Unimor Capital Corporation

Tag: savings

Start an Emergency Fund

We never know what the future holds for us, so it’s always best to be prepared. Having an emergency fund is extremely important so you’re always prepared to deal with what life brings—good or bad. It’s a good idea to make an emergency fund one of your highest savings priorities. Put $20 a week in an emergency fund and your account will grow to over $1,000 in just one year. That’s often enough to cover a repair bill or emergency travel. An emergency fund can also shield you from the high cost of borrowing and keep you from sinking into debt. Follow these five tips to help you set goals and take steps toward starting an emergency fund:

Chart your monthly income & expenses. Grab a piece of paper and write down how much money your earn and how much you spend for each month. Be sure to include recurring expenses such as your rent or mortgage, utility bills, childcare, and estimates of other out-of-pocket expenses for things you might buy such as movie tickets, dinner out and clothing.

Set your emergency savings goal. An emergency fund should cover three to six months’ worth of realistic living expenses. If you feel your income is stable or have access to home equity or other forms of credit to use if needed, then you may be able to plan for the lower figure. If your credit is near its limit and your income outlook is less secure, you might want to save more.

Develop a plan to start saving. Setting a goal and developing a plan to achieve those goals go hand-in-hand. Part of your plan may include specific and measurable targets to work toward. For example, one specific goal may be to save an extra $300 over the next six months to put into an emergency fund.

Put your emergency fund in an accessible place. The best place for your emergency fund is in a liquid account (accounts where your cash is easily accessible). A liquid account might be a regular savings account at a bank or credit union that provides some return on your deposit and from which your funds can be withdrawn at any time without penalty. If you consider other options, like a certificate of deposit, money market fund or mutual fund, be sure to figure out how accessible your money will be in an emergency.

Stick to your plan. Once you’ve created your plan, make sure you stick to it. This can sometimes be the hardest part of saving for an emergency fund or any financial goal in general. If your goals are realistic and attainable, sticking to the plan will be much easier. A good way to stay on track is to save automatically. Set up a systematic transfer from your regular checking or savings account at your bank. Be sure to keep your rainy-day funds separate from your other accounts, and label it “for emergency use only.” Just writing down an account’s purpose can keep you from spending the money for any other reason.

Starting an emergency fund is a necessary building block for long term financial stability. Anyone can do it; you just need the right plan.

June 1, 2020
Before Spending Your Emergency Fund, Ask Yourself These Questions

We get so used to thinking of our emergency fund as cash we shouldn’t touch. It can feel wrong to actually spend that money. But the financial situation that’s cropped up as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic makes now a perfectly legit time to tap into your reserves. Honestly.

Your individual circumstance, however, may leave you questioning whether it’s really okay to be spending your emergency fund. Maybe you have a spouse who is still working or enough money in the bank to stretch a few weeks longer.

Here are four questions to ask before spending your emergency cash:

Is this expense a need?
This is a pretty obvious question but one that’s vital to consider. When you use your emergency fund to replace lost income, you can’t spend like you used to. Ask yourself: Is this expense necessary for my survival? If not, it’s not worth draining your rainy-day fund for. That may mean pausing your cable service or taking a break from tithing so you can eat, stay healthy and keep a roof over your head.

Are there resources to help with this expense?
In response to this financial crisis, various organizations and companies are providing assistance to those in need. Banks are waiving overdraft fees and adjusting payment plans on loans. Many credit card and mortgage companies are letting customers defer payments. Food banks are trying to distribute more food. Utility companies are vowing not to shut off service for those who can’t pay. Any assistance you’re able to get will help stretch the money in your emergency fund.

Do I have cash outside of my emergency fund?
Before you start spending your emergency fund, look at other money you can use first. If you have money saved up for a summer vacation or holiday gifts, use that cash. If you have more money than usual left in your checking account because social distancing eliminated your entertainment spending, spend that. Hold off on using your emergency fund until you’ve exhausted other viable options. Avoid pulling money from your retirement accounts.

Can I get what I need for less money?
Your emergency fund will only stretch so far. Be smart about what you spend by looking for cheaper alternatives. Buy store-brand products instead of name-brand to save money on groceries or shop at a store that offers lower prices. Even if those aren’t your normal habits, think of them as a temporary belt-tightening. Reduce your utility usage to help lower your bills.

April 1, 2020
5 Reasons to Open an RRSP

A Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is an account, registered with the federal government, that you use to save for retirement. There are a number of benefits to saving in an RRSP.

