Every year your financial calendar builds up to one season: tax season. Whether you calculate your tax returns by yourself or not, your money is counted and recounted on an annual basis, and sometimes it can be difficult to keep track! Skycap Financial is one of Canada’s leading personal lenders. In addition to a fast and easy loan process, SkyCap Financial also values educating its clients on smart money management.
SkyCap Financial was invited to speak on one of the most valuable tools when it comes to smart money management – namely, creating a financial planning calendar.
One of the best things about a money management calendar is that you can start at any time of the year! Not sure how to get started? SkyCap Financial suggests some ways to get started:
- Initial Assessments
Setting up a financial calendar requires a little time and a lot of organization. You can start by making an initial assessment of your financial goals and taking a look at how much you need to save to get there. Don’t forget to include bills, loans and other personal debt you may need to account for in your future spending!
- Prioritize Payments
Creating a calendar for your finances will give you a vision of your financial year as a whole. This allows you to plan out your payments for bigger bills, such as property taxes and accounting for your annual tax (or tax refunds).
If you plan out your payments by month for the next calendar year, you can coordinate your savings to coincide with your prioritized payments and still have some money to spare for other expenses.
- Mid-Year Review
Six months into your financial calendar, it’s recommended that you organize a review for yourself and your financial calendar schedule. Are you on track? If you have too many different investments and you are spreading your finances too thin, this would be a great time to re-evaluate these financial goals and rethink your financial commitments. This can be done either by shifting around your payment schedule or your trying to consolidate some of your debt.
It’s important to realize that smart money management not only means spending money wisely, but also having a clear understanding of your personal budget and more specifically, what money is coming and what money is leaving your accounts. It’s a truism, but when it comes to personal finances, knowledge, indeed, is everything.