Budgeting
Advice
Helping you reach your goals.
Budgeting Advice
Keeping track of your monthly expenses is more than a valuable learning experience about your family’s spending habits. It is an essential part of taking charge of your finances, developing a sustainable debt management and financial plan and achieving your goals.
By creating and following a budget, you can track your spending and determine more precisely where you may be able to redirect money to debt repayment and / or possibly some savings. In this way, it is the first strategy to look at when tackling your debt.
What should I know about budgeting?
If it’s your first time budgeting or if you’re unfamiliar with the budgeting process, consider the following tips:
Be honest about your numbers.
- By providing accurate information, you can ensure the success of your budgeting plan.
Don’t forget the little expenses.
- Small costs can add up. In addition to your rent or mortgage payments, factor in all your entertainment/miscellaneous costs too.
Take advantage of online resources.
- The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has valuable information on making a budget and sticking to it. By learning more about the budgeting process, you will be able to better reach your financial goals.
Is there a budgeting tool I can use?
Absolutely. There are several tools you can take advantage of to help you reach your goals. You can use our budgeting worksheet to help you keep track of your expenses. You may also use our debt calculator to determine how quickly you can pay off debt by small increases in monthly payments. Lastly, the FCAC also has a comprehensive budgeting tool you can use to control your household expenses.You can make the budgeting experience more fun by involving your whole family, discussing successes and challenges, and setting individual savings goals. Following a household budget can ensure that you are able to set money aside to put towards paying down your debt, enable you to control your finances, and reduce stress.