How to spend money and feel good about it
Don’t have a budget? – you’re not alone. Many Kiwis avoid the dreaded “b” word, believing that budgets stop you having fun with your money.
But the secret to really enjoying the things we buy, is knowing we’ve got the important stuff covered – and that’s where a budget comes in.
Are you like many New Zealanders who don’t have a budget?
AMP Managing Director Blair Vernon offers tips to help you enjoy spending, while ensuring you have the important stuff covered.
Your path to financial freedom
Sick of hearing the ‘b’ word? Unfortunately, budgets get a bad rap, with many believing that they stop you having fun with your money.
The truth is budgets help you to enjoy spending by giving you greater visibility of what you can spend, while ensuring you have the essentials covered.
Basics of budgeting
The aim of a budget is to spend less than we earn, so that we can use the money left over to reach our goals. This is what’s called having a surplus. When we don’t have money left over, that’s what’s called a shortfall – where we’re spending more than we earn.
For our budget to work it needs to be accurate. It’s important to include all the details about our income and spending in our budget. Here’s five things to keep front of mind when creating your first budget:
- Start with the essentials
This means food, shelter, clothing and utilities - Tackle debt
Especially high-interest loans like hire-purchase or short-term loans - Schedule spending
Time expenses like rent or utilities so they arrive around the same time you get paid - Create a budget buffer
It’s important to have a bit of money set aside to cover unexpected expenses - Have goals
Highlighted in ‘Setting yourself up for success’ is the importance of having goals to motivate us to stick to our budget
Keep on top of your finances
Unfortunately, you can’t simply ‘set and forget’ with a budget. There’s a few thing’s you’ll need to do to keep on top of your finances:
- Continue to track your spending
- Set a date to review your goals and budget
- When you achieve a goal:
- celebrate!
- then start on the next goal
Ready to take the first step? Sorted’s budgeting tool can help you take control of your finances. Visit sorted.org.nz/tool/budgeting-tool for more information.
Keep on track throughout the year
The information in this video is of a general nature only and reflects the opinions of the presenter as at the time of release (September 2018). It is no substitute for personalised advice. If you would like advice that takes into account your particular financial situation or goals, please contact your Financial Adviser. Your Adviser has a disclosure statement that is available on request and free of charge. While care has been taken to ensure that the information in this video is accurate, no entity or person gives any warranty of reliability or accuracy or accepts any responsibility arising in any way including from any error or omission.