The lazy girl’s guide to budgeting

Have you ever wanted to create a budget but just cannot face having a complicated spreadsheet adding even more life admin to the list of things you need to do. And you know deep down that realistically you won’t end up filling it in.

Or perhaps you are sick of trying to find a half decent budgeting app that doesn’t have a subscription fee which costs money per month - the one thing that you’re trying to save!

That is exactly how I felt about budgeting! I used a spreadsheet historically but when work becomes super busy it is the first thing that I let slide. This is why, when I read about the Bucket Method of budgeting in the book The Financial Feminist, it sounded perfect for a low maintenance gal like myself.

Using the Bucket Method, you set up three ‘Buckets’:

Bucket 1:

Bucket one is for your non-negotiable expenses such as rent, broadband, phone bills and grocery shopping.

You should allocate around 50% of your monthly income after tax to this bucket.

Bucket 2:

Bucket two is for your long and short term goals, like savings, investments, and paying down historic debts.

You should allocate around 20% of your monthly income after tax to this bucket.

Bucket 3:

Bucket three is for the fun stuff, including Netflix subscriptions, coffee shop trips, dinners with friends, and anything that fits into the entertainment category.

You should allocate approximately 30% of your monthly income after tax to this bucket.

The percentages are just a rough guide and you can absolutely adjust your budget percentages so that they meet your lifestyle and goals.

The sweet spot is to make sure that you your budget forces you to show some restraint in relation to the fun stuff so that you can also put money away for your goals, but not so restrained that it’s ruining your fun.

If you are self employed or your income varies per month, it is best to set your budget by the minimum that you could expect to earn per month.

You could even set up three separate bank accounts for each of your buckets, or have three separate ‘pots’ if you use a bank like Monzo, so that you always know how much you have left in each pot and therefore you won’t overspend. You should link up any direct debits to the corresponding bank account, so for example your mortgage repayments would come out of your Bucket 1 account but your Netflix direct debit would come out of your Bucket 3 account as it’s not a necessity (yes really!)

If you follow the Bucket Method, you’ll be able to stick to a budget which looks after your current and future interests without so much as looking at a spreadsheet - the ultimate lazy girl guide to budgeting.

Camilla x