The weakening economy in South Africa had led to experts advising consumers against overspending and not saving for the things that matter.
Saving can be stressful and frustrating. However, there are ways that can help you save without compromising your goal to live a comfortable life.
Ester Ochse, Product Specialist, FNB Financial Advisory has a few guidelines to creating your own personal budget:
Know what your monthly income is – make note of your monthly salary and money that you have after all your monthly deductions.
Look at your daily spending – track your spending, doing this will help you identify spending irregularities and also where you can cut back.
List all your expenses in an excel spread sheet – include your fixed and variable expenses. This will help you track your monthly expenditure and help you decide what to leave in and what to cut-out.
Evaluate your expenses and set goals – list your short and long term goals. Identifying these goals can help you budget appropriately and identify things that you will need in the year.
Create your financial plan – with your budgeting list, you will get an idea of what you will spend in the upcoming months and what you can cut out. This plan will serve as your blueprint to your financial goals.
Change habits, ‘buying behaviour’ – we tend to overspend and buy things out of wants instead of needs. Your budget will also help you understand your monthly spending habits.
Update and check on an ongoing basis – once you start your budgeting process, don’t stop. Review and ensure that you look at your budgets regularly.
“Budgeting is not an exclusive activity. It’s quite simple if managed on a monthly basis and if you have a defined set of goals and understand where your expenses fit in,” said Ochse.
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