Create a Budget
Creating a realistic budget can help you plan your monthly finances, ensuring you can pay for the essentials while having money left to spend on fun activities, holidays and treats for your foster family. Don't know where to start? Follow these steps.
Step One - Choose a budgeting tool
Notebooks and budgeting planners are fine, but technology can streamline the process. Here are some of the choices you have:
- Banks - Many banks offer free budgeting tools that allow you to categorise spending and adjust your budget with just a few clicks.
- Apps - You can download apps that link all your bank accounts to provide a complete overview of your financial commitments, with access on the go.
- Excel - If you prefer spreadsheets, you can find many budgeting templates online with formulas already added; just input the numbers, and your total income and expenditure will be totted up.
Step Two – Tot up your income
Knowing how much money you receive from your fostering allowance, wages and any benefits you're entitled to will make it easier to determine how much disposable income you’ll have left once you've paid for the essentials.
If you foster with Orange Grove, don't forget to include allowances you receive for birthdays and religious festivals. If you have recently referred a friend or family member to Orange Grove, the bonus you receive once approved will also count towards your income.
If you aren't yet part of the Orange Grove family and are creating a budget to see if fostering is financially viable for you, use our allowance calculator to see how much you could receive.
Step Three – Assess your committed spending
Start creating your budget by calculating your committed spending. These are typically payments made through direct debit or standing order, such as rent, mortgage, utilities, debt repayments, and insurance. Once you've worked out your committed spending, you can assess whether you can make any savings.
If you tend to leave insurance policies on auto-renew or have remained loyal to a utility provider for a few years, use comparison websites to find a better deal. If you are locked into a contract with a provider, it might be worth calling them - many will honour requests to move you onto a cheaper deal.
Not only does it feel good to pay less for the same or similar service, but you'll be left with more disposable income to save for a rainy day or spend on things you and the child in your care enjoy.
Step Four – Tally up the essentials
Use your latest bank statements or online banking to tally up how much you usually spend on essentials such as groceries, travel expenses, clothes, personal care and clothing. To make your finances go further, you could try meal planning. This way, you'll only buy the food you need, reducing food waste and eliminating that feeling that you may as well have thrown your money in the bin.
Along with reducing your food budget, meal planning with the child in your care can be a great bonding activity, and you'll learn more about their likes and dislikes.
Don’t forget to include one-off and annual payments in your essential spending, such as National Insurance contributions, house repairs and, if you own a car, the yearly MOT.
Step Five – Organise your disposable income
Having calculated your essential spending, you now know how much disposable income you have to spend on creating happy memories and giving the children in your care experiences they may not have otherwise had.
To make your disposable income go further, split your spending into categories. You can then evaluate whether you spend too much or too little in one category and regain control.
Categories you could include:
- Emergency Fund - it's wise to have a safety net to cover unbudgeted expenses such as car or boiler repairs so you don't have to go into debt.
- Savings - if you dream about taking the child in your care abroad, allocate some of your disposable income to saving for a holiday.
- Special occasions – if you foster with Orange Grove, you’ll receive an allowance for birthdays and religious festivals, but if you plan to spend more than usual on a special occasion, set some money aside to avoid leaving yourself short.
- Pocket money - if you foster older children or teenagers, pocket money allows them to buy things for themselves and can help them learn to manage money in preparation for independence.
- Hobbies - whether it's swimming, football or pottery, using your disposable income on hobbies is money well spent. They encourage children in care to explore their passions and allow you, as a foster parent, to have some me time.
- Days out - some of your fondest childhood memories likely include trips to the zoo or a theme park, so budget for days out and create new happy memories as a family.
- Treats - whether you enjoy meals out or a Friday night takeaway, budgeting for treats enables you to enjoy them guilt-free.
- Subscriptions - we live in an age where subscriptions to streaming services have become the norm. So don't forget to budget for them and cancel any you rarely use.
Step 6 – Evaluate your habits
Finally, regularly evaluating and re-evaluating your spending habits will help make staying in control of your finances a breeze. So, set a day aside each month to sit down and assess your spending before adjusting your budget so you stay on track.
Consider any habits you need to nip in the bud to be a successful foster parent. If you struggle to manage your money, tap into our support for foster parents from the Orange Grove community. Your supervising social worker and other foster parents will happily offer their advice or provide further resources to assist you.
Five Hacks to Boost Your Budget
If you want to boost your budget further so you have more to save towards a holiday of a lifetime or a more substantial emergency fun, here are five hacks to make your money go further.
Discounts and rewards
When you join Orange Grove, you can receive discounts from hundreds of retailers, insurance providers, travel agents, restaurants and more by logging into our online portal. You can also download our savings app to save money on the go. So, whether you're out and about or buying something online, check to see if you can receive a discount before completing the purchase.
Sell anything you don't need
With the UK becoming more environmentally conscious and mindful of their budgets, selling second-hand belongings has never been easier. So, grab a box and collect toys, clothes, games, and any other items your family no longer uses and sell them online. Vinted and Facebook Marketplace simplify the process - follow their steps, and you could be quid’s in before teatime.
If you'd prefer to sell your items in person, head to a car boot and make a day of it - you may even find a bargain yourself!
Trade in old tech
If you've recently ordered a new laptop or have a kitchen drawer full of old tech, trade them in. Websites such as musicMagpie and Envirophone will buy your old tech from you. If you plan to upgrade your phone, you can often receive a discount on a new model if you trade in your old one.
Only upgrade your devices if you really need to; it can be easy to get sucked into the idea of the latest tech, but you could see a substantial rise in your monthly payments.
Refer-a-friend Schemes
If you foster with Orange Grove and refer a friend, you could receive up to £3000 when they are approved. It may also be worthwhile checking to see if any of your utility, broadband or banking providers offer rewards for referring friends.
Loyalty Cards
When you're in a rush, signing up for a loyalty card at your usual supermarket or at high street retailers is the last thing on your mind, so when asked, you may say 'No'. However, loyalty cards often give you VIP and personalised discounts, saving you hundreds of pounds each year. If you shop at the same supermarket, you could save your points and use them to pay for your Christmas food. Some supermarkets even double or triple points during the festive period, so it's definitely worthwhile.
If you'd like to become a foster parent and would like guidance on managing your money or want to learn more about the types of fostering we offer, get in touch.
