Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans – $8.74 per serving

This meal is a trifecta of comfort, convenience, and taste. I buy premade meatballs because, let’s be honest, who has the time to make them from scratch? Adding Boursin cheese to the mashed potatoes makes them irresistibly garlicky and creamy. Frozen green beans complete the plate, offering a quick and nutritious side. This dish is easy to prepare, absolutely delicious, and perfect for a cozy night in. No recipe for this one! Just vibes.

Air Fryer S’mores – $0.50 per serving

Who said you need a campfire to enjoy s’mores? These air fryer s’mores are a game-changer. They’re incredibly easy to make, and you get to skip the campfire smoke smell. The graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow combo is always a hit, and these treats come out perfectly gooey and delicious every time. At just 50 cents per serving, they’re a sweet treat that won’t dent your wallet. Another one that doesn’t require a recipe! Keep an eye on them; they don’t take long in the air fryer! Less than 2 minutes does the trick.

Lasagna Soup – $3.50 per serving

This vegetarian lasagna soup is a bowl of comfort. It’s simple to make and packed with all the flavours of traditional lasagna without the fuss. Serve it with garlic bread on the side for an extra indulgence. It’s hearty, satisfying, and perfect for a cozy dinner. Plus, it’s a great way to enjoy lasagna flavours without the effort of layering and baking.

Chickpea Pot Pie – $2.60 per serving

I couldn’t believe how easy this chickpea pot pie was to make! The biscuits cook beautifully on top, creating a delightful crust over the savoury filling. It’s so delicious and a definite 10/10 in my book. Next time, I’ll add more spice to kick it up a notch, but it’s fantastic. This dish is hearty, comforting, and perfect for those nights when you need a warm, home-cooked meal.

Ground Beef and Broccoli – $4.37 per serving

This ground beef and broccoli dish is incredibly filling and easy to whip up. It’s a great option for a quick weeknight dinner that doesn’t skimp on flavour. The beef is savoury, and the broccoli adds a nice crunch and freshness. It’s a simple, no-fuss meal that always satisfies.

Beef Dip and Sweet Potato Fries – $5.99 per serving

I bought the beef from Costco to make this meal even easier. The au jus dip package makes the beef dip perfectly flavorful, and pairing it with sweet potato fries is a match made in heaven. Fresh buns from the bakery elevate the whole experience, making it taste even better than a restaurant meal. It’s incredibly easy to prepare and absolutely delicious. No recipe for this! I added cheese and butter, baked them for 10 minutes, and made the au jus on the stove.

Black Bean Enchiladas – $2.83 per serving

I’m obsessed with these black bean enchiladas! They’re so yummy and filling and have just the right amount of spice. As someone who loves a bit of heat, I know these enchiladas hit the spot. They’re also incredibly budget-friendly and perfect for a satisfying dinner.

Thai Chop Salad – $2.65 per serving

This Thai chop salad is a fantastic potluck dish because it’s vegan, making it a safe option for everyone. The tofu, cooked perfectly in the air fryer, adds a great texture, and the sauce is simply delicious. I love the account I got this recipe from; she always has creative ideas. This salad is fresh, flavorful, and perfect for any gathering.

Thai Beef Rolls – $3.50 per serving

These Thai beef rolls are super yummy and versatile. You can add more toppings than the recipe calls for, but the spices make the beef taste amazing on its own. They’re a great way to enjoy a flavorful meal that’s easy to prepare and satisfying. Perfect for a light dinner or a tasty appetizer.

These meals have brought a lot of joy to my table recently. They’re affordable, easy to prepare, and packed with flavour. I hope they inspire you to try something new and delicious without spending a fortune. Happy cooking!

The post 9 Affordable Meals I’ve Been Loving appeared first on Mixed Up Money.

What is Critical Illness Insurance?

This type of insurance is a form of coverage to cover unexpected medical costs that impact your livelihood and ability to work. For instance, if you end up with a cancer diagnosis or suffer a stroke — having this type of insurance would protect you financially.

Although we have public healthcare in Canada, you’ll often pay for some expenses out of pocket. And those expenses can be overwhelming, particularly if you face loss of income or an income reduction. Critical illness insurance will provide a lump sum payment so that you can continue to pay your bills and essential expenses while also providing for family members that may need your financial support.

