Our Budget & Sinking Funds 2023 : Family of 4 In NZ : Single Income : Minimalist Family Life

How we Budget & Our Sinking Funds for 2023 : Family of 4 In NZ : Single Income : Minimalist Family Life

How we are budgeting during the cost of living crisis as a one income family

The spreadsheets I’m using are from this Etsy Store:

This is the budget spreadsheet

[jowatson]

When I got my first part time job at 16 my mum gave me a notebook & told me to write down what I had coming in & what was going out so I knew my balance.
I still use a notebook now to manage our finances as a family. We have paid off all our debt other than the mortgage & have some savings in our emergency fund & no credit cards. I hope to teach my daughter using the lessons we learned the hard way so she doesn’t make the same mistakes x

[jessicabattle]

I found this video super helpful! I’m an emotional spender, and often go a bit overboard for things like birthdays and Christmas, and I always end up regretting it/worrying about money. Sinking funds and a spreadsheet will help me so much! Thank you for sharing Bayley 🥰

[sarahwhitt]

Love this! Thank you for taking the time to do this. You are so organised! X

[evzepz]

I really enjoyed this video. Are you planning on doing another one like this for 2024? It would be really interesting

[DanielleHigginbottomBrown]

Great video ❤ we are also a 1 income family, and live in Canada 🇨🇦 I also have Sinking Funds categories. I am a pen and paper girl and designed and printed out my own yearly/monthly budget planner, and my husband I and sit down and have 5-10 min reviews every day or so, that way we are both on track and there are no surprises. I have Rachel Cruze book “Live Your Life Not Theirs” and have highlighted and reread it numerous times. I highly recommend it. It really puts “keeping up with the Jones’s” in perspective

[nicoleziegler]

I love to budget haha. We use YNAB which is a bit expensive, but we have a sinking fund for it. I love how thorough your method is, while also being flexible for the unexpected!

[nancyesposito]

Thank you so much for this video and sharing. I'm definitely going to download those forms I love the simple format of it! We are just coming out of debt and I want to start off making sure that I start sinking funds for everything which I've never done before! This is so great to see it separately even though it's all going into one account. I will definitely feel like I have more control over things. Thank you so much! I love your channel. I haven't watched in a while because we just sold our home and moved to a smaller place it's been a lot of sorting and organizing and I haven't had any time to sit and relax and watch you on YouTube! Now I'm finally at the point where I can enjoy your channel again!

[isabmoir]

I love ss budgeting! Never took to pen and paper. I don’t carry cash anyway so it’s much easier for me to download the statements online and put into the spreadsheet. I haven’t set mine up for 2023 yet though as I want to revamp the sheets to effectively include transfers between accounts. I like the idea of sinking funds :)

[louisem]

I budget fortnightly with an excel sheet I made. I still keep my sf in cash and we only have our mortgage to pay off. I do like your one account for it and a excel sheet idea. We've been locked in and mortgage bubble will explode in February. If you want it you save for it. My kids have their own accounts when we out some into each fortnight and they add to it throughout the year. They know it's for a big purchase when they are old... Car, travel etc. Thanks.

[melanievaccaro]

Thank you for this video, just what I need to start my budgeting journey. I have never budgeted and when Christmas and birthdays come along I get really stressed out. I will definitely look into the spreadsheets. Let's hope I have the discipline to use them every month.

[andreacobb]

Great video! Thank you for sharing your budget triumphs and failures. We are a debt-free (except a smallish mortgage) one income family. I've not figured out how to manage separate sinking funds within our savings. It all gets tangled up for me. Thanks, also, for sharing that you cut your own hair (with the help of your husband) We insoucre haircuts and dog grooming to keep our costs low. Perhaps a fun video showing how you do your hair trims?

[Mrssupermumm]

i really like this type of video, thank you for sharing your method.

[OGGgirl]

No debt here either! I do the spreadsheet too, but at heart, paper and pencil for me too! We are saving for a trip to New Zealand, to finally meet my mother's side of the family. Sinking funds are the way o go! Great video!

[acrobaticanna]

I have just figured out what a Sinking Fund is. Great explanation after hearing about it for years.

[Untamedhearth]

No debt means I stay home with our boys too! Such a game changer! We wouldn’t have it any other way. ❤️

[jamie-leewatson]

So good. I do have sinking funds but nowhere near as organised as you! You've inspired me to get more serious about it so that I can continue to be a stay at home mum well into the future.

[larissaguy]

Love this video and your no debt message and honesty about being a spender. My hubby and I learnt the hard way too and we also ditched the credit cards, car loans and any debt other than our mortgage. Thanks for sharing, I love budget videos and yours gave some great tips I will definitely add to my routine.

[meagannewsham]

Thank you so much for this video. You have inspired me to take control of my family’s money and dedicate some time to this on an ongoing basis and being realistic. Thank you!

[melodyguy]

Thanks for sharing Bayley. We've ended up with a big mortgage because our house needed maintenance that costed a lot more than we expected. Wish we'd bought something small and new like you. We have created a small flat using our downstairs and are in the process of creating a second using part of our upstairs and converting the attic for our bedrooms. The rental income will cover our interest while rates are high and our full housing costs (rates, mortgage principal and interest etc) once rates have come back down again.

[acrobaticanna]

Dave Ramsay's 10 Baby Steps are awesome. After 15 years of going back to Step 1 a few times and setting goals, I am also debt free at 46. It's awesome!! I have chosen to be a rent-investor. I rent and live in my dream home. And I own an I investment property outright in another city that's way cheaper than where I live.