Everyday Money Matters
DEVELOP A MONEY PLAN OR BUDGET
 | Key messages for making a money plan
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A money plan enables a person or household to:
- meet everyday expenses plan for future expenses
- reduce stress around bills and day to day expenses.
| Calling it a money plan can help people to feel they have some choice in where their money goes, while a budget can feel negative by making us think of restrictions and limitations. Click the info icon for more tips. |  |
STEPS TO CREATE A REALISTIC MONEY PLAN
1. Track Your spending
Record every purchase (for at least 2 weeks), or checking your bank statement. Make sure you include any direct debits set up for bills, subscriptions or donations. There are apps to help with this, or you can write down what you spend, use your bank statements, or keep all of your receipts.
2. Calculate all the money coming in (income)
How often it comes in (do you get paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly?). Include salary or wages, Centrelink or pensions, Family Tax Benefit and/or child support.
3. Add up everything you pay for (expenses)
Be realistic. Most people underestimate how much they spend. Make sure you estimate enough for food and remember to include ALL your regular costs and bills, debt repayments and unexpected expenses! See Moneysmart’s Budget Planner for items to include.
4. Minus your expenses (step 3) from your income (step 2)
Any money you have left over can be for extra spending (on treats) or saving (to create an emergency fund). If you don’t have enough money to pay your bills and debts, speak with a financial capability worker or financial counsellor to get support.
5. Adjust your money plan
Whenever something changes- such as an increase or decrease in income or a new regular expense you will need to adjust your money plan to reflect the reality of your situation.
TIPS & TRICKS TO MAKE THE MONEY STRETCH
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Key messages for making your income stretch
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PLUG A SPENDING LEAK
Spending leaks are small amounts of money that you spend often and end up costing a lot over time. Money Minded says some common spending leaks include:- The ‘add-ons’, such as petrol for unnecessary trips or buying appliances that never get used; or
- The ‘just-a-littles’, such as chocolate, soft drink or lotto tickets.
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Do you have a spending leak?
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CREATE AN EMERGENCY FUND
| Having an emergency fund provides a safety net so you don’t need to borrow money if the unexpected happens. Even if you can only save a tiny bit, if you save regularly it will build up over time. Click the info icon for savings tips | |
1. The Coke Bottle Challenge
This is a great challenge, especially if your client has children. All they need is a 250ml, 600ml or 1-litre drink bottle. The idea is to see if they can fill the bottle with $2 coins. If they can fill the bottle, they will have saved:
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2. The 52 weeks savings Challenge
When building a habit, you start slowly and build up your strength. If you had never done a push up before you wouldn’t just try and bust out 10 in a row on your first day! In this challenge, each week you increase the amount you save by $1. Depending on your money plan, you can choose to keep increasing by $1 until the end after 26 weeks, you can keep saving, but decrease the weekly amount by $1. In 1 year, you will have saved either $1378 or $702. Print the template on the next page to track your savings achievements!
USEFUL RESOURCES
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| Budget Planner |
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| Simple Money Manager |
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Free online financial literacy course covering 8 key topics (each taking 8-15 minutes). Requires you to register, login and use a password
- How long it will take to reach your savings goals
- Steps to take to put your plan into action
Moneysmart says to set up a separate savings account. Click on the logo for information about finding the account for you.
$250 POWER SAVING BONUS FOR VICTORIAN HOUSEHOLDS
The $250 Power Saving Bonus is a one-off $250 payment for Victorian households to help ease cost-of-living pressures and encourage them to compare energy offers and save money.
Applications are open between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. The Bonus is available to all Victorians households who visit the Victorian Energy Compare website or engage with an energy affordability service through one of our participating community outreach partners. The $250 Bonus is limited to one payment per eligible household
More information can be found here: https://compare.energy.vic.gov.au/psb-faq
FREE WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR ENERGY USE NOW
