Is Your Budget Accurate?

In order for your budget to be a successful tool in developing your financial plan, it needs to be accurate.

Here are some tips to help make your budget more accurate:

1. Before you start, obtain some source documents from which to obtain actual expenditure (e.g. credit card statements; bank account statements; bill notices; rental statements).

2. Separate your expenses into categories (e.g. household; vehicles; education; debts [credit card; home loan; personal loan]).

3. Include provision for frequency of the expense (i.e. weekly, fortnightly, monthly or annually).

4. Complete more than one budget for different phases of your life (e.g. saving for a home/holiday; children in school; retirement).

5. Check to ensure that your total expenses DO NOT exceed your total net income.

Understanding where you spend your money can be an invaluable insight into what sacrifices (if any) you will need to make to achieve your financial objectives.

The McKinnon Financial Planning Expenditure Analysis system (provided to all financial planning clients) has been developed over the last 20 years to ensure accurate budgeting is the key to a successful financial plan.

Please contact us if you need any assistance or have any queries.