IT’S TIME TO RAMP UP YOUR BUDGET PLAN SO GRAB A PEN AND START TAKING NOTES. If you want to budget better and stop stressing over your money issues accept that you must give up something to get something. With the new year approaching many of you might not be thinking about budgeting in 2017 but waiting until the bills start coming due is probably not a smart way to get a fresh start. Household expenses are expected to rise in 2017 and we’ve been warned in part about a few coming our way. With the average Canadian debt load up 3.6% or $22,081 (excluding mortgage) compared to last year it’s critical that we continue to budget better than ever. We will definitely see grocery expenses escalating up $420 per family, carbon tax introduction and other developments that will work their way into our budget. The great news is that budgeting has become a household name and not as frowned upon as it once was considered for people who couldn’t manager their money. No, No a budget is for everyone even the rich who have proven it’s easy to lose it all when they should have been comfy for […]
11 Habits To Help You Budget Better In The New Year : Our November 2016 Family Budget Update
The Saturday weekend review #37: Stashing cash, is it worth it?
Only You Know What’s Best For Your Situation I think stashing cash is worth it but whether people have the cash to stash is another story. I don’t think it’s hard to believe that many people do have about $10,000 stashed away for a rainy day but on the other hand I can completely agree that many people don’t have the money to do that. Debt for Canadians is a big problem and in reading this article on Yahoo about a survey conducted by the Bank of Montreal it’s no surprise that the writer is saying that most people don’t have the means to sock away 3-6 months of income just in case an emergency would come up. You know last week we had an emergency where I managed to spill liquid on my computer. Since I blog full-time my computer is a huge necessity in our household and that to me was an emergency where I was thankful that we had money in the bank to cover. We didn’t just hide away the money overnight either and I don’t think any personal finance blogger I’ve come across who talks about emergency savings says it has to be done in […]
The grocery game challenge Sept 2-8, 2013 #1- Back to school treats for kids
What’s In My Lunch Box? It was back to school today for many Canadian kids which meant the grocery stores were jam-packed and it was near impossible to get help if you needed it as there just wasn’t enough staff. The streets tend to get a bit crowded here when the students arrive for University and College but we have learned to have patience. Funny though while at Shoppers Drug Mart the University students were piling in and the sheer amount of snack items being purchased was outrageous. The counter was filled with Red Bull, Mentos, snack packs of crackers and cheese, chips and chocolate bars. In my head I was thinking how unhealthy all the food was and the cost to purchase the items. Back to school lunches While I was reading the grocery flyers for this week you couldn’t miss the “Back to School” sales in just about every flyer. Many of the sales that were advertised were for convenience foods such as juice boxes, chocolate, cookies, various types of bars and get this, Perrier water. I know, I was thinking the same thing, what kid brings Perrier water to school? I’m pretty sure that a sandwich is standard for […]
PF Weekly Grab a Brew 31: I don’t care about debt…push!
I’m sure you know someone who is deep in debt and shrugs it off like it’s no big deal saying they don’t care about debt. Sometimes I wonder how someone gets to that point but from another perspective I can understand how overwhelming debt can be for some people, myself included. Every one in a while we need motivation in our lives, and I’m here to share some of mine with you. Yes, when I bought my first condo that amount of debt and unexpected bills were piling up even though some people would say a mortgage is not a bad debt it loomed over my head. I’s not near as bad as having thousands in consumer debt that you just can’t pay off no matter how you accumulated it. Some people are comfortable paying the minimum payments until the bitter end no matter how much they pay in interest. It’s easier to close our eyes than to take the steps to iron out the wrinkles. 12 per cent of them — said they are comfortable carrying the debt and don’t intend to pay it off. The CIBC telephone poll that I read said “14% of Canadians won’t pay off […]
