6 steps to a successful budget plan, Developed by Melbourne Finance Broker

If you are having trouble putting some of your well earned income aside into a savings plan – then it may be the right time to start thinking about developing a BUDGET PLAN! There is never a right or wrong time to start a Budget Plan – but the sooner is always better. By following the steps below, you can achieve a successful budget plan and save your money.

1) UPDATE YOUR BUDGET & WRITE IT DOWN
Having a written budget plan is great for 2 good reasons:
- It allows you to see where your well earned income is being used each week. It can become a constant referral for you to remain focused on your budget and track your spending habits.
- You can identify unnecessary spending. By identifying an issue it provides an opportunity to overcome it.
If you have a budget plan already set up, it would always be a wise idea to constantly revisit it, and see if there are better ways in improving it even more so.

2) REDUCE DEBTS
Any excess or surplus cash that you may have from budgeting should be always wisely used to reduce any debt you may have, as this does save you interest payments in the long run.
Credit card debt should be paid in full every month to avoid extreme interest rates that multiply your debt. If credit cards cannot be paid off by the end of the month, reducing monthly spending is recommended, or perhaps cancel the credit card entirely.
If you have debt with a numerous loans, more often than not consolidating all the loans can help reduce payments and lower the level of interest being paid.


3) EVALUATE YOUR GOALS
You should always constantly be reviewing your goals, perhaps break them down into 3 types of financial goals.
(1) Short Term Goals
(2) Medium Term Goals
(3) Long Term Goals

4) SET SAVINGS TARGETS
Sometimes it is hard to put saving aside, but one suggestion I can make is that you perhaps need to treat savings as a Bill at your home that needs paying….meaning if you say I have a bill of 10% of my earned weekly income – needs to be put in a bank account for savings….is a great way to save – by being strict on yourself and treating savings as a bill you will always put money away for a rainy day.

5) FIX YOUR BANK
A lot of us have numerous savings accounts that we may have opened up in the past, but we have never deposited any further savings into them. This is in effect costing us a lot in bank fee, you should close these accounts and put all your savings into one bank account that earns us a compound interest rate and lower bank fee.


6) LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS
No more impulse buying. No more buying unnecessary items. No more buying more than you can afford. By not spending more than you earn and reducing unnecessary purchases, you will find it easier to save.

Please do remember that these are purely suggestions and everyone is different, but overall having a Budget Plan is a great idea – for your financial needs down the track and to achieve your financial goals!

Need more information about budget planning? Speak to a Melbourne Broker NOW from FLR Solutions Accredited Finance Brokers.