Saving
Saving money is a good habit to get into. Some people may put money in a piggy bank or a savings account,
while others save money by shopping for the best deals. If your savings rate is negative, it doesn’t mean that you
do not have any savings. It means that you are probably spending more that you’re earning.
Explore this page to learn how to save money for yourself as well as how to teach your children how to save.
Saving
Tips For Adults
Wouldn't it be nice if the tables were turned and instead of you working for money your money worked for you?
Well, it’s possible. Having financial bliss doesn’t depend on how much money you make, it depends on how well
you manage it. You should know exactly why and how you are spending every dollar you earn, and you attain
this by simply organizing your financial goals.
>>back
to top
Getting
Started
• Pay yourself first; if employed try to save 10 to 15 percent of your net income,
if unemployed try to save 2 to 3 percent of your net income
• Get paid what you are worth and spend less than you earn
• Track your expenses
• Create a budget and try to stick to it -use our online Home Budget
Calculator to help you get started. To help you consider some monthly
budget reduction use the Benefit of Spending Less Calculator
• Pay off credit card debt
• Contribute to a retirement plan
• Put some money aside every week. Even when money is tight,
you can probably find $5 or $10 to put
away weekly. It may mean you have brown bag your lunch one
day a week, but think about the amount you will save a
month ($5 X 4 weeks = $20) or ($10 x 4 weeks = $40).
Annually, this could add up to $260 ($5 x 52 weeks) or $520 ($10 x 52 weeks).
Think about what you can buy with your savings!
|
|
>>back
to top
How
To Manage Your Savings
In
total you should have about five bank accounts.
|
|
1. Your main bank account should be a checking account where all the money
comes in, and the only account where the money is coming out
of on a regular basis. This is the bank account where your paycheck and
any other income you are receiving should be going into. From this account, you
will be making monthly deposits into the other four accounts:
2. A savings account for significant future purchases
such a down payment for a home, post-secondary studies,
a wedding, or a car.
3. A savings account for vacations, because life isn’t just about working.
A good idea would be to put any kind of monetary gifts you receive for your
birthday or other special occasions into this account.
You will be astounded as to how quickly the money adds up.
4. A savings account for emergencies or unexpected costs such as
car repairs, medical costs, or if you ever find yourself in a tight financial
situation such as between jobs.
5. An RRSP- a registered retirement savings plan. Not only will you get a nice
little tax cut from it, but by investing that tax cut back into your RRSP you will
have initiated a cycle of money-making.
It's up to you and your budget as to how much to deposit into each of these
accounts, but if you dedicate a little something every month into each of them you will
soon be surprised at how much money you actually have.
Remember, not all savings accounts are alike, so do some research
on line or visit banks for the best, cheapest or no fee bank account.
Check out www.fcac.gc.ca or www.cba.ca for banking information.
| |
>>back
to top
How
To Save Money On Groceries
• Clean out your fridge and check your pantry before you
make your grocery list. Be sure to stick to your list!
• Use the weekly grocery ads and flyers, or go online
for grocery and cleaning supply coupons.
• Focus your menus on seasonal foods and vegetables that
are on sale as you plan your weekly menu.
• Never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry.
• Consider buying store brands or generic products.
• Buy a whole chicken and cut it up as you like rather
than buying separate portions.
• Cut up your own meat and seal it properly for the freezer.
• Buy things that can be used in multiple ways. For example,
a beef roast can be cut up for shish kebabs, stew or a pot roast.
• Buy the bag of milk rather than 1 or 2 liter container.
You can freeze the milk bags and thaw them out in the fridge.
• Switch to tap water or tea. Soft drinks are expensive.
• Stock up on items you use on a consistent basis if it
is on sale for a good price.
• When preparing your food, make enough for one meal,
especially if your family is finicky and they don’t like to eat leftovers.
• If you do have leftovers, make sure to always use them.
• Brown bag it, this will help you use the leftovers.
>>back
to top
How
To Save Money Around The House
• Shop at dollar stores–it’s fun and there are a lot of great bargains.
• Check the garbage before you throw an item out. Your trash might be
someone else's treasure, so find a way to sell it to friends, neighbours,
consignment stores or online.
• Have a garage sale. Go through the house and gather all the items that
you and your family no longer use. Get everyone involved and make it fun.
• Try to do minor repairs yourself
• Install a wireless network for all your computer instead of having multiple
cable or DSL installations.
• Shop around for the best deal on a telephone/cell phone. Stay away from
all the bells and whistles, and consider if you really need two phones before
you buy that extra phone
• For directory assistance, call 1-800-373-3411 rather than 411. This toll-free
line is free, as long as you are willing to listen to one short ad
• Shop online for bargains
• Shop the factory outlet stores
• Check on-line for gently-used items that can be recycled or re-used.
Check out www.freecycle.org and www.doityourself.com.
>>back
to top
How
To Save Money On Your Energy Bill
• Change your light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Turn off lights whenever you a leave a room.
• Invest in a programmable thermostat. By moving your heater thermostat
down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer you will
save money and the environment.
• Keep blinds, shades or curtains closed during the hottest part of the day
• Always run your dishwasher with a full load
• Invest in a laptop - they use up to 90% less energy than a desktop. Also the smaller
the computer monitor the less electricity you will use.
• Shut down your computer when you are not using it. Turning a computer on and off
doesn’t use any extra electricity and it won’t damage your computer. In fact, shutting down
reduces the wear and tear on your computer and you will save energy.
