Money saving strategies are important, but it’s not always easy to know where to start. On top of that, in these days of information overload it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with complicated schemes that are tough to stick to long-term. As an easy antidote, to help jump-start any strategy, here’s a list of my favorite saving habits. These are simple…
Author: Philip MacKellar
Money News – January 2020
Personal Finance in the News – January 2020: Welcome to January’s Money News, and a brand-new decade! Here are a few personal finance focused news articles that grabbed my attention this January: Read: In this article, Jamie Golombek at the Financial Post explains how the CRA has redesigned the T1 Personal Income Tax form for the coming tax year. Are…
Building a Budget
If you’ve already started to track your spending, you might be asking, “Now what?” The answer is, “Now build a budget!” This blog post will go through the basics of setting a personal budget to help get you started. If you haven’t already, you can also check out the Tracking My Spending post, which goes hand-in-hand with this one. …
Tracking My Spending
This blog post details how I go about tracking my spending, and why it’s important. Do you know how much you spend? It may be more than you think. Once you’re done, check out the Building a Budget post that goes along with this topic. Why is Tracking My Spending Important? Tracking your spending lets you see how much money…
Money News – December 2019
Personal Finance in the News – December 2019: Here is December’s Money News: Read & Watch: Daniel Tencer at The Huffington Post explores the differences between American and Canadian finances. This article also explores how the differences highlight potential financial lessons, warnings, and opportunities. Read: Surviscor has released its 2019 Online Brokerage Review. In addition to providing a good overview…
How to Track Your Net Worth in Excel – YouTube Video
My Money Moves Presents our first YouTube Video: Want to know how to track your net worth in Excel? Some readers of the blog post Net Worth 101 have asked how I track my net worth in Excel. Some have also asked how to use the Excel template available on the Free Financial Resources page. Though the Excel sheet provides…
Money News – November 2019
Personal Finance in the News – November 2019: A quick glance at November’s Money News for you: Read: November is Financial Literacy Month here in Canada – this makes November the perfect time to launch My Money Moves! In addition to going through my latest Money Blogs, you may also be interested in this Market Watch article that breaks down…
10 Items to Buy Used
Do you buy new or buy used? It’s a good question! While there are certain items I will always buy new, there are lots of things I like to look for second-hand instead. Here’s my list of 10 items to buy used: 1. Vehicles: Buying a new car can be exhilarating. Sadly, in most cases that shiny new vehicle will…
Having an Emergency Fund
What is a financial emergency fund? A financial emergency fund is cash you’ve stashed away in case of unexpected expenses. It’s often the first line of defense in your financial safety net, and you can also use it as a source of money to pursue opportunities when they arise. Why is an emergency fund important? There is no telling what…
Net Worth 101
What is Net Worth? Net worth measures how much money you have. The formula for net worth is very easy: Assets – Liabilities = Net Worth Remember, assets are things you own, and liabilities are things you owe (e.g. debt). Here’s a simple example: If all you have is $10 in your pocket, but you owe your friend $3, your…
Why I Always Carry Cash
Learning the Hard Way: Why do I always carry cash? Way back when, in my first year of university, I was on my way home for Thanksgiving. It was my first trip after starting my undergrad. At the time, I was at school on Vancouver Island, and was taking a ferry back to Vancouver. Getting to the ferry using my…
Seven Financial Rules I Live By
Personal finance can be complicated. For me, I’ve found that simplicity serves me best. Here are some of the basic financial rules I use with my money: 1. Budget & Track Your Spending No matter what your finances are like today, they’ll probably be better if you start tracking spending each month and building a budget. This will let you…
Money News – October 2019
Personal Finance in the News – October 2019: A quick glance at October’s Money News: Read: New York Life Insurance Company takes a look at common financial regrets. What do you regret? Or, more importantly, what do you fear regretting in the future? And what can you do today to reduce the chances of regret? Read & Watch: According to…