After all, no one wants to deal with the added stress and overwhelm that comes with an unexpected and life-altering medical diagnosis.

Who Needs Critical Illness Insurance?

This type of insurance can be extremely important if you don’t have access to a significant emergency fund that would be able to cover your inability to work due to a medical situation.

You may be thinking, how likely will I end up using this policy? The reality is: probably more likely than you think. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, 40% of Canadians will experience cancer in their lifetime. Another 90% of Canadians are at risk for a heart condition, stroke, or vascular disorder. For this reason, it’s not unrealistic to arm yourself with the right amount of critical illness insurance.

Why I’m Considering Critical Illness Insurance

When it comes to the unexpected, my mindset has always been to overprepare. I have three emergency funds and am always considering whether my retirement plans are solid. In the past, I’ve found I’m sometimes over-saving in my bank accounts rather than finding financial products that protect me for a reasonable cost. Critical illness insurance is one of these products.

Before I pull the trigger on any new monthly payment that will impact the bottom line of my budget, I must ensure I’m not paying for more than I need. So, I checked to see what my critical illness insurance coverage was through my full-time employer. As it turns out, I have none.

How Much Is Critical Illness Insurance?

Before you go Googling critical illness insurance and opt for the first link, it’s super important to do some comparisons. After researching, I found that the cost could range based on a few factors, including age, health, gender and the plan you choose.

To check whether the cost of critical illness was worth it for our family, I got a quote from my favourite life insurance provider, PolicyMe. The total cost for my husband and I to receive coverage for 44 potential illnesses, the most coverage in Canada, were under $50/month. That is a manageable cost considering the financial burden it could prevent in the future. After comparing a few other providers, this is far beyond the best price we could find. This price, of course, will depend on your personal needs.

How Do You Sign Up?

If, after reading this post, you feel like critical illness insurance is something that would benefit you or your family, the first thing you can do is get a quote from PolicyMe to determine how much it could cost you to receive coverage, how much coverage you need, and whether you’re eligible.

These days, you don’t have to go through the agony of walking into an insurance company and feeling like you have to expose every part of your health history to get an estimate on cost. Instead, you can check out what you need and what you’ll pay with a few clicks and a few minutes of time.

When it comes to financial security, there isn’t much I wouldn’t pay for peace of mind and protection in moments of difficulty. Critical illness insurance is a cost that makes me feel like I’m covered by the unexpected.

The post Do You Need Critical Illness Insurance? appeared first on Mixed Up Money.

A sinking fund is an account in which you set aside money each month to put toward a goal at a later date. It is a separate pot or bucket of money to shield you from using your savings when something unexpected arises.

Now that we know what a sinking fund is, it’s essential to know that creating a sinking fund can be your first step to crushing your goals in a consistent, passive way. Today’s post will outline the different types of sinking funds, creating one, and the advantages of a traditional ‘savings account’ method.

We’ll also cover strategies for consistently putting money towards your goals and tips for staying on track.

How do sinking funds work?

Most of the time, saving for a financial goal can be overwhelming. So instead, a sinking fund is a strategy to avoid financial stress and, more importantly — avoid blowing your budget. Each month, you’ll put a small sum of money into a separate high-interest savings account of your choice towards a goal that is coming soon, such as your kids’ birthday, summer vacation or Christmas.

You may have a number in mind for these infrequent expenses. However, these costs might be in specific areas of your budget, like a routine oil change or a goal you are working towards that only happens once a year.

Once you’re aware of your savings goal, you pick an end date when you hope to have the money saved and contribute on a consistent schedule until you reach your goal. This is the reverse of how we are conditioned: to finance anything we can’t pay cash for in our daily lives. Surprise! You don’t have to go into debt to buy something that you *knew* was coming.

Setting up automatic contributions is the best way to stay on track and hit your sinking fund goal. Using automation, you can have your financial institution move a small amount of money to your sinking fund each week or month. The best part? You likely won’t even notice the transfer but will surely hit your goal easily. For example, I have two separate $20/week transfers into different savings buckets. Because I’m used to mindless purchases on takeout and coffee, this is just another $20 that I don’t miss — except this time; it’s going towards my future self.

