Have you considered DIYing your personal finances?
We all set goals for the future and many require a solid financial plan to support them. We want healthy finances throughout our lifespans and to reach the financial goals we鈥檝e set for ourselves. Many in Kamsack, however, doubt this can be achieved on our own. We think we should pay for financial advice and leave the decision-making to the professionals.
But with an abundance of now available to us, that鈥檚 no longer true. You can definitely take control of your finances yourself, without needing to pay fees for outside help.
The best part? This approach is completely customizable. You get to set your own goals, make your own decisions, choose your own investments and go at a pace you feel comfortable with. What a great sense of accomplishment you鈥檒l feel designing your own financial roadmap.
Financial literacy and personal finance 101
聽is required to effectively manage your money. It will help you make better financial decisions in all three areas of personal finance: saving, spending and borrowing.
鈥淭here are countless free online resources available to Canadians looking to improve their personal finances,鈥� explains Caitlin Wood, Chief Content Officer for and . 鈥淐onsumers should check out the Government of Canada鈥檚 website as it covers many money and finance topics. With both Loans Canada and Rate Genie, we are always publishing content to empower Canadians to improve their financial knowledge.鈥�
A terrific online financial literacy course is offered by . It is open to everyone, free of charge, takes a few hours to complete and is taught by professors from the school鈥檚 Desautels Faculty of Management. When you finish all of the course modules, you鈥檒l receive a McGill Personal Finance Essentials attestation of completion.
The is also very informative, as Wood recommends above. It covers money management basics, including budget making, banking, credit reports and credit scores, insurance, retirement and estate planning.
Another site that can help you make smart financial decisions is LoansCanada.ca, Canada鈥檚 largest personal loan comparison website. It gathers quotes from different lenders, recommends the best option for you and saves you time.
Charting a path to better financial health
Start by . It鈥檚 a great tool for tracking and controlling your spending and it lets you see exactly where your money is going. Budgeting is also a way to prioritize savings and building an emergency fund, which we鈥檝e learned from COVID-19 is no longer a luxury.
To try your hand at budgeting, check out , a free online budget tracker and planner, or , personal budgeting software based on .
Your next move is to start . Even though you are just starting to manage your finances, investing is a key component of financial planning. It allows you to grow your wealth and helps you reach short- and long-term financial goals, like saving for a down payment, your child鈥檚 education or retirement.
Everyone should have their own , an excellent savings vehicle for Canadians. You may also want to consider using a robo advisor; online investment management services like or are easy to use and beginner-friendly.
Finally, it鈥檚 time to tackle . Begin paying down what you owe. Only take on new debt that you can handle and remember good debt can actually increase your credit score.
You can always seek out the services of a credit counsellor if you have any questions or need advice. They can help with basic budgeting, credit health, credit improvement and creating debt repayment plans. They will advise if you need a more drastic solution, such as debt consolidation, debt relief, consumer proposal or bankruptcy.
Financial literacy opens a lot of doors and will inform the spending, saving and borrowing decisions you make for years. Aim to be financially literate so you can manage your money well. Should you ever need advice or a second opinion, reach out.
