Spring is just around the corner (aka hayfever season for the unfortunate ones) and maybe in winter you ran off to the Sunshine Coast or Europe or perhaps even South America to escape the cold… Surfing, sipping cocktails, and making plans to live there forever?

But now that you’re back, the post travel blues are hitting like never before.

And to make matters infinitely worse…There’s also the post-holiday financial hangover.

You’re not alone if you’re avoiding your bank balance more than your boss’s side eye when pulling a sickie.

But getting your budget and your spending back on track is actually easier than you think.

And no, you won’t have to give up on music festivals to make it happen.

We’ve got three, simple tips to get you started. Take yourself out for a coffee at your favourite cafe and one vanilla oat milk latte later, you’ll be all over your finances.

1. Let’s assess the damage

The first step is to assess your financial position, and yes it can be confronting to see how many drinks you shouted this month, but don’t sweat it, there are exxy periods in everyone's lives.

Remember your banking app? Start by re-acquainting yourself with it. Yep, it may be rough, but you can do this.

Go through your bank transactions and have a look at how much was spent on your ‘needs’ and ‘wants’.

This will give you an idea of where you’ve overspent, and where you can try and cut back.

And before you ask, your Disney+ subscription to rewatch The Avengers on holiday is not a need, it’s a want. Soz. 🙁

2. Try the 50/30/20 rule

You might have heard this one before, but have you actually tried it? It’s perfect when you need a hard financial reset.

The 50/30/20 rule is where you allocate 50% of your take-home income to your needs, 30% to your wants and 20% to savings.

And the secret to success is putting this on auto-pilot.

Once you have worked out your 50/30/20 split, set up an auto-transfer

Your take-home income will then split across different bank accounts for your needs, wants and savings.

This means you’ll be saving consistently over the year without even needing to think about it.

And come next time you travel, you can spend from your ‘wants’ account for all your holiday fun without feeling like you’re burning through your paycheck!

3. Dilute those debts

You might have some smaller debts slowly piling up that you occasionally lay awake thinking about.

Take account of all your minor debts like credit cards and BNPLs then set up a plan to slowly pay them off.

For example, you might allocate 5% of your take-home income each week to repaying smaller debts. Working at these debts over time helps ensure you don’t get ‘bit’ by things like credit card interest payments.

Bonus tip: Switch to cash

Tap-and-go has made spending money a little too easy. One minute it was a quick grocery run, next minute you’ve dropped $150 because Bed Bath N’ Table had a sale.

Take yourself back to the ‘good old days’ and switch to cash. You’ll be much more aware of how much you’re spending and prioritise your spending when you physically see the money leaving your wallet.

Plus, you’ll naturally become a gun at quick math from all the cash handling.