I realize that I don’t always follow my own advice! What I budgeted for summer holidays and what we’ll spend are two different things…let’s see what the difference is. I budget $250 * 12 months = $3,000 which is a reasonable amount of money but it’s theoretically intended to cover the whole year. I think […]

You may ask ‘What’s the point? I never go into my bank because I do everything online’. It would take a very long time to save enough cash to buy a car or a home and so when we do want to make a big purchase, most of us go to the bank and ask […]

No one said it’s going to be easy peasy lemon squeezy but if getting rid of your mortgage is number one priority for you, then it can be done.   There are 2 strong motivating factors to pay off your mortgage as soon as possible:     No more mortgage payments = more of your […]

Now that you’re organized…the next step to Spring Cleaning Your Finances. Review your goals to ensure they’re clear in terms of priority, timeframe and amount. Check your income in your budget – is it accurate? Review your budget to ensure your regular monthly and large expenses are noted. Review your budget to confirm that your […]

It’s that in between season after RSP’s but before Tax’s. The perfect time to get organized – you’ll see the benefits immediately. Just as soon as you sit down to do your taxes or if you hand them off to someone else, they will appreciate it! To do a thorough job, it will take a […]

Budgets are funny things because you can go to all the trouble of crafting a great budget but then…it doesn’t seem to work! There are all the usual reasons, some of which I’ve posted about but I think sometimes budgets are designed without 2 other key components.   A budget needs some support such as […]

It’s a daunting task for sure but worth the effort and easier than you think. Figure out how much monthly income you’ll need to live, pay your bills and lead the retirement lifestyle you’d like to have. How much do you need to save to achieve this? How much monthly income will you receive from […]

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 […]

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 […]