Why do you need a sinking fund?

For all kinds of reasons!

Sinking funds are valuable because making smaller, regular contributions eventually add up BIG. So rather than only saving in big chunks, guilting yourself for depleting your ‘savings’ or having to rack up your credit card because you weren’t prepared, sinking funds are a straightforward way to save money without having to pinch your pennies.

It is an excellent strategy for offsetting life’s “expected emergencies.” These are the kind that is not significant enough to cause financial ruin but will cause a hiccup in your financial plan if they are unaccounted for, as they always seem to pop up at the worst times.

PS: I go over ALL of this in my latest book. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge.
Order Financial First Aid

What is a sinking fund used for?

Your goal and reasoning for starting a fund are, of course, personal to you, but here are some examples of types of sinking fund goals to get you started:

– To build an emergency fund

Contributing extra cash from your budget each month is a great way to build up a buffer for anything unexpected quickly. I firmly believe that multiple emergency funds can help protect you from life’s many unknowns, such as household emergencies, personal emergencies and beyond.

– A replacement set of tires for your vehicle

Rather than be caught off guard by the first snowfall, plan a season or two ahead if you know you’ll need a new set of tires, especially if you live in an area with inclement weather. I’m looking at you, eh!

– Future vacation

Do you know how much easier it is to save monthly for a future all-inclusive girls’ trip? Stagette? The only thing easier to swallow than that is the bottomless margaritas you know weren’t slapped on your credit card.

-‘Planned emergency’ like a pet or home expense

Figure out the price of your most costly appliance to replace or the range of an expensive vet bill in your area. This could include a significant home renovation like new shingles or a large purchase like furniture.

– New phone

Have you ever experienced the feeling of paying for your phone in full at the start of your plan? You won’t miss the monthly payments for your device — or any interest that could be added on.

– Wedding

This could be to save for your wedding or attend someone else’s big day who is close to you. Someone close to you (who’s been talking about destination weddings since high school) gets engaged? Start chucking money at that fund, baby.

This method can also relieve the pressure of hitting your goals if your financial situation changes and your money is needed elsewhere in your monthly budget.

Missing one or two contributions is (hopefully) not going to derail your goal completely.

What is the difference between a savings account and a sinking fund?

The most significant difference between a general savings account and a sinking fund is how you’re saving. Most importantly, the schedule and frequency of putting money in your sinking funds are typically much more routine than most other goals.

A savings account is often unused because it exists without a purpose until needed. I’ve found sinking funds to be powerful because I know I intend to use all of my money to benefit future me.

How much should you save?

As much as you want! That depends on your financial situation, specifically your goals and the timeframe for reaching them.

For example, say you’re going to book Disneyland at the end of the year. It’s currently January. The trip will cost you around $5,000. Therefore, you’ll need to save $417 per month. That number sounds overwhelming. So, instead, you opt to save $96 per week or $14 per day. Say it’s you and your partner saving for the trip. That means you could save $7 per day and hit your goal by the end of the year. Seeing numbers in smaller increments can make saving for steep financial goals much easier.

Not only that, but if you miss a few weeks or days because another priority or expense comes up, you’ll still be much further ahead than you would be if you just crossed your fingers and hoped your credit card would have enough room to charge the trip.

To help you get started… 
Use my free sinking fund calculator

All you have to do is input your savings goal amount and date. You can customize the names of each of your funds and organize where all your money is saved.

How do you start a sinking fund?

Step 1: Choose your target amount as a goal.

Step 2: Pick a future date when you want to have that amount saved.

Step 3: Figure out the number of months between now and your goal date.

Step 4: Pick an account and start contributing!

Great! Now you’re on your way to prepping for ‘planned emergencies’ so your budget or emergency fund stays intact.

Where should I put my money?

One of my favourite options is Neo Financial for short-term financial goals and high-interest savings accounts. This financial institution is online but offers great savings rates (in comparison to most Canadian options) and has excellent insurance coverage to protect you and your money.

High-interest savings accounts are low to no risk for consumers to use as a tool to help them hit their short-term financial goals. I have several buckets for savings right now, with sinking funds for vacations, home renovations and holiday seasons. These financial institutions have been integral in helping me achieve my goals year after year.

