March 2026 Finance Newsletter: Budgeting Tips | Wants vs Needs

Budgeting can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. One of the biggest challenges is that many of us try to manage our finances in our heads, often overestimating what we earn and underestimating what we spend. The good news is that a few simple steps can make a big difference. Here are three practical tips to help you take control of your budget and make your money work better for you.

Write it down

Unfortunately, keeping track of your spending “in your head” just doesn’t work. In your beautiful imagination, you tend to overestimate yourincome and underestimate your expenses. It’s just human nature. Something important happens when you write it down. It becomes real, it becomes visible, and it becomes something you can work with.

Don’t worry if the numbers don’t initially add up – that’s exactly what budgeting is for! It’s way better to face the facts early, when you still have time to make adjustments, than to run out of money two weeks before pay day and not know what happened.

Weigh up Needs vs Wants

There are only two components to your monthly cash flow: income and expenses. While most of us can’t adjust our income from month to month, we can certainly control our expenses– or most of them anyway.

Expenses can be broken down into three categories:

• Fixed costs – these are non-negotiable, essential, expenses that you have to pay and can’t change (e.g. rent, school fees, debt payments, etc.)

• Variable costs– these are essential expenses that can fluctuate from month to month, depending on how much you use them (e.g. petrol, groceries, utilities, airtime)

• Luxuries – these are non-essential expenses that are nice to have, but can be eliminated in case of emergency (e.g. take out, DSTV, entertainment)

It’s important to keep in mind which costs are set in stone, and which can be adjusted, and to prioritise accordingly. 

Which brings us to our next point:

Make adjustments

Once you’ve written down your income and your expenses, you can calculate whether you have a cash surplus (money left over) or a cash shortfall (not enough money). Again – don’t panic if you have a shortfall. That’s exactly what budgeting is for. Now you can go back over your expenses and start making adjustments.

It’s important to make sure your fixed costs can be paid first so that you don’t miss payments and incur penal- ties. In tight months, variable costs can be adjusted to make more room for essentials, and luxuries can be eliminated where necessary.

Remember – There’s nothing wrong with spending on luxuries, as long as you can afford it!

You’ve worked hard for your money, and you should spend it in a way that makes you happy – just make sure your fixed and essential costs are paid first, or it will lead to much more sadness down the line.

Next month, we’ll look at the importance of emergency savings, and why it’s more important to pay off your debt than to start saving.

For more in-depth financial advice, contact your financial wellbeing consultant.