Managing your money isn’t just about investing or saving for retirement — it’s so much more than that. Whether you’re saving for a car, a house down payment, or planning to pay off your debt, managing your money is thinking ahead to make sure you have money set aside for your needs and for your wants.

Generally, the first step to managing money is creating a budget that lists your sources of income and compares them against your list of expenses. This way you’ll get a clear picture of where your money is coming from, and where it’s going.

Separating the categories of your spending into buckets such as needs (rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries and paying down debt) and wants (restaurants, event tickets, gifts etc.) can help show you where you can cut back and help free up money to pay off debt or put into your savings.

If you’re looking for a tool to help you set up your budget, you can use the Government of Canada’s free budget planner to get started. Find it here: https://itools-ioutils.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/BP-PB/budget-planner.

Having an emergency fund is also a helpful tool for managing your money. Financial experts recommend setting aside three to six months’ worth of living expenses in a savings account specifically for emergencies.  This fund provides a buffer against unexpected situations or expenses and prevents you from relying on credit cards or loans in times of crisis.

Some members find it helpful to talk to a financial advisor to help guide them in managing their money. For help finding a financial advisor you can visit the Government of Canada’s website here https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/savings-investments/choose-financial-advisor.html.

To learn more about managing your money you can also visit Smart Path online learning.  There you’ll find helpful tools such as retirement calculators, learn about retirement planning, saving, investing, RRSPs, RRIFs and more. Canada Life offers additional financial well-being resources such as a resource page to brush up on different ways to improve your own financial well-being – whatever that may mean to you. 

If you do have debt, you may want to consider the “debt avalanche” method, where you focus on paying off the higher interest debt first, or the debt snowball method, where you pay off smaller debts first to get ahead. If you’re struggling with significant debt, consider speaking with the Credit Counselling Society of Canada.  Visit the Credit Counselling Society’s website to access online courses on budgeting, building your credit and managing debt. You also have access to credit counselling and debt management services. Want to do a course to improve your financial literacy? Visit the Credit Counselling Society’s website at  https://nomoredebts.org/financial-education/online-courses and sign up today.

Questions? We’re here to help! You can email us at members@teibas.com or call us at 416-637-6789

(toll-free:1-800-267-0602).