A sinking fund is great for peace of mind

Contributing regularly to an account with a goal in mind helps remove the emotional burden of financial guilt.

A sinking fund, although similar, has different psychology than a general savings account, which can make you feel worried if you have to withdraw from the balance you’ve worked so hard to accumulate. However, when you reach your goal, putting money away with a sinking fund strategy means saying bye to guilt. Instead, it’s time to use your earned money for something that was planned all along.

Once you try sinking funds, I’m confident you’ll find it’s yet another tool to keep your financial life organized and headed in a positive direction!

The post Should You Start a Sinking Fund? appeared first on Mixed Up Money.

My new book, Financial First Aid, is officially out. In its entirety, we discuss emergency funds and the importance of preventative measures to protect your financial life.

If you’ve ever been in a situation where money felt tight, and you were scrambling to find a way to pay for an unexpected bill, you’re not alone. A Pew Research Center survey found that only 47% of Americans have enough emergency funds to cover three to six months of expenses. 

Although common not to have an emergency fund, this financial task should be at the top of your list to set yourself up for success. After all, no matter how much work you do with your money, if you don’t have access to cash for things you can’t predict, you could lose all of the progress you’ve made within an instant. 

Why do you need an emergency fund?

Off the top of my head, I can think of five times I’ve had to pull money from my emergency funds that you may or may not relate to:

1. My first car accident

2. Closing costs on my first home

3. An unexpected home repair

4. An unanticipated tax bill

5. Job loss from COVID-19

A few times, I can also think that having an emergency fund would have saved me from stress or helped me escape a dangerous debt cycle much quicker. 

The most obvious example I can think of is a job I once had wherein my manager was sexually harassing me. It was my first ‘big girl job’ and each day and night felt like a constant struggle. From inappropriate text messages to awkward private meetings, I felt stuck and trapped in a career that I couldn’t leave. And like many others facing financial difficulty, I couldn’t go because, without that paycheck, I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills. 

For me, the choice to have emergency funds (yes, plural), is an easy one. It’s a meaningful way to protect my financial security, aside from saving money for retirement.

Emergency funds can provide you with freedom if you’re stuck in a job that you don’t love and save you from feeling like at any moment you could be put back at square one – in a cycle of debt and worry.

What types of emergency funds are necessary?

Although most financial experts will encourage you to have a general emergency fund covering three to six months of essential expenses, there are other types of emergency funds to consider. We’ll call this one the fund that protects you from job loss or an unprecedented global pandemic. 

But, what about other sticky financial situations that could arise? It’s not a bad idea to have multiple emergency funds (within reason).

A F*ck Off Fund

One of my favourite emergency funds to keep (and one that I always recommend to my friends in relationships) is a F*ck Off Fund. In 2016, Paulette Perhach shared one of the best personal finance articles I had ever read. It was, A Story of a Fuck Off Fund, and it changed the way I looked at my money forever. The idea behind this fund is a form of protection from financial abuse. Financial abuse is when one person in a relationship, working or romantically, deprives someone of their resources needed to survive independently. 

For me, I instantly connected this story to my personal experience at my previous job. The only way to escape that job for me was to go back to college. That way, I knew I would have student loans coming in after registering for classes. I would have felt so much more control and less fear had I had a f*ck off fund instead. Now, I always do. It’s not large, but it feels nice to have protection. It’s also, in a sense, a comfort in knowing that if my partner suddenly disappeared, left, or (knock on wood) unexpectedly passed away, that I would have a small amount of easily accessible cash on hand. If you are in a relationship or have a job, I strongly recommend you have this account to protect yourself from moments that you cannot predict nor that you would dare imagine.

A household emergency fund

The second most crucial emergency fund you might need in your life is a household emergency fund. If you own any form of real estate or property – this fund is an absolute necessity. Now, of course, you’re probably wondering why you’d need a household emergency fund if you already have a general emergency fund. Can’t you just double dip? And yes. You can. But the bottom line is: does it seem worthwhile to take the risk? After all, you could experience job loss at any moment, and a major appliance breaking down in the same week. Don’t believe me? 2020 seems to be the perfect example of one thing after another. 

