It wasn’t that we really set a budget for Halloween this year but it turned out to be a lot of fun with great friends without much expense or aggravation. Coming from me, that says a lot. Halloween is not my favourite day of the year. Not for any reason other than I really don’t enjoy the creative process of deciding what to wear and where to gather the costume pieces. If someone has an idea, I don’t mind putting in the work to make a costume (M&M’s one year brings back lots of fun memories and it started with a night of ‘crafts’!). Read more »

Financial literacy is something I feel strongly about. Specifically the lack of it within our society. Ideally, young people would get a good start and receive the education to develop a solid foundation in basic money management skills. Not the fancy, high-faluting, high finance knowledge but the ‘get through the week’, the month, the year and beyond basic education.

The fact of the matter is that most of us do not learn good money management habits from our parents or the Canadian education system. We don’t talk about money because it is considered a socially taboo topic. The other reason we don’t openly discuss our finances is because we may be embarrassed about our financial shortcomings. Read more »

I keep a mental tally as the month goes by but it is so easy to forget the little amounts here and there and do they add up? Why is it always a bit of a surprise when I open the bill and check the amount owing for the month?

What we do right:

• We pay the balance in full each month
• We do not pay any fee but receive cash back on our card purchases
• We put almost everything on the card & know where our money goes

Room for improvement:

• Take out a set amount of cash each week and use only this (to control the ‘entertainment’ spend or ‘other’ category)
• Cut back on the fancy coffees!

Here are some tips to keep your financial world in order: Read more »

Budgets are pretty simple when you get right down to it. A budget is a plan to bring in enough money (income) to cover the money going out (expenses). If you can’t manage to pay your bills with the money you have or earn, you are short cash (deficit) and in the short term might rely on credit (debt).

It’s the same for regular people, rich people, businesses small and large and even countries.

If your expenses are greater than your income, you will have to deal with it at some point either by:

Read more »

Not really sure how I got thinking about how Thanksgiving relates to needs vs. wants but I think it does. For most of us, it’s easy to think of reasons to be thankful but it also makes me think how precarious life as we know it can be. Life as in ‘lifestyle’. An accident, failing health or a unfortunate set of circumstances can lead to a chain of events that doesn’t always have a happy ending. Read more »

You may not think of including Thanksgiving and Halloween in your budget and before you know it, it’s the Holidays. Once they’re upon us, it’s too late to budget for it!

The little things add up quickly and occasions like Thanksgiving and Halloween are no exception. Although they may seem like low cost holidays,it doesn’t take much for the things like travel, extra food and drink crazy costumes and fun parties to add up. Read more »

I know that I was well organized in terms of a budget and longer term planning but this was also born out of circumstances.

My parents helped with my first year and then it was part way through my second year that I started to think about my resources… I had done a couple things right:

1. I made a budget once I knew my tuition and residence fees
2. I had saved most of what I made waitressing during the summer Read more »

The last steps….the ultimate goal is to finish post secondary school without any debt. No small feat. A huge achievement if you can do it.

The annual loan amounts have a way of creeping up in total amount owing and this can mean some fairly hefty monthly loan payments. A few thousand this year and a few thousand next year and so on can quickly tally $20,000. Many loan repayment terms are over an extended period of time and often with no payments required for the 1st 6 months. It sounds good but this converts means interest is adding up over a longer period of time on a larger amount of money (because it’s being repaid more slowly). The loans take ages to repay and you’ve paid a scary amount of interest. A regular $20,000 loan is repaid over 5 years with monthly payments of approximately $400 per month.

Do you want to pay $400 a month or even $250 a month to your student loan at the same time you are trying to find your first career job, buying work clothes and beginning to lead a new lifestyle? All of a sudden, the student life doesn’t work as well anymore and appropriate work clothes, commuting costs and a vacation have to be in the budget. Read more »

By now the school year is in full swing, classes have started, assignments are in progress and midterm test dates are on the calendar. A few of the big bills are paid and you have a good idea of what to expect for expenses for the upcoming months. You have a budget. What’s next?

To take your financial education to the next level…add a plan to your budget. The budget covers the current school year. What about next year and the year after? Now is a great time to look a little further down the road. Read more »