Household management...erk budgets!

[diamonds22]

I'm a soon to be SAHM and I wanna get our finances in order..prob is I dont know where to start!! Do you girls do up a budget spreadsheet and track everything?? or how do you generally keep things in order??

lol any advise/hints (websites with budget sheets) would be great...I really wanna make this work!! (my hubbys handing everything over to me to organise..and I dont wanna stuff it up!)

oh and at the moment we spend 260 per f/n on food shopping (mainly just dinners) and its just the two of us...do u think that is to that high/low?? just curious...i've tried to get it lower but it just dosant seem possible! I'd love to know what others spend for food shopping if your willing to/comfortable on sharing.

[the_queen]

I personally don't do anything as organised as a spreadsheet (but that's just because I'm completely and utterly disorganised in general!!!) I do have a list where I write the bills down as they come in, so it's all in one spot come payday.

For food shopping, I go to a little butcher for meat, a little greengrocer for meat, and a little bakery for bread etc. I spend about $100-ish per fortnight altogether, in those 3 places. Then I go to Bi-Lo and get other stuff eg cleaning products, toiletries, etc etc. I am a home-brand lover, so I can usually manage to spend about $75 a fortnight at Bi-Lo. Ish. It does change, depending on what exactly I need to get, obviously. The other thing I do, at the Salvo's shop they have things like washing powder/dishwashing liquid/etc etc, at a much cheaper price than anywhere else. So I'll go there if we're having a "broke week". Look out for specials at chemists etc, recently our chemist had all this toothpaste going out for $1 a tube (it was a name brand) so I got 4 packets. Also, I don't buy processed food or stuff like that (very much - I do buy it occassionally) being a SAHM means you have more time to bake/cook etc. Our servo does 2LT soft drinks for $1.20 each, so if we want soft drink I get them.

As you may have seen on the "housecleaners" thread, I manage to budget well enough to afford a cleaner once a fortnight!! And we have a "takeaway" food night once a week. Plus my hubby smokes :banghead: but my point is, we manage to afford that too. He's not on any fantastic income, although we are extremely lucky that he does earn enough that I can stay home.

Good luck!!:thumbsup:

[diamonds22]

oh gosh you are soo organised (lol even if your not trying!!)

god we are sooo overspending on shopping!! we live in the city and I swear I never see any brand name products in the stores its not fair!! (I’m sure everything is double price cos its the 'richie area' its ridiculous...I cant wait till we move to Caloundra!)

my hubbys around the 85k mark...i'm only on the 45k mark..so its going to be a shock going to one wage...I hope we can do it, he really wants me to be a SAHM..but I’m scared I’m not going to be very good at it cos I have sooo much to learn!

Anyway...I’m going to print all this out (lol hopefully I get some more replies :o thx for your input...I am going to incorporate them into our budget!! :thumbsup: )

[sugar n spice]

I budget pretty good, things do change according to unexpected situations but im pretty much on the ball, i know whats coming and going, what bills to expect in the mail each wk - month etc. Of course you will be fine as a SAHM i mean we all learn once. If you wish to see an eg of the spreadsheet id do i am happy to email you a copy, just pm me if you want a copy. It is my own not off the net or anything, something i adapted to suit myself and it is a fn budget. Also you say you spend $260 on food a fn then id expect your budget to be $360 - 400 fn (add an extra $100 less if your breast feeding for the baby) we spend $400 fn but more if you count the odd occasion out. Hope this helps

[Ana Gram]

We do it weekly as Dp is paid weekly. Basically, I just made a list of all the things that need to be paid for the week ie rent, any direct debits like insurance, loans etc, weekly food amount which cannot be gone over ( i rarely go much over $100 a week in total food bill - I also shop at Bi-lo only buy home brand or what ever is cheapest and make a meal plan and shopping list) and always put money aside for bills even if we didn't get a bill that week. You can bet a huge bill will come in that you don't have money for.
SO the easiest way of doing it is write down how much will be coming in for the week or fortnight after tax and then write up wherer it needs to go. Don't forget things like petrol or public transport fees.

[Bellarose]

Hi there,

This is what I've done... I like to know exactly where our money goes as its so easy to spend and also so I know how much we can save to put towards larger things.

