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 […]

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 […]

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

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

How do you budget for the school year? What do things cost? Some expenses may be familiar and others might be totally new. The main categories are: Living (Housing & Food) Tuition & Books Transportation Entertainment Other Within each of these categories is a list of expenses many of which we all pay, some of […]