"How I tackled back-to-school budgeting head on"

You don't necessarily have to earn the highest salary or win the lottery to feel in control of your finances – take a leaf out of the book of Gold Coast single mum of three Lynette who did a major inventory of her household expenses 18 months ago to become financially empowered, and has never looked back.

First up, Lynette decided to hone her budget skills. When a friend – also a single mother – told her about the Brotherhood of St. Laurence's Saver Plus program, she was intrigued to see what the goal-setting financial education workshops would offer.

With some of the tools from the program under her belt, she tackled her budgeting head on. Here are her top tips.

A detailed inventory is your best friend

"I've always worked with a rough budget, but the Saver Plus budgets were very specific," she says.

"I adapted the spreadsheet I was using to cover absolutely everything that I was spending."

While Lynette's lifestyle wasn't extravagant, she soon found opportunities to save.

"You start to see where the little amounts of money leak out. Every takeaway coffee or meal, which you think is insignificant, adds up," she says.

"I never used to budget for things like haircuts but if you get all of those things in, then you can make sure you [have enough]. It was a good learning process and now when I go to buy something, I think, 'Do you really need this?'"

Filling out her budget spreadsheet and setting up account transfers and direct debits was time consuming at first but Lynette's now made it a habit to quickly check on the household expenditure each Saturday.

"It's exciting when you actually have some money left over," she says. "You realise what you need to [cut out] and it's not too hard to do."

Create accounts for everything

Lynette has set up savings accounts for all sorts of future expenses.

"I made a specific school account for my 13-year-old and 19-year-old to put away money for things like school camps," she says.

"I make a rough estimate of everything they need, from stationery to school fees to school camps, then set up an auto direct-debit into the accounts I've set up," she says.

"Without it, my son may not have been able to go on school camp."

And with every household expense accounted for, the family can enjoy the odd splurge with any leftover money.

"If I've allowed money for everything, I know we can eat out or do something special and I won't regret it later," she says.

"I definitely save more and that feels good. It's nice to see some money in the accounts so you don't have to worry, rather than having [an expense come up and] hoping there will be enough."

Practise patience

Lynette swears by online grocery shopping so that she can tally her costs as she goes and get her kids involved, too.

"I shop online and only get what we need, what's in season and what's on special. There's an amount [of money] that we have each week for it and that's it," she says.

"If the children want something in particular, they know to put it on a list and when that thing is on special, that's when they get it. They appreciate how much food costs."

More than anything, Lynette says it's empowering to feel in charge of your finances.

"As long as I am organised, I feel in control," she says. "[Budgeting] doesn't make you any more money, but you're in control of what you've got."

For more information on the Brotherhood of St. Laurence's Saver Plus program (which also includes savings matching of up to $500 from ANZ) head to bsl.org.au/services/saving-and-managing-money/saver-plus/