in the evenings when vendors are
looking to shift stock, says mum Jessica
Kuwata. Try replacing your boxes
of soymilk with fresh locally made
options, or even make your own.
Group together with friends on online
overseas purchases for discounted
bulk orders and shared discount
codes. And try putting the kids in one
or two locally run activities. Aside
from a reduced price tag, they’ll also
gain exposure to a new language and
culture.
Richard also stresses the
importance of paying yourself “a
Budget it list
Fixed Costs:
(These should be the same, or almost
the same, every month.)
• Rent
• Tax savings
• MPF
• Helper and/or driver wages
• School fees
• School transport
• School meals
• Fixed bills
(like broadband or phone
contracts which are regularly the
same every month)
• Transport
• Regular extracurricular activities
Variable costs:
(These are discretionary and variable
costs.)
• Food and household shopping
• Eating out
• Additional kids’ expenses
(clothes, treats, birthday parties, new
or less regular classes or activities)
• Lifestyle/Socialising
• Variable, but regular, bills
(like electricity)
• Holidays
• Unforeseen expenses/Miscellaneous
Not sure what to include in your
budget? Try these categories for
starters, advises Richard Bolton of
The Henley Group.
wage.” Once you have decided on a
monthly spend, transfer any surplus
into a separate savings account.
“People are very good at spending
exactly what they earn or what is in
their account, and need to develop
a habit of spending what they have
given themselves as opposed to what
they are paid,” he says. He favours
spending cash only, saying interest and
charges outweigh points schemes card
issuers advertise; however, Samantha
finds credit purchases easier to track,
and sets up auto-payments to clear
each bill as it arrives.
Budgeting doesn’t have to take
up a hefty part of your schedule,
but it responds to maintenance.
Samantha says tracking spends as
she makes them has become second
nature – compiling and filing any bills,
premiums or additional paperwork
takes about one to two hours per
month. In the past year, she admits to
letting a few months slip before getting
straight again, although it’s been fairly
easy, she says, to climb back on the
budgeting wagon.
Of course, this is always best done
with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
October 2013
47
