Budget planner

This is the planner I use in appointments. Fill it in on your phone or laptop and it adds everything up as you go, so you can see what's left each month once a mortgage and protection are in the picture. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. It stays on your device so you can come back to it, and you can clear it in one tap.

Mercer Mortgages, monthly income and spending

Use monthly figures. Round numbers are fine, and honest ones are better than tidy ones. If you're applying with someone else, put both of you in together.

Your details

Name or names

Month and year

AdviserEthan Mercer

Monthly income

Net monthly payTake-home pay after tax, National Insurance and pension

Section 1: discretionary spending

Hobbies and leisureSubscriptions, streaming, hobbies

Eating and drinking outRestaurants, takeaways, nights out

Holidays and travelFlights, hotels, short breaks

Gym and fitnessGym, classes, fitness apps

Other discretionaryGifts, entertainment, clothes you could do without

Total discretionary spending£0

Section 2: essential spending

Food and clothingGroceries, household, everyday clothing

Loan and card repaymentsPersonal loans, credit cards, hire purchase

PensionWorkplace or personal pension

Childcare and maintenanceNursery fees, child maintenance

Car and transportFuel, insurance, road tax, public transport

Mobile and broadbandPhone, broadband, TV package

Utilities and council taxElectric, gas, water, council tax

Total essential spending£0

Spare before mortgage and protectionNet pay minus the two sections above. This is the room a mortgage and protection need to fit inside.£0

Section 3: mortgage and protection

Mortgage or rentAdded last. Leave it blank until we've looked at the mortgage together

Life and other insuranceCover that pays out on death, critical illness or if you are off work; buildings and contents

Total mortgage and protection£0

What's left

Less: total discretionary spendingCarried from section 1£0

Less: total essential spendingCarried from section 2£0

Less: mortgage and protectionCarried from section 3£0

Remaining each monthWhat's left once everything above is paid. It isn't a lender's affordability figure and it isn't advice. It's the number we talk about together.£0

Save opens your device's print screen, where you can keep the planner as a PDF or send it on. Share makes a link that carries these figures, so you can send it to me on WhatsApp or keep it for later. The figures are stored in your browser on this device only, and nothing reaches me unless you choose to send it.

Ethan Mercer, ethan@mercer.mortgage, 07511 083445. Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 10am to 2pm. Evening and weekend appointments by arrangement.

How I use it

In the first conversation we build this together, so a mortgage payment sits alongside real life rather than on its own. If you fill it in before we speak, we start further ahead. If you'd rather do it with me on the call, that's fine too.

There's more on what to expect in the guides, and the first-time buyer page explains the three numbers that decide what's possible.