The holidays have come and gone once again, and families across Canada are left dealing with how much they spent on the season. December is a very expensive month and January is the month to pay it all off – chasing one payment with another as they say. Maintaining the family savings account is a difficult task in the post-holiday blitz, but there are ways to limit the damage and even add to the savings account.
Credit cards are excellent ways to build credit for later in life, but at the same time it’s very easy to use them for products that aren’t necessities – a double edged sword if ever there was one.
Financial experts advise families to use credit cards sporadically, not for everyday items. In the grocery store keep the credit cards in the wallet, even lock them away before going out if necessary – but use them only for a one time type of purchase. Developing a reliance on credit cards prevents money from being saved, which threatens financial stability.
Higher savings provide an insurance to fall back on – the old phrase ‘saving for a rainy day’ is more important than some families recognize. When applying for a bank loan, a car lease, or even a mortgage creditors consider how much money is within savings accounts. A well funded savings account boosts credit value in the eyes of the creditor, which provides leverage for the applicant to negotiate an affordable plan.
Negotiations for a mortgage are particularly important because lower mortgage rates and lower interest rates provide a more affordable living. Paying for a mortgage is expensive enough for most families, so having the means to negotiate a lower mortgage rate is very important to maintain a good standard of living. Successfully refinancing a mortgage with a lower rate than expected is money saved, which can be regularly placed within the savings account – savings lead to more savings.
Many families make resolutions on New Year’s Eve, and many of those resolutions involve being more cautious with money. A well-funded savings account works like a safety net in that it cushions the fall if ever needed. Start 2013 with some ideas to save, and you can make life a little more affordable.
Tenille, this is a great post. Yesterday ( You must have read my mind) I took my credit card and put it in a plastic container and filled it up a bit with water and froze it…a tip I read a few years ago. It is good for those ‘retail therapy’ sessions. It really puts a damper on those spur-of-the-moment purchases. The idea is that by the time I have driven home to unfreeze my card…I have thought twice about it. First time I have used this tip myself so I will have to see if it helped or not 🙂
I’ve heard about that – though for me that would be a problem since, sadly, I have my cc number memorized! GAH. A little bit of online shopping, I did. 😛
what a great post.. cuz i need to start saving
My news years resolution . I have stopped using my visa. If I don’t have cash I don’t get it and if I had the visa I’d be way too tempted. We are moving beginning of march and any money we have goes towards the move. So far so good. Almost have it paid off so as soon as that’s done cancel!
so hard to save up with a growing family and expenses but we use credit card only for emergencies and ‘pay ourselves from each paycheque into the savings from each pay cheque, just a small amount but try to do it each payday. Builds up slowly but steadily!
It is hard to save when you have kids and go from a double income to one staying at home. Thankfully , lots of planning and getting professional help has been really helpful… For now! 🙂
Some really great tips – I always pay off my credit cards each month!
Thank you for all your helpful posts! We are looking to renegotiate our mortgage ourselves. Hopefully we can get a lower rate!
We have a strict budget and stick to it which helps a lot.
My biggest problem with money was credit cards. That’s why I don’t have any anymore.
I think one of the best pieces of advise that my Dad gave me was to invest in the Sask Pension Plan when I started my first job as a teenager. I made the payments automatic withdrawals from my bank account and it has grown steadily for years. It is one of the few stable things that have followed my career life. Always pay your savings first, you’ll miss it much less!
One of the most useful money saving tips is to not be afraid to use coupons. People think they are useless because they “save so little”. But done right, the money can add up. It just takes time.
That’s why I resolved to be better at using them. I don’t pretend to be perfect at them, but that I try and (more often than not) succeed at using them is better than not trying at all.
It took me a few bad years to learn my lesson about credit cards but I finally did. I also learned the importance of a good sized savings account as an emergency fund.
Some great tips. We have been procrastinating with reducing our mortgage rate – we need to act now while the rates are low. Thanks for the reminder.
We started a jar this year. We choose something we want to buy as a family, so right now it’s a new sofa and we save the slow, hard way.
Good post. It is well needed and actually this ties in with my New Years Resolution, which is to save money by not eating out. We eat out about three times a week but have not ate out once so far this year which is huge for us. We have one of those big blue water jugs and toss in change and all five dollar bills we have at the end of the day…just for a rainy day. I don’t even want to talk about our credit cards, too stressful 🙁
Thanks for these good tips!
