How much do you think you spend on each item below?
Now what do you really
spend?
Revise your list by checking your bills. For more information on
how
to start a record of your spending you could also see Keeping
track of records - home book keeping.
Taking care of the pennies - small items When we work out how much we spend it's often the little things
that we ignore.
Make a list of all of the little things that you
spend your money on.
You can use the list below to give you an idea
of things that you may spend money on.
Example cost in pounds
From this list you can see how easily you can spend more than
you think you do.
Some of the things in the list you may buy
more than once a week. Then the pennies really start adding up.
This is just a
guide – everyone
spends money differently. Try making a note of what you buy
and how much it costs. If you can, do this for a few weeks.
That way
you won't forget the pennies.
Taking care of the pounds - large items Sometimes when we are working out how we spend our money we
ignore things that cost a lot because we don't spend money on them every
week.
Make a list of the big things that you spend money
on. You can use the example shown below to give you an idea.
Example:
If you don't have much
money it may be best to put a little bit of money aside so you
can afford these things when you need them.
To work out how much to put aside divide the yearly
amount by 52. The year has 52 weeks, so if you divide the amount by
52 you will find out how much you should put aside weekly.
Car costs
£520.00 divided by 52 = £10.00
In this example a good amount to put aside
for car costs would be £10 a week, possibly even a little
more if you can afford it to cover unexpected repairs.
Clothing £260.00 divided by 52 = £5.00
In this example a good amount to put aside
for clothing would be £5 a week.