The easiest thing to do is sit down with a pen and paper, or setup an Excel spreadsheet if you have a PC at home. Write a list of everything you spend you money on. eg transport, food, personal. This does take some thinking and going through past bills but once done the rest is easy. I work out how all the bills are and work out how much per fortnight / month and year. This gives you an idea how much you can plan to save over the year. You would be surprised. When you know where your money goes you can feel so much better when you do spend it as you know its within your limit.

I have a exercise book near all of the bills. At the end of the week we simply write down where the money went. This does take disicple but once you get in the habit it makes you aware just where the money has gone.

Also make your budget realistic. If you dont you're never going to stick to it and you have wasted you time.

In our budget we have a 'Sanity Allowance' of $40 each per fornight to spend on anything we want. So if my hubby wants to gamble at the casino it doesnt cause any fights and I can have lunch with the girls without feeling guilty.

To give you an idea .. there is the two of us and we spend $200/fortnight on groceries. We lives in the suburbs so maybe its a little cheaper. We only shop once a fortnight. I sometimes go to the markets early Sunday morning and you can fruit and vegies for a third of the price you pay in the shops. You just have to wake up early though.

Everyones different... this is what works for us.. Good luck and take care. :)

[JasmineLouise]

I agree with the spreadsheet idea. Banks usually offer an online budget planner and i have used the one on the Community CPS website. It's a great idea because it shows you not only how much is spent per week but also yearly.

Another method i use (Because i get paid cash in hand) is to have an A4 folder and allocate named envelopes such as Rent, Food, Phone etc. By placing the budgeted money in each envelope it is easy to see what is left over for entertainment/savings...:yelclap:

Finally, i also have an old shoebox that i have assigned for spare change. Every day i put something inside (even if it's only 5c). I then take this into the bank and deposit it into a second savings account when it's full.

Hope this has helped! :thumbsup:

[EskimoMumma]

I budget pretty good, things do change according to unexpected situations but im pretty much on the ball, i know whats coming and going, what bills to expect in the mail each wk - month etc. Of course you will be fine as a SAHM i mean we all learn once. If you wish to see an eg of the spreadsheet id do i am happy to email you a copy, just pm me if you want a copy. It is my own not off the net or anything, something i adapted to suit myself and it is a fn budget. Also you say you spend $260 on food a fn then id expect your budget to be $360 - 400 fn (add an extra $100 less if your breast feeding for the baby) we spend $400 fn but more if you count the odd occasion out. Hope this helps


oh its good to see other families spend as much as us with one two youngins lol :)

[2littleprincesses]

Once you have worked out how much you can afford to spend on groceries each week/fortnight/month (however you work it out), take the cash out of the bank and try and stick to only spending that amount. It's so easy when you pay by credit to buy more than you actually need to. I find that by paying cash, I work out what is really necessary to buy. eg I don't really need those biscuits because I need the cash for my vege delivery on Tuesday.

[jordy&steph'smumma]

I find that DH gets paid weekly so I pay the weekly things out of his pay (rent etc) and I get paid fortnightly (family payment) so we have a big pay week and a smaller pay week.

Therefore I do my shopping fornightly on the bigger pay week as I can buy more things in bulk like meat etc and save money that way (I mostly shop at aldi) but can't get everything there so take a smaller list into the supermarket for the things that I need but can't get there AND STICK TO THE LIST!!!

I also pay $40 an fortnight off out gas and another $40 off our electricity both let you go on a payment plan and tell you how much you need to pay to keep up with you bills. Therefore you never have to pay the amount in full you just keep paying the installments and in summer I have $100's in credit as we don't use the heater which evens out in winter when we have it cranked up all the time!!!

I also divide my average phone bills etc by 4 so I know about how much I have to stash away a week or fortnight for them so all bills are covered.

We are a family of 4 and I only spend $150-200 and fortnight on groceries. I think it depends where you go and how well you stick to your shopping list!!! lol

Hope this helps :yes:

Kylie

[Jem]

i always write a list of my incomings and outgoings..

my budget for the groceries is around $160 a week... and then mid-week i will usually top up...another $40..

i get my electricity deducted out of my parenting payment, so im always ontop of that.....

And i make sure i keep tabs on the phone usage....

Rent is always number one priority ( funnily i have mentioned this last :laughing: ) And is usually the biggest killer in the hip pocket....well in mine anyways :D

I always make sure we are saving, and going forward not backwards...
im one of those ppl that needs a bit of a bank balance to feel secure :thumbsup:

[Minke]

About $200/week, and that was before bubs (formula, nappies etc:eek: ) but i am a horrid brand snob... (champagne tatse, beer budget :laughing: )

Plus fuel for two cars, cigs, bills, mortgage repayments, insurance, dancing lessons, swimming lessons and it goes on and on....

