7 min read Building Wealth

How I Designed My Spending Plan for 2026 💰

How I Designed My Spending Plan for 2026 💰
Photo by Microsoft 365 / Unsplash

Hey there, I’m Jess ✨. On The Signature, I share reflections on beauty, routines, travel, wellness, culture, and everyday life. For those drawn to a calmer, more intentional way of living, I send a free newsletter each month on the 7th. You're welcome to join.

I like starting every year with an honest assessment of my personal finances. This is the proper time for reflection and self alignment.

Last year I shared my full 2024 financial review with a detailed breakdown and lessons learned. You can read it here

Although my income was very similar to the previous year, 2025 was plagued with unforeseen hurdles. As I live and earn my salary in a oil-heavy country, fluctuations in commodities and currency impact my monthly paychecks.

To kick things off for 2026, nothing gives so more joy and a sense of accomplishment than setting My Spending Plan in the first days of the year.

More than just setting a budget for groceries or for transportation, I need my money to work for me, help others around me and fuel my personal projects.

See My 2025 Spending Breakdown

62% Living
25% Investing & Savings
5% Grooming
5% Fun
2% Health
1% Knowledge

The non-negotiables for me for 2026 are:

Becoming a healthier me

I have been working on my health fiercely since 2024. I changed the way I eat, what I consume beyond food, what being active means to me and braving my fear of heading to doctors to check how things are going.

This impacts on the quality of my groceries (which I have always paid great attention to), of my daily supplements, more workout clothes and equipment, as well as the frequency of medical visits and exams.

Impact on my 2025 budget: 2%

My budget for 2026: it would be great to keep the same amount

💸
Personal Tip: Focus on Prevention. There is almost nothing you can do with your genes or hereditary diseases but... if you are active, have a balanced diet, you take care of your sleep, your energy, your cortisol, chances are you might get less sick and need to spend less at the doctor. I have people around me, either 30 or 50 years old, who spend hundreds of euros per year in medicine instead of changing a life habit.

Focusing on grooming

I always loved beauty and skincare products, and I have an eye for clothes (thanks for over a decade living in France and working in Fashion for a fraction of that time) but I cannot say I am the most stylish and groomed person you will ever meet.

Aside from wearing makeup on weekdays and putting on clean clothes, I honestly sometimes don't care that much about my appearance. And this is something that I just can't allow myself because of my professional career and society standard.

So I have been focusing on being more frequent with my waxing (such a burden), not going over a week without applying my hair masks and making sure my clothes don't have a loose thread or lint.

This impacts on my budget for clothes (and clothes keeping with dry cleaning), having pristine shoes (also working on it), the best skin I can (face AND body) and the best hair my hair allows every given day.

Impact on my budget: 5% (albeit high, still lower than the 2024 impact!)

My budget for 2026: I hope I can keep the ambition with less budget dedication, lowering it to 3-4%

💸
Personal Tip: Learn to do it yourself. I used to have my hair and nails done at the salon once a week a few years ago. Nowadays, I can count in one hand how often I go to a hair salon in a year. I dedicate those sessions for much needed trims or when I want to do something different with my hair before an event or a travel. I have been doing my nails at home for almost a decade. I am not great at it (cutting cuticles is an art I don't master), but I can assure you I am better at it today then when I started. If you can, learn a grooming skill at home and perfect it yourself. That weekly saving will add up.

Guaranteeing I am financially sustainable

Saving money was always very important for me, but in 2025, I started investing in ETFs and commodities. I explained the whole journey thoroughly and I am learning more on a monthly basis.

Every financial decision I make today may feel like a NOW thing, but reality is that I am paying my future self, preparing for a calmer and stable life when I will not be working any longer.

This impacts on how much of my budget I dedicate to savings (for cash flow, emergencies, as well the car I bought my mother after saving for years) and what goes towards investments, which sees higher returns but at a greater risk of loss.

Impact on my budget: 25%

My budget for 2026: I am most proud of this number, so I want to keep it at 25%. Doing more would be amazing, as I think the goal is to save and invest 50% of my income. Alas, I can't afford it yet!

💸
Personal Tip: Save First, Spend what is left. On the very day I get my salary in my bank account, I send a percentage into savings immediately. I don't spend first and then check at the end of the month what is left to save. This methodology has been working for me for the past 10 years as it naturally forces me to budget and plan ahead what I intend to do during the month. The major win is never to touch savings because I miscalculated. So yes, I often tell friends I cannot do dinner at the end of the month because... I don't have money left to spend anymore, and it's okay!

Prioritizing knowledge

Speaking of finances and life in general, I have learned A LOT in 2025 and that was thanks to books, videos and online articles. There is a vast array of content just about anything online and I want to be a committed consumer. Also, it's important for me to share that knowledge so I have invested in offering books and subscriptions to people around me. Aren't those just the best types of gifts?

Therefore, this impacts on how much I spend on books (either at bookshops or digitally), on magazines and subscriptions.

Impact on my budget: 1%

My budget for 2026: would be great to keep it this low but still as a priority

💸
Personal Tip: Review and optimise your subscriptions. I have several platforms, books and magazine subscriptions (as you have as you are reading this article now. Thank you!). From time to time I check if they are still working for me - if I still use or read what I am paying for. And when they are still useful, I check if paying quarterly or annually will allow for more savings than monthly paying, which often happens.

Having fun in the process

I cannot say 2025 was a year of FUN. It started with a bang in Paris to ring in the new year (and back again in October) and with an African road trip in the latter part of the year.

But in the 10 months in between, life was dedicated to work, taking care of two houses in two different continents and dealing with health woes.

This impacts on my travel budget (in 2025, I spent way less than I budgeted), on restaurants and drinks out (I left the house way less than expected) and on any activity I do out of the house (indeed, reality is that I seldom left my pool, so...).

Impact on my budget: 5%

My budget for 2026: I truly think I should be having more fun than I do at age 39. Henceforth if this number increases to 7-8% in 2026, it's a great sign!

💸
Personal Tip: Book Ahead. It still astounds me the amount of people around me who book their travel airfares close to the date of the trip and then complain about the price. In January, my husband and I bought all our plane tickets for 2026. Yes, even the Christmas ones! We always choose refundable and changeable tickets - yes it has a cost - but if something unforeseen happens, we change it to no cost. And we will have paid less than people who don't plan ahead anyway.

...and Living!

Last but not least, I spent the most on... just life. My boring yet basic needs, which I can't live without like a roof over my head or the internet running. This encompasses my house rent in Angola, my bachelorette flat mortgage in the Algarve, paying utilities, transportation, donations, gifts and other unforeseen expenses.

Impact on my budget: 62%

My budget for 2026: I think I can work greatly on this number but renegotiating my mortgage and having less unforeseen expenses. It would be great to lower this to 55-57% total.

See My 2026 Spending Forecast

55% Living
30% Investing & Savings
4% Grooming
8% Fun
2% Health
1% Knowledge

How I spend my money is deeply aligned with what I value the most, from my basic needs to my aspirations. I am very career-oriented, but I want to have fun and reward myself from time to time in the process. And that is what makes life worth living.

A 2024 Financial Story: Discipline, Achievements and Unapologising 🔒
In 2024, I achieved financial milestones I once thought impossible. This is a story of discipline, gratitude, and unapologetically owning success. Whether you’re saving, tackling debt, or starting out, find actionable inspiration with my experience plus personal tips on how I made it happen.
The SignatureJess
Like this content? We can connect also on BlueSky | TikTok | Youtube | Pinterest