much you'll need!
💸 How Much Did I Spend in My First Month?
✈️ Pre-Departure Expenses (Before Arriving in Ireland)
✅ Flight + Extra Baggage (23kg x3) → €940 (KRW 1,400,000)
✅ Long-term Travel Insurance → €200 (KRW 300,000)
🔹 Total Pre-Departure Cost → €1,140 (KRW 1,700,000)
📋 One Month in Dublin: Living Expenses (01/16 ~ 03/01)
📌 I traveled to Germany from 02/11 to 02/22, so I excluded those expenses from this breakdown.
👉 This is purely my cost of living in Dublin for 33 days!
✅ Spending Habits in My First Month
✔ No Language School → I didn’t enroll in a school immediately, as my goal was to find a job first.
✔ A LOT of Dining Out & Guinness 🍻 → I ate out almost every day and always had a pint or two of Guinness. Definitely a big expense. 😅
✔ High Accommodation Costs → I moved into long-term housing late, so I had to pay for homestay & a guesthouse at first. 🏡
💰 First Month’s Expenses
| Category | Total (€) |
|---|---|
| 🏠 Accommodation | €2,655 (Homestay, Guesthouse, Deposit + 1 Week Rent) |
| 🚋 Transport | €211.40 |
| 🍽️ Food | €268.94 |
| 🍻 Leisure (Incl. Drinks) | €642.48 |
| 📱 Phone Bill | €40.00 |
| 🛍️ Miscellaneous | €432.19 |
| 💵 Total | €4,250.01 (KRW 6,375,015 @€1=KRW 1,500) |
| 💸 Grand Total (Including Pre-Departure Costs) | KRW 8,075,015 (€5,390) |
🔥 Key Takeaways from My First Budget Breakdown
📌 €5,390 (~8M KRW) in the first month... what?! 😭
📌 Eating out & alcohol were my biggest expenses.
📌 Accommodation took a huge chunk of my budget. (Much cheaper after moving into my long-term place.)
💡 What I’m Doing to Save Money Now
✔ No more dining out – I cook at home now. 🍳
✔ Less alcohol – Guinness is great, but my wallet disagrees. 😂
✔ Budget tracking – Being more mindful of expenses.
🔜 Coming Up Next!
Next time, I’ll share my “budget-friendly lifestyle” update and how I’m managing my expenses better. Also, I’ll talk about the job-hunting process in Ireland!
If you found this helpful, let me know in the comments! 😊 Would you survive on this budget?
