Money, Money, Money, must be funny in a rich man鈥檚 world.
For many of us, finances, tax season and budgeting are less 鈥渇unny鈥� and more stressful. As with most stressful topics, many people shy away from discussing, learning about or changing their habits around finances. To make this particular money chat more fun we鈥檝e opted to take a more unconventional approach.
We鈥檝e employed the lyrical genius of 1970s Swedish pop sensations ABBA to make this money talk a little less serious and a lot more fun. Try to figure out how many ABBA lyrics we鈥檝e managed to work in and by the end you鈥檒l hopefully walk away with new ways to keep some extra money in your pockets. (If not, at least it was more fun to read, right?)
DIY Tax kits from TurboTax:
Does your mother know that you鈥till can鈥檛 do your own taxes?
If you鈥檝e been working all night and working all day to pay the bills you have to pay, you should probably be getting your T4s in the mail soon. Have you ever considered doing your taxes yourself? It鈥檚 not as complicated as you might think with online DIY tax programs like . Skip the wait times and appointments this year and pick up an easy tax preparation kit from the . Find a wide range of options and prices available to meet the needs of most Canadians, from their basic kit ( ) to their , which includes support for investments and rental property income!
Taxes aside, everyone is looking for ways to save money this winter. But, you don鈥檛 have to leave, you don鈥檛 have to go鈥o Las Vegas or Monaco鈥�.to win a fortune in a game, so your life will never be the same鈥nstead try one or two of our top suggestions to save money in 2023.
(We鈥檝e also included some finance-related best sellers near the end and if you want to offset the stress of money-related reading you could always try some self-care suggestions from our .)
Budgeting planners and cash diets:
Knowing me, knowing you 鈥� we both have terrible spending habits, but there is something we can do!
The first step in gaining better control of your bank account is knowing where you鈥檙e spending and where you can make changes to save money in your day-to-day life.
Cash diets have long been a popular way to get your finances under control. Spending cash rather than using a card or an app on your phone or smartwatch makes a stronger connection in your brain. People think twice about spending cash and tend to spend less than when they use cards or similar methods instead. Additionally it鈥檚 also much easier to organise a tangible item than it is a virtual one.
offers an that even has space for expense tracking, notes and pockets if you want to take the cash diet approach to budgeting.
They also offer separate that are water- and tear-resistant and come with a carry pouch and their own expense sheets to further organise your money and your monthly, weekly and daily expenses.
The viral 100-envelope, 100-day challenge:
I have a dream, a song to sing, To help me cope with anything鈥nd that dream is a savings account!
If you鈥檙e looking for a savings hack that actually works, the 100 envelope challenge is a popular online approach to savings that鈥檚 blissfully easy to follow. And if you鈥檙e successful, well let鈥檚 just say鈥he winner takes it all!.
First things first! You鈥檒l need . These work well as they have no windows and are easy to seal (so you won鈥檛 be tempted to cheat!).
The rules are simple:
- Day 1 鈥� Put $1 in the first envelope.
- Day 2 鈥� Put $2 in the second envelope.
- Day 3 鈥� Put $3 in the third envelope鈥�
Like we said, simple right? Day 80 and you鈥檙e putting $80 in the 80th envelope and by day 100 you鈥檒l have $5,050 in total.
Another variation is to pre-number each envelope and then pick whichever one you can swing on that given day (this approach can be easier if you have more money at certain times of the month and want to plan ahead to make sure you鈥檙e not having to put away $90 on a tight week).
The biggest problem people have with this challenge is the cash鈥any of us don鈥檛 carry it anymore. You can complete this challenge through online banking and move the money over to savings everyday (if you don鈥檛 incur bank fees) but there鈥檚 some logic behind using cold, hard, physical cash.
By using physical money, you鈥檙e less likely to 鈥渃heat鈥� and borrow from your envelopes, especially if you鈥檙e sealing them up and can鈥檛 see the money inside (out of sight, out of mind).
Best-selling books on finances and budgeting for 2023:
Books on finances, budgeting and generating more income are in no short supply but we鈥檝e narrowed down our top picks based on popularity and over-all reviews!
Slipping through your fingers all the time鈥t鈥檚 never too early to set them up for financial success!
You made it! Congratulations and for those keeping count鈥� we managed to slip in a total of nine ABBA lyrics, not too bad for a finance article, if we do say so ourselves.
Don鈥檛 forget to check out our 2023 health and wellness trends, and how to put your personal health and wellness first this year!
Hasta ma帽ana 鈥榯ill we meet again.
