Deciding in advance.
WHAT A BUDGET IS
A plan for what your money will do before it arrives.
WHY IT WORKS
Money without a plan is spent by whatever demands attention.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Your income, reliably.
WHY RELIABLY
Irregular income requires planning on the lower figure.
WHAT TO PLAN FOR IN ORDER
Essentials: housing, food, transport, utilities
Obligations: debt repayments, family commitments
Savings Everything else
WHY SAVINGS BEFORE DISCRETIONARY SPENDING
Money left to the end is not saved.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
An amount saved from every payment, however small.
WHY HOWEVER SMALL
The habit matters more than the amount initially.
WHAT TO DO WITH THE REMAINDER
Spend it, deliberately.
WHY DELIBERATELY
A budget that permits nothing is abandoned.
WHAT TO AVOID
Budgets that are unrealistic Budgets that account for every unit Budgets requiring constant recording
WHY
They are abandoned within weeks.
WHAT TO PREFER
A simple plan covering the main categories.
WHAT TO REVIEW
Monthly, briefly: what was planned against what happened.
WHAT TO ADJUST
The plan, where it was unrealistic.
WHY
Repeated failure against an impossible plan produces abandonment.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT IRREGULAR EXPENSES
That they are anticipated.
WHAT THOSE ARE
School fees Rent renewal Festive periods Vehicle maintenance and licensing Medical costs
WHAT TO DO
Divide the annual cost by twelve and set it aside monthly.
WHY
It converts a crisis into a routine cost.
