Whether it’s flying the nest to college or sending your little chicks off to school for the first time, it’s a good idea to set a school budget. Knowing what expenses to expect and what money you have to pay for them will allow you to make wise choices. Here’s a quick and simple budget process: […]

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 […]

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 […]

Dear Piggy Bank, It’s most of the way through July and we’re going to blow our summer budget if we’re not careful. How do we stay on track during the summer? The kids are out of school, we’re taking some holidays, there are bbq’s and less hours at work? Simmering Summer Budget Dear Simmering Summer […]

Dear Piggy Bank, I am expecting my first child and just about to go on maternity leave but I’ve been so excited about the baby I haven’t really thought past getting ready for the baby to arrive. I finish work in a couple weeks and realize we haven’t thought much (ok, at all) about how […]

The first question always seem to be ‘How much?’ and if they’re not asking it, you probably are. The amount can be determined with a couple considerations: What do you expect them to do for the allowance? What can they reasonably buy with the money? Will you place any restrictions on what they can spend […]

I’m not sure where she got the idea from but she’s been asking for an allowance. Thinking back to the days of when I got an allowance I very clearly recollect 25 cents and 50 cents. The reason I remember is because 25 cents bought either a bag of chips or a chocolate bar but […]

Our two kids have taken an interest in money lately. Not so much the big dollars but they have spent time categorizing different coin denominations and moving their piggy bank stash from one container to another. The different values of the penny, nickel, dime, quarter, loonie and toonie are lost on our 3.5 year old […]

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 was pleasantly surprised to receive the kids’ Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) statements and see that they are accumulating a tidy sum.  They are young at 4.5 and 2.75 (can’t forget that 1/4!) years old and post secondary education seems like a long way off. At least it feels like we’re on the right […]