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Their portrait
Married for 11 years, Marie-Laure and Sylvain are the happy parents of four children: three girls of 9 years, 2 years and 6 months, and a boy of 8 years. She takes care of the children full time. He works as a cleaning craftsman.
The family is settled in Haute-Savoie, a few kilometers from the Swiss border, “a region where the standard of living is very high”, specifies the mother. “With small incomes like ours, it’s really a hassle. In addition, we are far from our loved ones ”.
Even tightening their belts, the couple fail to spare. Salaries, expenses, extras… He reveals his budget to us.
Income: around 2350 € per month
Sylvain’s salary: around € 1100 net per month
The young dad is an artisan in cleaning. His income varies each month depending on the contracts he lands. They can go down to 800 €.
Marie-Laure’s salary: € 0
Family allowances + parental leave allowances: € 1257 per month
Marie-Laure has chosen to suspend her activity as a nursery assistant in order to devote herself to her own children, for two and a half years.
Personalized housing assistance: € 454 per month
Fixed expenses: € 1994 per month
Rent: 1200 € per month, charges included
The family rents a house of around 100 m² on the outskirts of Annemasse (Haute-Savoie), on the Swiss border. Again last year, Marie-Laure and Sylvain were owners. But their home, a T3, was getting really small with their four children. Today, they cannot afford to buy bigger.
Gas / electricity: around 150 € per month
Housing tax: € 60 per year
Property tax: around € 500 per year
Now tenants, they will no longer pay this tax.
Income tax: 0 €
Insurance: 140 € per month for the house and the car
Telephone / Internet subscription: € 50 per month
Mobile phone subscription: € 21 per month
The couple only pay for Marie-Laure’s package. Sylvain, him, passes his mobile subscription in the expenses of his company.
Gasoline: 300 € per month
The family owns a used minivan. Marie-Laure uses it every day to take and pick up the children from school, dance lessons, the gym …
Canteen for “grown-ups”: around 40 € per month
Extracurricular activities: 550 € per year
Marie-Laure and Sylvain’s eldest daughter is enrolled in a dance school, the costs of which amount to € 500 per year. Their son takes gym classes through school for a pittance.
Other expenses: around € 606 per month
Food shopping: around € 200 per week
Our witness family does their shopping once a week at the local hypermarket. Marie-Laure cooks a lot, so only buys basic products (flour, vegetables, meat, eggs, etc.). It favors the private label.
Leisure budget: 100 € per year
Marie-Laure and Sylvain allow themselves very little leisure time, due to lack of budget. “The last family outing was the last day of the summer vacation: we took the children to a large water park with swimming pools and slides… we got out for 50 €, with reductions,” says the mother of family.
Children’s birthdays: around 120 € per year
Young parents set a maximum budget of € 30 for children’s birthday gifts.
“Extra” budget (small gifts for children, books, CDs, etc.): around € 200 per year
Clothing budget: around 100 € per year
Marie-Laure collects clothes for her children on the right and on the left. She only takes out her pennies for the shoes. “For my husband and I, it’s zero budget. We hardly buy anything, ”she explains.
Hairdresser’s budget: around € 60 per year
Only the men in the family go to the hairdresser, about twice a year.
Holiday budget: around 700 € per year
The family goes to the seaside for a week every summer, in “camping” mode!
Savings: 0 € per month
Their tips for spending less
Marie-Laure is a fan of recycling! She regularly visits garage sales and flea markets to find second-hand items at a lower cost.
To round off the end of the month, she also resells the clothes children who have become too small and toys that no longer serve.
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