Set Your Goals

The goals you set are yours; you have the power to choose what is important to you and design your goals accordingly. The first step is for us to sit with you and set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time sensitive goals. Once we have goals in place we can begin to prioritise and help you build your plan of action.

Identify Income and Expenditure (Cash flow)

Once you have established some goals for your money, it’s time to look at where it comes from and where it goes right now. Now it’s time to record your spending. This can be difficult because, for most people, they are clear about where their money comes from, but not certain about where it goes. Understanding where your money goes is an important start to managing your money. This can be done through tracking your expenses. This is one area where we really save you time. We will use integrated software to gather your income and spending data after which we will categorise expenses. We will then provide a clear and concise report which will reveal your spending habits and will highlight your position relative to other Australian households. By doing this we can identify areas which may need a closer look.

Separate Needs and Wants

As people track their spending, they discover that some of their money gets used for things they really don’t need. Instead, they merely want them and often buy them impulsively. Impulse spending is unplanned spending; purchasing things that you may or may not need, or spending more on an item that you planned. The key to good money management is separating needs from wants. Almost everything you buy involves a want versus need determination and ultimately, how you make these choices will determine if you reach your goals or not. In consultation with you we will identify clearly those expenses that are non-negotiable and those that are variable. This is a crucial step which leads to setting your budget.      

Set Your Budget 

This is the really important stuff. Most people run when the word budget is mentioned. Don’t leave just yet; we will help you to formulate a personal budget that suites you and your circumstances. With all of the information at hand it won’t be too hard. Your budget is your spending plan - it will allow you to live within your means, avoid the stress of money troubles and give you the freedom to make choices with what you have. Most importantly our budget will allow you to map your way to reaching your goals. Our budget will allow you to identify where your money is needed and where savings can be found. We will help you keep a clear view of your goals while staying accountable to your spending plan; just like a personal trainer at the gym.

Track your progress & measure your success 

So how do we keep you on track?   

Once you are up and running, we then manage the ongoing monthly reconciliation and reporting on your behalf. If there are any irregular expenses which are not categorised, we will ask you to provide clarification around what they may have been. You will have access to your budget via your computer or mobile phone so you can check your progress. Don’t worry, we will be checking it too and providing reports on a regular basis. We will keep you accountable to your budget.

Review & adjust your action plan

Any good plan must involve monitoring, periodic review, and re-evaluation. A spending plan is no different. Circumstances may change and your needs will vary at different times in your life. Ongoing review will enable you to work out the kinks and ensure a realistic money plan remains in place over time.