1. Contributions are tax deductible.
You claim your RRSP contribution as a deduction on your tax return. For example, if you’re in the top tax bracket in Ontario, every $1,000 you contribute reduces the tax you pay by approximately $535. And if your income is lower in a year, you can carry forward the deduction for your contribution to a future year when your income may be higher. That way, your tax savings are greater when you’re in a higher tax bracket.

2. Savings grow tax free.
You won’t pay any tax on investment earnings as long as they stay in your RRSP. This tax-free compounding allows your savings to grow faster.

3. You can convert your RRSP to get regular payments when you retire.
You can transfer your RRSP savings tax free into a RRIF or an annuity when you retire. You’ll pay tax on the regular payments you receive each year — but if you’re in a lower tax bracket in retirement, you’ll pay less tax. Make sure your RRSP fits into your overall financial and retirement plan.

4. A spousal RRSP can reduce your combined tax burden.
If you earn more money than your spouse, you can help build their tax-free savings by contributing to a spousal RRSP. Retirement income will then be split more equally between the two of you — which may reduce the total amount of tax you pay.

5. You can borrow from your RRSP to buy your first home or pay for your education.
You can take out up to $25,000 for a down payment for your first home under the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP). You can also take out up to $20,000 to pay education costs for you or your spouse under the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP). You won’t pay any tax on these withdrawals as long as you pay the money back within the specified time periods.

February 1, 2020
The TFSA Limit is Being Raised

It’s official, the TFSA dollar limit will be increasing to $6,000 in 2019. TFSA’s have been extremely popular among millions of Canadians, many of whom will welcome the upcoming ability to sock away extra funds in their TFSA’s come 2019.

The TFSA was first introduced in the 2008 federal budget and became available to Canadians for the 2009 calendar year. The initial TFSA dollar limit of $5,000 had risen to $5,500 for the past few years. Under the tax rules, starting in 2016 and for each subsequent year, the annual TFSA dollar limit was fixed at $5,000, indexed to inflation for each year after 2009, and rounded to the nearest $500 to make the annual limits easy to remember.

Each fall, the Canada Revenue Agency announces the indexation increase for the following calendar year. The “indexation factor” for 2019 was calculated by taking the percentage change in the average monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) data as reported by Statistics Canada for the 12-month period ended September 30, 2018 relative to the average CPI for the 12-month period ended on September 30, 2017.

This week, the CRA announced the 2019 inflation factor to be 2.2%, which is the rate used to increase the federal tax brackets from 2018 to 2019 and most federal credits. Combined with prior years’ inflation, it was enough to push the TFSA dollar limit for 2019 to the next $500 which is why it will hit $6,000 for 2019.

Unused contribution room can be carried forward to future years such that the cumulative limit for someone who has never contributed can be as high as $57,500 today. In other words, if you were at least 18 years of age in 2009 and resident of Canada throughout that period and have never opened a TFSA before, you could contribute the entire $57,500 to your TFSA today. In honour of the TFSA’s upcoming tenth year anniversary, let me share with you three reasons why Canadians have embraced their TFSA’s.

It’s really, truly tax-free.

While you contribute to a TFSA with after-tax dollars, once the funds have been contributed, they grow tax-free, for life. In other words, all income and gains, whether realized or unrealized, will never be taxed while in the plan and the TFSA funds may be withdrawn tax-free, at any time, for any reason.

And because TFSA withdrawals aren’t considered to be income, they don’t negatively impact income-tested benefits and credits, like the Guaranteed Income Supplement, Old Age Security payments or the age credit. Even upon death, the entire fair market value of your TFSA can be received by your estate tax-free. And if you name a successor holder or beneficiary on your TFSA, the assets can flow directly to the named successor holder or beneficiary without going through the estate, which could mean potential savings on provincial probate fees or estate administration taxes.

If you name a successor holder, who can only be your spouse or partner, the TFSA will continue to grow tax-free and your surviving spouse or partner steps into your shoes and becomes the new TFSA holder. Alternatively, if your spouse is the beneficiary of your TFSA, she can transfer the entire FMV of the TFSA upon your death to their own TFSA without using any of their own TFSA contribution room, thus prolonging the tax-free income and growth in the plan.

You can contribute at any age.

To contribute to an RRSP, you must be 71 years of age or younger and you must have ‘earned income’. Contrast that with the TFSA in which there is no age limit and no earned income requirement. One popular strategy that has emerged is for seniors, who are required to withdraw a prescribed minimum amount annually from their RRIF at age 72, to re-contribute any after-tax withdrawals not needed to fund living expenses back into a TFSA for tax-free retirement accumulation.

