Our website doesn't support your browser so please upgrade.

  • Skip page header and navigation
  • Personal
  • Private
  • Business
  • Corporate
  • Language English
  • Register 
  • Back to my accounts 
  • Log on Log off
HSBC UK
  • Banking Accounts & services

    Current accounts

    • Premier Account
    • Bank Account
    • Advance Account
    • Student Account
    • International Student Account
    • Children's Account
    • Private Banking Account
    • Business accounts
    • See all current accounts

    Savings accounts

    • Fixed Rate Cash ISA
    • Online Bonus Saver
    • Regular Savings Account
    • Loyalty Cash ISA
    • Fixed Rate Savings Account
    • Children’s Savings Account
    • Easy access savings accounts
    • Compare savings accounts
    • See all savings accounts

    International services

    • Global Money Account
    • Using your card outside the UK
    • Travel Money
    • International payments
    • Currency Account
    • Opening an account outside the UK
    • Open a UK account
    • See all international services

    Already banking with us?

    • Existing customers
    • Money worries
    • Manage your account
    • Mobile banking
    • Online banking
    • Overdrafts
    • Overdraft calculator
    • Overdraft repayment calculator
  • Borrowing Short & long-term

    Credit cards

    • Balance transfer credit cards
    • Purchase cards
    • Rewards cards
    • Credit building cards
    • Premier cards
    • Ways to borrow
    • Credit card eligibility checker
    • See all credit cards

    Loans

    • Personal Loan
    • Premier Loan
    • Car Loan
    • Home Improvement Loan
    • Top up your loan
    • Ways to borrow
    • Debt Consolidation Loan
    • HSBC Flexipay
    • See all loans

    Mortgages

    • Switch your mortgage rate
    • Remortgage to HSBC
    • First-time buyers
    • Get a decision in principle
    • Moving home
    • Mortgage rates
    • Mortgage calculators
    • Continue my application

    Already borrowing with us?

    • Mortgage charter
    • Manage your existing mortgage
    • Money worries
    • Mortgage payment support
    • Manage your credit card
    • Credit card fees and rates
    • Base rate information
    • Credit card repayment calculator
  • Investing Products & planning

    Investing

    • New to investing?
    • Stocks & shares ISA
    • Invest in funds
    • Invest in shares
    • See all investments

    Advice

    • Financial advice
    • Premier investment management
    • Protection advice

    Retirement

    • Retirement calculator
    • Investing for retirement

    Wealth planning

    • Future Planner
    • Investment goals
    • Your financial action plan
    • Investment calculator
    • Children’s education calculator
    • Wealth Insights

    Already investing with us?

    • Manage your investments
    • How to use investment goals
    • How to use our Global Investment Centre
    • How to use InvestDirect
    • Onshore Investment Bond
    • Child Trust Fund
    • Manage your Flexible Retirement Account
  • Insurance Property & family

    Insurance

    • Home Insurance
    • Contents Insurance
    • Travel Insurance
    • Small Business Insurance
    • See all insurance

    Life

    • Life Cover
    • Critical Illness Cover
    • Income Protection Insurance
    • Protection advice
    • See all life insurance

    Claims

    • Select and Cover claims
    • Home Insurance claims
    • Life Insurance claims
    • Travel Insurance claims
    • Aspects Insurance claims
    • Premier Travel Insurance claims

    Already insured by us?

    • Home Insurance support
    • Life Insurance support
    • Premier Travel support
    • Aspects Insurance support
  • Wellbeing Financial health & support

    Financial fitness

    • Financial health tools & webinars
    • Everyday budgeting
    • Managing debt
    • Growing your money
    • Staying safe and secure
    • Learning about money

    New beginnings

    • Expanding your family
    • Getting married
    • Planning for retirement
    • Buying your first home
    • Moving abroad
    • Going to uni

    Life events

    • Bereavement support
    • Assisting someone with their money
    • Separation
    • Losing your job
    • Power of Attorney
    • Mental health and support
    • Tell us your support needs

    Money worries

    • How we can help
    • Mortgage payment support
    • Financial and domestic abuse
    • Managing your finances
    • Rising cost of living
    • Support for gambling
  • Help Service & security

    Managing your account

    • Rising cost of living
    • Ways to bank
    • Card support
    • Making payments
    • Set up or cancel a Direct Debit
    • Set up or cancel a standing order
    • Query a transaction

    Fraud and security

    • Fraud guide
    • Received a text?
    • HSBC Safeguard
    • Secure Key
    • Our Digital Security Promise
    • Verify your ID online

    Digital banking

    • Register for digital banking
    • Mobile banking
    • Online banking
    • Banking at home
    • Mobile cheque deposit
    • Reset your log on details
    • Mobile money management

