{"id":892,"date":"2018-11-01T14:55:51","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T18:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fortax.ca\/?p=892"},"modified":"2018-11-01T14:55:51","modified_gmt":"2018-11-01T18:55:51","slug":"a-simple-approach-to-money-management-when-youre-starting-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/2018\/11\/01\/a-simple-approach-to-money-management-when-youre-starting-out\/","title":{"rendered":"A simple approach to money management  when you\u2019re starting out"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n.page-title-inner {display: none;}\n.entry-header-text-top {display: none;}\ndiv#comments {display: none;}\n.entry-author {display:none;}\nfooter.entry-meta {display: none;}\n.sp-big-p {font-size: 120%; font-weight: 600;}\n<\/style>\n<h4 style=\"font-size: 180%; font-weight: 500;\">Listen to this Podcast<\/h4>\n<p><iframe frameborder='0' height='94px' scrolling='no' seamless src='https:\/\/simplecast.com\/e\/e4ca2099?style=medium-light' width='100%'><\/iframe><br \/>\n[gap]<br \/>\n[divider width=&#8221;100%&#8221; height=&#8221;1.5px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin-bottom: 1em;\">A simple approach to money management  when you\u2019re starting out<\/h2>\n<p>When you\u2019ve finished school and are trying to get your career off the ground, there\u2019s a lot to worry about. Don\u2019t let finances be one of them. Follow these basic rules of money management.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Pay down debt<\/strong> <br \/>Many people graduate with debt, making it that much more challenging to get established. Always make your scheduled student loan payments, and if you are struggling, speak to your lender rather than falling behind or defaulting.<\/p>\n<p>If you have other debts, focus on paying these down, starting with those that have the highest interest rates, such as credit card balances.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Balance the budget<\/strong> <br \/>To avoid falling into (or back into) debt, make sure your income is always higher than your expenses. How? Keep discretionary spending (non-essentials like entertainment, restaurant meals and fast foods, unused gym memberships) in check and cut back if you have to. If that\u2019s not enough to balance the books, find other ways to trim (such as sharing accommodation or finding a cheaper phone plan), or boost your income by taking on extra work.<\/p>\n<p>The Ontario Securities Commission has prepared an excellent <a href=\"https:\/\/cartefinancial.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Copy_of_Yearly-budget-worksheet.xls\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>budget worksheet<\/strong><\/a> that can help you track your income and expenses.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Save, save, save<\/strong> <br \/>If you\u2019re not putting any money aside, start now \u2014 even if it\u2019s just a few dollars a week. If you\u2019re already saving, try to boost the amount. An Automatic Savings Plan (ASP), which transfers money from your chequing account into a savings account, makes it easier. A high-interest savings account is a good way to make the most of your shorter-term savings<\/p>\n<p>For funds that you won\u2019t need to tap into very often, open a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), so the interest or earnings can grow tax-free.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Invest for tomorrow<\/strong> <br \/>Many young people avoid investing. But it\u2019s about the only way to stay on top of the eroding effects of inflation.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s an overwhelming number of investment options out there. A financial advisor will find investments based on your goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. It can be challenging to find an advisor when you are younger and your assets are still low, but we work with a number of younger clients and are happy to work with you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Take advantage of \u201cfree\u201d money<\/strong> <br \/>If your company has a pension plan that matches your contribution, sign on as soon as you\u2019re eligible \u2014 even if you feel you can\u2019t afford the contributions, or retirement seems a long way off. If you opt out, you\u2019re passing up \u201cfree\u201d money from your employer\u2019s contribution. This could add up to a significant sum, once you factor in compounded returns over the decades of your career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this Podcast [gap] [divider width=&#8221;100%&#8221; height=&#8221;1.5px&#8221;] A simple approach to money management when you\u2019re starting out When you\u2019ve finished school and are trying to get your career off the ground, there\u2019s a lot to worry about. Don\u2019t let finances be one of them. Follow these basic rules of money management. 1. Pay down&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fortax-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolvethought.com\/fortax\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}