3 ways buy now, pay later can help you stay on top of your budget

At a time when life is throwing up uncertainties left, right and centre, it’s even more important to feel empowered and on track financially. 

There are some positive steps you can take that will put you in charge of your budget, as well as some handy tools to help keep that budget humming along smoothly. Like using StepPay, our new buy now, pay later product to split your everyday purchases into more manageable instalments. Here are three actions you can take to make positive budgetary change.

1. Know what costs are coming up

If you’re committed to being in control of your finances and knowing exactly where you stand, you’ll know there’s no greater feeling than applying laser focus to your budget. Attacking it with gusto.

There’s so much to gain from taking the time to work out exactly what everyday costs you’ve got coming up, as well as those bigger expenses, and getting that picture clear in your head.

It will involve going through all your statements and receipts. Getting your head around all your regular bills and repayments as well as the must-haves like groceries, and the nice-to-haves like new gym gear you’ve been planning. Also taking note of those impulse or emergency purchases. But it is 100% worth it.

2. Find a budgeting tool that suits you

Apps and tools can help you track your spending, work out where you could spend less, predict and pay your bills and ultimately give you greater control over how you manage your money to keep your budget on track.

By spending more time just looking at your budget you’ll start to see how you might strip out a cost here and be a little more careful there.

Analyse what’s truly adding to your life and what’s not; and to give yourself some extra freedom and flexibility, look at how you could stagger your payments so they don’t all fall at once.

3. Stagger & track your payments

One of the easiest ways to be complacent about your finances is to lose track of what’s due when. And that’s more likely to happen if you’ve got lots of repayments due to different lenders, managed across different accounts, apps and cards.

Setting up repayment alerts can help. Another option is to centralise all your purchases and repayment schedules into one location and use features like CommBank’s Bill Sense.

StepPay – CommBank’s new buy now, pay later product - can help with this. It’s easy to set up in 3 simple steps, and you can use it wherever, on whatever you need – basically anywhere a Mastercard^® is accepted (not just at “participating retailers”). But importantly, StepPay sits in your CommBank app, so it’s right there alongside all your other banking. That visibility, every time you visit the app, can help you feel more comfortable and in control. Late fees are capped too with a yearly maximum, helping to give you a complete picture of your finances.

A go-to way to stagger your everyday expenses - expected or otherwise - StepPay can also help you smooth out your budget and take control by splitting purchases between $100 and $2000 into four fortnightly payments. It’s one way to keep your budget on track without missing out on the things you want and need, wherever or whatever they may be.