This is a great way to get fully acquainted with your spending, learning what your main expenses are and where you could potentially cut down.
Joint or Single application?
If you pay for certain things and your partner pays for others, remember to only include your income and your outgoings, this is referred to a “single” application. Alternatively, if you and your partner put your income together and pay everything out of this, then include both incomes and all outgoings, this is known as a “joint” application.
What to include
Regular and “essential” expenses such as:
- Household bills
- Memberships
- Car finance
- Phone contacts
- Transport costs
- Food
- Payments to other creditors
Your final budget
What is disposable income?
Disposable income is the amount left-over once your essential outgoings have been paid. Non-essential spends can then be paid using your disposable income, ensuring these expenses don’t take priority!
Once you’ve added up your outgoings, subtract this figure from your income, and you will be left with either a surplus amount, also referred to as ‘disposable income’ or a shortfall, meaning your income doesn’t cover your expenses. If you are in a shortfall each month, this indicates you may be experiencing financial difficulty.
If you find yourself struggling to keep on top of your financial commitments, we recommend speaking with the following organisations who can help you by offering free financial advice and guidance:
• Payplan
• Stepchange
• National Debtline
• Citizens Advice
You can find a full list of organisations that provide free debt help here.
Contact Us
If you would like help with your budget, give us a call on , one of our Customer Consultants will work through your finances and help establish what your budget is, and how to best move forwards with your Cabot account.
Alternatively, you can utilise our online Budget Planner by inputting your financial information and it will work out your budget for you. If you need any assistance when filling out your Budget Planner, we have a team of digital consultants available to guide you through it.*
*You can webchat with us Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-1.30pm.