A budget in 15 minutes

Resources · Money basics · 4 min read Starting out

Key points

• A first budget can be rough. Rough is enough to start.
• You need four numbers: income, fixed bills, debt minimums and what’s left.
• Split what’s left between everyday spending and savings or debt.
• Check in weekly for a month, then adjust.

How to make a budget, fast

Here’s how to make a budget in its simplest form. Write down your monthly take-home pay. Take away your fixed bills and your debt minimums. Then decide how to split what’s left between everyday spending and savings or extra debt payments. That’s it, and it takes about 15 minutes.

You don’t need an app or a template. You don’t need perfect records either. A piece of paper and your last bank statement will do the job. Never budgeted before? Start with our guide to what a budget actually is.

What you’ll need

Grab your most recent payslip (or just a note of your usual take-home pay) and one or two recent bank or card statements. Then something to write on. Paper is fine. So is a notes file or a spreadsheet.

The 15-minute budget, step by step

Minutes 1 to 2: write down your income

Use your take-home pay. That’s the amount that actually lands in your account, not the figure on your contract. Paid weekly? Multiply by 52 and divide by 12 to get a monthly number. Paid fortnightly? Multiply by 26 and divide by 12. If you’re not sure what your real figure is, our guide to working out your real take-home pay walks you through it.

Minutes 3 to 7: list your fixed bills

Go through your statement and pull out the costs that look roughly the same every month. Rent or mortgage. Utilities, phone and internet. Insurance, transport passes and any subscriptions you’re still paying for. Add them up.

Minutes 8 to 9: list your debt minimums

Every credit card, every loan, every buy now, pay later plan. Write down the minimum payment for each one, then total them.

Minutes 10 to 11: work out what’s left

Income, minus fixed bills, minus debt minimums. Whatever you end up with is the money you have for everything else in your life.

Minutes 12 to 15: give what’s left a plan

Split it between everyday spending (groceries, fuel, personal care, fun) and savings or extra debt payments. Not sure what your everyday spending really costs? Look at last month’s statement and use that as your first guess. You’ll sharpen it later.

A worked example

Say your numbers look like this:

Your statement says everyday spending last month came to about $900. So:

$1,450 − $900 = $550

Now you decide what that $550 does. Some people put most of it into savings. Others throw it at a debt. Some split it. Which way you go depends on your goals, and on whether you’ve got any emergency savings yet. And the maths works the same in any currency.

If what’s left is negative

Bills and minimums bigger than your income? Then your budget has done its job. It’s shown you the problem, and that’s worth knowing. Look for bills you can trim and costs that could pause for a while. If you can’t cover your repayments, free debt help is available, and it’s confidential.

The first month

A budget made in 15 minutes is a first draft. The next month is where it gets accurate.

Check in once a week. Five minutes is plenty to compare what you spent against the plan. Watch for surprises too. Forgot a yearly bill? Add it in, and think about setting up a sinking fund so it doesn’t catch you out again. Then adjust for next month. Most people’s second budget is far closer to reality than their first.

Keeping it simple

Use round numbers. $900 is much easier to work with than $887.40. Keep your categories broad at first, too, because five or six lines is enough.

And don’t chase perfect. A rough plan you actually use will do more for you than a detailed one you abandon in week two.

Common questions

What’s the easiest way to make a budget?

Take your income, subtract fixed bills and debt minimums, then split what’s left between spending and savings. For a first budget, that’s often all you need.

Should a budget be monthly or weekly?

Either works. Plenty of people just match their budget to how often they’re paid. Our guide to weekly or monthly budgets lays out the two side by side.

What if my budget doesn’t balance?

Start with the costs that are easiest to change, like everyday spending and subscriptions. If you still can’t cover your debt repayments, free, confidential help is there for you.

Try it

Our budget calculator does the adding up for you in a couple of minutes. Carrying debt? You can also find your Freedom Date.

General information only, not financial advice. Your situation is your own.