Dealing with spending pressures

Summer is officially here and it’s time to mingle and socialize and many of us are ready to finally enjoy an unrestricted covid season! On this week’s Linked Live at 5 Jackie discussed getting financially preparing for the summer. She shared some interesting tips that could help with curbing spending temptations during vacation season. Remember it is also important that we think of how our summer expenses will impact our finances in the long run!

The pandemic thought us that the emergency fund was very crucial to our survival but thankfully now that our finances are no longer on lockdown, this is a great time to zero on some of our long-term savings goals despite the pressures around spending during this season.

We don’t just want to go off on a spending tangent with credit cards or line of credit without a plan. Yes it’s important to treat yourself and your loved ones but also having a budget or just a simple financial/spending plan is crucial this season. In case you don’t know how to go about getting a budget or better still a comprehensive financial plan reach out to us at info@askjackie.ca.

Read on for the top 5 financial tips to help you limit overspending temptations this summer

Tip 1 – Budget

Consider building a year-round budget that includes summer activities.

Budgeting is important as it helps you track where your money is going. You want to be

able to understand your expenses and decide if you are spending money where you really want it to go. What you need to do first is draw up a realistic budget that considers all your fixed, fun and future goals. Fixed are all of your fixed costs each month, and your fun costs include are all of the costs that vary based on how much you spend. You may want to review the last few months so see how you spent your money if you have not been keeping track of your expenses over the pandemic. This is actually a great time to create a new budget as your expenses may have changed since then. Write down all your expenses and what you plan to spend for the year in all of the expenses categories in your budget. Then you can start allocating various fun activities you will spend money on this summer. Summer activities you can include are road trips, events, weekend getaways, vacations, sports events, hobbies, hosting family etc just in case you have run out of ideas. Finally, determine what you want to save in the future category for an emergency fund, retirement or another savings goal you may have so that your money can work for you in the future! We are happy to help you with a budget or recommend some useful resource! Contact us at info@askjackie.ca for a 30-minute free consultation with our team

Tip 2 – Pay yourself First

Determine what you want to save in the future category for an emergency fund, retirement or another savings goal you may have so that your money can work for you in the future!

Start by putting aside a percentage of your income so that your automatically living on remaining funds left over. Remember the money you save is a commitment to self-care you are creating for your future self!

Tip 3 – Prioritize

Prioritizing is Important because sometimes we might not be able to afford all that we put in that plan and there are some activities that are more important than others. When you prioritize, you give yourself an opportunity to be realistic with your needs and wants.

Tip 4 – Plan Ahead

Planning is usually underrated, and when things come up last minute, we may end up throwing money at the problem. Why not just create a summer calendar that maps out what activities you want to do then start allocating money to each. Planning also helps you decide what should be prioritized or that may need to be pushed to the following year.

Tip 5 – Consider Kicking it Old School

Sometimes using simples strategies like saving up cash in a jar could be really useful. In case using spreadsheets isn’t your thing, you might want to try keeping cash in various envelopes. With this strategy, you can just pick up cash for each activity and once you’re out of cash that’s a visual cue that the budget’s done. Trying out budgeting apps could also help with realis