I don’t have a lot of money to put away all at once. Is there anything I can do on a day-to-day basis that can help save money?
Andrea emailed us at expert@sweetspot.ca, and RBC financial expert Maria Contreras, answered;
Everyone is looking for ways to save money. And every little bit helps. If you’ve done any household budgeting you know that the worst culprits for draining your resources aren’t necessarily big expenditures and shopping sprees. More often the problem is the smaller expenses – the ones you don’t even think about – that add up to a big tab at the end of the month.
Understand – and prioritize – your spending.
You can’t make wise saving decisions without taking a good, hard look at your budget – how much you earn vs. how much you spend. Once you’ve examined your monthly budget (over a few months), you need to prioritize your spending and make some decisions: What’s more important? That long-awaited family getaway, or your morning latté and scone on the way to work?
How a credit card can help you save.
It may seem funny to think of a credit card as something that can help you save. But, used wisely, a credit card can be a valuable budgeting tool. A credit card makes it easy keep on top of your budget – you get a detailed statement tracking all your expenditures every month. Your credit card statement can help you compare your spending habits to the targets you’ve set in your household budget. As with any credit product though, you have to be judicious with it; paying your credit card bill in full each month will help you avoid interest charges which can undo the benefits of your good saving habits.
Use RBC’s Easy Budget Tool to get a complete picture of monthly expenditures at rbc.com/tipsandtools or if you’re an existing RBC customer use our new financial tracker, which provides a customizable financial management tool that can track where your money is going and how much you have available to spend at rbc.com/myfinancetracker
Do you have a questions that you need a centsible solution for? Ask our SweetCents experts by commenting below.
Maria Contreras is currently a Product Manager Savings Accounts at RBC Royal Bank. Maria has over 20 years with RBC and has held various roles in Personal Financial Services including 6 years as a Financial Planner. A love of designer hand bags, passed on to her teenage daughter, has helped Maria gain experience with making savings goals and achieving them in style.