Whether you use pen and paper, a spreadsheet or your banking app it’s important to know where every dollar is going. Review three months of your spending (bills, food, clothing, the lot!)  to get ready to build your budget.

Ways to track your expenses

You don’t have to pay all debt at once. Start by writing down your most expensive or pressing debt, or the one costing you the most in interest. Then move down the list. There are different ways to pay off debt. Find out the most common strategies to tackle them.

Use the debt management tool 

Write down any money coming in like your pay, government benefits or other income. Then from your total income, minus your expenses including debt repayments, and see what’s left over. Now it’s time to move to the next step below to start your budget.

We’ll guide you through the steps to creating a proper budget using the work you’ve done above and letting our planning tool build it for you. Having a budget can help you to feel more in control and confident about the future, which can help improve your financial wellbeing score.

Get budgeting

If you find yourself unable to pay for everyday expenses and your bills are getting out of control, ask for (or negotiate) a better rate with your utilities, insurances, phone and internet providers. Ask around, compare providers and see how much you could save.

8 quick ways to save on your bills

Find the things you like to spend money on but could be cut back, such as eating out and buying new clothes. There are plenty of ways to save without sacrificing what you love.

Other ways to reduce your spend 

From credit cards and personal loans to ‘buy now pay later’ programs, debt can quickly get out of control. The best way to wrangle it is with a plan – from snowball and avalanche methods to debt consolidation. Dive into our managing debt program to learn strategies, tips and tools to pay it down.

Manage Your Debt

Whether you use pen and paper, a spreadsheet or your banking app it’s important to know where every dollar is going. Review three months of your spending (bills, food, clothing, the lot!)  to get ready to build your budget.

Ways to track your expenses

When was the last time you switched providers? If you can’t remember, then it is definitely time you reviewed what you’re paying. Ask for (or negotiate) a better rate with your utilities, insurances, phone, and internet providers. Shop around, compare providers and see how much you could save.

Keep track of the offers with our utilities tracker (PDF)

A budget based on your existing bills and tracked spending will help you to better predict what is coming up – and make you less reliant on credit cards to cover your expenses. Use our tool to get set up and see what’s leftover.

Start budgeting

When you’re tapping into credit to cover the everyday, it can be easy to forget that your credit card bills will be going up too. But there are ways you can make it easier to chip away at your debt.

Make your repayments work for you

The most effective way to pay down your debt is to make it a priority in your budget. And while paying the monthly minimum will stop you from incurring late fees, if you can swing a little bit more each month you’ll pay it down quicker.

Add your debt to your budget

While a couple hundred dollars in savings can help you in a pinch, the more you have in your emergency fund the more confident and secure you’ll feel. Pick an amount that you can regularly contribute right now and steadily increase it as you pay off your debt and make room in your budget.

Learn how to save $10k for a rainy day 

If you want to save more, it pays to know how your personality and savings style will affect your goals. Luckily, there’s a quiz for that.

Take the Saver Personality quiz (PDF)

What’s better than one goal? Many goals! Setting a mix of short and long-term goals with different outcomes can help you achieve more and create a workable plan.

Find out how to split your goals

When it comes to planning your goals, the one thing that will make them more achievable is if they’re SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). If you’re new to setting SMART goals, then visit our Savings section.

Teach me how to save better

Saving isn’t effective if you’re getting deeper into debt at the same time. Learn how to manage and pay down your debt so you have more money to save.

Learn how to manage debt

We’ve all got a few spending vices that deep down we know we don’t need. Identify things that aren’t essential to your daily life, happiness and mental health, and either cut them out or cut down how often you spend on them. Maybe you can go from a dinner out every week to once a fortnight?

Calculate how much you’d save

We forget about the cents we spend but even the littlest can add up over time. Round Ups allow you to round up your spending to a set amount with the difference going straight into your savings. You can round up to the nearest dollar, or multiple of $2, $5 or $10. 

Learn about round ups 

You’re adept at reaching the goals that impact your life right now, but where do you want to be in 10, 20 or even 30 years? And how can you ensure you get there? Goal setting can help you to make your dreams for the future feel tangible and real.

Get a goal setter worksheet (PDF)

The most effective way to achieve your goals is to make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely). This will help you to build an incremental plan to get there. Of the long-term goals outlined above, pick one to be your priority.

Set SMART goals now

To grow your wealth you need to be investing, but to best invest you need to be aligned with your risk profile. How aggressive do you want to be? How comfortable will you be with potential losses? This is as important as your investment choices themselves.

Your investment risk profile

Putting away money might come easy to you, but once your cash starts to accumulate, you’re better off investing it to help it grow. Understanding the different types of investment options can help you to start your investing journey on the right foot.

Teach me about the options

If you’re new to investing, it pays to have a plan. How much will you invest to start? How often will you add to it or invest in something new? How much do you want to earn? What is your time frame? And most importantly, what is your exit strategy? Working through these questions will help you to make decisions that are right for you.

Read more about investing

Whether you’re a seasoned investor or new to the investment world, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. Look at ways you can diversify your investments – across companies, types, risk levels, or even markets to get the most out of your money.

Tell me more 

If you're keen to dive into the world of investing, then you'll want to consider investing in shares. From pooled funds to direct buys, there’s no one way to start buying.  

Tell me more

If you already own a home, you might be able to use your equity to purchase an investment property. But there’s more to this than getting a loan approved and heading to auction – consider location, dwelling type, price, and rental yield to help make the best buying decision.

More about investing in property

Investing can feel overwhelming, but having an expert on hand can help you feel secure in the decisions you’re making. Reach out to an independent financial planner, or if you’re a high-net-worth individual with $3m or more to invest or borrow, you can contact ANZ Private Banking for personalised advice.

Learn more