Are you ready to DIY your personal finances?
We all want to maintain a healthy financial life and be able to reach our financial goals. To do this, we need to have a solid financial plan in place. Many in Carlyle worry this isn’t something we can achieve by ourselves; we think we need to pay for financial advice and leave the decision-making to the professionals.
But now that there is an abundance of online personal finance resources available, that’s no longer true. You can gain control of your finances yourself; there’s no need to pay fees for external help.
With this approach, you can completely customize and personalize your plan. Create your own goals, make your own decisions, choose your own investments and go at a pace you feel comfortable with. Just imagine the sense of accomplishment that comes with designing your own financial roadmap.
Financial literacy and personal finance
Financial literacy is critical. If you take the time to understand how basic financial principles work, you can make better financial decisions in all three areas of personal finance: saving, spending and borrowing.
“There are countless free online resources available to Canadians looking to improve their personal finances,” explains Caitlin Wood, Chief Content Officer for Loans Canada and Rate Genie. “Consumers should check out the Government of Canada’s 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.”
McGill University is offering an online financial literacy course. It is free, open to everyone, takes a few hours to complete and is taught by professors from the school’s Desautels Faculty of Management. After finishing all of the course modules you receive a McGill Personal Finance Essentials attestation of completion.
Wood recommends the Government of Canada website. It outlines the basics of money management including budget making, banking, credit reports and credit scores, insurance, retirement and estate planning.
Another great site is LoansCanada.ca, Canada’s largest personal loan comparison website. It provides quotes from an array of lenders, can choose the best one for you, save you time and help you make good financial decisions.
Steps to achieve better financial health
The first step is to learn how to create a budget. This will allow you to track and control your spending, which makes it easier to make smart financial decisions and gain control of your money. Budgeting can also help you create an emergency fund, which we all learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is essential.
If you’re not sure how to get started, check out Mint, a free online budget tracker and planner. Another great resource is YNAB (You Need A Budget), personal budgeting software based on The Four Rules principle.
Next, you’ll want to start investing. While this may sound out of reach, it’s a key component of financial planning. Investing is what allows you to grow your wealth and help you reach your financial goals, especially important long-term ones like retirement or saving for your child’s education.
You can open a tax-free savings account (TFSA) online or in-person at your local bank. You can also try using a robo advisor if you’re comfortable with online banking. Online investment management services like Wealthsimple or WealthBar are easy to use.
Next, turn your attention to debt management. Begin paying down what you owe and only take on new debt you can handle. Keep in mind good debt can actually increase your credit score.
If at any point you have questions or need help, get in touch with a credit counsellor. They can assist with basic budgeting, credit health, credit improvement and creating debt repayment plans. They can advise if you need to pursue a more drastic option such as debt consolidation, debt relief, consumer proposal or bankruptcy.
Start with the resources listed above and watch your financial situation improve. You can absolutely manage your financial future yourself, and there’s certainly no shortage of help available if you happen to need advice along the way.
