Budget Words Glossary
Eighty plain definitions, from allocation and arrears to levy and revenue, each with an everyday example.
City budget explainer
The city budget, explained in plain words
I’m Kojo. I explain where our city’s and our country’s money comes from and where it goes, and I sell reading guides, worksheets, a glossary and two video courses.
A city budget in three bars
Where the money comes from, where it goes, and how the country’s budget compares, on one scale.
- Money in
- Everything else
Same scale for all three, in percent. The numbers are rounded and made up to show the shape.
Downloads, a course and merch
Shop
Downloads arrive by email. Merch is printed to order and shipped by Printful.
PDF
DownloadsPDF
DownloadsCity Budget Reading Guide
A walk through a city budget, part by part: where the money comes in, where it goes and how to read the numbers.
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DownloadsMoney In Worksheet
Take your own city’s income lines and sort them into what you pay, what the centre sends and what is other.
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DownloadsOne Budget Line Worksheet
Pick one line from a budget and take it apart: the name, the number, the year and what it pays for.
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DownloadsMarket Fees Explained Pack
Where a market trader’s fees go, line by line, with a worked example and questions to ask.
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DownloadsSchool Budget Checklist
A one-page checklist for finding the school lines in a budget and seeing what each one pays for.
Latest explainers
One new explainer every Sunday: a part of the budget, taken apart in plain words.
How to read one line of a budget
A single line, such as “Roads and drains”, taken apart: the name, the number, the year and what is hidden inside. Builds on “Budget, plan and actual: three different numbers”.
Why a road costs what it costs
Land, drains, tar, lights and the time it takes: what is inside the price of one kilometre of road.
Where market fees go once you have paid them
A trader’s daily fee, followed through the city’s books to the stalls, the toilets and the lorry park.
Hello, I’m Kojo
I grew up in Accra, riding tro-tros, buying tomatoes at the market and wondering who paid for the road that kept breaking. For years I worked in a small office that kept the city’s books. I saw how little of it ever got explained to the people it was spent on.
So I started explaining it. Every Sunday I take one part of the budget and say what it is in plain words: what a line means for a road, a market stall, a school or a bus stop. I use round numbers and made-up examples. I do not say which party is right or who should run anything. My job is to help you read the page.
What I sell are the things I use myself: a glossary of budget words, a guide to reading a city budget, worksheets for taking a line apart, and two video courses. I do not give advice about anyone’s money. I teach you to open a budget and find the part that matters to you.
I record on my phone, at the market, beside the road works and at my desk with a cup of tea. If something in a piece is unclear, write to me. I will explain it again, more simply.
The Plain Budget
A short letter every Sunday: one part of the budget explained, with real-looking numbers and no side taken.