Money Boot Camp

Step 1 - Find out where you stand

Income and Expenditure

Create a budget to see if you are living within your means. You could use this Budget Planner.

Are there any ‘red flags’ to suggest that you need to adjust your budget?

Step 2 - Look Up Pain Free Savings

Try to make as much progress with steps that are easy and relatively painless to complete.

There are a number of articles that will help with this:

• 15 Ways to Spend Less(tips for making savings on your spending)

• 10 Steps 10 Money Management Zen (tips for making savings on your spending)

• Bills (tips for managing bills)

• Haggling (tips on becoming a good haggler)

• Mobile Phones (minimising expenditure on phones)

• Upgrades (minimising expenditure on perhaps unnecessary upgrades)

• Alternative Heating Strategies (minimising heating costs)

• Get a Supermarket Hit (minimising spending in the supermarket)

• Cut the Household Bills (tips on making savings on household spending)

• Savings at Home (tips on making savings on household spending)

• Low Cost Holiday Period Options (some suggestions for making memories on a budget)

Step 3 - Look Up Ways To Boost Your Income

There may be relatively low-effort ways of boosting income such as some casual work, reclaiming expenses, claiming additional benefits. This might bring the finances to a healthier state. There are a number of suggestions in the following article:

• Money Booster

Redo the budget planner with any additional income that you might have generated and any expenditure that you might have reduced.

Step 4 - Consider Painful Savings

This is where you need to make very difficult decisions. At this stage, it would be a good idea to consider professional assistance. There are a number of organisations who will assist you. Some are free (such as MABS), some charge a modest fee and there are also for-profit organisations that exist to help you work through a money crisis. Look at our Ask For Help page for some options.