Budgeting Tips
Budgeting – made easy with us!
Do you wish you had more spare cash to enjoy life?
Are you frustrated with living pay to pay?
Do you stress about paying your bills?
At FSCU we can help make it work – FOR FREE!
- Multiple accounts, for free, to help you separate spending and saving
- Automatically split your pay between your accounts for easy budgeting
- Set up direct debits / auto transfers for utilities etc.
- Personal budgeting help
We can name the account whatever you like and split your money so you can reach those financial goals sooner!
No set up costs & No monthly account keeping fees!
Creating and sticking with a budget is known to be one of the most effective ways to manage and save money. Budgeting helps you come up with a solid plan on how you will spend and save your money, ensuring that you have enough funds for the items you need – you can save for other items you want.
Setting up a budget
Thoughtful budgeting and planning really is the key to achieving your goals. Budgeting is the difference between controlling where your money goes and wondering where it all went.
Here’s 4 simple steps to help you plan your budget and get on top of your spending so you have more time to enjoy life.
Step 1 – Planning and setting goals
Calculate your weekly or fortnightly income, then take away your essential expenses. Whatever you have left is yours to use however you like. Sounds simple, right? Use our budget calculator to help you.
The smart option is to set a savings goal and put some of this money aside into a separate savings account. Operating separate accounts for spending, savings, and bills is a really good idea. We can help you open multiple accounts and automatically split your pay between them for easy budgeting.
Step 2 – Keep track of spending
Download a spending tracker to your smartphone:
Use our Mobile Banking app to keep track of your balance and transactions at the touch of a fingertip.
Sign up for Estatements so you have your financial history conveniently and securely stored within your Internet Banking
Step 3 – Limit negative habits and unnecessary spending
It may sound simple but every time you’re about to spend money ask yourself “Do I really need this? Really?” And be honest with yourself.
Some things are essentials – things like clothing, food, transport, healthcare and looking after our families. But lots of other things are ‘wants’ – things that wouldn’t really affect us if we did without them.
And watch for the little things. Like ATM fees. FSCU gives you access to over 10000 ATMs nationwide. Use CBA, ANZ, Westpac and Bank SA for free unlimited ATM transactions.
Or account transaction fees. Using your FSCU Visa Debit card and pressing the CR button at EFTPOS terminals gives you unlimited, free transactions.
Step 4 – Debt reduction
If you have debt, the best way to limit its impact on your budget is to pay it off as early as possible. If you are able to make more than the minimum repayment each month, it makes sense to do this. You will pay less interest over the life of the loan, saving you money.
If you have multiple debits, tackle the debt with the highest interest rate first, directing as much as possible to this debt while continuing to make the minimum payments on the others. As you pay off and cancel your debts, one by one, you will gain a great sense of achievement and feel more in control of your hard earned money.
Consolidating multiple debts into one easy-to-manage loan may be an option worth discussing.
Check out what accounts we have on offer then give us a call.