Budgeting is one of those things that we all know we should be doing. Unfortunately,

the honest truth is that 98% of us don\’t do it properly and as for the 2% of

Australian\’s that do budget well …..they aren\’t very much fun at parties !

The key to setting a budget and actually sticking to it is one of Self Discipline.

Self Discipline is defined as \’doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done

regardless of whether or not you feel like doing it.\’

Hence, why we are all so hopeless at it ! Especially when you have guys like Mr

Harvey Norman throwing interest free deals at you day in-day out, your desire for the

latest plasma TV or couch becomes too much to resist, and our self discipline goes

out the window.

We as Australians, have gone from living in a \’savings\’ based society to what is now

a \’credit\’ based society. What I mean by that is, back in \’the good old days\’ if our

parents didn\’t have the cash or savings to buy something (a car for example), they

wouldn\’t buy one. Whereas these days, if we don\’t have the cash or savings to buy

something we will simply go and put it on credit just so that we can fulfill our need

for short-term gratification.

There are 2 secrets to budgeting, and they are simple:

DON\’T USE CREDIT CARDS
KEEP YOUR SURPLUS OUT OF SIGHT (and therefore out of mind)
When you use credit cards, all you are doing is spending money that you don\’t have.

We as humans all think the same, and I know from my personal experience that if I

have $500 in my bank account, I will spend $500. I also know that if I have $2,000

in my bank account I will spend $2,000. It is just the way that our minds work……

In regard to the 2nd point – \’keeping your money out of sight and out of mind\’, this

really comes down to your banking structure. I recommend that all of my clients have

a seperate \’living account\’ in which all their food, fuel and bills money is

deposited into by their payroll office each pay day. They then have another account

setup for them, which is not directly accessible. They have their payroll deposit

the remainder of their income into this 2nd account where all the surplus money will

accumulate. Note: I personally advise all of my clients to use their home loan as

this 2nd account because they can\’t directly touch it or see the surplus, and it also

goes to work for them by off-setting the interest payable on their mortgage each day.

By following these 2 simple steps it will just about be impossible for you to spend

more than you earn, and you\’ll accumulate a very healthy surplus in your mortgage

account, where it can just sit and work for you until you REALLY do need it.

Begin Considering these debt consolidation Techniques today.