Make a budget
At the heart of any savings plan is a budget. Budgeting helps you prioritise your expenditure and find a balance between spending and saving across a whole year.
By checking your credit card statements, bills, banks statements and receipts, you can work out all your regular expenses, such as your rent or home loan, transport, insurance and electricity.
You then deduct these expenses from your income – your full- or part-time job or casual work, pension, government benefits, child-support payments, investments, etc.
Track your spending
According to MoneySmart, we can fall into the trap of thinking spending on big things is what gets us into trouble, when often it’s the little things that end up costing us more.
Avoid a poverty mentality
Ultimately, the only way to get ahead financially is to focus on earning, saving and investing,” Emma says.
“Focusing on skimping on the grocery and electricity bill will only get you so far, and puts you at risk of a poverty mentality.”
A poverty, or lack, mentality is one preoccupied with a shortage of money: all the things the person doesn’t have and can’t get.
