BUDG015 How is your budget - surplus or deficit? (452 words)

This article provides some basic guidelines on monitoring spending and reducing unnecessary expenditure. Very simplistic but sometimes that’s what is needed to get the message across.

Each year in early May, the Treasurer delivers the Federal Budget and many people across Australia listen intently. The Budget tells us how the government plans to spend its revenue in the coming year, whether it can afford to give us tax cuts, and whether it expects to spend more (creating a deficit) or less (creating a surplus) than it receives.

Budgets are also important on a personal level, especially when living costs are rising and uncertainty abounds. So it’s worth having a look at how you can manage your finances in the current economy.