How to build the ultimate budget

How to build the ultimate budget

Louis: Gosh, little monstera. You've really come a long way, haven't you? Thank you for surviving. Mommy loves you. Now, if only my finances were this healthy.

Jade: Well, they can be.

Louis: Jade! What are you doing here?

Jade: I heard on the grapevine that you might need some help building a healthy budget.

Louis: Have my grapes really been gossiping about me again?

Louis Voiceover: ANZ presents: How To Build The Ultimate Budget. It's okay. I didn't know either.

Louis: So what makes a good budget? I mean, I feel like I have the basics down pat. I have a plan for my savings. I track my income, all of that good stuff. But I can never really get it quite right. You know what I mean?

Jade: I think the two biggest mistakes people make with their budget is that, one, they don't budget for everything. And two, they don't keep proper tabs on their progress.

Louis: Yeah, like I always forget to budget for things like I don’t know, a new washing machine or fun things like music festivals. Treat yourself.

Jade: You're not alone. It's easy to remember the big expenses, like rent and utilities and food, but often it's those little infrequent things that we forget. I was thinking maybe we could try breaking down all the different parts of your budget using these beautiful plants.

Louis: Okay, this one's giving house deposit. A little utility one. I think this one's giving transport. Sneakers for this one. Health care, 100%. Rent. Nah sorry. This snake plant is not giving fun fund. Eep! It just doesn't feel correct in my heart. It's giving more emergency medical expenses.

Louis: That makes sense.

Louis: You know what? This really does help to see everything visualised. Yeah. When it's in these smaller chunks, it feels a whole lot more manageable.

Jade: Louis, can I ask you a question?

Louis: Any time.

Jade: How do you eat an elephant?

Louis: Jade, I wasn't expecting you to ask that question. How do I eat an elephant? I don't know. I don’t know Jade, how do I?

Jade: One bite at a time. It's all about breaking it down into manageable chunks. You can even open up separate savings accounts for each thing in your budget so you can keep an eye on their individual progress. And it means you're earning interest on all that money before you use it as well.

Louis: So it kind of like grows while you wait.

Louis: I'm with you. Also, no elephants were harmed in the making of this video.

Jade: I can also recommend doing it on an app so you can literally watch your balance grow. Sometimes numbers in a book or spreadsheet can feel too abstract and metaphorical. You actually have to see it happening.

Louis: Question for you- How much should I be saving every month?

Jade: Well, usually we want to aim for about 20% of our income going into our savings and then 30% of our income going into our wants and 50% of our income going into our needs.

Louis: You hear that babies... mommy needs an air fryer.

Jade: Mmmmm that’s more of a want.

Louis: You keep me humble. Well, if you found this video helpful, subscribe to our channel and watch me upskill on my financial wellbeing journey. Oh, and don't forget to check the links in the description for some more handy resources.

Jade: No.

Louis: Are you sure?

Jade: Yeah.

Louis: Oh!