Even though they say money can\u2019t buy happiness, it\u2019s hard to\nthink otherwise when everything you feel you want to do and need in life has a\ndollar sign in front of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But putting your money to work for you can put you on the\npath to be financially independent, to meet the savings goals you\u2019re trying to\nreach, or more. Because we all have goals when it comes to our money. And one\nof the ways to meet these financial goals is to start making your money your\nnumber one priority. Or at least have something they hope to achieve\nfinancially like buying a house, paying down debts, getting a new car, or going\non that bucket list trip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the only way to reach these financial goals is to\nhave some sort of budgeting system in place. You need to be able to ask yourself\nwhat you are willing to do to put your financial future first and make money\nyour number one priority. And we understand that life happens. Expenses pop up\nand you can\u2019t plan for everything, but that is what we are here for. You can\ncount on GoDay<\/a> to help you put your best foot\nforward when it comes to your finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where To Start<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to making your money your number one priority,\nwhere do you even start? When it comes to your finances there are the things we\nhave to pay for \u2013 like bills, rent, mortgage, car, cell phone, the list\ncontinues. And these expenses won\u2019t be disappearing anytime soon. On top of\nthose expenses, you also have your everyday expenses – coffee anyone? And these\nexpenses can be the ones we often lose track of the most. No matter your age,\nor financial situation, we all have bills to pay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But it is our financial responsibilities that change at\ndifferent stages in our lives, from school, to kids, to buying your first home,\ngetting a new job, to retirement, and you need to stay on top of your financial\nobligations no matter what stage in your life you are at. So, how do you stay\non top of all of these financial priorities? It all starts with understanding\nyour finances and setting financial goals for yourself. From there is where you\nthen take the first step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Making Your Money\nWork For You<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Making your money work for you<\/a> is important in building your financial future and one you are happy with. We can\u2019t always be making a bigger salary or wage in our jobs. Even though we may all deserve a raise! However, taking the money you do earn and the funds that you already have saved up and using, spending, and investing it wisely can have a big impact on your financial future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What are the different ways that you can make your money work for you? Why not start off with small changes like doing some research and switching up your banking and even the credit card you are using. Or you can make big changes like finding the right places to invest your dollars. There are options out there for everyone and it is important to keep these things in mind as you try to make your money grow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to realize that money is a tool that can help\nyou achieve your goals, and for you to reach that financial independence you\nwant, you need to have your money work for you. Not you for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How Are You Keeping\nTrack<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We talk a lot about\nbudgeting<\/a> here at GoDay, and it is because we believe that keeping\ntrack is one of the most important things you can do to make sure you are staying\non top of your finances. Everyone has a different way of how they like to keep\ntrack of their money, the goals they have when it comes to finances and\ndifferent financial priorities. So there is no \u201cright\u201d way of keeping track.\nBut there are a lot of good places to start to see what works for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to creating your budget, and financial game\nplan, you want to make sure you are keeping track of all the money that is\ncoming in and what money is going out. This can be overwhelming for people and\noften the reason people don\u2019t stick to or have budgets. And there are a lot\nof free\ntools <\/a>out there to help you stay on track and eliminate the burden of\nkeeping all your receipts and trying to pour over a spreadsheet. But hey,\nmaybe that\u2019s what works for you and that is okay too! We understand that life\nhappens and there are unexpected things that pop up that you can\u2019t budget for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is also a difference between financial\nwants and financial needs<\/a> when it comes to budgeting. With this in\nmind, you can take these as opportunities to readjust your budget and work on\nplanning out or finding a better way to track your spending. Spending money can\nbe easier than saving money, we all know that. But if you are able to identify\nwhere you have gone over budget, what you are overspending on, etc. then you will\nbe able to have better control over how to save money. Now that you know why it is important to keep track of where\nyour money is going, to make your money your number one priority, you need to\nstart paying attention to your spending and savings and stop worrying about it\nlater. Not everyone keeps track of what they\u2019re charging to\nyour cards<\/a> or how much interest could be collecting, but by charging\npurchases onto your credit card without keeping your budget in mind and\nworrying about it later is what can get you into debt in the first place. Especially\nif you\u2019re trying to tackle debt, putting purchases on your credit card compared\nto using cash or debit is what can get