Does the balancing act of managing your family life and your work life have you feeling frazzled? You need to take control. One place to start is your finances.
Patricia Lovett-Reid, Senior Vice-President, TD Waterhouse gives these seven tips on how to take control of your family’s financial future:
Cut back on unnecessary spending – Differentiate between nice to have and need to have items and balance your budget.
Operate as your own CFO - Do not abandon your financial responsibility. Pay off high interest debt first and consider refinancing your mortgage wherever possible to take advantage of historically low rates.
Now is the time to save! Make a habit of investing regularly and pay yourself first on every pay date by setting up a Pre-authorized Purchase Plan (where money is taken from your bank account and automatically invested at regular intervals). This will help you take the emotions out of your decisions and allow you to benefit from dollar cost averaging.
Take a long-term approach to investing – The market volatility has been scary, but volatility reduces over time. Focusing on the long-term will help you stick to a disciplined strategy throughout short-term market volatility. A TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account) can be a good complement to your Registered Retirement Savings Plan or RSP in helping you reach your savings goals.
Ready for the unexpected? Create an emergency fund and put away 6~9 months of savings for a rainy day. Be proactive and update your skills and consider having a professional resumé made.
Organize your finances - Set short, medium and long-term goals and ask for help if you need it. Leverage the expertise and advice of financial advisors.
Lifestyle – Make tough decisions now before you find yourself in a tight corner - for instance, consider downsizing your home - the money left over could be put towards your children’s (or your own) education.
For further information on taking control of your financial future visit www.tdretirement.com.
