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In these days of sky high debt levels, and accessible credit, Canadians need to educate themselves now more than ever on how to properly handle their money, and even more important, how not to get overloaded in debt in the first place.
Budgeting is the place to start. You need to keep track of the money coming in and the money going out and make sure that the money going out isn't more than what's coming in. Budgeting is a simple concept, but simple doesn't mean easy. According to a recent Credit Canada survey of 400 Canadian parents and teens, virtually all parents (99%) think that budgeting is important, but only 56% try to stick to one. A quarter of Canadian parents don't budget at all. And only 29% of parents interviewed in the survey pay their credit card balance in full each month.
What kind of example are we setting for our kids? And, unfortunately more and more adults are finding themselves in debt later and later in life. In fact, a recent report on family finances for the Vanier Institute of the Family shows that debt loads among people between 55 and 64 increased by more than 33% between 1999 and 2005. For the one third of over 65 year olds who have debt, debts loads were up almost 20% to an average of about $33,400.
Whether you are a teenage, parent or retiree, there are lots of resources to help you get control of your money. A tool called Piggy Pal can help. Piggy Pal is a free downloadable application https://piggypal.ca/ courtesy of Canada's largest not-for-profit Credit Counselling agency Credit Canada. You can use it on your computer or even on your cell phone (as long as you have a data plan) to keep track of your expenses. As an important part of your budgeting process, it will help you keep track of what you are spending.
Your financial advisor can help you set up a budget and help you not only plan for expenses, but also budget for savings. If you find yourself struggling with serious debt problems contact Credit Canada (www.creditcanada.com) to set up a free counselling session with one of their credit counsellers.
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