Budgeting services in Australia
There are a range of budgeting services in Australia that can help you budget better. The best option for you will depend on your financial situation, whether you can DIY with a bit of guidance, and whether you're also seeking financial product advice (e.g., investment advice).
Your options include:
- Financial counsellors
- Financial coaches (like Afford a House)
- Household cash flow managers (like MyBudget)
- Financial advisers
How to choose the right budgeting service for your needs
We'll get into more detail in the comparison table below, but here's a rough guide for determining which budgeting service will be the best fit for your needs:
- If you're in financial hardship, then get in touch with a free financial counsellor who can help you build a budget and get your debts under control
- If you're getting by OK, but want help with budgeting, money habits and saving for your goals, then a financial coach would be perfect
- If you want someone to manage your budget for you because you're feeling overwhelmed (and you're willing to fork out $2,000-4,000 per year), then a household cash flow manager might be a good fit
- If you're seeking financial advice in addition to budgeting help (e.g., investment advice), then you best bet is a licensed financial adviser. However, only 1-in-7 financial advisers tend to focus on budgeting, so you'll need to find the right one.
What do the different budgeting services offer?
The table below outlines the key differences between the professionals that offer budgeting services, including financial counsellors, financial coaches, household cash flow managers, and financial advisers.
|
Financial counsellors |
Financial coaches |
Household cash flow managers |
Financial advisers |
Typical client situation |
Financial hardship |
Living pay-to-pay |
Overwhelmed |
Significant savings |
Typical fees |
Free (if in hardship) |
$400-700 |
$2,000-4,000 |
$2,000-5,000 |
Financial goal setting |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
Spending awareness |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
Budgeting |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
Saving tips/strategies |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
Accountability partner |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
Capability building |
✓ |
✓ |
- |
✓ |
Investment advice |
- |
- |
- |
✓ |
Insurance sales |
- |
- |
- |
✓ |
Kickbacks/commissions |
- |
- |
- |
✓ |
Debt advice |
✓ |
- |
✓ |
✓ |
Negotiating/disputing debt |
✓ |
- |
✓ |
- |
Regulated qualifications |
✓ |
- |
- |
✓ |
The benefits of using a budgeting service
Managing your money can feel overwhelming, especially when you're juggling bills, savings goals, and daily expenses. While many people try to budget on their own, using a professional budgeting service offers several advantages that can make a significant difference in your financial health.
The key reasons our financial coaching clients mention for seeking out a budgeting service include:
- Overcoming the overwhelm: When we feel like our finances are out-of-control, it can feel like it's all too much and we never get started. Budgeting services can help make it easier by walking you through the process step-by-step at your own pace.
- Personalised guidance: Unlike using a template or an app, a budgeting service can help provide personalised guidance to help you develop and implement a budget that's going to work for you. There's a range of approaches to managing money (it's not one-size-fits-all) and budgeting services can help you identify what system best matches your goals, habits and preferences.
- Saving time: In order to build a realistic budget, it's good to have an understanding of where your money has been going, but it can take hours to trawl through your transactions and categorise them (it's potentially a full weekend job). This is where budgeting services can save you hours of tedious work as some services (like Afford a House) offer to auto-categorise your historical spend for you.
- Not getting caught out: If you're trying to DIY your budget, you may have that niggling feeling of "have I missed something major here?". Budgeting services can help you craft a comprehensive budget that reduces the likelihood you get caught out by an unexpected expense down the road. A good budgeting service should be prompting you on those irregular expenses that might otherwise be forgotten and helping you estimate how much you might need to put aside. Examples of these commonly overlooked / under-estimated expenses, include replacing your car, car repairs, house repairs (e.g., roof replacement), house renos, braces for kids, out-of-pocked medical expenses, end-of-life care for pets, gifts, etc.
- Building better habits: Most services don't simply focus on the budget itself, they also help you shift your money mindset and change your financial habits. Without these changes, the plan is unlikely to become a reality.
- Reducing financial stress: Budgeting services can help relieve financial stress and fear. With their support, you can get away from that awful feeling in your stomach of not knowing how you're going to pay for that next bill, or how you're ever going to afford a house.
- Accountability and support: It can be hard to stay excited about budgeting and stick with the process. Most budgeting services recognise this challenge and include regular check-ins to help ensure you remain on-track for your goals. These check-ins are also an opportunity to tweak your spending plan to ensure it's sustainable.
- Avoiding interest and late fees: It's common for clients to start out with a bit of credit card and buy-now-pay-later debt that's racking up hundreds of dollars in interest and late fees each year. By engaging a budgeting service, clients can get on top of these debts sooner as they proactively identify how they're going to free up more cash to pay down these debts sooner. In this sense, clients can often recoup the fees paid for budgeting services within months based on the interest and late fees avoided.
- Avoiding house price rises: : Clients often call-in a budgeting service to help them save more and hit their savings goals sooner. If the budgeting service can help them buy their first home three years sooner than they would otherwise (e.g., 3 years rather than 6 years), then that could mean avoiding over $50k in house price rises (e.g., that $600k house could well be $650k in three years' time if house prices are growing at 3% per year).
Where to find budgeting services
Once you've decided which type of budgeting service is the best fit for your needs, here are some resources to help you find the right professional for you:
- Financial coaches: Australian Financial Coach Directory provides an overview of every financial coach in Australia, including their location, niche and fees.
- Financial advisers that help with budgeting: Adviser Ratings lets you search through all currently registered financial advisers in Australia and read reviews. Be sure to apply the "Budgeting" and "Cashflow & Income" expertise filters when searching as only 1-in-7 financial advisers seem to focus on budgeting. If you're not seeking a financial adviser to manage your investments too, you might like to also set the "Amount to invest" slider right down to "<$25k" to weed out the financial advisers that are only focused on the big end of town.
- Financial counsellors: National Debt Helpline is your starting point for finding a financial counsellor in Australia. You can live chat with a financial counsellor via the website, call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007, or find a local financial counsellor near you.
- Household cash flow managers: There's no directory here as there's only really two household cash flow management services in Australia. Check out MyBudget and Sort My Money.
Take Control of Your Finances Today
If you're keen to learn more about how financial coaching can help you better budget your money, then schedule a free 15-minute call now.
Our goal during this no-pressure chat is to get to know you, learn more about your financial challenges and goals, and answer your questions about how financial coaching can help you manage your money with confidence and smash your goals.
If you have any immediate questions, or need help with scheduling, please call us on 0422 025 499 or email us at info@affordahouse.com.au.