Everything included in the workshop
A complete breakdown of every module, lesson, and material. The curriculum is transparent so you know what to expect before you begin.
Understanding Money Flow
The opening module establishes the foundational concept of the workshop: money as a flow rather than a fixed amount. Before any budgeting can happen, you need a clear picture of what is coming in and what is going out. This module provides that picture.
Lesson 1.1 – What Is a Household Budget?
An introduction to the concept of a budget in household terms, distinguishing it from business accounting and explaining why it is a useful tool rather than a restrictive one.
Lesson 1.2 – Mapping Your Income Sources
A guided walkthrough of identifying all income sources in a household, including employment income, freelance work, benefits, and any other regular incoming amounts.
Lesson 1.3 – Identifying Where Money Goes
A practical method for tracing expenditure without needing to track every purchase in real time. Covers the most common categories of household spending.
Template – Income and Expense Mapping Sheet
A structured one-page template for capturing all income and expenditure in a single view. Available in both spreadsheet and printable PDF format.
Fixed and Variable Expenses
Understanding the difference between costs that stay the same each month and costs that change is one of the most useful distinctions in household budgeting. This module builds that understanding and shows how to use it in practice.
Lesson 2.1 – Fixed Costs Explained
Covers rent, loan repayments, subscriptions, and other costs that remain constant month to month. Explains why these are the easiest costs to plan for and how to list them accurately.
Lesson 2.2 – Variable Costs and How to Estimate Them
Addresses the challenge of costs that fluctuate, such as groceries, utilities, and transport. Introduces a simple averaging method for turning variable costs into plannable figures.
Lesson 2.3 – Irregular and Occasional Expenses
Tackles the costs that many budgets miss entirely: annual insurance payments, car servicing, seasonal costs, and similar irregular outgoings. Introduces the concept of monthly provisioning.
Lesson 2.4 – Categorising Your Own Expenses
A guided exercise-based lesson that walks you through applying the fixed, variable, and irregular framework to the expense data gathered in Module 1.
Template – Expense Categorisation Worksheet
A structured worksheet for sorting expenses into the three categories introduced in this module. Includes an averaging calculator section for variable costs.
Building the Monthly Budget
The core module of the workshop. Using the data and categories established in the first two modules, you build a complete monthly household budget using the provided template. Every section of the template is covered in a dedicated lesson.
Lesson 3.1 – Introducing the Monthly Budget Template
An orientation lesson that walks through the structure of the main budget template before any figures are entered. Explains what each section is for and how the template is organised.
Lesson 3.2 – Entering Income
Covers the income section of the template in detail, including how to handle irregular income and what to do when income varies from month to month.
Lesson 3.3 – Entering Fixed Expenses
A practical lesson for completing the fixed expense section of the template using the categorised data from Module 2. Includes guidance on handling joint household costs.
Lesson 3.4 – Entering Variable and Irregular Expenses
Covers the more complex expense sections of the template, applying the averaging and provisioning methods from Module 2 to produce realistic monthly figures.
Lesson 3.5 – Reading Your Completed Budget
Explains how to interpret the completed budget, including how to understand the balance figure and what different outcomes mean in practical terms.
Template – Monthly Household Budget (Main Template)
The primary template of the workshop. A complete monthly budget document with sections for all income types and expense categories. Available in spreadsheet and printable formats.
Template – Budget Comparison Sheet
A supplementary template for comparing planned versus actual spending at the end of each month. Introduces the review habit that makes budgets sustainable over time.
Savings Planning and Monthly Maintenance
The final module introduces savings planning as a natural extension of the budget built in Module 3, and establishes the monthly maintenance habit that keeps the system working over time.
Lesson 4.1 – What Savings Planning Actually Means
Reframes savings as an intentional budget line rather than whatever is left at the end of the month. Covers the concept of paying yourself first in practical, non-jargon terms.
Lesson 4.2 – Setting a Realistic Savings Target
A guided lesson for using your completed budget to identify a savings amount that is realistic for your current household situation, without applying generic percentage-based rules.
Lesson 4.3 – The Monthly Review Process
A practical walkthrough of the monthly review habit: comparing actual spending to the budget, updating figures for the coming month, and keeping the system current without spending excessive time on it.
Template – Savings Planning Worksheet
A dedicated worksheet for identifying savings targets and tracking progress toward them, linked directly to the main monthly budget template.
Template – Monthly Review Checklist
A one-page checklist for the monthly review process, listing every step in sequence so the review can be completed efficiently and nothing is overlooked.
Want to know more before you begin?
If you have questions about the workshop structure, the format of the materials, or anything else, get in touch. We are happy to provide more information.
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