With the new financial year looking to be another challenging period of cost-of-living pressures and higher interest rates, a finance broker can show you how to manage your budget more effectively.

You will be amazed how much can be saved in a relatively short time. Whether your goal for the 2023-24 financial year is to buy your first home or pay for a wedding, a savings plan can help you achieve those goals.

The strategies are simple but always require discipline to reduce your spending.

Checking your savings and credit card accounts online is the starting point to see how much is going in every month and how much goes out.

When you examine your expenses, it can be obvious where savings can be made. If you are spending $100 a week buying coffees, then that can be an area you can make immediate savings by making your own coffee at home or at work.

The same goes for lunches. Instead of spending $15 a day buying lunch at the nearby food court, make sandwiches at home and bring them to work. Even those two sacrifices can help you to start saving more than $500 a month.

You can also be more disciplined with your grocery shopping. Plan ahead and stick to your shopping list. When you are in the supermarket look for specials and avoid purchasing items which are clearly over-priced.

Energy prices are also soaring these days, so it pays to shop around and compare prices with suppliers to ensure you are getting the best deal.

But the discipline applied to your daily spending habits can also be matched in the home. You can reduce power consumption a number of ways including only heating or cooling the room you are in rather than the whole house. Run your washing machine with a full load and use cold water when possible.

There are many other practical ways to reduce your spending such as reviewing your mobile phone and internet plan and usage to make sure a getting the deal that suits your budget. The same goes for your insurance coverage, it’s always worth comparing premiums with other providers.

Talk to a broker about other strategies to make savings. A few sacrifices will be all it takes to significantly boost your bank balance.