Category Archives: Budgetting and Cash Flow

Don’t Let Back to School Break the Bank

By Karen Richardson, FPSC Level 1® and Christine White, P.Eng., FPSC Level 1®

The back to school cliché is that kids dread it and parents are gleefully counting the hours. But in reality, lots of kids are excited to go back to school (albeit an excitement that usually fades with the first homework assignment) and many parents dread September because it feels like open season on their bank accounts. Back to school spending seems to escalate every year, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You may not be able to keep your kids excited about school, but saving on back to school expenses is possible with some planning.

Back to school basics

Don’t start from scratch

A costly mistake many parents make is buying everything new. School ended roughly 8 weeks ago. It is entirely likely that much of what your children wore last spring still fits them. The same goes for school supplies; rulers, binders, folders, pencil cases, calculators, erasers, etc… are often in fine shape for the new school year. Before you head to the mall make an inventory of what you already have.

Kids don’t need everything on the first day

Even if your stock taking reveals that the kids will need several new items to get through the year, they won’t likely need winter boots in the first several weeks. Keep purchases to the essentials by building on what they have and then start watching for sales. The holidays are just around the corner and adding to the kids’ wardrobe through birthday and Christmas gifts is also a great idea. Continue reading →

Leave a reply

Do 6-figure professionals need a budget?

By Sheila Walkington, co-founder and CFO Money Coaches Canada and the Women’s Financial Learning Centre

new-years-eveHappy New Year!

The New Year is a natural time to look forward and set goals, but it is also a good time to reflect on how far you’ve come. Looking back one year life may not be dramatically different, but if you look back 10 or 15 years, so much has probably changed, especially in terms of your career and income.

When you were starting out you probably had a pretty simple financial plan – pay the bills so the lights stay on. Going out to the movies may have meant you’d have a smaller bag of groceries that week, and you may have dreamed of the day when you’d reach a level of success that you’d never need to budget again. But like the child who dreams of eating chocolate all day when (s)he becomes an adult, it isn’t such a good idea when the moment arrives. Now that you have achieved a good measure of success, you probably have a lot more reasons to stay on top of your finances.

So, do 6-figure professionals need a budget? Not if your idea of a budget is restriction and inflexibility. At Money Coaches Canada we’ve created a Spending and Savings Plan, not as a euphemism for the word budget, but as a tool that keeps you engaged with your money. Engagement fosters informed decisions and informed decisions will likely be in your best interest long term.

What happens to many high earners is that they get busy; they work hard, play hard and are often raising families at the same time, and they lose touch with where their money is going. They don’t have to choose between groceries and a movie anymore, so they may stop worrying about day to day spending in general. The catch is, with success comes different reasons to pay attention. Continue reading →

Leave a reply

September is a great time to check-in with your financial goals

No matter how many years it’s been since we’ve tossed a graduation cap in the air, the back-to-school energy of September motivates many of us to re-commit to moving forward in our lives; making it the perfect time to check-in with our financial goals.

CROPPED UPDATED-7-Stages-of-Financial-Well-Being-732x1024As Money Coaches we help people progress through the 7 Stages of Financial Well-Being™ to ultimately achieve financial fulfillment. A great way to set goals is to recognize which stage you are in and to understand what you need to do to move to the next stage. You may be able to determine where you are by reading the descriptions of each stage in the graphic (click the image to enlarge), but you can also download our 7 Stages of Financial Well-Being™ Quiz to see where you stand.

Maybe you are already very clear about which of the 7 Stages you are in, yet you feel stuck. Continue reading →

Leave a reply

Success Story: Robin and James – from knowledge to action

Note: The couple’s names have been changed for privacy.

Debt ball and chain openedRobin and James were young professionals in their 30’s when they contacted Money Coach Kathryn Mandelcorn. They were frustrated because they made a combined income over $150,000 but they had $45,000 in consumer debt and felt they weren’t adequately saving for their future. They didn’t see how they could pay off the debt and invest for retirement, without sacrificing their dream to buy a home and invest in further education. They felt like travel and other leisure activities were completely off the table if they were to have any hope of turning things around.

“When I met Robin ad James, I could see they were a very savvy couple,” says Kathryn. “They knew a lot about investing, they had a good idea of what they should be doing, but they were going in circles financially. They were paying down debt then going right back in. There was a big disconnect between knowledge and implementation.” Continue reading →

Leave a reply

Five reasons budgets fail

The majority of our clients make a very good income, yet many find themselves struggling to get ahead financially. Time and again one of the first things we’re asked is; what am I doing wrong?

Most have tried to stick to a budget with little success, so the question is; why do budgets that work on paper, fail to work in practice? We’ve identified five reasons that contribute to budget frustration.

Exhausted

1. Unrealistic or Missing Numbers

Many of us underestimate how much we actually spend on everything from groceries and gifts to dining out. We also tend to forget to include expenses like annual credit card fees, Halloween candy, iTunes, Netflix, school field trips, school lunch programs, Costco memberships, and charitable donations.

Continue reading →

Leave a reply

Will you contribute to an RSP this year?

faded bigger March Calendar

Many of us grew up with the tried and true advice from our parents that we should invest in RSPs, and like a lot of parental advice, it is often ignored. Less than one in three eligible Canadians take advantage of this investment according to StatsCan.

It’s not that people don’t think about the future. It’s often a case of being overwhelmed by information and unsure how to sort it out. Would they be better off with a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA)? Should they focus on debt repayment instead of retirement savings? Should they borrow to invest?

Continue reading →

Leave a reply

Naughty or Nice?

Here are five tips to help you sleep better and avoid the post-holiday hangover:

1. Don’t deck the halls with debt

Set a realistic spending goal and stick with it. If you’ve spent time with one of our money coaches, you’ve likely been putting away a little money each payday throughout the year for this high-spending season. If you’re starting from scratch, don’t just throw everything on a credit card and hope you’ll win a lottery before the bills arrive in January. Spend according to what you can actually afford, not what you think will impress your kids, or others on your holiday gift list. Continue reading →

Leave a reply

How Much Do I Need to Retire?

Retirement, or financial independence, ranks as one of people’s top financial goals. Despite that, in the face of so many immediate financial pressures, it’s easy to avoid thinking about the future. You may think you’re too young to be thinking about retirement or you’ve waited too long to plan for retirement, but it’s never too soon or too late to give yourself choices. So where to start?

Step 1: What does retirement mean to me?
Just as it is important to dream and set goals for your current life, it’s important to do the same for your retirement so that you can build a financial plan accordingly. Imagine what retirement will look like for you. Start with your dreams. Will you travel? Work part time? Next, set clear, attainable and true retirement goals, and then prioritize them. Continue reading →

Leave a reply

Kids and Money

mm1Where did you learn about money? From school, from your parents, from a life of hard knocks?!

Well, you as a parent are the most influential teacher your child will ever have, and specifically the mom when it comes to finances, if you can believe that!

Often parents are overwhelmed about how to teach their kids about money. Where to start?

WHY do parents need to teach their young kids about money? Continue reading →

Leave a reply

On Track Money Management System

Our On Track Money Management System is designed to help you do two things: a) stay on track with monthly and annual expenses; and b) save for your goals.

The system goes back to the old days of putting money into envelopes to make sureenvelopes everything—from groceries to the gas bill—got paid. When payday rolled around, you’d put cash for groceries in one envelope, money for the bills in another, savings towards new clothes for school in yet another and so on.

To implement our system we suggest opening several bank accounts. Here’s what we recommend: Continue reading →

4 Replies