You can re-contribute your withdrawals.

Finally, keep in mind that any amounts withdrawn from your TFSA can be re-contributed, beginning the following calendar year, without using up TFSA room. This is something you can’t generally do with an RRSP as you must have available contribution room, based on earned income, to re-contribute amounts withdrawn.

October 1, 2019
Before You Make a Budget
You’re ready to start a budget — awesome! You’re probably feeling excited and ready to get your money in order. But here’s the thing: It’s super easy to give up on budgets. They can get complicated and require some maintenance. So before creating your budget, take these simple steps to set yourself up for success:

1. Track Your Spending

Sometimes it feels like each paycheck disappears into thin air. The money lands in your account, you revel in your balance for one day, then you pay your monthly bills and it’s gone!

That’s why it’s so important to track your spending. Before you even start a budget, you’ll want to get a clear idea of where all your money is going each month. There are plenty of ways to do this: good old-fashioned check book balancing, pen and paper or checking your accounts each day. Get yourself used to keeping tabs on your spending by using an app like Mint.com. This will help you better understand what your fixed expenses are each month and where you might be overspending.

2. Set Yourself a Few Fun Goals

Because budgeting can quickly become a dreaded chore, you’ll want to set yourself a few goals to keep you encouraged. No, these don’t all have to be boring financial goals, like paying off student loans or starting an emergency savings. Although those are great, work at a fun goal, like a road trip or cruise. Then, hold yourself accountable by setting up a separate savings accounts and have money automatically come out of your chequing account. You probably won’t even miss that small amount each week, but over time, it will contribute to your goal.

3. Bundle Your Debt Into One Bill

One of the trickiest parts about budgeting is keeping tabs on all your monthly payments, especially if you have debt. Rather than making four different credit card payments each month and logging them in your budget, make life easier for yourself by combining them under one umbrella. It will be much easier to budget with one, easy-to-manage monthly payment.

4. Find Easy Ways to Cut Back Big Bills

Building a budget will force you to take a good hard look at your monthly expenses. Ask yourself: Am I paying too much for any of these non-negotiables? The answer: Probably. Start with a bill that’s super easy to cut — car insurance. Yeah, there’s no getting around it, unfortunately. But to get the best deal, you’ll want to compare rates twice a year. Sometimes you get complacent paying your bills, but there’s usually ways to save or haggle for a lower price. Cable/internet is another good example, if you call, chances are there’s some kind of promo they can offer.

5. Pick Your Go-To Budgeting Method

Yes, there are budgeting methods — plural — but before you panic, we recommend using the 50/20/30 budgeting method for its simplicity.

Here’s how it works:
- 50% of your income goes toward essentials
- 20% goes toward financial goals
- 30% goes toward personal spending
Of course, you’ll want to play around with this, but keeping these base-line percentages in mind will help you figure out how to allot your money for the month.
September 3, 2019
Thinking of Buying Your First Home?

Contribute to your RRSP so you can borrow tax-free!

If you’re planning to buy your first home anytime soon, you may be able to take advantage of a helpful federal government program. This enables you to withdraw money you’ve already contributed to your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) and use it towards anything related to your home purchase, including your down payment, closing costs or real estate fees. The key is that the funds must be in your account at least 90 days before you can withdraw them under the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP). You can withdraw up to $25,000 ($50,000 per couple) from your RRSPs tax- and interest-free to buy or build a qualifying home for yourself or a related person with a disability.

If you don’t have money set aside for your RRSP, don’t worry, because you can get a loan from your bank in order to make your contributions. You can contribute up to $26,930 or 18% of your annual salary… and, you can also top up going back to the first year of your working career. You may have noticed these details on the bottom of your notice of assessment (NOA) each year.

The only exception to the first-time buyer requirement where you can take advantage of the HBP is if you have a disability or you’re helping a related person with a disability buy or build a home. You must be able to prove that the new home is a better fit for the needs of the disabled person than his/her current home. You’re considered a first-time homebuyer if you didn’t occupy a home that you or your current spouse or common-law partner owned in the past four years.

The HBP requires you to repay all withdrawals to your RRSP within 15 years. You’ll have to repay 1/15^th to your RRSP each year until your HBP balance is zero. If you don’t repay the amount due for a year, it must then be included in your income for that year. Repayments don’t affect your RRSP deduction limit. You can still contribute to your RRSP and designate that amount as a repayment under the HBP, even if your RRSP deduction limit is zero.