you off track in the first place and\nmost people put purchases on their credit cards thinking that they will take\ncare of it when their bill comes in at the end of the month. And when your\nmonthly credit\ncard statement<\/a> does come in and you realize how much you\u2019ve actually spent,\nthat is usually when you realize how much you have gone off-budget and may need our help<\/a> to make sure\nall the bills get paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be Prepared In A\nFinancial Emergency<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If an emergency were to happen tomorrow, would you be\nfinancially prepared? What happens if you unexpectedly lose your job? What if a\npipe bursts and your basement floods? A family member becomes ill and you don\u2019t\nhave health insurance? You get in a car accident? The list goes on of\nunexpected emergencies that can happen. It\u2019s life. And every year, a large proportion\nof Canadians face an unplanned emergency expense. Of course, it is something we\nnever want to plan for, but you cannot predict when a financial emergency is\ngoing to happen, but you can be ready for it if and when it does. It is recommended\nthat your emergency fund cover at least three months of living expenses. But like\nany kind of financial decision, doing your research into what is best for your\nlifestyle and finances is what will determine how to build your emergency fund\nand how it will affect your financial future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having an\u00a0emergency fund<\/a> in place is part of making your finances your priority. Because it is more than a savings account. The ideal emergency fund lets you see your money grow and gives you complete access to your funds quickly and easily when you need them. But it should be a separate account that is not to be touched until you absolutely need it. Curious about how much you should have in your emergency fund?\u00a0RBC has a tool<\/a>\u00a0to determine how much you should have saved in case of an emergency based on your current salary. Make your money a priority by having an emergency fund in place and alleviating the financial stress of knowing that you would be financially secure if something were to ever happen. If you do ever find yourself in an emergency and you are not financially prepared, GoDay is here to help get you the cash you need, quickly and easily. Get started with an application today<\/a>. Do you feel like you are spending more money than you are making? If so, you are not alone. When it comes to making your money your number one priority, we need to make sure we are not only saving more money but also making better spending decisions so we can save more. Who else is guilty of bad spending habits? We are. Do you know what yours is? Is it a specific item? Everyone has them \u2013 and whether you are treating yourself or spending freely, we can all make smarter spending decisions when it comes to our money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We often get caught justifying our spending. Next time you are shopping, ask yourself \u201cwhy\u201d before you buy. Are you purchasing items impulsively? Is this truly a need, or a want? How will this item add value to your life? Asking yourself these types of questions forces you to engage with \u201cthings\u201d in a much deeper, more meaningful way. And by being mindful of the items your purchasing will help create the long term happiness we discussed earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We know that there are many reasons why we spend money and a\nlot of the time it makes us\nfeel good<\/a> too. When it comes to spending your money and how it makes\nus feel, it can give you many things, and not all of them have to be physical\nitems, but sometimes the ones that can make us the happiest are the dollars\nthat give us the opportunity to have memorable experiences. This is why being\nsmarter when it comes to saving and spending can have such a big impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be Realistic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Money habits are like any other habits. They don\u2019t happen overnight. It takes time to start seeing results and working to change things you are already so used to doing. And this applies to your finances as well. You won\u2019t magically see your savings account grow overnight (unless it is payday and money can magically appear in your account). It will take time and a lot of effort and lifestyle changes for you to reach a desired amount of savings or to start making money a bigger priority. That\u2019s why you need to be realistic when it comes to your money goals. It is better to start with small amounts so that you don\u2019t become discouraged. By setting your expectations too high, you won\u2019t become easily discouraged. Because everything costs money! <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can start by figuring out what you can put aside every week, even if it is a small amount each month, a little goes a long way. You also don\u2019t want to have any other bills and savings to suffer when trying to meet these new money goals. But you will be surprised how much can go a long way over time. Especially if you are setting money aside or investing it into RRSP or TFSA<\/a> accounts. These small money changes can have a big impact, even though the financial goals you set can sometimes seem out of reach. One of our favourite tips is to start treating saving money like a bill payment by automating your savings. What do we mean by this? By setting up automatic transfers to a savings account or creating savings reminders in your calendar are ways to automatically have money set aside that you don\u2019t have to think about and is routinely managed for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nStop Worrying About It Later<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making Better Spending Decisions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n