Are You A Budgeting Pro, or No?

Are you a budgeting pro, or no? Do you have the mindset for creating and following a budget, or could you use a little help? This quiz will help you to understand your money outlook and financial habits, and how you can make your budget work for you. 

Note down your answers for the following ten questions.  

You were too tired last night to pack a lunch for work, and you slept in too long this morning and ran out of time to make one. Do you -

• a. Easy – I grab a back-up meal from the fridge. I’m prepared no matter what. 
• b. Decide to buy a meal deal lunch, despite your budget.  
• c. Buy everything that looks good at lunch, no matter how pricey. You’re even slightly glad you didn’t pack a boring lunch.  

When you go out to spend your money, do you know how much you have for a night out/shopping? 

• a. I decide how much I can spend in advance, and sometimes just bring that with me in cash 
• b. I intuitively know what’s a fair amount and can spot a good deal. I am often surprised though when I check my balance later in the week and see it did come to a lot. 
• c. When I go out to shop/drink/have fun, money is the last thing on my mind. 

You pick up something to buy, even though it wasn’t on your list. Do you -  

• a. Calculate how your budget will adjust this month if you do get it 
• b. Just throw it into the basket/trolley anyway. It’ll probably be fine. 
• c. Get several. It’s a bargain and you’re sure you’ll use them.  

Do you roughly know how much you have left to spend on food and other things, after essential bills each month? 

• a. I know exactly how much I have  
• b. I know there should be some money left 
• c. I have no idea 

When you have a budget, do you stick to it? 

• a. 100% 
• b. Mostly, but I know I’ll overspend here and there, and I should factor that in. 
• c. No. That’s why I don’t budget. 

Your fridge broke last night. Do you – 

• a. Research very thoroughly and wait until I have enough money to buy it. I would avoid going into debt through an overdraft or a loan, no matter the emergency. You figure you can make it without a fridge for a few months? 
• b. It’s an emergency you weren’t expecting, it’ll have to be paid for from savings or a loan asap 
• c. Guess you don’t have a fridge anymore.  

If you needed to save up money towards a big purchase, like a new car, would you 

• a. Know exactly how to do it – and how long to save 
• b. Pretty sure you could try scraping money up from somewhere – but you might go into debt anyway 
• c. Not confident I could save enough towards it, even if I had years and years. 

If you created a budget on a blank sheet of paper, would you 

• a. Remember every single outgoing and incoming, though have to double check a few figures 
• b. Know most of the outgoings, but get surprised every so often by a reoccurring bill you weren’t ready for 
• c. Forget a number of essential outgoings (like bills) and forget to include food costs. The budget isn’t a good reflection of your situation and will be impossible to stick to. 

At the end of a month, how much do you have in your bank account? 

• a. The exact number I planned for 
• b. Around what I expect 
• c. Less than I thought I’d have 

If you lost your source of income suddenly, how long could you live for without getting another job? 

• a. Longer than 3 months 
• b. A couple of months 
• c. A couple of weeks 

Mostly As – Take a breath and relax 

You have your money under strict control. You know where it’s come from, where it’s going, and how it’s helping you to live your best, happiest life.

Money is for enjoying, after all. However, you might be too frugal and unnecessarily worried about your finances. Take a look at our advice on Financial Wellbeing and the signs of financial anxiety to see if you can grow a healthier relationship with money.  

You are also in a great place to consider investing in stocks and shares to take your finances to the next step. Read about attitudes to risk and how the stock market can work for you – either through a stocks and shares ISA or perhaps through an investment portfolio. 

Mostly Bs – Get focused and dream bigger 

Your relationship with money is changeable. One month you have enough, the next not enough. Keeping a closer eye on your money is going to help you. You don’t need to cut out any spending groups entirely (like no more lattes or movies) but becoming more conscious of your spending choices will go a long way to resolving your relationship with money.  

Investigate using a budgeting app – some will just give you an overview of your income and how much you can afford to spend before eating into bill money, whereas some financial apps will restrict your spending or can automatically set aside savings for you.  

Make some financial goals and break it into the achievable steps you’d need to take. You can do this!  

Mostly Cs – Get informed and empowered 

Money is a big concern, and you can only ignore it for so long.   How to make a no-judgement budget for you (at first, just figure out what you spend. Some decisions will be obvious once you spot them. Conscious spending). Set a money goal and get empowered to achieve it.   

Look into using a budgeting app on your phone. These applications can track your spending, recommend where to save money, or send you notifications about upcoming bills. Some apps even restrict your spending, if you tell it to, or automatically set aside savings for you.