February 1, 2019
How to Talk to Your Kids About Money
When is the best time to talk to your kids about money? Right now! Your kids will learn about money from someone. Don’t let it be from an out-of-control celebrity on social media. You have the opportunity to be the positive example in their lives and the guiding voice they can trust. No, money isn’t a taboo subject, and no, your kids don’t need to be sheltered from financial matters. So buckle up and just have the talk already—or go deeper if you’ve only skimmed the surface. If you want to change your family tree, you’ve got to change your mind-set. Here are five tips on how to talk to your kids about money.
1. Start slow.
According to a 2017 T. Rowe Price survey, 69% of parents have some reluctance when it comes to talking about money with their children. And only 23% of kids say they talk with their parents frequently about money. There’s no need to schedule a five-hour lecture presentation to review bank account balances and retirement plan contributions. Start by simply answering your kids’ money questions at an age-appropriate level. You may be surprised at what they already know or what they need to know more about. Once they realize you’re open to these discussions, they may be more comfortable coming to you with money questions.
1. Be honest.
If you regret going into debt or not saving more for college, tell your kids. Parents so rarely have open, honest moments with their children. Kids can handle it—really. Instead of hiding your financial failures or covering it up when money is tight, tell your kids the truth. If you ran up debts in your past and had difficulty paying them back, share that. They’ll appreciate your openness and learn a valuable lesson about overspending.
1. Talk values, not figures.
If you’re hesitant about disclosing your salary and major expenses to your kids, don’t sweat it. The good news is your kids don’t really want (or need) to know that stuff. They need concepts like saving, budgeting, paying down debt, and giving. To help your kids get an idea of what real-world budgeting looks like, encourage them (when age-appropriate) to download a budgeting/money tracking app. They can use the tool to track spending habits and see just how far their money is going. Soon, establishing a budget will feel like second nature. And if they stick with it, they’ll be well ahead of the curve by the time they hit the college campus.
1. Set family goals.
Let your children sit in on and contribute to family budget committee meetings. Just remember you and your spouse are the adults. Only mom and dad make the final decisions. If you are paying off debt or saving for the future, let the kids join in as you celebrate reaching milestones along the way. As you set goals as a family, remind your kids that goals require sacrifice. That might mean skipping a vacation in order to cash-flow a car. But they’ll catch on, especially if they understand these sacrifices will affect their future as well.
1. Learn about money together.
Eventually you’ll touch on topics you may not completely ‘get’ yourself; like tax free savings accounts or RRSP’s. If you don’t feel fully knowledgeable on these topics, that’s okay! Admit you don’t have all the answers and do the research together to find ways of securing your future. It’s a great excuse to spend some time together. So go ahead and open up about the family finances, but keep it simple. Start the conversation, be honest, and teach and lead by example. Someday, your money-smart kids will be proud to follow in your big financial footsteps.

Want more great tips on how to talk to your kids about money? Dave Ramsey and his daughter Rachel Cruze cover this and more in their best seller Smart Money Smart Kids!
March 1, 2018
Budget Your Way to Your Financial Goals
Budgeting really isn’t that bad. Here are six easy steps to achieving your financial dreams. With a new year just over the horizon, it’s time to make a few resolutions. If you haven’t yet crafted a budget, now is the time to do so for 2018.

Regardless of whether you want to take a trip to Hawaii, buy a fancy new set of wheels or simply save more and spend less, a budget can get you there. Following are six steps to budgeting to your financial goals.

Step 1: Set Your Goal

What do you want to save your money for?
- Go on a vacation
- Buy a house
- Have a security blanket in the bank
- Merely pay the bills each month, with a little left over
Budgeting can help with every one of these goals. In addition, having a concrete goal increases your chances of sticking to the budget. Some people even look for motivation by creating dream or vision boards with photos representing their goal.

Step 2: Track Your Expenses

Getting a handle on where you spend money is important for two reasons:
- It can help identify leaks in your budget. These might include the $100 a month gobbled up by daily fast-food breakfasts.
- It can help you make a realistic budget. If you are currently spending $800 a month on groceries, budgeting for $500 is probably setting yourself up for failure.
The old-fashioned way to track expenses is to collect receipts and keep a log of every penny you spend for the next month. However, you can make the process simpler by signing up for a free account with Mint.com. This service tracks expenses automatically and neatly categorizes them for you. Best of all, it doesn’t cost a dime.

