Bills and Budgeting for Retirement

It‘s important to make the most of your money in retirement. One of the ways to do this is by making a budget and understanding where you spend your money.

Figure out how much you’re ‘earning’ so that you know how much you have to spend. This is important throughout your life, but it’s especially true in retirement as your income may be more finite. Your income in retirement might come from regular payments from your super account, money from an investment, a government pension or a combination of these.

Breaking down how much you receive each week, fortnight or month will give you a better idea of how much you have to play with, and how comfortable you’ll be in meeting your expenses. 

What are your ‘needs’ and ‘wants’? ‘Needs’ are essential to living a healthy life, like accommodation, electricity, transport, water and food, while ‘wants’ are things you can live without, but are nice to enjoy, such as going out for dinner, seeing a movie, or splashing out on an overseas holiday.

Remember that cutting out certain ‘wants’ due to money doesn’t mean you need to stop being social. If your expenses are adding up one month, you might choose instead to head out to free (or cheap) events in your community. 

Once you’ve figured out your needs and wants, and found some ways to make savings on everyday items, set up a household budget. List out everything that’s a need, and how much each need costs to understand what you have available to spend on other things or save for a rainy day.

Keeping track of your spending via a budget helps you get the most out of your money, making it easier to live as comfortably as possible within your means.