We pay everything direct debit (except rego) and have set up internet banking to pay telstra bpay weekly for $45 - and are usually in credit... :D

I am shocking at budgeting, which is why everything is paid weekly, and all of it comes out of an account that we have a minimum couple of thousand in... that way i never get caught short. I don't have a set amount to spend - if i have a really big week, the next week i'll try to not spend as much, but it does usually even out over the month

Good luck

[Rosa]

We get all our bills direct debited fortnightly so when the bill comes in it's already paid. WE spend around $300-$350 a fortnight on groceries if we spend less we use that money to have a take-out night. I'd also suggest going to the markets for fresh fruit and vege it is so much cheaper. If your in Bris there is a great one Saturday Mornings at West End so you can get your fruit and vege (we spend about $30 a week) and have a coffee while your there. There is also a very cheap and good butcher at West End Markets where we go. Best of luck.

[Fairyfloss]

Another method i use (Because i get paid cash in hand) is to have an A4 folder and allocate named envelopes such as Rent, Food, Phone etc. By placing the budgeted money in each envelope it is easy to see what is left over for entertainment/savings...

Finally, i also have an old shoebox that i have assigned for spare change. Every day i put something inside (even if it's only 5c). I then take this into the bank and deposit it into a second savings account when it's full.



I have something similar to these two, but, I have a list of when my next bills are due, and for some I can check how much they are, befoe they are even issued, so I write down $$$ for bills, what ever is left over goes for food.

Just remember, if you can treat saving as one of the bills, even if it is only $10 that way, you always have a bit of room for emergencies, and might avoid paying fines and intrest, which are much higher, by doing this I only paid $20 in intrest for my Credit card, for the whole year last year.

also check this website out, and join their newletter, it gives you heaps of ideas. http://www.simplesavings.com.au/vault/

good luck

[cjb/jbvd]

this is the advice i was given by my uncle (financial planner!!)

six weeks before you and your partner go to single income, keep a daily diary of every expenditure. whether it's the three bucks you spent on a coffee or filling up your car, or getting take out. whatever it is, write it down. you'd be surprised what actually gets wasted.

two weeks before you drop the second income, look over the diary. work out what you actually need to spend (include extras for quarterly bills, insurance and stuff like that), then set up an account and have money automatically transferred into it every pay. keep only one card to the account, and keep it in an envelope on the fridge. only take it out to actually pay household expenses via bpay or for the grocery shop.

set up a second account, then put 10 bucks per pay (or whatever you think you can afford) purely for emergencies only. don't even keep a card to that account. has to be teller withdrawl only.

if you're really keen, you can set up a final account and chuck a few extra bucks in it, just for saving up. you never know when you might want to go on a holiday, or even start saving or the big christmas spend every year.

then whatever is left over, you can spend on anything you want.

as for saving money on food, fresh fruit and vegies is probably your biggest cost, followed by meat. try looking for a fresh food market near you for fruit and vegies. also, instead of buying meat at a supermarket, try using a wholesale butcher. the meat is just as good, and you aren't paying extra for cutting or trimming or anything like that.

hope this helps.

[em's mum]

Hi!

Don't we all just love the old budgets!!! I notice you are from Brisbane - a few months back "Extra" ran a budget special and they have downloads on their website to do up a budget. I found them really good as they covered everything you can think of - even gifts (which would never have even entered my mind!!).

Anyway, I have set up our bank account to have sub accounts off it, so I have set one up for "expenses" and another for "savings". We pay everything on credit card, so every week I transfer $400 (which is what we worked out from the budget spreadsheets it costs us to live) into our expense account and that is the account we pay the credit card from. Then after I've paid the credit card, I transfer most of our balance into our savings account. There are times when we blow the budget, (usually around birthdays and christmas as obviously I haven't budgeted enough!!) but as long as we are putting savings away regularly, I'm not too concerned.

We currently budget $150 per week for groceries but hubby is a shocker in the lolly and chip aisles:banghead: , so at times we blow it if we also need to buy meat. But I am lucky enough to have 2 supermarkets near home, so I watch out for specials at each of them. I'm also looking into getting our fruit and veges home delivered direct from the markets and meat from a butcher to see if that works out a bit cheaper:fingerscrossed: .

Hope this helps.