money diary....top tips on goal setting. • visualise your goals – put a picture of what you want...

Money diary.

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Name:

Phone:

Email address:

My money dreams and goals:

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Dreams and goals.Goals give you a clear understanding of where you want to go, and provide a framework for how you are going to get there.

Remember though, we need to be able to achieve our personal goals whilst still meeting our everyday commitments like food, housing and clothes and being realistic financially about what we can achieve.

Top tips on goal setting.

• Visualise your goals – put a picture of what you want to achieve somewhere where you will see it often, like on the fridge door.

• Scrapbooks – collect images from magazines or off the internet and paste them into a scrapbook.

• Be specific about the goal and when you want to achieve it by.

• It often helps to break big goals into smaller manageable steps.

Goals are more likely to be achieved if they are SMART goals.

• Specific.• Measurable.• Achievable.• Relevant.• Time-bound.

For example: I am going to save $500 in my bank account by the end of the year to take away on holidays with me.

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Using a money diary.Keeping track of where your money goes can help you take control and create opportunities for you and your family.

A money diary is one of the tools you can use to understand what you spend your money on. Record every cent you spend for one month. It will give you a very clear picture of where you are spending your money.

It’s a good idea to group the expenses into things like housing, transport, food and entertainment. Then add up the amounts to see how much you spend each week/fortnight/month. This will help you when putting together your budget.

At the end of the month, think about whether this is how you want to spend your money or whether there is a better way that will help you and your family achieve your goals.

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Once your money diary is complete...Group your spending into categories like food, transport, housing etc and record the totals below. Use the pie graph to create a picture of how you spend your money. Then record what, if any, changes you would like to make.

What I spend my money on

Category $ amount % of all Changes?

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Good spending habits.Developing good spending habits is important in taking control of your money.

Some good habits include:

• Don’t spend more than you earn.

• Avoiding emotional spending.

• Understand the value of money.

• Make informed choices between needs and wants.

• Delaying spending.

• Use your credit card wisely.

The leak factor.

The little things that only cost a few dollars here or there can add up very quickly.

For example, a can of soft drink, cup of coffee, or the lunch you buy, probably don’t cost much at the time. But what if you did it every day?

Let’s say the can of soft drink is $3. If you buy one can every day that’s over $20 a week and nearly $100 a month. This is over $1,000 a year! What else could you do with that $1,000?

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Next step: build your budget.A budget is a plan for how you use your money. In other words, it’s your money plan. Use your completed money diary and follow the steps below to build your budget. Download a budget planner template at westpac.com.au/davidsoninstitute/personal/planning-for-your-future/budget-planner

Step 1: Money in.Where do you get your money from and how much?

Step 2: Money out.What do you spend your money on and how much?

Step 3: How much do you have left over?To calculate, take your total money out away from your total money in.

Money In minus Money Out equals Money Left. The number calculated will be either a positive (surplus), or a negative (deficit) number.

Surplus.If your budget is in surplus it means that you have spent less money than you received so you have money left over.

Deficit.If your budget is in deficit it means that you have spent more money than you received. In other words you don’t have enough money to pay for the things you need to pay for or want to pay for. By taking the time to look at your spending and develop your budget you can then decide if this is how you want to spend your money or whether there is a better way that will help you to achieve your goals.

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My budget.Money in

Wages/Centrelink $

Other $

Total A $

Money out

Savings $

Bills $

Living expenses $

Spending $

Total B $

Money left

Total A – Total B $

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My plan to achieve my goals:

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