Starting a budget is an excellent step towards financial responsibility and achieving your financial goals. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

Set Your Goals:

Determine what you want to achieve with your budget. Whether it's saving for a Playstation 5, saving to go shopping with your friends or simply managing your money better, having clear goals will keep you motivated.

What’s your income?

Income is just the money you have coming in, this could be from pocket money, allowance, chores, side hustles, maybe you even make money from social media like tik tok. Wherever you get your income, total up how much you get either a week or a month depending on what kind of budget you want to make.

Figure out your Needs and Wants:

Working out the difference between essential expenses (needs) and non-essential expenses (wants). This will help you prioritise your spending, make sure in your budget you have enough money for your needs, set aside some money into your savings and then the rest you can spend on your wants.

Track Your Spending:

Keep track of your spending for at least a month to get an accurate picture of where your money is going. You can use the bex app to see all your spending and saving in one place.

Create Your Budget:

Use the information you've gathered to create a budget. Add a portion of your income to either needs, wants or savings. Make sure you do not exceed your total income. Your budget can be a weekly budget or maybe a monthly budget either way the same process applies.

Adjust Your Budget:

Your budget may need some tweaking as you go along. Be flexible and willing to make adjustments based on changes. Sometimes things can happen like birthdays and celebrations that are outside of your normal budget, it's okay to adjust as you go.

Try to stick to your budget majority of the time, check in with your goals for the budget to see your progress.

Build an Emergency Fund:

As you work on your budget, aim to build an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses, aim for 2-3 times your usual budget in an emergency fund.

Seek Help if Needed:

If you're having trouble creating or sticking to your budget, consider seeking help. Bex has lots of resources on finances, to help with your budgeting.

Remember, creating a budget is just the first step. Consistency and discipline are key to long-term financial success.