Work out a budget to see how much money you need each month to pay the rent and buy what you need – including food and utilities like electricity, gas and water. It also good to think about saving some extra money for emergencies.
Know how much you will need for each aspect of the trip – transportation, housing, food, tips, activities, and all associated fees – and then plan extra for unexpected expenses.
It is important to work out your budget regularly for example, every six months to check that you are managing your money well, and to do a new budget each time your circumstances change such as moving house, going on holiday or if you lose your job.
If you have a negative bank balance and your outgoings include debt repayments, you can contact StepChange debt charity / National Debtline / Citizens Advice Bureau. They may help you reduce your repayments, transfer your debts to a better lender, or have a debt adviser who can help you.
If you have a negative bank balance, you need to find ways to increase your income (for example by working extra hours), and find ways to reduce your spending by looking again at your budget information and deciding which non-essential items you will spend less on.
If you have a positive bank balance, you have spare money available which you can use to repay debts (such as overdrafts or credit card bills), save regularly, or buy something.
After calculating your budget, you will either have a positive balance (spare money available to spend) or a negative balance (you don’t have enough to pay for the things you are paying for, and are getting into debt).
You can use online tools to calculate your budget, using your income and outgoings figures. This will give you a more accurate budget, as some payments may be weekly, some monthly and some quarterly. The Money Advice Service has a free online Budget Planner.
Budget sheets are useful tools that help you manage your income and stay out of debt. Creating a budget is important for everyone, and can give you freedom and peace of mind since you know exactly where your money is going.
To create a budget sheet, write down your outgoings (all the individual items you spend money on in a week or month, one per line: if you pay for it, include it) and your incomings (all the money you have coming in). You can sum the outgoings to see how much you spend each month.