To make sure your budget planner is 100% effective, you need to be completely honest, and putting in a bigger number rather than a smaller number is the best way to give you some breathing space. It's likely you'll be surprised to see how many things you spend your money on, and how much you spend on certain things. Payment slips – while your bank statements contain your net pay, student loan repayments and child support are taken out of your gross income, and being aware of those costs is essential.Supermarket receipts – if you can hunt for these, they will provide you with a good idea of where your grocery bill goes.This will give you a good overview of your direct debits, automatic payments etc. For example, if today is April 15, take the statements for January, February and March. Bank and credit card statements – the most recent three months is preferred.To make life easier, we recommend downloading or collecting the following: You will also find out where and what you are spending your money.

Ultimately, the more you put into it, the better your budget will be. We suggest getting comfortable with a drink and enjoy the challenge to take on the role of a detective. We estimate that the average person will take about two hours to complete it. How long does completing the budget planner take? If it's too difficult to calculate, don't panic - leave it as is – the more expenses loaded into your budget, the better off you'll be at managing your finances.

Your holiday costs are budgeted on top of this. To be cautious, and because holidays can be more expensive even for the best budgeter, you can add in your holiday costs and reduce your home expenses slightly to counteract.Īs an example, if you usually spend $150 a week on groceries, $50 on petrol and $50 on heating, if you go away for a week, you'll spend $200 less at home, but it's still included in your weekly budget. When you go away, you'll spend on things you would at home, like groceries, heating and petrol. groceries and petrol charged to your credit card – those expenses go in food and motoring respectively. This section doesn't relate to credit card spending and allocate it to the various categories e.g. The Budget Planner's credit card section's purpose is to cover ALL of your existing credit card debt.

Do you have a credit card? Include all the debt you have in the credit card section Be sure to avoid double-counting too – if you've put car insurance in the motoring section, don't list it again in the insurance section.ģ. Try to be as accurate as you can, and if you are not sure, put down a number that's a bit larger than what you believe you spend. Purposely underestimating your expenses is a big budgeting no-no – by doing so, you're only causing misery later on. Are you unsure of the exact numbers? Estimate a larger amount to avoid being caught out. The good news is it's not as difficult as it sounds and you can make real progress quite quickly.Ģ. If you're a parent with children, you'll need to consider everything that everyone living with you spends. This means you're best to sit down and complete it together. If you're part of a couple living together, it's likely your finances cannot be separated. Who are you filling out the budget for…you, you and your partner or your family?

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