How to avoid unpleasant surprises at the end of the month? Calculate your remaining living expenses, classify your expenses, withdraw cash… Laure Dupin, banker in the Toulouse region, gives us little tips to put in place on a daily basis.
Alone or with family, student or employee, doing our accounts has become an obligation if we don’t want to find ourselves exposed at the end of the month. But how to proceed? Laure Dupin, banker in the Toulouse region, gives five practical tips to implement in your everyday life.
Calculate your remaining life
“The first thing to do is to write down your fixed charges (rent, charges, subscriptions) and your income, on a sheet or in a table”, explains Laure Dupin. This will make it possible to calculate the remainder to live, that is to say the amount available for the rest of the month. “The person will know exactly the amount he has left for his shopping, his gasoline, the spending pleasures”.
Savings, a small security mattress
After calculating your remaining life, you can schedule an automatic transfer to your savings account. The goal: to have a small safety mattress in case of the unexpected. “Saving does not mean ending up on the straw: on the contrary, you choose the exact amount of the direct debit according to your remaining life, and this will provide you with financial security”, explains the banker. Prefer an automatic transfer at the beginning of the month, following receiving your salary.
Categorize your expenses
On your bank’s application, on a sheet, in a table, or using dedicated applications (Bankin’, Buddy, Linxo), remember to categorize your expenses. “Classify them according to whether it’s for your shopping, your car, your outings etc. This will allow you to see which categories you spend the most on and better anticipate the months to come.”
Keep your payment slips
Write down your daily expenses or keep your payment slips. The goal: “at the end of the day, week or month, take a look at your bank account to check what has already been debited”, advises the professional. This will allow you to follow in real time what is left in your account. Indeed, between purchases made on holidays, weekends and deferred payments, your bank account can quickly seem more bailed out than it really is.
Pleasure budget tip
Little trick to avoid spending less with the card and to control your budget: withdraw cash. “For example, if you have set yourself a pleasure budget of €100 per month, withdraw it in cash and do not touch your bank card once more”. This will allow you to respect the budget not to exceed that you had set.
