Creating a budget that works for you
Access our easy-to-use tools, personalised guidance, and resources to help you create a budget that will help you save more and stress less about money.
Building an emergency fund
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Emergency fund explained
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What impacts your emergency fund?
What is it?
An emergency fund is an amount of money set aside to cover unexpected expenses and emergencies (e.g. medical bills, car repairs or job loss).
The goal
Having a financial safety net lets you handle emergencies without stressing about how you’ll pay for them.
Why you need one
Life is unpredictable, and an emergency fund protects you financially when unexpected costs arise.
How much do you need?
The amount depends on your living costs, but you should aim for 3‒6 months’ worth of essential expenses.
When to use one
Use your emergency fund wisely. Emergencies are sudden, unpredictable and urgent events that need immediate attention, for example, covering a medical emergency and repairing damage to your car or home caused by an accident or a natural disaster.
Featured budgeting articles
Savings & Budgeting
5 Budgeting tips to help you save
Budgeting can seem like an overwhelming task for some, but in the current economy, personal budgeting is more important than ever.
Savings & Budgeting
How to cut expenses without compromising quality
We often think that cutting down on expenses means cutting down on your favourite things. While cutting costs does require giving up spending on certain things, it doesn’t need to be seen as a deprivation.
Lifestyle
Preventing lifestyle inflation from sneaking up on you
Lifestyle inflation or lifestyle creep is a phenomenon that affects many people as they progress in their careers and earn higher salaries. As income increases, so does your spending, preventing you from building wealth.
Lifestyle
How to cope with rising living costs
If you feel like your money isn’t going as far as it should or as it used to, you’re not imagining it. With the price of energy, food, fuel and everything else skyrocketing, most people are feeling the pinch of maintaining their lifestyles and coping with the higher cost of living.
Lifestyle
Understanding inflation: What it is and how it works
If you feel that your basket at the supermarket is shrinking because of price increases across the board or your money is just not stretching as far as it used to, it could be because you’re feeling the effects of inflation on your budget.
Learn more about budgeting
Savings & Budgeting
How to budget for a baby
Welcoming a new life into your family is a joyous occasion, but parenthood comes with many financial obligations throughout a child’s life.
Loans & Credit
Back to basics: Budget
Budgeting is a word that’s thrown around a lot, and if you use it, it can help you manage your money, pay off debt sooner and save more, empowering you to take control of your finances and plan for your future, but to effectively budget, you need to understand what it means and how to do it.
Lifestyle
Payday tips to make your money last
Waiting for payday can make the month feel much longer than it is, especially if you’re not sure whether your money is going to make it till the end of the month. The good news is that careful planning and good spending decisions can help you stretch your salary without leaving you feeling stressed.
Lifestyle
Manage your money better with these 5 must-know skills
Managing your money right is the key to making the most of it and using it to live the life you want. The way you manage your money has a direct impact on your personal finances, and often when you do it better, you can ‘get more out’ of your money without having to earn more money.
Lifestyle
How to identify your money personality
Your money personality explains how you approach money and what drives your habits and feelings about it, and since how you feel about money affects how you spend, save or invest it, identifying your money personality could help you understand why you might be struggling in certain areas and how to address them.
