Have you considered taking the DIY approach with your personal finances?
We all set goals for the future, most of which require having a good financial plan in place. We want to have healthy finances and reach the financial goals we鈥檝e set for ourselves. Yet many in Canora worry this isn鈥檛 actually achievable on our own; we should pay for financial advice and leave the decision-making to the professionals.
But there鈥檚 an abundance of now, so that old way of thinking is no longer true. You can absolutely gain control of your finances yourself; you don鈥檛 have to pay fees for outside help.
One of the upsides to this approach is that it鈥檚 completely customizable. Set your own goals, make your own decisions, choose your investments and go at a pace you feel comfortable with. You鈥檒l feel a great sense of accomplishment in designing your own financial roadmap.
Financial literacy and personal finance: Start with the basics
聽is required to successfully manage your money. When you know how basic financial principles work, you鈥檒l 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�
Once you鈥檙e ready to learn, why not take advantage of a free online financial literacy course from ? It鈥檚 open to everyone, takes a few hours to complete and is taught by professors from the school鈥檚 Desautels Faculty of Management. After you finish all of the course modules, you鈥檒l receive a McGill Personal Finance Essentials attestation of completion.
As Wood recommends above, the is full of detailed information. You can learn everything about money management here, including budget making, banking, credit reports and credit scores, insurance, retirement and estate planning.
Canada鈥檚 largest personal loan comparison website, LoansCanada.ca, is another excellent resource. It gathers quotes from a variety of lenders, selects the best option and saves you time, helping you make sound financial decisions.
Follow these steps for better financial health
Learn how to .It鈥檚 an effective tool for tracking and controlling your spending so you can see exactly where your money is going. Budgeting also makes things like savings accounts and emergency funds possible, which we鈥檝e learned from the COVID-19 pandemic are no longer a luxury.
Ready to get started? Check out , a free online budget tracker and planner, or , personal budgeting software based on .
Next, you鈥檒l want to start . Investing is a key component of financial planning and it鈥檚 within reach, even when you鈥檙e just starting out. It allows you to grow your wealth and help you reach both short- and long-term financial goals, such as saving up for a down payment, for your child鈥檚 education or retirement.
Make sure to open a . You may also consider using a robo advisor; online investment management services like or are easy to use and beginner-friendly.
Last, develop a plan for . Start to pay down what you owe and only take on new debt you can handle; remember good debt can actually increase your credit score.
If you need advice or have any questions, you can always reach out to a credit counsellor. 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.
Start with the resources listed here, educate yourself and watch your savings grow. Remember there鈥檚 lots of help available should you need a second opinion at any point along the way.
