Lucky 13! The best budgeting tips we've ever heard

27 November 2017

We all know that sticking to a budget can bring big rewards, like paying off your mortgage early, saving for a year of travel or getting the kind of retirement you really want. However the daily grind of counting every penny can wear you down.

To make it easier to achieve your financial goals by sticking to a budget, we’ve collected some great tips from everyday Kiwis. These ideas are particularly useful around Christmas, when gift buying and socialising are threatening to overturn your best intentions.* 

  1. Before buying anything, ask yourself "how does this help us achieve our goals?" If it doesn't help, ask yourself "is it worth delaying our goals to purchase this?” There’s nothing like mindful shopping/purchasing for a healthy wallet!”
  2. “Make a vision board with short or long term goals for inspiration.”
  3. “When making purchases, I think about how many hours I have to work to be able to afford it.”
  4. “Put aside a bit each week after paying bills. Even if it’s only $5, it still adds up in the long run.”
  5. “Eat before grocery shopping and use automatic payments for all bills.”
  6. “Use the priceme website to check who has the lowest prices when it comes to shopping for new appliances, electronics etc.”
  7. “When doing your budget for the week/fortnight, have the children there and get them involved. It doesn't hurt them to know how to pay rent, power, phone and buy food.”
  8. “Find a good budgeting app for your phone and actually use it!”
  9. “Save straight after you have been paid and pretend like it was never there.”
  10. “Refill the single-use espresso pods with coffee instead of buying new ones.”
  11. “Write up a list of meals for the week and try use similar ingredients across a couple of them. When shopping, follow the list and you can save heaps!”
  12. “Draw out grocery money from the bank and use cash only for food for the week - no cards allowed at the supermarket. This works great for us as we don't overspend on stuff we don't need.”
  13. “We have separate accounts for bills, emergency, kids etc, so we know that what is left in our account is our money to spend for the week.”

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*The tips listed here are not AMP’s own, nor do we necessarily endorse them for your personal situation.