Setting a budget for good or for Christmas

It’s time to get budgeting! One of the biggest challenges is simply getting started. It’s a daunting prospect when your bank balance is always empty and you live from pay cheque to pay cheque, yet can’t quite account for where it all goes.

You know you should tackle the issue but it can raise the uncomfortable prospect of actually examining your own spending patterns. It can be challenging as it’s tantamount to admitting your own flaws, which is never comfortable!

The good news is that the long term benefits of taking control of your finances are massive. It can make a major difference in your life – and that of your children.

There are a number of ways to tackle the issue. If you have a bit of a technical bent and are familiar with Excel or similar you can always set up spreadsheets to track your finances and produce graphs and the like to track your progress. Westpac has a budget calculator tool and other great money management tips at www.westpac.co.nz/money.

Alternatively, the internet offers lots of different options for managing your finances and many are free. A great starting point is Westpac’s Managing you Money online tutorial. The Sorted Website (www.sorted.org.nz) also has a number of tools and some great advice. Do a Google search for budgeting tools or similar and see what you can find.

If you are someone who would like some one on one help to get on top of your money then I can thoroughly recommend a session with a Federation of Family Budgeting Services budget advisor. These budget advisors are well trained, certified and best of all offer their budget advice free of charge. Visit their website www.familybudgeting.co.nz for a centre near you.

Lastly, buying an off the shelf package may work for you. Again it’s a matter of personal taste and finding what works for you. Most of the major packages such as Xero will have demo software you can download and try to get a feel for it. Although these require an initial outlay, IF you are prepared to knuckle down and use the tools properly they can really help.

The last piece of advice I can give you is simple – but hard to do. If you do nothing else, then record every single thing you spend money on over a couple of months. It may be quite an eye opener to see your spending habits recorded in black and white! There will be no hiding from the truth and it might be just the thing you need to get you started on the track to controlling your personal finances. Good luck and let me know how you're doing!