As a homeowner, I keep an emergency fund that is of the same amount as the most expensive appliance in my home. A new furnace could cost anywhere from $3,000 and up. So, that seems like a good benchmark savings goal. 

A vehicle emergency fund

Likely the smallest emergency fund of the bunch is one that you might keep to pay for the annual maintenance or unanticipated cost of owning a vehicle. Although you don’t always need to keep a separate fund for this expense, it is optional. At the very least, it’s a good idea to work annual costs like winter tires, oil changes and small repairs into your yearly budget. 

The reason a fund might be beneficial is to protect you from a car accident or vehicle damage that you’d like to pay upfront rather than through insurance. For me, using my emergency fund to pay for my first car accident saved me from spending the deductible for the claim payment, and also allowed me to keep my insurance at the same low monthly fee I had worked so hard to achieve. 

Ultimately, you could find an argument for many types of emergency funds. The best approach is to look at your most expensive assets and decide which ones could use the most protection. At the very least, a general emergency fund should be a part of your financial life.

Saving too much money is never a good thing, either. So just be sure that you’re being smart with where you save your emergency funds and that each one of these funds has a useful purpose. For me, saving part of my emergency fund in an easily accessible high-interest savings account and part of my emergency fund in a TFSA works. But, it might not work for you.

How much should you keep in your emergency fund?

If we’ve learned anything from the COVID-19 pandemic, an emergency fund can be the number one protector from living paycheck to paycheck. But, we’ve also learned that it’s impossible to know precisely how much money you should save.

The traditional advice of saving for three to six months of expenses might not be enough for many people. If you had three months saved, you’re already three months past your protective layer, and if you had six months, your trial is coming to an end. So, how can you accurately choose how much money you should save for your emergency fund? I’m not sure there is a perfect answer. Instead, it might come down to risk tolerance. 

With investing, risk tolerance is a significant part of how you manage your stock portfolio. People with lower or more conservative investing styles may sell their stocks as soon as the market starts to dip because they fear significant loss. People more comfortable with risk may be more willing to take risks with their investments. 

So, for me, considering how much debt I’d be comfortable with if I were to run out of emergency fund money may be a good thing to look at — especially during unpredictable periods. 

The best thing you can do is understand what your bare-bones budget might look like, and challenge yourself to live on that income for a while to see how comfortable or uncomfortable you are.

If you’re in the position to save for these unexpected expenses, the time is always now. Otherwise, it might be too late.

The post Emergency Funds: Why, What Type, and How Much? appeared first on Mixed Up Money.

How many times are you going to say I wish? I wish I could do what you do with your money. I wish I knew how to pay off my debt quicker. I wish I knew how vital investing in my future could be. So here is a good piece of advice: STOP WISHING and start making moves. Hoping for something doesn’t make it happen any sooner than it would if you completely forgot about it.

These days it’s all wishing and no planning. So many of us have become accustomed to settling for how things are because we don’t want to fear failure. We have put off our dreams, goals, and even our day-to-day duties because life is — well — a lot. I get it. I feel overwhelmed, too. But having debt can make that stress feel like a weight sitting on your chest. 

It’s even harder to face debt because today, it’s become natural to have something immediately when you want it instead of having to wait. If you don’t have it now, you don’t want to wait longer than necessary. Everything that comes along with money and success takes time! 

Here are some tips to help you avoid wishing for financial success and start acting on it.

1) Take risks 

My dad gave me some great advice the other day when I told him how I felt about my salary cap. He told me that he thought the same when in his 20s, and instead of staying in that role, he left. He took a job at the ground level in a new field, making less money, but he worked his butt off to change that. He changed fields because the income was better, the quality of life was better, and he needed to risk it.

So many of us become too comfortable with stability and our benefits that we forget how big of a risk it is to stay in a role with stagnant income. Of course, there is nothing out there saying you can’t stay at your current job and find another way — especially if the burden of looking for a new job feels too heavy. But, risks are sometimes worth the hardship.

2) Dive headfirst into your debt 

This should go without saying, but if you’re sick of your debt, it’s time to do something about it. First off, I need you to hear that you’re not alone. You deserve financial stability. You can make a change for the better. So now you try: say those same things aloud to yourself. 

