For Solos, money management and budget planning are especially important these days because of the effect the Covid-19 pandemic is having on employment, livelihoods and the economy.
With the current pandemic, living well, within our means and wishing to be debt-free is something that all of us want to achieve even during uncertain times.
Using a budget planner can help track household expenditure and highlight any overspending on expensive habits which you may want to review. Budget planning can also help you to reduce spending and save up for any unexpected emergencies without causing too much financial stress.
Budget Planning & Calculator tool from the Money Advice Service (MAS)
Solo Living has added a practical online budget calculator and planning tool provided by the Money Advice Service. Based in the UK, the MAS provides a free and impartial service to help people better plan their daily expenditure and keep control of their money. You can find this tool in our MAS Budget Planner page.
Before you get started, gather as much financial information as you can, such as:
- Bank statements
- Household bills
- Monthly credit card bills
- Car payments (finance, tax, insurance, petrol etc.)
- Store credit, catalogue or HP statements etc.
- Wage slips/statement
How the MAS Budget Planner works:
The online budget planner allows you to enter your income and expenditure in a flexible time-frame, so you can choose from a single day to a week, month or whole year from the drop-down list.
1: Enter what you spend and how much you earn.
2: The calculator will give you a breakdown of your finances.
3: The budget planner will give you links to tips about how to save money, cut your costs and investing your savings.
You will have the option to save your budget report and receive an email copy for your records. If you want to do this you will need to follow the link and sign up with the Money Advice Service using your email address. When you click on the link provided, you will be singing up with the Money Advice Service and not Solo Living.
Note: Using the Budget Planning tool
The information you enter is used by the Money Advice Service to calculate your spending and provide you with a budget planning report. No personal information is held by Solo Living when using this tool on our website.
Leave a Reply