🕳️ Money Leak Checker
Where is my money actually going?
Most households can name their rent and their car payment and are vague about everything else. The vague part is usually where the money is. This adds up every recurring cost, ranks them by size, and marks the ones that are normally negotiable in Ireland.
Figures reviewed September 2026. Free, no signup, nothing stored on our servers.
What this means
The figure at the top is what your household spends in a year on the costs you entered. It is arithmetic on your own numbers, not an estimate — which is why it is usually higher than people expect. Twelve months of a €65 mobile bill is €780, and nobody thinks of it that way.
The ranking matters more than the total. Effort spent on the largest negotiable line returns more than effort spent on three small ones, and most people do the opposite: cancelling a €9 subscription feels decisive while a €2,400 insurance renewal goes through on autopilot.
There is no “you could save” figure on this page, and that is deliberate. What you could actually save depends on your contract dates, your usage, your credit rating and what the market will offer you today. Anyone quoting you a number without knowing those things is guessing.
What affects the result
- How honestly the irregular costs are averaged — a car is not free in the eleven months between services.
- Whether annual bills are divided by twelve. Insurance and motor tax are monthly costs paid once.
- Whether both incomes and both sets of outgoings are included for a two-person household.
- Contract status. A cost is only negotiable when you are out of contract or the exit fee is small.
- Whether a cost is genuinely fixed. Rent is hard to change; a mortgage rate is not.
Where is my money actually going?
The order to attack things in
Once you can see the ranking, the sequence is usually the same for Irish households. Energy first, because switching supplier takes about ten minutes and the discount for new customers is real and repeatable — compare electricity and gas tariffs. Then debt, because the interest is a cost with no service attached — work out when it clears. Then insurance, because the renewal quote is almost never the best available price.
The costs people forget entirely
Three categories are systematically under-reported when people do this by hand: the car (people count fuel and forget tax, insurance, servicing and tyres — the true cost calculator is usually a shock), bank and card fees, and small subscriptions that renew annually. Together they routinely account for a four-figure sum nobody had in their head.
What to do with the surplus
If the sums leave you with money at the end of the month, the order that most Irish financial guidance agrees on is: a small emergency fund first, then expensive debt, then pension contributions (which attract tax relief at your marginal rate), then everything else. The emergency fund calculator and the pension gap calculator size the first and third of those.
Important assumptions
Every figure on this page rests on these. Where one does not match your situation, the answer moves — sometimes a great deal.
- Every figure is yours. Nothing is estimated, averaged or filled in for you.
- Categories marked "usually negotiable" are ones where switching or renegotiating is normally possible in Ireland. That is a general statement, not a prediction about your contract.
- Nothing you type leaves your browser. The figures appear in the page URL only if you choose to share the result.
Official sources
Where this tool applies a published rule, this is where the rule comes from. Check the source before acting on anything that matters.
- CCPC — money management and budgeting
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission's own budgeting tools and guidance on switching providers.
- CSO — Household Budget Survey
Official statistics on what Irish households actually spend, by category and household type, if you want to compare yourself with the national picture.
Common questions
Why does this not tell me how much I could save?
Because it cannot know. Your saving depends on what you are paying now, what your contract allows, and what a provider will actually offer you. A headline saving figure on a page like this is a marketing number, not a calculation. The honest version is to show you where the money is and link you to the tools that test each one.
What counts as a household outgoing?
Anything recurring that leaves the account — rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, groceries, transport, childcare, debt repayments and subscriptions. One-off purchases are deliberately left out; they are a different problem and a different tool.
How do I handle a bill I pay once a year?
Divide it by twelve. Motor tax at €280 a year is €23 a month. Treating annual bills as monthly is the single biggest correction most people make to their own budget, and it is usually the reason the numbers never added up before.
Is my data stored anywhere?
No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. If you use the share button, the figures go into the link you copy — so do not post that link anywhere you would not post the numbers themselves.
What to check next
Am I paying too much for electricity?
Compare Irish electricity and gas tariffs on net first-year cost, not headline rate.
Energy Switch ComparisonNewWhen will this debt actually be gone?
Payoff date, total interest, and what an extra €50 a month would change.
Debt Payoff CalculatorNewWhat is my car actually costing me?
Depreciation, fuel, insurance, tax, servicing and tyres as one annual figure and a cost per kilometre.
Car True Cost CalculatorNewHow much should I keep in reserve?
A suggested range based on your essential outgoings, job security and dependants.
Emergency Fund CalculatorNext steps across CheckIreland
Picked for what you just worked out — not a list of everything we make.
- Compare energy tariffsUsually the largest negotiable line, and the one that can be changed in an afternoon rather than a year.
- When the debt actually clearsLoan repayments are a cost with no service attached. This shows the date the statement does not.
- What the car really costsThe category people underestimate most — fuel is usually under 40% of it.
CheckIreland is independent and is not affiliated with the Irish Government or any public body. This tool is general information built on published rules and typical costs — it is not financial, tax or legal advice, and it does not account for your individual circumstances. Confirm anything that matters with the relevant body or a qualified adviser before acting on it.