To budget, or not to budget?
40% of you love those budget-tracking spreadsheets!
Here’s some of our favourite comments:
“Set a budget at the beginning of the year, but adjust it every couple of months as necessary. Eg the big increase in insurance bills this year. I use my budget to know how much I can invest!”
“Not really a budget, more like a balance sheet. But it’s encouraging to see the incremental progress!”
“I like to reassess every 6 months. With utility prices constantly changing, I find it best to keep my finger on the pulse and catch changes as early as possible. ”
Well, before we go any further, if you’re one of those who doesn’t have a budget (and wants to have one) we thought we’d remind you of Bryce’s Cash Flow Template, which he posted in our FB group here.
We’ve just finished our 5 part series on the Cost of Living – our final episode on reducing your health spend lands today – but this question got us thinking… What are our best tips for budgeting? Even if you’re totally in control of your dollars and cents, there’s always room to consider another idea and take a different approach…
7 of our best budgeting ideas…
- Budget to zero before the month begins: Plan every dollar you make. It’s not about having zero in your account, but it does mean that you ensure every single dollar has a plan. Then none of your money will slip through the cracks or get spent by accident!
- Find a budget buddy: If you’re partnered, make sure you share the process together, and have accountability as a team. Single? You don’t need to reveal your finances to anyone else, but you might find it effective to find buddy to work through your approach with and share ideas.
- Remember every single month is different: Holidays, presents, back to school, car registration. You know there will be unique costs that are going to pop up. Put them in the calendar and make sure they don’t take you by surprise! Your budget should realistically reflect your life.
- Plan to pay off your debt: Include that nasty credit card bill – don’t ignore it! Use strategies like the debt snowball method to get rid of debt quickly.
- Set auto payments for bills: Save time and stress by automating some of your bills. Set up a sub account and have the money transferred automatically. Just keep an eye on your cash flow…
- Use cash for categories that trip you up: If you tend to overspend in certain areas (umm… shopping, drinking, eating out), take out cash from an ATM at the beginning of your budget cycle and only use that. It’s the ultimate accountability partner.
- Remember you’re doing your best! Quit comparing yourself: You and your financial journey is unique. Keep your focus on your singular goals and don’t let comparisons rob you of your joy… or your hard earned dollars.
Those are our best tips. After all, look after the cents and the dollars will take care of themselves… Which got us thinking! What’s the best advice someone has ever shared with you about budgeting, investing, or money? And will you share it with us?
Do you have a piece of financial advice that you live by?
And tell us what it is…
The EM team share their favourite books
Have you opened that browser, and added Don’t Stress, Just Invest to your cart yet?
We thought you might be looking to add a couple more items to that pile of books while you’re there… To help you in your shopping quest, here’s a list of our favourite investing books from the Equity Mates team.
- A Random Walk Down Wall Street | Burton G Malkiel: Simon, our Head of Product, recommends this classic book for its detailed analysis and actionable advice.
- Thinking, Fast and Slow | Daniel Kahneman: Alf, Head of Growth, suggests this book for understanding the psychology behind retail investing… or anyone who’s interested in ETF or index investing (ie. everyone!)
- Broke Millennial Takes On Investing: A Beginner’s Guide to Levelling Up Your Money | Erin Lowry: Emily, our Head of Partnerships, thinks this is a great read due to Lowry’s engaging and non-judgmental approach.
- The Ride of a Lifetime | Robert Iger: Sascha, Head of Production, finds value in Iger’s storytelling, thinks it’s a great page turner, and also remembers it’s full of practical advice that can be applied to your career or investing journey.
- And of course don’t forget to add Don’t Stress, Just Invest to that list. It’s the latest from Ren and Bryce, co-founders of Equity Mates and best-selling authors of Get Started Investing, where they get you an outline of the absolute simplest way to invest and importantly, why we are confident that it was enough.
You can learn more and preorder at Amazon or Booktopia today. For more recommendations, visit Equity Mates.
The EM team share their favourite books
Do you follow us on Instagram? We promise it’s not all self promotion (no really!) Come and hit like and subscribe at @equitymates and you’ll be getting great reels like this one we’ve done below…
Here’s the 3 tools so you can save them for later:
- WhatstheSalary.com – Find out the salary of your dream job on Seek with one click.
- Salary Seeker Extension on Chrome – calculate the salary range for jobs advertised on Seek.
- The Aussie Corporate’s Graduate Salary Guide – Please note, this is based on anecdotal community feedback and salaries have not been verified
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