The Household Handbook

A plain-English guide to Australian household money — budgeting, the balance sheet, debt, scams, retirement and what happens if something happens. It is about the subject, not the software.

Free to read, free to print, and you do not need the app to get something out of it. Fifteen chapters, a glossary, and a page of places to get real help.

1. 1 · What personal financial literacy actually isWhat financial literacy actually means for an Australian household, and the gap between knowing and doing.
2. 2 · Why a household budget is necessaryWhy a household needs a budget at all, and the three numbers that matter more than the total.
3. 3 · How the budgeting in the app worksThe envelope method: four groups, each bill at its own frequency, and the whole year in one place.
4. 4 · What a household balance sheet isWhat a household balance sheet is, what goes on it, and why super and study loans behave differently.
5. 5 · Income, tax and the payslipHow an Australian payslip works: income tax, Medicare, HELP repayments, salary sacrifice and employer super.
6. 6 · Debt: the mortgage, the card, and the study loanThe mortgage, the credit card and the study loan — and why the order you pay them in matters more than the effort.
7. 7 · Scams and fraudSeven jobs worth doing before a bad day, how scams actually work, and what to do in the first hour.
8. 8 · The emergency fund, and insuranceHow much cover a household needs, where to keep it, and what insurance is for.
9. 9 · Teaching children moneyPocket money, chores, four jars and goals — teaching money habits that form by about age seven.
10. 10 · Talking about money with your partnerHow to have the money conversation with a partner without it becoming an argument.
11. 11 · The psychology of spendingWhy households spend as they do, and what actually changes behaviour.
12. 12 · Retirement and retirement planningSuperannuation, drawdowns, the Age Pension and how much is enough.
13. 13 · Assumptions, forecasts and testing a decisionHow to test a decision, why assumptions matter more than forecasts, and what a projection can and cannot tell you.
14. 14 · Wills, powers of attorney and what happens nextWills, enduring powers of attorney, and why super usually does not pass under your will.
15. 15 · The household yearA calendar for a household: what to check monthly, quarterly and once a year.
16. GlossaryPlain-English definitions of the money words this handbook uses.
17. Where to get helpWhere to get real advice, and who to call when something goes wrong.