If you stick to a budget you can save money and put into a separate account and watch your savings grow.

Budget for extras. That’s what we’ve done. We usually end up with about $200-300 per week for food, petrol, entertainment etc. but if we are a little tight we can always live off mince lol… But we actually have a lot of dry supplies and frozen food at home so we won’t go hungry!

I try to set aside 10% a month for emergencies / big expenses. I don’t always manage it, but over time it builds a bit of a cushion.

I find it really hard to stick to a budget, we usually spend 550 a fortnight on food, nappies etc. When paying bills i find it good if i have a little extra money it good to pay a little extra on my bills each time i pay them. That way it comes straight off the bill before i recieve it next time. I would also have a extra part to the buget which includes Essentials like food and petrol,. Then a one that is for treats, take aways, dining out, hairdressers, clothes etc. and another for emergancies. ( the good thing about this last one it can be used for birthdays or holidays as long as a base amount stays avaible at all times.
It really comes down to if you have one or two wages comming in as to what luxury’s can be afforded. For me i am a stay at home mum and i do a lot of surveys which i save up and spend on kids birhday and christmas presents.( this gives me a few hundrd extra over the year that i would not of had otherwise)

Fortnightly deductions for regular bills is great for saving too as you do not get unexpected nasties in the mail.

family of 4 on 1 income I have about $550 fortnight for groceries, layby payments, phone credit, school things like tuckshop/ raffle tickets if any and other bits and pieces through out the weeks. Rest goes on bills which includes fuel, car services etc.
We have found that paying some bills on payment plans are easier than receiving huge lump sum bills. Some weeks are harder than others.

I try to stick to 900 dollars a month for groceries, including everything else you need in the house like detergents, toilet paper, body care and so on. We are a family of 3.
For transport around 350 dollars a month. We’ve got one car and we use the train regularly.
I keep my budget in Excel. It helps a lot.

For the car I work out approx how much car services, tyres etc and divide by 12 for a monthly budget. If you don’t use make sure you carry over the remaining budget. We spend about $150 a week on groceries for 3. Sticking to a budget requires discipline and sacrifice. Good luck.

With the family of three, I say around $1k a month. The whole outgoing is around $3k~4k a month.

I have hubby a 9year old & 5 year old, I usually put about $150/week for food, we have a fuel card which usally comes in at approx $270 per month sometimes less if we don’t have any weekend outings away, & then it is usally about $100/week for incidentals but I like to try & keep that to a min so it carries over each week & then at the end of the month we do something special with the kids.

Budgets can be tough and an emergency fund has to be a part of a good budget as little emergencies and the need for extra funds always pop up.

We have me, hubby, 2 yr old and a 9month old. We spend $300 a fortnight on groceries this amount includes nappies, wipes and formula. I also put aside $75 for during the fortnight for odds and ends, milk, fruits, veg etc. fuel we put away $70 a week. Sometimes we come under and then that is free money to have coffees, outing etc. we also have $50 sitting in place for if we want to take the kids to the playlamd, any coffee meeting etc. so fortnightly we put away all up for fuel, coffee, food and outing probably $500 a fortnight… $250 a week. I don’t think that’s too bad. hopefully. Haha

We are a family of 5 and the grocery budget is $120 which includes all food and also things like shampoo, toothpaste etc.

I work with someone who applied for a loan recently and the bank wanted evidence that she allocated a set percentage for living expenses – I think it was between 15 to 25%

I budget per fornight $300 for food, $170 for fuel and $200 for miscellaneous expenses – coffees, playgroup fees, clothes etc

I find it really easy to budget and people are in shock with what we live on very, very basic. We live to the cent not the dollar. But their is only my son and I which is probably much easier. We never use a credit card and I do an excel spreadsheet for all expenses. What I do for expenses like car is reduce the entertainment money, leave my hair to get down a few weeks later and just tie my hair up etc.

I also use a great app Smart Money and I add small goals in there and just put coins in a money box and each time I put some in add it to the app. If I put petrol in the car I will put $47 in instead of $50 and put the $3 towards a saving goal you would be shocked how fast it adds up.

Sticking to a budget is all about all SACRIFICE…..going without the treats sometimes.

Good luck.

It’s very hard to budget for those extras that crop up from time to time but it sounds as if you are really on the right track with your budget. I have a separate account that I add $50 per pay that I do not touch unless it is absolutely necessary and this gives me a bit of a ‘buffer’ in case of an emergency. It builds up remarkably quickly and could even be used for something really special! Keep up the good work!