Where does all my money go?

Ever logged into your account and thought you had more money available than you actually have displayed on the screen? As a result have you stood there in disbelief and frustration and thought “Where does all my money go?” What if the team at Fortunity could guide you to finding out where all your money goes?

When you think about it, a family is actually a mini business. There is income, there are expenses and there is, hopefully, something left over to invest and to enjoy.

So why don’t most families operate to a budget? After all, a personal budget helps you to see your financial direction and helps you stay (or get back!) on track.

One reason some people don’t put together a budget is a feeling of being overwhelmed and of being too busy to keep track of all that.

Well the good news is Fortunity is here to guide and make it easier for you.

Let’s consider three reasons why a personal budget is such an important tool to help you achieve your financial goals and dreams.

 1. Most of your money is already spoken for long before you get it

The money you earn has already been promised to things like keeping the electricity on, making the home loan repayments and paying for health insurance. Most of what many people think of as budgeting is really honouring the commitments you have already.

The first step is to track these bills and see what is left over for your day-to-day living.

2. Your day-to-day living money is spread all over the place…

Some of your day-to-day living money is in the bank. Some is in your purse or wallet. Some is with your partner or children if you have them.

You need a simple system that allows you to track day-to-day expenses such as fuel for your car, shopping and your discretionary spending.

We suggest you don’t attempt to keep track of every cent of your day-to-day living money. It’s not worth the effort for the benefit you’d get out of that level of detail.

Instead, you need to identify your main day-to-day expenses and make allowances for all other minor expenses as a total expense.

Here’s a key: You need a system that is so easy to use that you keep using it.

As a suggestion you can track these day-to-day expenses by entering them into a spreadsheet – there is a great template available on ASIC’s MoneySmart website. Althernatively, you could use an app such as Pocketbook .   This has the functionality to automatically pull in bank feeds to save you a lot of data entry. From here to you classify transactions into categories  such as bills, salary, entertainment, fuel etc.  The choices are endless!!

3. The Number 1 reason people give up on their budgets is that they don’t have the right attitude

It’s ALL in the attitude! Getting an app that does ALL the data entry will totally enhance your attitude!

Think about this…

If you think of it as a penny-pinching sacrifice instead of a means for achieving your financial goals and dreams, how long are you likely to stick with it?

To increase your chances of success, work on your attitude first.  Don’t give up!

The cold hard reality

A budget (or spending plan!) shows you exactly where your money goes and provides a clear plan that lets you save for the things that are important to you: a new house, a new car, a comfortable retirement, tertiary education for your children, high quality health care, travel, or whatever your particular goals and dreams happen to be.

Whatever YOU decide you want to save for and achieve, you can. With the right attitude, a focus and a (spending!) plan.

The 3 steps for effective personal budgeting (spending planning!) are:

• Build a Budget,
• Track Income and Spending, and
• Compare Budget to Actual.

Once you start budgeting with a positive attitude, you will see the difference a budget or spending plan can make in your life.

If you’re wanting some guidance Call Fortunity on 02 4304 888. We are here to help you to get on track towards achieving your financial goals.