Savings is something I really want to focus on this year. I’ve never had a savings account with a balance! There’s always something to spend it on. TRying to change my financial way of thinking. 🙂
My husband is not far from retirement and even now we are contemplating how we can save even a little more.
Negotiating lower mortgage rates…..I need to do that! Thanks for the reminder.
Pay down on your mortgage on the anniversay date if possible. This saved us a lot of money.
Great advice about Credit Cards; I wished someone had talked to me about that before I got my first one at 18!
some great tips! Thanks for sharing and reminding me that I need to save more!
Thanks for the great post, we’ve stopped using credit cards so much.
This is a good post Tenille and a really big money helper so close after Christmas. The children are older now and I didn’t go over board on gifts. One of the really wonderful things that we did together as a family was having a special breakfast together. They are learning that Christmas is about Family and not the centre of a mall. So, in January 2013 I didn’t have a huge credit card debt and that means I can actually afford to buy myself winter boots…something that doesn’t happen very often. The kids get new boots and shoes every year…when does the growing stop? lol 🙂
I agree credit cards are great but need to be used with caution
I heard that variable rate currently helped home owners saved money
caution caution caution is what I have learned and my goal is to save $$$ , I also will wait until items are on sale to purchase them
Always keep your receipt I save money by returning impulse purchases if it sits for more than a week I return it.
I like the title “Savings Lead to More Savings” – I think it’s true. My resolution for this year is to develop a routine or schedule for putting a little bit into a savings account every month.
I have my debit card set up so that every time I use my debit an extra $5 is deducted from my account and put into a savings account. I find you don’t notice the extra money and end up with a bit of a windfall at he end of the year.
It’s smart to use credit cards for the bonuses offered, but you have to use them properly…and thankfully , I do that, a lot don’t…I think of it like this, it’s not my money, and I don’t borrow, but as long as I spend appropriately and pay it off every time , all’s good!
Good post…I got rid of my credit cards ages ago, and I just use a pay as you go one for online purchases and emergencies. It’s just way safer, as I tend to impulse buy.
Thanks for the great tips! I am trying to be more fiscally responsible in 2013 so I can use all the advice I can get!
Credit cards can be a great money tool if you pay them off each month.
Great post! I usually pay for everything with my credit cards, but I have a good habit of paying it off in full each month.
My way of saving money is… If I don’t have cash… I don’t buy it. No loans or credit cards to pay back and no interest. Yes credit cards can be good for emergencies etc… but for people like myself who ‘say’ its just for emergencies…can’t always stick to that. There for..less stress.
i use my credit cards for every single purchase because i get points for my grocery store. so every couple of months, i don’t have to pay for my groceries!!!!
I never pay interest on my credit cards
We have a commitment this year to use the credit card, then come home and pay it. That way we get the points, but don’t add to the bills at the end of the month.
I have always been pretty good with my credit card/ money.
I believe I am good with money. I live by my mother’s rule “Never live beyond your means”…that rule has saved me several times over.
We give ourselves a set amount to spend on gifts each year. If we can only afford $40 per person one year, that is what we stick to. This year our family did a gift exchange instead of individual gifts. So we tend to not overspend on our holiday shopping.
I like using coupons also; gives me a good feeling plus I save
Good post, we got rid a lot of our credit cards and now stick to one. Much easier to manage and make sure it gets paid off.
Great post! I always use coupons, have stopped using credit cards all together and when my mortgage comes up for renewal next year, I am definitely going to shop around for the best rate.
Great post! While I have never struggled with abusing my credit card (never once since I got my first card at 18 have I not paid off my balance 100% each bill) I unfortunately know several people who have gotten themselves into a lot of financial difficulty because of them!
I can see in a way how it could be easy to get carried away.
I have made a commitment to myself that I will only use cash for most transactions this year and I limit my spending to a certain amount each week. .. so far so good!
I cannot wait to renew my mortgage for a new lower intrest rate, I wish the penalty wasnt so high or I would do it now rather than waiting 10 months. Can’t wait to put that extra money towards my line of credit.
For the past few years, I have not used the credit card for Christmas shopping. If the money is not already in the bank, it is not being spent!
I use my line of credit for large purchases because the interest rate is so much lower than credit cards. I never use credit cards for food or booze not even in a restaurant as I refuse to pay interest on these type of things.
I have money transferred to my savings account on payday automatically