Sonia and David from Channel Nine’s Today Extra caught up with Sort My Money founder, David Rankin, to ask him for personal budgeting tips that stick.
David and his team are assisting everyday Australian’s in achieving financial stability, working towards their financial goals and changing their money habits.
Sort My Money charges the lowest fees – including no establishment fee or lock-in period – of any personal budgeting company in Australia.
View the video below.
Interview Transcript:
DAVID (PRESENTER): We’re going to uncover the easy habits that you can put into action right now, today, to make your life better down the track. This morning, we’re putting our finances under the microscope.
SONIA (PRESENTER): That’s right, everyone likes a bit of extra cash in their pocket, so David Rankin from Sort My Money is here to teach us the tricks and how to make them stick. Good morning, David.
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): Good morning, Sonia.
SONIA (PRESENTER): Studies have shown that Australians only stick to their financial goals for about 93 days on average, so how do we make a better start on a budget?
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): The best way to start is to document what you’re spending already. A lot of people don’t know what they’re spending on various items, and if you start to get a handle on that current spending, it’s the first step on your new financial journey. The effort you put into that will pay dividends down the line, because it’s such a vital part of getting control of your spending habits.
DAVID (PRESENTER): You don’t like any negativity in our budget, do you – you don’t like any restriction?
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): I like positivity. A budget, for me, is not about scarcity, it’s about abundance. It’s about having an allowance for everything in your life.
SONIA (PRESENTER): So, by ‘everything’, David, do you mean things like coffee in a morning?
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): Yes, I do.
SONIA (PRESENTER): So why is it important to focus on things like that?
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): Because you think you’re doing something wrong by treating yourself. But, in fact, if you embrace that and you embrace the idea of abundance and the idea of living a great life and having an allowance for everything, you will sustain your budget – you’ll go well beyond the 93 days.
SONIA (PRESENTER): How much money can you save by making your own coffee?
DAVID (PRESENTER): You can save quite a lot, but you’ve also got to treat yourself as well. I’ll tell you a really good tip, Sonia, and this is for things like coffee and general living expenses, food and drink and petrol: pay cash for things – it makes you money mindful. It’s not money that’s coming out of the ether, it’s coming out of your pocket, and you think harder about it.
DAVID (PRESENTER): David, do you know what happened to me on the weekend, and not a word of a lie: flat tyre. It cost me a couple of hundred.
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): I’ve got an answer for that one.
DAVID (PRESENTER): What do I do?
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): You build an ongoing amount for those kind of emergencies – emergency spending, on things like spare tyres.
DAVID (PRESENTER): Would you keep it the same every month? Or would you add it to each month?
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): You put it in a separate account every month. You keep it separate from your normal expenses.
SONIA (PRESENTER): So you let it get bigger and bigger?
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): Yes, you do. And then it builds flexibility to your budget. Once you’ve got that flexibility, it’s beyond a theoretical exercise, and you’ve transformed it into real life.
SONIA (PRESENTER): Is the problem that when we make a budget we’re not realistic about where we’re saving?
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): I think it’s good to be aware of everything you’re spending, and the very act of drawing up a budget is beneficial to your finances because you put everything under the spotlight. If it’s been so long since you’ve been to the gym that you don’t know where it is, you probably want to cancel your fortnightly gym subscription. You can save a heap of money just by going through all of your current commitments.
DAVID (PRESENTER): This is really great advice. For more information, go to the website sortmymoney.com.au. David, you make me feel very positive about the word budget.
SONIA (PRESENTER): Yes, you’re making me want to go home and get a spreadsheet happening.
DAVID (SORT MY MONEY): Well, I’ve done my job. So go for it, Sonia, and let me know how you go.
SONIA (PRESENTER): Will do!