Step 3: Write it Down

Now that you’ve tracked expenses, use those amounts as a guide to create a written budget. Whether you use an online tool, an Excel spreadsheet or a notebook and pen is up to you. But you want to have the budget recorded in a location where it can be easily accessed and changed as needed.

It’s a good idea to always estimate your income low and expenses high. It’s better to reach the end of the month and find you have extra money in the bank than to come up short. In addition, make sure to put a name to every dollar. Maybe you finish with the monthly bills and have $200 left over. Don’t leave that as a catch-all slush fund; decide what you’re going to do with it. Maybe $100 will go into an online savings account, $50 will be an extra debt payment and $50 will be mad money.

Step 4: Monitor Your Progress

Once you have it written down, don’t ignore your budget. Make a point of comparing your actual expenses with your budget on a regular basis, such as each payday.

If you’re using Mint.com, it’ll be easy to quickly see how much you’ve spent so far in each category for the month. Then, you can make adjustments as necessary. For example, if you’re budgeting $50 for clothing and have spent $75, you’ll need not only to stop buying clothes, but also to make an adjustment elsewhere in your budget to make up for the extra $25.

On the flip side, maybe it’s the last week of the month, and you haven’t spent a dime of your entertainment budget. In that case, it’s time to make a date and have some fun!

Step 5: Get a Coach

Maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed. A budgeting coach can help. Make sure to do your homework and find a reputable company to work with and ask about any fees. You should be able to get budgeting help for free.

As an alternative, you can ask a money-savvy friend for help. In either case, having someone walk with you step-by-step through the budgeting process can help you make more sense of how to create a realistic spending plan for your money.

Step 6: Stay Flexible

Finally, your budget is a living document. Unlike your slow cooker, you shouldn’t set it and forget it. Instead, regularly evaluate it and make changes as necessary. Always blowing through the food budget? You may need to increase it and consider where else you can cut back. In addition, as your income, expenses or goals change, your budget should be adjusted to reflect your new circumstances.

Ultimately, your budget is not about restricting money, it’s about empowering it. A good budget finally puts you in control of your dollars and allows you to dictate where money is going instead of letting silly, incidental purchases drain your bank account.
January 2, 2018
How to Create a Budget
A budget is a plan, an outline of your future income and expenses that you can use as a guideline for spending and saving. Only 47% of Canadians use a budget to plan their spending. But Canadians are feeling more in debt than ever with 90% saying they have more debt today than five years ago. A budget can help you pay your bills on time, cover unexpected emergencies, and reach your financial goals — now and in the future. Most of the information you need is already at your fingertips and the guidelines below will show you how to create a budget.

Setting Up a Monthly Budget

It’s a good exercise to document your own actual spending habits for a month or two, and then compare them to this model. This can be a quick way to find out if you are overspending in certain areas.

STEP 1: Calculate Your Income
To set a monthly budget, you need to determine how much income you have. Make sure you include all sources of income such as salaries, interest, pension, and any other income sources, including a spouse’s income if you’re married. Determine your pay after deductions, and then use the following chart to help figure out what your monthly take-home pay is:
- Weekly cheques, multiply by 4.333
- Every-two-week cheques, multiply by 2.167
- Twice-a-month cheques, multiply by 2
- Irregular annual income, divide the net total by 12
You also want to make sure you add in other sources of income, such as interest income, spousal support, child support, tenant rent, and other payments. As with your pay cheques, determine a monthly average for these streams. Using the downloadable Budget Worksheet, write a dollar figure next to each relevant income source. Make sure that the figure you write down is the amount you receive from each income source on a monthly basis.

STEP 2: Estimate Your Expenses
The best way to do this is to keep track of how much you spend each month. The first step is to sum up just where (and how much) you think you are spending. The Expense Worksheet divides spending into fixed and flexible expenses. If some of your expenses for one or more category change significantly each month, take a three-month average for your total. As for the other categories, you might prefer to split them into more narrow subgroups separating food, clothing, and entertainment, for example.

STEP 3: Figure Out the Difference
Once you’ve totalled up your monthly income and your monthly expenses, subtract the expense total from the income total to get the difference. A positive number indicates that you’re spending less than you earn – congratulations! A negative number indicates that your expenses are greater than your income and gives you an idea of where you need to trim expenses and by how much.

