money to live….

Hi Aussierogue,

Is it just the two of you?

I’m married with 4 kids, and I don’t think we even come close to 350 per week, on groceries, petrol, etc. Maybe $300 in a bad week, and I don’t think we live frugally either.

I think there is definitely some room for you to tighten the budget a little.

Just some thoughts,

Sue []

Be careful not step on the flowers when you’re looking at the stars

quote:

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Hi Aussierogue,

I think I’m a lot worse than most…. but then, we do budget for absolutely everything. We put away $400.00 a week into a separate account, and this covers every bill (i.e. including car rego, insurances, phone, gas, rates, everything) plus it also covers groceries, petrol, car repairs plus any medical expenses where we might be out of pocket after the Medicare rebate.

On top of that, we still draw a further $120.00 a week for “general” stuff – eg lunches, bread, entertainment, occasional take-aways, etc.

All that aside, we also manage to put one wage towards the mortgage. This gets taken out as soon as my hubby gets paid, so there’s no confusion there either.

Whatever’s left in the general savings account is ours to spend how we like.

Good luck with the budget!! I think it’s worth the effort.

Lozza

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let’s see 4 adults $700 p/fortnight for food ,doc, house etc
as for extra into other accounts arr no

Hi all,

Hmmm a budget .. gotta do one. Keep putting it off, as the penciled ones continually realise a negative value. I have a program “Simply Budgets”, perhaps you have heard of it. I didn’t like it only because it showed that I would be in the red by millions if I don’t make a change. So figured it isn’t the program, but me who has to change. It’s produced by Jeydac Pty Ltd if anyone cares to look for it. Also have ordered the CD program from “Mortgagefreeaustralia.com.au”. It shows the implications of how say a tax refund may affect your mortgage as a one-off payment etc.

Hoping this may be of help to someone.

Kind regards, Phil

The day i do a budget the”money – takers’ seem to know……. the car will get a flat battery, the bills all seem to arrive etc. it’s the same if you get a raise or a windfall. the money gremlins are out there beware [}]

In all honesty though every time i do a budget i find i can’t afford to live.

so point 1/ we all get by on what we get by on

and point 2/ the richest man in babylon is a wise old dude… pay yourself first!!

10% of all you earn is yours to keep [^]

“The man that thinks at 50 as he did when he was 20 has wasted 30 years of his life”

Erika wrote:

‘I cant beleive the number of people on this site that dont have a budget!!!!!’

I can. A detailed budget is only one means to give you control over your own finances.

Though a line by line budget works for some people, I’ve so far managed without it. And I consider I run a fairly tight ship on a very ordinary salary.

My recipe has been:

1. Pay yourself first by having investments taking out of your savings account each month. I use managed funds for this purpose, both share funds and fixed interest, to maintain a balanced portfolio. Some people say save 10% of your income, but I like 30% better!

2. The remainder is your spending money. But question every expenditure. Do you need it? Will it contribute long-term to your wellbeing? Does it save or waste time and money? Can you get one cheaper that will do the same thing?

3. Monitor your savigs account. If you see your savings account starting to rise over a period of months), increase your investments by (say) $50 or 100 per month. Do this until your savings account stablilises 3-6 months worth of expenditure for emergencies.

4. Review finances every six months to see if your portfolio allocation is OK.

With properties, I agree with budgeting for expenses, you you’re not caught short if there are several lots of rates, insurance, etc to pay at once.

For this I like the idea of putting 100% of your rent into paying it off (quickly). Rates, insurance, etc could come from your regular savings. Also I like the idea of saving with some growth investments (eg shares) so you can pay out your property loans when you want to retire.

Peter

HI PeterP
Its great if you can get by without really knowing how much you spend on everyday things. The problem that most people seem to have is that they can’t seem to save money, like you we save about 30% of my husbands wage, all investment income gets reinvested into investments.But it is really easy to work out bills and such. Take a look at last years bills longer if you ahve them work out how much they add up to for the year divide by the number of times you get paid and that is how much you need to put aside for them.Beats waiting for them to come in and hoping you have enough.
Like lozzza we also save for xmas and B’days and xmas is a much happier time Knowing that the money is there, The first year is the hardest because you may be paying of some of last years excesses but if you can make it thru that year it gets easier.
You need to look at what you earn and what you spend to really get a good grasp of your financial position for most people they are too afraid of what they will see.

Hi Allan,

it’s great to see such discipline and great respect for your money.
I also know people who make way more money than us and just seem to throw it all away, they never seem to have anything spare.

Keep up the good work, I’m sure you’ve inspired a few people and may have scared some of them into a reality check.

Keep smiling,
(It’s Free!)

Sue[]

Be careful not step on the flowers when you’re looking at the stars