Money guides
Short, practical write-ups on getting out of debt, keeping credit utilisation healthy, and making a budget that survives past week three.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
How to budget on an irregular income
A month-by-month system for budgeting when your pay changes: build a baseline, pay yourself a steady wage, and stop the feast-and-famine cycle.
10 September 2026 · 4 min read
The 50/30/20 budget rule, and when to ignore it
What 50/30/20 actually means, how to work out your split in five minutes, and the three situations where the rule quietly sets you up to fail.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
How much emergency fund do you actually need?
One month, three months or six? A practical way to size your emergency fund based on your job, dependants and debt — plus how fast to build it.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
How to stop living paycheck to paycheck
A four-step plan to break the cycle: find the leak, build one month of float, automate the essentials, then get ahead of your own bills.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
What to look for in a budgeting app (an honest checklist)
Twelve things that actually matter in a budgeting app — statement import, editability, debt tracking, privacy — and the red flags worth avoiding.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
How to pay off credit card debt (step by step)
List, rank, attack: a clear method for clearing card balances faster, with the numbers behind minimum payments, balance transfers and overpayments.
10 September 2026 · 4 min read
The minimum payment trap, explained with numbers
Why paying the minimum keeps a balance alive for years, how the maths works, and the smallest overpayment that meaningfully changes your payoff date.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
Balance transfer cards: when they help and when they hurt
How 0% balance transfers work, the fee maths, the deadline that catches people out, and how to decide if one is worth it for your balance.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
How to cut your bills without cutting your life
A repeatable script and running order for renegotiating broadband, insurance, energy and phone contracts — usually worth more than skipping coffee.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
Debt consolidation: when it helps, and when it just moves the problem
What consolidation actually does, the three conditions that make it worthwhile, and the trap that puts people back where they started within a year.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
The 20-minute monthly money review (with checklist)
A short monthly routine that catches problems early: reconcile, review categories, check debts and utilisation, top up funds, and set next month.
10 September 2026 · 4 min read
The subscription audit: find the money leaking every month
How to list every recurring payment, spot the ones you forgot, and decide what to keep — usually worth several hundred a year in ten minutes.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
35 sinking fund categories people always forget
A checklist of the irregular costs that break budgets — car, home, health, gifts, pets, admin — and how much to set aside each month for each.
10 September 2026 · 4 min read
How to pay for Christmas without January regret
Work out your real Christmas number, divide it across the year, and use a simple spending plan so December costs what you decided it would.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
How to save for a car (and what it really costs to run)
Purchase price is the small part. Work out the true monthly cost of ownership, then build a savings plan that does not wreck the rest of your budget.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
Budgeting for gig workers: what an hour is really worth
Delivery, rideshare and freelance pay looks good until you subtract fuel, wear and tax. Here is how to work out your true hourly rate and budget on it.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
How much tax to set aside when you are self-employed
A simple percentage rule, how to build the habit on every payment, and what else to hold back beyond income tax so January never hurts.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
Side hustle money: keep it separate, keep it profitable
How to run a side income without contaminating your personal budget — separate accounts, honest costs, tax set-aside and a monthly profit check.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
Net worth tracking: the one number that shows real progress
What net worth is, what to include, how often to check it, and why it is a better scoreboard than your bank balance on pay day.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read
How to build a simple cash flow forecast (and never be caught short)
Map the next 90 days of money in and money out so you can see low points before they arrive, and act while you still have options.
28 August 2026 · 7 min read
How to Pay Off Debt Fast: The Payoff Order That Saves the Most
A practical guide to paying off debt fast — snowball vs avalanche, how to find extra payment money, and the rollover rule that shortens your debt-free date.
28 August 2026 · 6 min read
Sinking Funds: How to Never Be Ambushed by a Big Bill Again
What a sinking fund is, which ones you actually need, and how to work out the monthly amount — with a free sinking fund calculator to do the maths for you.
28 August 2026 · 7 min read
Zero-Based Budgeting Explained: Give Every Dollar a Job
A plain-English guide to zero-based budgeting — how it works, how to build your first month, what to do when you overspend, plus a free zero-based budget calculator.
28 August 2026 · 7 min read
How to Save a House Deposit Faster (Without Living on Rice)
How much deposit you need, how long it takes at your current savings rate, and the levers that actually shorten the timeline — with a free house deposit calculator.
20 August 2026 · 4 min read
Import a bank statement and get your spending categorised in minutes
Manual expense entry is why most budgets die. Here is a faster loop: import the statement, review the categories, confirm the recurring charges.
8 August 2026 · 5 min read
How to track BNPL plans before they quietly wreck your budget
Buy now, pay later spreads a purchase across weeks — and across your budget. Here is how to see every plan, its next instalment, and its true monthly cost.
28 July 2026 · 5 min read
Credit utilisation explained: your real healthy spend limit
Why the number on your credit card statement matters more than your limit, how utilisation affects your score, and how to work out a safe monthly spend.
14 July 2026 · 6 min read
Debt snowball vs avalanche: which one actually gets you debt-free faster?
A plain-English comparison of the two most common debt payoff methods, with the maths, the psychology, and how to run both against your real balances.