1. Rent gets paid first. Always and without question.

2. I then pay myself. Currently I’m putting about 10% – 15% of my take home pay into an ING account. Like rent, this always happens without question. I’ve discovered that I like to spend a bit of money, so having the ING is a great way to sock the money away without feeling it, knowing that I won’t spend it.

3. After that, I usually put $50 away a week for general expenses. This goes onto the Visa Debit card and pays for things like utilities, Bigpond movie rental subscription and personal items such as moisturisers and the like that don’t need to be purchased every week.

4. I then pay for the credit cards. I have two (total debt around $8K) so I pay $50 a week off each, plus when the statements come at different times of the month, I pay the usual $50, plus the minimum the banks want, plus the interest rate amount on the opening balance. This makes me feel like I’m making headway with the debt. I don’t know if this is a good way to do it, but it works for me. I want to get rid of the cards ASAP so, any cent I can spare goes onto the cards.

5. Next is fares for the week. We have a “Go Card” here in Brisbane which is like a debit card that you use on the ticketing machines on public transport. I put about $30 a week on my card even though I don’t need that much. But lately I’ve been walking to the next bus zone so I end up paying a little less each trip. Walking to the next stop also gives me a bit of exercise. I use public transport to get around on the weekends too and it’s comforting to know that the extra I pay every week more than covers any busy weekends I might have.

6. Food is last on my list. I’ve started dieting so my shopping bill is much smaller now. I only shop at Aldi and if they don’t have what I want, then I work around it. I still end up making nutritious meals without breaking the budget. A friend of mine does up a menu for the week and shops from that. But I buy what’s on sale and make meals from that.

7. Whenever I have a spare $5 or gold coins, I put them in a jar and take them to bank about once a month. The money goes into a Christmas Club account. It makes a big difference in December and I can buy nice gifts for my family, plus provide a little exta food for the Christmas feast. And when the post Christmas sales hit, I have heaps of money to spend on myself.

I hope my list gives others at least an idea of what can be done. Of course, I don’t have an iron will all the time but those guidelines work pretty well 98% of the time and I’m rewarded with seeing the savings figures go up and the credit card figures go down. I won’t know what to do with myself once the credit cards are paid off. It’ll be like Christmas come early.

I’d love to hear how others cope with their budgets.