Could you tell your accountant exactly how much money you spend, and what you spend it on? How much you need to put away to hit your savings goal? Do you have a savings goal?

Budgeting is a powerful tool that can help you take charge of your financial future. It helps manage your money so you can cover the essentials and have enough left over to save. It can help you understand where your money goes, what you can afford and makes sure debts are paid.

A good budget will show you whether you are spending more or less than you can afford, so you can remain on top of your bills and start putting money towards your future goals.

With Pacific Professional Accountants, setting up a budget is not a difficult step. We will guide you at each and every step. These are few things which need to be considered while planning your budget:

Dealing with financial issues can sometimes be stressful. If you are struggling to keep on top of your finances, the sooner you act and seek help, the easier it will be to get back on the road to financial security. Understanding how things like credit or mortgages work can stop you from losing out financially and help you gain control of your finances.

Below are some tips on how to do your Budgeting well:

Live within your means

You must be saving more than you spend! If your expenses are more than your income, it’s time to dial it back, now.

Make a savings goal

If you have no idea how much money you want or need to have saved in the next year, then motivation to syphon money away is pretty low. Creating a budget will tell you exactly how much you can be saving per month. Don’t set the goal too high though, we all need spending money.

Be smart about your debts

Home loan? Credit card? Look at getting your home loan refinanced to take advantage of the historic lows in interest rates right now. You could consider using those savings to pay off a car loan early and save yourself even more interest.

There are so many excellent apps available now that can help with your finances, especially budgeting for example PocketBook which keep your spending under control.

Be realistic

Living to a budget is not a ‘crash diet,’ it’s a healthy balance where you shouldn’t deprive yourself or over-indulge in spending.

If you’re unsure which of your expenses are tax deductible, give us a call at 1800 951819, so you can keep track of these throughout the year and be super organised for the next.