Steps in creating a Personal Budget for 2023

When I first started out in the financial services industry, the primary role of a financial broker/adviser was one seen as somebody who basically sells products. One who might help you set up something you need or want like a pension, savings plan or some sort of protection policy. Quite often people would take these products out as they knew on some level they should have them, but they were quite often not completely sure of what the benefits these products would provide them or their family, if needed.

More recently, the role of a Financial Broker/Adviser is migrating to one that’s more about providing information, education and advice on the options for clients and working with the client to come up with a plan to prioritise and make sure they have the correct provisions specific to them and their needs.

Quite often, people approach me to do a financial review because they are in some ways unsure of how much money is coming in and going out, so they are unsure it if there is any room to amend their finances. If there is a combined income of anything greater than €80,000 coming into a household, a full financial review can be extremely enlightening.

One of the worst things in life, is the absence of knowledge on something, so one suggestion I suggest to people is to start the process yourself. Start thinking and discussing your goals in life for the short, medium and long term.

You should then start looking at what’s coming into your household and what’s going out of your household. With the availability of bank apps it is getting easier and easier to track our spending habits so there are less excuses now to keep putting it off. Try and focus on areas you can start to make savings. Simple things like changing utility bills and even reviewing your current mortgage rate can make significant savings.

Set out a plan and try to adjust your habits to fulfil that plan. Review it regularly, at least anytime there are significant changes in your personal and/or financial circumstances. Some people prefer to do it themselves and some prefer to have help with getting this process started, so they come to me for assistance. If you go to https://www.drumgoolebrokerage.ie/planning you can get an idea of the cost of the service and kind of process involved in doing short/medium and long term financial life goals.