HOW TO BUILD A BETTER BUDGET

In 2025, make financial resolutions that will set you up for success

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If you feel as if you're being controlled by your finances, drawing up a budget to monitor and anticipate your incomings and outgoings can help you get yourself back in the driver's seat. And what better time to begin than now? Financial advisor Helen Baker shares her handy tips on how to create a basic plan.

WHAT SHOULD I PUT IN A BUDGET?

I use the term “spending and investment plan” rather than budget. A budget is like a diet – we get strict and when that becomes unrealistic, we blow it and undo all the hard work. Making a spending plan that's realistic is the key. You can identify the groceries, the bills, the petrol and the fun spend. By working with real numbers, not percentages, you see what you really spend and you get to make choices - “if I spend less here, I can spend more there”. You should calculate your plan so there's money left over for investing in your future, the second part of the plan.

HOW CAN I STICK TO A BUDGET & STILL ENJOY LIFE?