    Help

    • Customer support
    • Service status
    • Money worries
    • Feedback and complaints
    • Digital banking help tool
    • Bank of England base rate
    • Accessibility and disability
    • Sustainability
  • Banking Accounts & services

    Current accounts

    • Premier Account
    • Bank Account
    • Advance Account
    • Student Account
    • International Student Account
    • Children's Account
    • Private Banking Account
    • Business accounts
    • See all current accounts

    Savings accounts

    • Fixed Rate Cash ISA
    • Online Bonus Saver
    • Regular Savings Account
    • Loyalty Cash ISA
    • Fixed Rate Savings Account
    • Children’s Savings Account
    • Easy access savings accounts
    • Compare savings accounts
    • See all savings accounts

    International services

    • Global Money Account
    • Using your card outside the UK
    • Travel Money
    • International payments
    • Currency Account
    • Opening an account outside the UK
    • Open a UK account
    • See all international services

    Already banking with us?

    • Existing customers
    • Money worries
    • Manage your account
    • Mobile banking
    • Online banking
    • Overdrafts
    • Overdraft calculator
    • Overdraft repayment calculator
  • Borrowing Short & long-term

    Credit cards

    • Balance transfer credit cards
    • Purchase cards
    • Rewards cards
    • Credit building cards
    • Premier cards
    • Ways to borrow
    • Credit card eligibility checker
    • See all credit cards

    Loans

    • Personal Loan
    • Premier Loan
    • Car Loan
    • Home Improvement Loan
    • Top up your loan
    • Ways to borrow
    • Debt Consolidation Loan
    • HSBC Flexipay
    • See all loans

    Mortgages

    • Switch your mortgage rate
    • Remortgage to HSBC
    • First-time buyers
    • Get a decision in principle
    • Moving home
    • Mortgage rates
    • Mortgage calculators
    • Continue my application

    Already borrowing with us?

    • Mortgage charter
    • Manage your existing mortgage
    • Money worries
    • Mortgage payment support
    • Manage your credit card
    • Credit card fees and rates
    • Base rate information
    • Credit card repayment calculator
  • Investing Products & planning

    Investing

    • New to investing?
    • Stocks & shares ISA
    • Invest in funds
    • Invest in shares
    • See all investments

    Advice

    • Financial advice
    • Premier investment management
    • Protection advice

    Retirement

    • Retirement calculator
    • Investing for retirement

    Wealth planning

    • Future Planner
    • Investment goals
    • Your financial action plan
    • Investment calculator
    • Children’s education calculator
    • Wealth Insights

    Already investing with us?

    • Manage your investments
    • How to use investment goals
    • How to use our Global Investment Centre
    • How to use InvestDirect
    • Onshore Investment Bond
    • Child Trust Fund
    • Manage your Flexible Retirement Account
  • Insurance Property & family

    Insurance

    • Home Insurance
    • Contents Insurance
    • Travel Insurance
    • Small Business Insurance
    • See all insurance

    Life

    • Life Cover
    • Critical Illness Cover
    • Income Protection Insurance
    • Protection advice
    • See all life insurance

    Claims

    • Select and Cover claims
    • Home Insurance claims
    • Life Insurance claims
    • Travel Insurance claims
    • Aspects Insurance claims
    • Premier Travel Insurance claims

    Already insured by us?

    • Home Insurance support
    • Life Insurance support
    • Premier Travel support
    • Aspects Insurance support
  • Wellbeing Financial health & support

    Financial fitness

    • Financial health tools & webinars
    • Everyday budgeting
    • Managing debt
    • Growing your money
    • Staying safe and secure
    • Learning about money

    New beginnings

    • Expanding your family
    • Getting married
    • Planning for retirement
    • Buying your first home
    • Moving abroad
    • Going to uni

    Life events

    • Bereavement support
    • Assisting someone with their money
    • Separation
    • Losing your job
    • Power of Attorney
    • Mental health and support
    • Tell us your support needs

    Money worries

    • How we can help
    • Mortgage payment support
    • Financial and domestic abuse
    • Managing your finances
    • Rising cost of living
    • Support for gambling
  • Help Service & security

    Managing your account

    • Rising cost of living
    • Ways to bank
    • Card support
    • Making payments
    • Set up or cancel a Direct Debit
    • Set up or cancel a standing order
    • Query a transaction

    Fraud and security

    • Fraud guide
    • Received a text?
    • HSBC Safeguard
    • Secure Key
    • Our Digital Security Promise
    • Verify your ID online

    Digital banking

    • Register for digital banking
    • Mobile banking
    • Online banking
    • Banking at home
    • Mobile cheque deposit
    • Reset your log on details
    • Mobile money management

    Help

    • Customer support
    • Service status
    • Money worries
    • Feedback and complaints
    • Digital banking help tool
    • Bank of England base rate
    • Accessibility and disability
    • Sustainability
  • Language English

Language

  • Selected English
  • Register
  • Back to my accounts
  • Private
  • Business
  • Corporate
HSBC UK
Log on Log off
Top of main content
  1. HSBC UK 
  2. Financial fitness 
  3. Everyday budgeting 
  4. How to create a budget

How to create a budget

App update: If your HSBC UK app looks different to what’s shown or described on this page, it may be because it's recently been updated. Find out more about our redesigned app.