Diving headfirst is one way to face the fear and anxiety that comes alongside this reality.

3) Put the numbers at the forefront 

If you don’t force yourself to physically see your goals and plans every day, who will do that for you? If you put something out of your mind for long enough, you can subconsciously forget about it. Financial denial is very real. But, eventually, avoiding those problems rears its head. When it gets to the point that forgetting about it is no longer possible, you have already forced yourself into an uncomfortable situation. Embrace those fears and show them who is in control.

Write it in your calendar, put a post-it on your mirror, and leave a note on your refrigerator. Whatever makes it easier for you to remember what you need to do and why you are doing it will become the only motivation you need.

4) Accept that it takes time

Unfortunately, no matter how hard you Google, it’s unlikely you’ll find a miracle solution to delete your debt or invest in an alt-coin that will send your money to the moon. Instead, patience can be one of the best realizations we have during debt repayment. 

You need a plan with a realistic timeline and the understanding that sometimes the best pay off-plan is to set up your automated payments, add extra cash to your bills as you can, and wait.

5) Make the time to do it 

How often have you used this generation’s catchphrase, “I don’t have time?” I say it myself nearly every day. But in reality, the time I have is there if I make time for this value. Someone once told me that humans are very good at lying to themselves. How true is that? We can convince ourselves of pretty much anything we want. Our minds are that powerful.

You can always make time to do something important to you. If you can’t, it’s about prioritizing. What do you need most to accomplish your goals and plans today? Decipher what is more valuable to be financially successful, and all will be good.

The post 5 Ways to Stop Blowing Off Your Debt appeared first on Mixed Up Money.

I ask my followers which financial brands or institutions they’re most interested in learning about each year. This time around, Neo Financial was the most common response. So, because I never offer information about products or services until I’ve used them myself, I figured it was time to do my research on their credit card and savings accounts.

Since the pandemic, I did a lot of reassessing what credit cards made sense to have given the *gestures everywhere* current state of the world. For example, I had a travel card that became useless and another credit card that collected points that were only good to buy specific items through that financial institution.

Neither of those options was helpful and didn’t make me feel like I was winning when I went to swipe my card. I needed an excellent cashback card, which is surprisingly hard to find in Canada. Well, it was tough to find — until Neo Financial. 

What is Neo Financial?

Neo is a Canadian financial services company that offers credit cards, savings accounts and investing tools. They are 100% digital, which means that Canadians can pay their bills, deposit money, send e-transfers and earn cashback rewards at any time and all from their phone or computer. 

They’re disrupting the more traditional way Canadians manage their money and spending, which I love. I’m a big fan of anything that helps support local small businesses and Canadian-specific brands and businesses, and that’s precisely what they do.

Why did I choose their credit card?

Choosing a credit card today can feel overwhelming because you need to make sure it works with your lifestyle. 

Some common considerations for me are always:

• Will this card help me save money?

• Will I earn rewards I’ll actually use?

• Does the credit card have an annual fee?

• What is the interest rate?

Neo was a yes on all counts. The credit card can help me save money by earning cashback. The rewards are cash (so, of course, I’ll use them), there are no annual or monthly fees, and the interest rate is in line with most financial institutions.

On average, you can earn 5% or more cashback and bonuses of up to 15% cash back at some of their partners. Not only that, but their partners are some of my favourite local and Canadian businesses that I use regularly. 

Some of my favourites that they have partnerships with include The Keg, Well.ca, Cobbs Bakery, and more. Even the fact that I can get 1% cashback at some of my most frequented grocery stores was game-changing to my budget and how I spend. 

How many credit cards does one need?

Many people argue that you only need one credit card, but for me, it makes sense to use certain cards for certain purchases to take advantage of their rewards best. I have five credit cards, but most of them don’t make sense to use given their less than favourable rewards point systems and the fact that I haven’t been able to travel recently. 

Aside from that, for more local travelling, Neo has partnered with many excellent hotels and restaurants that I know I can take advantage of for my family road trips and weekend getaways. 

