Money & Budgeting

Okay you have a spreadsheet software on your computer like excell or openoffice?

Sit down and put down all normal expenses in a month.

For example: Rent/Bond , Food, Petrol, internet, mobile, power, water ect.

Then also include stuff that only get paid now and then like WOF and car licenses ect.

Do that for every month. (have three columns for every month).

So in teh second column put down what it normally cost you.

In the third one you update it as stuff comes off your account or you pay for it.

so you can see what you budgeted and what you actually paid.

Now put down an amount you want to go in savings each month.

When salary comes in move this immediately to another account which gets higher interest and you tell yourself you wont touch at all. (before any bills even get paid)

Dont forget to put some spending money in here for you and your partner and do this with him. (if finances are joined off course)

If you have trouble with controlling it then I will suggest draw cash for yourself for spending and when it is finished that is done and say not until next month.

Lol.
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Same this side but it really is working for us now. Second month in the row and although we bought stuff for the house we still put stuff into savings.

Maybe different bank accounts? Transfer cash there and give the card to your partner?

yeah i was going to say give yourself an allowance and stick to it... and make sure everything else goes out of your wages atuomatically without you seeing it...

LOL - I should lend my husband out. I'm hopeless with money, but he's got it all set up. We have a strict budget (that actually has a reasonable amount of spending money in it) and I stick to that (usually) - has worked well for us.

All our bills are on AP, we get spending money each, we have $100 a week for extra things (e.g. WOF, holiday).

Having the different bank accounts can help put money away, esp if there is a penalty for withdrawing money.

Make a star chart for yourself - if you stick to your budget you can buy a wee present . That's what I need to do with exercise!

Why don't you go and see a financial advisor (not a budget advisor)? They can look at your incomings and outgoings and work out what your financial goals are, make investment recommendations etc. Ours did a lovely report for us and he didn't charge us anything for it.

It sounds to me like you have the tools and skills to make a budget, but what you are lacking is the motivation to follow one. So I agree with Jaz - maybe you need to be saving for *something* rather than just saving.

My current targets are $20k to reduce the mortage principle when it expires (still got a way to go yet!) and $3k for a holiday in Aussie next year. Plus I know that every extra dollar we save is more time for me to stay home with bubs when we finally get around to having one! So I like to have money in a separate savings account, and watching it go up and up, knowing what I'm going to use it for.

But thats what works for me. You need to find out what motivates you, and use that for yourself.

Good luck

With the motivation is there something in particular you want to save for? like a holiday? cos then you could get brochures of where you want to go and cut out a pic and stick it on your credit card, might help you put the card back in the wallet. Also I found money mans idea of drawing the money out to spend rather than doing everything on eftpos helped me. Is amazing how much you don't want to spend it when its real and sitting in your wallet, is far to easy to just swipe that card though as it almost seems like pretend money.

Something we do is, for any purchase over $20 we have to sleep on it, unless it's an expense we have planned. That rule has saved me from a lot of frivolous shopping in the past!