Budgeting is about looking at your income, expenses and savings and creating a plan to spend, save and invest your money. You may create a budget for yourself as an individual, family or as a household.  

Often, we can set budgets for ourselves but somehow still find ourselves overspending. While creating a budget can help get you started on the path to financial freedom, it’s about having oversight. As First Nations Foundation CEO Phil Usher says in this video, “A budget is not going to give you more money, it is going to give you more control and clarity on where your money is going”.

You may also need to change your mindset on money and be strict with yourself: Just because you have savings or a larger paycheck this week, you need not need to offer out your money or make large purchases for the sake of spending.

Common mistakes

Some common issues people may face with budgeting and expenses can be, not including the small expenses, underestimating expenses and not having an emergency fund.  

Here are some expenses that we find people tend to forget when creating their own budgets: 

• Car repairs & services 
• Medical & dental expenses 
• Household maintenance  
• Education: School uniforms, laptop hire etc. 
• Pet costs
• Kids’ activities: regular sports, clubs, music lessons, dance etc.  
• Special occasions: birthdays, Christmas, family holidays, baby showers, graduations 
• Annual fees: driver’s license, roadside, account fees at tax time.  

A trick I use + other tips from the team

When budgeting, I like to round my expense amounts up. For example, if my prepaid phone bill is $33.75/week, I would allocate $35/week for my phone bill. This allows me peace of mind to know that it is paid and that I have saved a few extra dollars for these bills after a few weeks.    

Here are a few helpful tips from our team members at First Nations Foundation (FNF) on easy budgeting:  

• When creating your budget, look at your bank statements to help you understand your expenses. 
• Priorities your essential expenses, these are: rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries. 
• Look for ways you can save money when creating your budget, maybe less takeaway per week, having coffee at home instead of buying daily, changing your spending habits. 
• Track your spending using a budgeting app.  

You can find more resources on budgeting on our Tomorrow Money website and our My Money Dream program.  

Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) also offers free online webinars and training on creating budgets. You can find more information here. 

Other resources:  

https://moneysmart.gov.au/budgeting/how-to-do-a-budget 

https://www.frugalandthriving.com.au/6-expenses-you-arent-saving-for/ 

https://tomorrowmoney.co/new_article/budgeting/ 

Like every article on TomorrowMoney, this is not personal financial advice. If you need help from a free financial counsellor, you can call the National Debt Helpline: 1800 007 007.