A budget can help

Ahh a budget – it’s the holy grail of good money management. If only it didn’t sound so mind numbingly boring! Even worse than boring, a budget sounds restrictive. Like a diet for your money.

The good news is that it really is neither of those things…..Ok maybe it can still be a little bit boring. But, having a budget can open up the door to guilt free spending. And who doesn’t want that?

Here are some of the potential benefits of having a budget:

• A budget puts you in charge. You get to say when and where the money goes. It’s a good feeling, trust us.
• If you have ever used EFTPOS you’ve probably had FOER (Fear of EFTPOS Rejection). You know, that nervous feeling you get when you’re not sure if there’s enough cash in your account to pay for your stuff. Having a budget can say adios to that feeling – for good.
  

• While we’re giving negative feelings the flick, let’s also do away with payment meltdown. Payment meltdown can happen when you have to pay for many things all at once - like your phone bill, new footy boots and rego fees. You knew they were coming, but now they’re all here together it’s freaking you out!! A budget can help you plan ahead so you have money set aside for that stuff. Budget = 1 Meltdowns = 0
• A budget can paint a really good picture of what you actually do spend your money on. A bit like the money diary (which you can use to set up your initial budget) a budget can show you what you spend on certain things over a week, month or year. You might decide you don’t want to spend $250 a year on Skittles after all.

• Last, but so not least, when you have budgeted a certain amount for spending on whatever you want, you can spend it on whatever you want. No guilt. No worries.

Check out IMB's Budget planning calculator