Well done! You’ve created a budget. The next step is to make adjustments to this outline in order to achieve your financial goals. Track your budget over time to make sure you’re on track. You need to start making records of your actual income and expenses. This information will help you to understand any “budget variances” – the difference between the amount you planned to spend in a certain category, and the amount you actually spent. Prepare to be surprised for the first couple of months. You may not need to track your spending indefinitely. Usually, a couple of months are all you need to get an idea of where your money is going.

Helpful Tip

The 50/20/30 Rule
When creating a budget, you can list each and every monthly expense you incur as its own line item, or you can combine some of your expenses and follow what’s known as the 50/20/30 rule. The benefit of the 50/20/30 rule is that it groups certain expenses together to make your budget easier to track. The 50/20/30 rule splits your living expenses into three main categories:
1. Fixed costs that stay the same month after month, such as your mortgage, car payment, and cable bill, should take up 50% of your income.
2. Variable costs that can change from month to month, such as entertainment, groceries, and clothing, should take up 30% of your income.
3. Savings, which should take up 20% of your income.
The 50/20/30 rule allows you to retain some flexibility in your budget while saving a nice percentage of your income. While you can always adjust these percentages to accommodate your circumstances, limiting your fixed costs to 50% of your income should leave you with enough money left over to save and cover your variable expenses. Along these lines, allocating 30% of your income to variable costs means you’ll have a decent amount of wiggle room within that category alone.
May 1, 2017
What to Do With Your Tax Refund
Another tax season is behind you – it’s time to relax, sit back, and wait for that return. The average Canadian is entitled to a refund, according to Canada Revenue Agency, with the average refund for last year’s income tax totaling $1,580. Before you splurge, however, let’s take at a look at the benefits of saving your tax refund and putting it to better use. Here are our top tips for what to do with your tax refund:
1. Stop treating your return like found money
Although most Canadians are happy to receive a tax refund, there’s very little reason for celebration – you’re actually giving Canada Revenue Agency an interest-free loan. Many Canadians think of a tax refund as a bonus, even though it’s your own money to begin with. Instead of treating your tax refund like found money, it’s important to spend it prudently.
1. Pay off any outstanding bills
If you have outstanding bills, using your tax refund to pay them off is probably the best option for you. There’s nothing worse than the stress of being behind. Take this opportunity to get ahead of the game for once.
1. Pay down your credit card debt
Credit card debt can build quickly, but it’s hard to whittle down once it mounts. If you have outstanding debt on your credit cards, the responsible thing to do would be to put your tax return towards that debt. Of all the debt you have, credit card debt is most likely to have the highest interest rate running from 10% – 29%. By paying that debt down first, you’ll actually be saving money in interest later.
1. Put some of it towards your mortgage
You can’t beat the guaranteed rate of return of paying down your mortgage. If you have a mortgage that allows you to make additional payments without penalty (and most mortgages will allow you to make an annual lump sum payment of 5% – 25% of the mortgage value), this might be the perfect opportunity to use that to your advantage. The more you pay now, the less you pay in interest later.
1. Invest in your future
If you haven’t started an RRSP, maybe it’s time. Your return might not amount to much now, but over the years your investment will grow. This is a particularly good idea if you are feeling no other financial pressures at the moment. A tax return can also be the perfect way to launch an RESP for your child. Consider spending your tax refund to invest for your child’s education – a deposit to an RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan) could be eligible for 20% grant for children up to age of 18 for contributions up to $2500.
1. Start an emergency fund
Doesn’t it sometimes seem like bad things happen either when you’re least prepared or when you’re least able to cope? You just paid a huge vet bill and your washing machine suddenly dies. You finally paid off your credit card debt and your car breaks down. These situations happen all the time, and sometimes it feels like you’ll never get ahead. Without an emergency fund, situations like these can be stressful. Why not take this extra cash and set it aside for those little emergencies? When the time comes – and it will – you’ll be glad you did.
1. Upgrade your job skills
Have you recently found yourself wanting to return to school? Have you dreamt of taking courses to upgrade your skills? Will doing so help increase your salary? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you might want to consider using your return to invest in yourself. This is an especially good idea if it will help to boost your income in the long run.
1. Treat yourself to something nice
Sometimes being responsible is all we do. If you’re one of those people who seem to always be doing the right thing – saving money, paying down bills, saying no when you really want to say yes – then maybe you need to do something nice for you. Buy yourself a new outfit. Go get your hair done. Take yourself out for a nice lunch. Go golfing. Spoiling yourself is sometimes the best course of action – especially if it’s something you don’t often do.
March 31, 2017