Budgeting lessons worth learning
It’s commonly said that it takes money to make money. Those who live payslip to payslip and have little to invest or save for a rainy day would likely agree. But if you take the time to re-evaluate your finances, you’ll start to realise that setting aside even the smallest of dollar amounts can really add up over a lifetime, and budgeting is a key way to achieve this.
We’ve put some pointers together to get you started.
Three key numbers – 50/30/20
- Use up to 50% of your income for what you need
- Allow for up to 30% to spend on the fun stuff
- Save 20% for a rainy day, invest or your savings goal.
These numbers aren’t necessarily fixed; however, they provide a strong foundation for building healthy financial habits to help you achieve your goals.
Pay yourself first
When you get your paycheck, many people make the mistake of spending first, and then saving what is left over. The problem with this is that it doesn’t guarantee any savings; your savings become dependent on how much you spend each month (and often in a rather unplanned fashion).
A better strategy is to pay yourself first by setting aside a fixed percentage of your income towards saving and investing (for example the 20% from the numbers above), and then spending with what is left over.
Automation is your friend here, which can whisk the money straight out of your spending account before you have a chance to spend it. Setting up a recurring deposit into your Raiz account is one way to do this.
For more information on Raiz fees, click here.
Trimming the fat on your budget.
If you take a bird’s-eye view of your budget, you’ll soon see that there are a few types of outgoings from your pay. You can think of them as this:
- Investment/Rainy day funds
- Essential expenses you cannot change.
- Essential expenses that you can control.
- Non-essentials
The key is to make your essentials are lean as possible by finding alternatives or shopping around. For example:
- Remember that household bills like electricity, gas, internet, and insurance can all be shopped and swapped. By switching providers, you can easily save hundreds off your annual spend! Raiz Energy can be of big help when comparing, and you’ll get up to $112 invested back into your Raiz account for switching. Raiz Broadband is giving $56 back for switching your internet provider (accurate July 2022)
- Buy in bulk (within reason): you may look like a madman for a moment, but it really pays off to buy non-perishable essentials in bulk.
- Try to pay for things upfront or on time – some providers will give discounts for on time payments or bulk payments (e.g. annual premiums for insurance can at times be cheaper than monthly)
Our My Finance Tool can help keep track of your spending
Some Raiz users have reported they have previously used Pocketbook to help keep track of their finances, but did you know Raiz Invest has our own budgeting tool in-app that can act as a saving and expense tracker?
The My Finance tab is a useful tool within Raiz to help track and categorise your spending, which can assist in creating and sticking to your budget. My Finance will only analyse transactions made from your linked spending accounts, but you can link as many as you like. Check out the Raiz App Guide for tips on how to usethis helpful tool.
Every bit counts
Start small, think big! Every step will help you on your path to your financial goals.
All investments carry risk.
To see if Raiz is suitable for you, please read the PDS.
Don’t have the Raiz App?
Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:
Important Information
If you have read all or any part of our email, website, or communication then you need to know that this is factual information and general advice only. This means it does not consider any person’s particular financial objectives, financial situation, or financial needs. If you are an investor, you should consult a licensed adviser before acting on any information to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product. This is your call but that is what you should do.
You may be surprised to learn that RAIZ Invest Australia Limited (ABN 26 604 402 815) (Raiz), an authorised representative AFSL 434776 prepared this information.
We are not allowed, and have not prepared this information to offer financial product advice or a recommendation in relation to any investments or securities. If we did give you personal advice, which we did not, then the use of the Raiz App would be a lot more expensive than the current pricing – sorry but true. You therefore should not rely on this information to make investment decisions, because it was not about you for once, and unfortunately, we cannot advise you on who or what you can rely on – again sorry.
A Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super is available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the PDS before deciding whether, or not, to acquire and/or continue to hold interests in the financial product. We know and ASIC research shows that you probably won’t, but we want you to, and we encourage you to read the PDS so you know exactly what the product does, its risks and costs. If you don’t read the PDS, it’s a bit like flying blind. Probably not a good idea.
The risks and fees for investing are fully set out in the PDS and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing. You should note, as illustrated by the global financial crisis of 2008, that sometimes not even professionals in the financial services sector understand the ordinary risks of investing – because by their nature many risks are unknown – but you still need to give it a go and try to understand the risks set out in the PDS.
Any returns shown or implied are not forecasts and are not reliable guides or predictors of future performance. Those of you who cannot afford financial advice may be considering ignoring this statement, but please don’t, it is so true.
Under no circumstance is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.
This information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice and have not been independently verified. Basically, this says nothing stays the same for long in financial markets (or even in life for that matter) and we are sorry. We try, but we can’t promise that the information is accurate, or stays accurate.
Any opinions or information expressed are subject to change without notice; that’s just the way we roll.
The bundll and superbundll products are provided by FlexiCards Australia Pty Ltd ABN 31 099 651 877 Australian credit licence number 247415. Bundll, snooze and superbundll are trademarks of Flexirent Capital Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of FlexiGroup Limited. Lots of names, which basically you aren’t allowed to reproduce without their permission and we need to include here.
Mastercard is a registered trademark and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
Home loans are subject to approval from the lending institution and Raiz Home Ownership makes no warranties as to the success of an application until all relevant information has been provided.
Raiz Home Ownership Pty Ltd (ABN 14 645 876 937), an Australian Credit Representative number 528594 under Australian Credit Licence number 387025. Raiz Home Ownership Pty Ltd is 100% owned by Raiz Invest Australia Limited (ABN 26 604 402 815).