A budget is a plan for how you’ll spend your money, including limits for spending on certain things.

Knowing exactly how much money you've got coming in and going out – and where it goes – can help you prioritise spending. This means you can make your money last and potentially save more each month.

Download transcript Download transcript This link will open in a new window

How to start budgeting

Decide your budget format

Note your income and expenses

Make a plan

Stick to the plan

Decide your budget format

An app or online budgeting tool can be a great resource, but a spreadsheet or a notebook and pen can work too. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you can keep track of and update.

Note your income and expenses

Look at how much money you have coming in regularly, like your salary. If your income changes from month to month, work out the average over the last 3 months.

Then, using your bank statements or transaction history for the last 3 months, work out your average monthly spend. By comparing your income and expenses, you'll see if you're living beyond your means or have money left over.

It can be helpful to put your expenses into categories to identify where you may be overspending. Include regular outgoings like:

  • Utility bills
  • Rent or mortgage
  • Groceries
  • Eating out
  • Shopping
  • Transport

You might want to use Balance forecast. It’s a feature in our mobile banking app that shows you how much you could have left for the month ahead, once scheduled bills (standing orders and Direct Debits) are taken into account.

We also have mobile money management tools in our app to help you track your spending, stay on top of your finances, and achieve your goals.

Make a plan

If you feel you're spending too much or want to save more each month, look at what you can change. Our budget planner can help you see how you spend your money. By adding in a bit about yourself and your finances, it’ll show you a breakdown of your outgoings, including any money you may have left over.

You could then try making small adjustments to your spending, like cutting out the odd takeaway or trimming your weekly food shop.

You could also save money on your energy bill each month by making your home more energy efficient or switching energy providers.

Explore: Everyday spending hacks

Once you've decided where to make changes, set yourself a monthly (or weekly) goal for spending in each category.

This might include some trade-offs along the way. If you have some money for new clothes, it might mean choosing between a pair of trainers or a jumper. The other one will have to wait until next month.

Account for irregular costs too, such as car tax, holidays, and events. Allocating a certain amount for the unexpected at the start of your budgeting period, or saving a little extra to go towards these costs can help.

If you have money allocated for savings, move it into a savings pot or an account as soon as you get paid. This can reduce your temptation to spend it elsewhere.

It’s good to aim high but be realistic – you could get easily disheartened if you make things too hard.

Stick to the plan

Review your budget regularly to check you’re sticking to the plan. Pay close attention to how you’re tracking against each category. This will tell you where you may want to cut back or adjust your budget. If your budget has fallen by the wayside, that’s okay – there are ways to get your finances back on track.

Book a financial health check

You can book an appointment with a member of the financial wellbeing team, who can take you through a quick and easy 30-minute financial health check. Our team can chat with you about your banking needs. You don’t have to be an HSBC customer to benefit from this service.

They won’t give financial advice, but they’re here to help you achieve your financial goals, whatever they may be. They’ll be able to explain where you’re doing well and where you may be able to improve, focusing on what’s important to you.

Back to top  Back to top of the page

What next?

Book a financial health check now  Book a financial health check now This link will open in a new window

Share

  • facebook This link will open in a new window
  • twitter This link will open in a new window
  • pinterest This link will open in a new window
  • linkedin This link will open in a new window
  • email

Explore more

How to build an emergency fund 

Steps to financial wellbeing 

What's your financial fitness score? 

  • About HSBC
  • Help & support

    Contact HSBC Got a question? We're here to help you 
  • Branch finder

    Find your nearest branch 
  • Our service performance

    View our service status to see how we're doing 
  • About HSBC

    Careers, media, investor and corporate information 
  • Legal
  • Privacy notice
  • Cookie notice
  • Accessibility
  • Stopping modern slavery

HSBC GroupHSBC Group This link will open in a new window | © Copyright HSBC Group 2002-2025. All rights reserved

This website is designed for use in the United Kingdom.

Cookies on this website

We use cookies to help keep our website and services working properly. These cookies are necessary and are set automatically.

We'd also like to use some optional cookies that:

  • Make your visit more personal
  • Improve our website based on how you use it
  • Support our marketing

You can either 'Accept' or 'Decline' these cookies or choose what cookies to accept in 'Manage cookies'.

To learn more about how we use cookies, visit our Cookie Notice.