• For more information on energy saving tips visit www.savingenergy.ca
>>back
to top
Teaching
Your Children How To Save Money
The best way to teach your children to manage their money wisely is to be a good example. In this
fast-paced, spending-driven culture we live in, where plastic rules and cash is rarely used for purchases,
it is so easy for children not to learn the meaning of a dollar. Teaching children about money management is
an important lesson that many parents need to provide. Here are a few tips to help you.
• Talk to them about the importance of savings – Discuss why savings is important and what
their savings can be used for. Give them a piggy bank or any other container that will allow your child to
put money away – no matter how small the amount.
• Teach them how to budget - Once your child is old enough to understand the basics of adding
and subtracting, it would be wise to introduce the idea of a budget. You can do this by using a simplified
version of your own household budget, and make it a bit more enjoyable for the child by using something
like Skittles as currency. By showing them that a certain number of Skittles are used to pay for your home,
clothes, food, and deposited into savings (never forget the savings), children are able to understand that
what is left over can be used for more fun things, like Skittles.
• Give them a weekly allowance - After the concept of a budget is generally understood, your children
should be given a weekly allowance so they can put what they learned into practice.
• Motivate your kids to save - You must remember that kids are just like adults, they need motivation
to save. One way to do this is to have your child set short and long-term goals. For example, if she/he
has her/his sights set on something like a bike, skateboard, roller skates, or a pair of running shoes then
a good idea is to propose that if they save enough for half of the item, you will provide the second half.
You may be surprised to discover that once they learn they can buy things they want with the money
they earned they will begin to hoard every nickel they can get their hands on. Soon enough you will have
a chronic saver on your hands.
• Open a savings account - A piggy bank is fine for young children, but once they begin to have
significant savings be sure to open a savings account at a bank. Take your child to the bank and
open a savings account together. Have your child contribute a set amount to savings each week,
atleast 10% of their allowance and any cash gifts they receive for special occasions such as birthdays.
It is important for them to not only see but also keep monthly bank statements so that they learn about
the glories of compound interest.
>>back
to top
Teaching
Your Teen How To Save Money
Although it is always best to teach your children about budgeting when they’re young, it’s never too late to
teach your teens about money.
• Start a conversation about money management - Talk about why budgeting is important
and discuss how savings can give them a little independence. It is also important to start talking
about savings for post secondary education.
• Encourage your teen to do some research to find their preferred bank - Discuss why a bank
account is important and encourage your teen to do some research by visiting different banks in
person or online to check out their products.
• Take advantage of youth bank accounts – These accounts have no service charges.
• Take advantage of student discounts - Encourage your teenager to look for student
discounts before they buy.
• Encourage teens to work part-time - If you have kids in high school you should encourage part-time
work. Not only will this teach them about discipline and time management, but they will also be able to
enjoy a little something called independence.
• Advise them to save a percentage of their wage - A percentage of the money they earn should be
put into a savings account for post secondary education. It would even be a good idea for them to
dabble into some investing.
• Opening a checking account - A checking account will not only teach your teens the basics about depositing,
withdrawals, banking safety measures and balancing the monthly statement, but they will also learn to avoid
the extra charges associated with overdraft fees.
• Search on-line for financial management tips - There are many financial web sites that can be used
to introduce teens to the basics of personal finance, including www.practicalmoneyskills.ca/moneyskills,
which is sponsored by Visa.
• Use free resources whenever possible - encourage your teenager to use the Student Budget Calculator
• Set boundaries and stick to them – Know that you’ve taught them the importance of a dollar so now comes
the part where you have to stick to your guns and not lend them cash when they are running short. If they don’t
have any legitimate reasons for not having enough money to go to the movies with their friends, do not get into
the habit of giving them the money. It's not a problem if it just happens occasionally, but if you get into the habit
of supporting their over-spending then they will get into the habit of depending on mom and/or dad whenever they
blow their money on unnecessary things.
>>back
to top
Other
Helpful Websites
They say the best things in life are free…well, they might just be right. Credit Canada isn’t
promising anything, but the following websites below are some sources for getting freebies; and who
doesn’t like a freebie? So take a gander, because you never know!
www.favorville.com – This site is a community of people, segmented into different areas, who offer
and request different services and goods. When you join this site, you can specify the area where you
live so that you are dealing with local people only. Merchandise and/or services are free or are offered
at a very minimal cost.
www.redflagdeals.com – This site is Canada's largest bargain shopping community. This site searches
online stores and store flyers for the best prices, free stuff, and Canadian coupons. It doesn’t matter where
you are shopping in Canada, you will find the best prices and coupons when shopping for everything from
laptop deals and cell phone deals to apparel deals and restaurant coupons.
www.freecycle.org – The Freecycle Network™ is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a
nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Membership is
free. To sign up, find your community by clicking on your respective region, then go directly to your local group
by clicking on "Go To" or you may immediately joining by clicking on "Join." It will generate an automatic e-mail
which, when sent, will sign you up for the local group and send you a response with instructions on how it works.
www.save.ca – This is a site that offers Canadians many different coupons for consumer packaged goods,
depending on the province you live in.
www.canadafreebies.ca – By visiting this site you will be given a list of numerous other sites that are offering
freebies, holding contests, or giving away merchandise in exchange for your information. Merchandise you could
receive varies from books, to jewelry, to flowers, toys, baby products, and much more.
www.greatcanadianrebates.ca – This site allows you to earn significant rebates if you shop online as a
registered member of this organization. Registering is free, quick, and easy and all you need is an email
address. This organization earns commission for every purchase made via Great Canadian Rebates, which
allows it to pass the savings back to you in the form of a Cash Back Rebate. The rebates are paid every
two months by cheque or can be directly deposited into a PayPal account.
Financial
Quiz
>>back
to top
| 
