If credit is creating havoc in your budget, get rid of those credit cards and start living within your means. Financial freedom is being able to pay for something cash. Be free from all short-term debt, at 20 to 30% interest the financial institutions are robbing you blind.

A budget is such a simple yet effective tool, which very few people seem to use. It is one of the first things you start with in developing a financial plan. You will not believe the amount of people I see who have no idea what there exact monthly expenses are.

You need to start looking at yourself as a moneymaking machine, with your salary as your turnover and your personal expenses as your running costs. The whole purpose of the moneymaking machine should be to make a profit i.e. your monthly income should exceed all your expenses. If it doesn’t, that money making machine is making a loss and is currently worthless. You need to get into profit, so those profits can be re-invested into other “money making machines”, such as property and other long term retirement investments, and to also build up an emergency savings pot, to cover any unforeseen events. Credit Cards should not be seen as emergency funds.

For more advice on how to structure a sensible budget, go to the contact us section and fill in your details and we will get back to you.