Published: 29/10/2020
Once you know where you spend your money, your everyday spending (those coffees add up!), managing your finances and paying your loans will be much easier. If you don’t know where your money is going you will soon get confused and in a stress. If you are looking for a loan with 1Pus1 it will help you budget too.
To set out a budget you need pen and paper and your computer.
Start by itemising all your income – pay, benefits, pensions.
Then list all your essential expenditure such as mortgage, rent, utility bills, insurances, broadband and phones, etc.
Next it is the food and drink and don’t forget those coffees, drinks and takeaways!
Then it’s clothing (and don’t forget the kids), those beauty treatments.
Next step anything financial – insurances, loan repayments, bank fees and hopefully some savings for a rainy day!
Family and friends are the next category – childcare costs, loans from family.
Travel costs for the car (never cheap when you add it all together with insurance, repairs, fuel and insurance), public transport.
Last, but not least there’s leisure. After all this we need a break! This can be meals out, the cinema and don’t forget if you like a regular flutter or a Lottery ticket.
And now we’ve got this far – our holidays. List what you spend annually and don’t forget the spending money for when you are sitting in the sunshine!
Now we have our list, we can start to work it all out! The best place to do that is on the Money Helper site where there is a completely free, confidential planner that will really help you see where your money goes.
Use your list to put in the figures and add in those you might have missed. Now is a good time to reflect on what you thought. Often on second thought the figures will be higher. Be realistic!
Once you have input all your figures you can see what you are spending where. Particularly important to make sure you keep up to date with all those essential expenses for the house, utilities and your credit. You will also be able to see those areas that you can cut back on. Those takeaways and lattes really mount-up don’t they? If you have some free cash it is a good idea to pay off your credit more quickly. It will save you money in the long run and then you can increase that rainy day fund!
Several organisations offer free tips and advice for people struggling with debt. These include:
You can also get face-to-face debt advice from local charities and not-for-profit agencies.
Last updated: 01/10/2021