You’ve done the math and set the plan. How is it going? A plan is the key and a budget is simply a tool you use to reach your goals. What happens if you go off track?   The first step is to check in and see how it’s working. Compare your actual spending to […]

You know your goals and what you typically spend each month. Before you compare it to your monthly income…..review the spend categories and consider which ones you could spend less on and how much.   Now compare your actual expenses to your monthly income. Does it cover them? How about if you add in some […]

Before we move straight to making the 2014 plan, now is a good time to consider the reasons why this might not work. Not to be negative but often I hear people say ‘I’ve tried this before’ or ‘It never seems to work’ so let’s get the barriers to success right onto the table. They […]

It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work in Step 3. If you’ve already gathered your financial information such as pay cheques, bank and credit card statements you’re all set. If you haven’t, now’s the time to do it. If you’re comfortable using Excel then it will make calculations easier but I […]

Once you’ve got your goals in mind it’s a good time to step back and review them to make sure they are in line with your values. Try to prioritize them despite that some may be longer term goals. If you’re having trouble deciding between two or more goals, take them two at a time […]

It’s the time of year when we tend to indulge and treat ourselves, our families and friends to  special food, drink, celebrations and gifts. When the holiday bills arrive we open them with some trepidation and ‘gulp’, figure out how we’re going to cover it. Sometimes we make conscious decisions to forgo this to buy […]

Chatting to people about their holiday preparations can be interesting and I often get some really good ideas. Two people have mentioned how they don’t really like shopping and don’t consider themselves to be ‘shoppers’ but they both practice ‘strategic shopping’. I call it that because they take advantage of sales and fully stocked shelves […]

American Thanksgiving is this week and the ads have been on for weeks. Sales, sales and more sales. Sales across the border and sales in Canada too!    The question is: Should you buy it if it’s on sale? What if it’s a really, really good deal?  A great discount can make it very tempting […]

  You probably make at least and maybe more holiday lists but do you make a budget? It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the holiday season because between gifts, cards, holiday functions and regular life….it gets busy! And that can mean that attention to details is exchanged for what’s easiest and what’s easiest is almost […]

Common sense tells us that keeping in good health is the right thing to do but sometimes, you can’t control what happens. Last Friday I had knee surgery to reconstruct my ACL (due to a soccer injury) and I consider myself very lucky. Granted, going in for surgery provokes anxiety and the rehabilitation process is […]