November is Financial Literacy Month but what does that mean to you? The last post included the definition by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and the key message was for individuals to have enough knowledge to confidently and responsibly manage their finances.

I think for many, these words come with some big and perhaps some great expectations. I often hear comments such as ‘I don’t like dealing with money’, ‘I need to get organized financially’, ‘my finances are a nightmare’ and ‘I don’t know where to start’. Like other topics that may seem complicated, there is often a starting point which can offer an easier introduction. It is the world of household finance after all and although may not be global high finance it’s very important to you and worth getting right.

What does confident and responsible mean? Here are some starting points:

• Know what bills you have and when they are due
• Have a good idea of your minimum monthly expenses (housing, food, utilities, loan payments)
• Know how much you need to earn to cover your expenses (needs and wants)
• Pay your bills (at least the minimum due) on time

This may seem very basic but the beginning is a logical place to start and where you decide to take it from there is up to you! Next post, the next step to becoming financially confident.

This is a question that can make many of us look at our shoes or up to the sky. It is more than understanding definitions and financial tools such as debt and bank accounts. The question is whether we make good choices and have a strong handle on our financial affairs.

November is Financial Literacy Month and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) defines financial literacy as “acting knowledgeably and with confidence when managing their personal financial affairs”. Their mandate is “to enhance the financial well being of all Canadians both by increasing awareness of financial literacy resources, and by strenghthening the existing consumer protection framework through a variety regulations introduced since 2010 on issues as diverse as prepaid cards and credit agreements.”

The FCAC website is a wealth of knowledge and packed with helpful and salient resources http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/index-eng.asp .

Over the next couple posts we’ll present a few simple steps to becoming financially literate without bruising your brain!

Who thinks you need a budget for Halloween? It’s a fun occasion whether you’re hitting the town or taking little ones on a Halloween adventure it’s celebrated with parties, costumes, tricks and treats. The question is … Is there room in your current budget to cover the festivities? It doesn’t have to cost a lot to join in the fun. A few tips to help you stick to your budget:

• Create your costumes from thrift or craft stores (best one ever was made from two pieces of coloured poster board and 2 sheets of white paper – M & Ms anyone?)
• Dig deep inside your closet, there are probably some treasures to be found
• Keep the costume for another year
• Ask a friend to check their closet
• Get friends together for a potluck pumpkin carving party
• Halloween candy is available for less at larger stores
• Take transit or shared car services to and/or from a party

Be safe, have fun and watch out for little ghosts, goblins and witches trick or treating in the dark and rainy weather.

I love my husband dearly but honestly, reaching financial goals involved less conversation (i.e. communication) when I was a single! This may be stating the obvious but you’d think this is something we’d be good at….at least on the same page. He does have a degree in Economics and a MBA and I as an accountant…you’d think it was a slam dunk.

The thing is, he considers this ‘my department’. Enter CFO of the house. We make the plan together and review it a few times a year. As each year passes, the planning part is very easy, really it’s simply asking ourselves the question, ‘Are these our financial goals?’. But, the devil is in the details…that’s where I’m on my own. Move this amount here, put this in there and pay these bills. Straightforward stuff right? It is, until someone gets an idea in their head without doing the math. You know who I’m talking about right? I don’t like being the bad guy but the bottom line is the choices we make today and the little indulgences of the week set us drifting off course. Not a lot but enough that it makes me feel a pang of anxiety.

At the end of the day, it was an easy conversation…I cooled my emotions and did the math to be able to show him what the numbers were. I think we’re back on the same page…or at least back on course….for now, anyway.

Do you feel like you’re living on a tight budget? If you do, tightening your belt before you’ve slimmed down to fit the new belt notch doesn’t feel very good so we’ve provided a simple process to get you started on the path to financial fitness. Read more »

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend. We did! The weather was spectacular which is a bonus this time of year. We traveled to Armstrong for the weekend to visit with family and friends. We purposefully left Vancouver after having a bite to eat so that we wouldn’t have to make any stops and to let the traffic die down. Although we arrived late on Friday night, it was an uneventful drive and meant that we had the whole day on Saturday.

Here are some of the things we did over the weekend that were a lot of fun and didn’t cost us much: Read more »

Whether you’re saving for something special, something shiny and new or your future, here are a few are some tips to get you started.

Do you work better with a goal? I do, I’m one of those people that likes to know where I’m going and typically I know what I want. I don’t always know how I’m going to get there but with a little research and a map I can figure it out. Once I’ve got my plan, I can relax and more than half the battle is won. For me, it’s making the plan that’s the hurdle, for others it may be putting the plan into action. So where to start? Read more »

The leaves are changing colour and falling to the ground and I see squirrels gathering fallen  nuts to store for their winter meals. I’m not sure if that’s why the Fall is also ‘investment season’ but in as much as our ancestors put a lot of energy into preparing for the winter months, we are well advised to do the same.  Read more »

Despite best efforts, many leave post secondary education with student loan debt and the job market isn’t always so friendly. Taking a look at some numbers can give an idea of what to expect in terms of income and expenses (including loan payments).

If you can earn $22/hour or $44,000/year, this will put about $3,000 (net, after taxes) into your bank account each month. Adding up your expenses such as: Read more »

Just like credit cards, once the paperwork is done student loans are out of sight, out of mind … until it comes time to repay them. It’s amazing how quickly $10,000 here and $15,000 adds up to a big, big total. Read more »