These challenging times haven’t just upended our daily routines, we’ve had to take a second look at our finances too. Has your budget taken a hit? Here are 5 tips to help you out.<\/p>\n
1. Take a deep breath<\/strong> 2. Calculate your \u201cCOVID-19 income\u201d<\/strong> You\u2019ll have to go over your income (and maybe your savings) and calculate how much money is coming in. Figure out what financial assistance you can get from the government and some financial institutions. This could make all the difference in your budget. Our [wpfilebase tag=fileurl id=87 linktext=’*budget worksheet’ \/] is designed to help you out.<\/p>\n 3. Isolate your expenses!<\/strong> 4. Dip into your savings as a last resort!<\/strong> 5. Stay on top of it<\/strong> These challenging times haven’t just upended our daily routines, we’ve had to take a second look at our finances too. Has your budget taken a hit? Whether you had to postpone going on vacation or purchasing your dream home, revisiting financial priorities can mean putting important projects on hold. It\u2019s not always easy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-4152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-your-money","tag-budget-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWhether you had to postpone going on vacation or purchasing your dream home, revisiting financial priorities can mean putting important projects on hold. It\u2019s not always easy. Before you make your budget, go for a walk or take some deep breaths. Remind yourself that this is only temporary.<\/p>\n
\nAs a result of the coronavirus, your income might have dropped or even disappeared if you lost your job. The first thing you need to do is make sure your income is equal to your expenses.<\/p>\n
\nBefore you get yourself into debt, update your expenses according to your new, at-home lifestyle. While you might have saved money in some areas (transportation, childcare, clothing, leisure, going out, restaurants, trips), there are new expenses to consider (IT equipment, office furniture, bandwidth enhancement, streaming platforms, products needed to follow security measures). It\u2019s a good idea to take stock of your spending to avoid any surprises. And remember, you can defer certain expenses. Governments, municipalities, school boards, Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec and some financial institutions are offering relief measures.<\/p>\n
\nIf you have to use your savings, try these strategies first:<\/p>\n\n
\nComing up with a budget is great. But it\u2019s more important to stick with it, especially during a pandemic. An easy way to make it a habit is to schedule it. Choose a time that works for you: Sunday morning while you drink your coffee, Monday morning before getting started on your work week, or the day you get paid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"