I think it’s perfectly fair to have multiple credit cards as long as you:

• Are capable of managing to pay each of them on time and in full

• Don’t *need* additional access to credit limits

• Aren’t carrying a balance on other credit cards

• Will use the cards for different purchases

Every situation is different, but having multiple cards helps me compartmentalize my purchases and ensure that I’m spending on what will make the best use of the rewards systems offered by the lenders.

How does the Neo Secured card work?

One of the most common questions I get from followers is which card is best for building credit and learning to manage debt responsibly. For most, I’d easily recommend the Neo Secured card for a few reasons.

1.  Guaranteed approval for all Canadians

2. Your credit score won’t be impacted upon application as there is no hard credit check

3. 15% off your first purchase at thousands of brands

How much cashback did I earn in just one week?

To make sure the Neo credit card worked for me and my lifestyle, I did a lot of research to ensure I’d be able to get cashback on some of my more significant purchases. When I found out they partner with Clearly (where I get my contacts), I was immediately sold on the cashback. 

In just five days of using the Neo credit card, I have earned $8 in cashback just for buying things I needed, regardless of the reward. 

How do you sign up?

In just four steps and without leaving the comfort of your own home, you can start spending your cashback. It took me about 10 minutes, and I was approved instantly.

1. Create a Neo Profile 

2. Sign up for your Neo Card 

3. Set your limit with a security fund 

4. Start earning up to 15% cashback on your purchases

If you’re looking for a new credit card that has the perks and rewards that make sense for you, do a lot of local shopping and are looking to build credit, the Neo Secured card is a great option.

The post Why I Chose the Neo Financial Credit Card appeared first on Mixed Up Money.

The final deadline to file your taxes is quickly approaching, and our new regular contributor, Sarah, is here to share her experience filing her taxes for the first time.

Sarah graduated from the Wilfrid Laurier University business program with a concentration in Finance in 2018. She now works as an Investment Representative in the financial planning industry. Alongside Financial Advisors, she helps manage the money of clients. Through her own experiences, Sarah writes about things pertaining to recent grads, women in finance, and overall health and wellness.

Feel free to say hello and leave a comment or question for Sarah, welcoming her to the Mixed Up Money fam!

As a 23-year-old young adult, I’m slowly taking on more responsibility when it comes to my finances. Among a variety of things, this has included filing my taxes for the first time. Before this year, the idea of filing on my own brought up a lot of self-doubt and confusion. Through my 16 years of education I realized I had more knowledge on the different angles of the triangle than I did of a task that is asked of me every year. After speaking with some of my friends, I knew I was not alone in my questions and misunderstandings, and neither are you if you feel the same. Now that I’ve successfully come out the other side, I’m going to help guide your expectations and make filing seem less daunting because nothing is certain in life except death and taxes. 

What does it mean to ‘file your tax return?’ 

First, we need to step back and get to the basics, like what filing your tax return even means. A misconception you may have is that filing your taxes means paying your taxes for the year. Although this seems logical, it is incorrect. You have been paying taxes all year, whether you knew it or not, with your employer deducting a portion of every paycheck for government taxes and programs such as the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI).  

It’s as if you signed up for a free trial of Spotify premium a year ago, the free trial ended, and you have been getting charged a hefty fee every month without realizing. Brutal, I know. This system is beneficial for the government since it receives a steady flow of income throughout the year and a tiny bit more (since benefits to individuals often go unclaimed).  

Filing your taxes entails a comparison of differences — between what you’ve already paid this year in taxes and what you should have paid based on calculations. The difference will either be more money owed or more often for young adults, a refund back to you. Therefore, filing your taxes should be done every year and on time, or you risk additional fees. Although there are amazing programs like TurboTax that do the calculations for you, I feel it’s important to understand the basics of how you calculate your taxes to be sure you are getting the money back you deserve.  

What information do you need to file your taxes? 

The process of filing your taxes starts with finding out how much money you made this year. Employers should issue T4 slips to you for all jobs you held throughout the year. To calculate your total income, sum up all T4 slips in addition to other forms of income you may have had during the period such as EI, certain benefits, and self-employment income.  

From there, the next step is to calculate your taxable income. Did you know that not all income is taxable? This is important to differentiate because certain allowances or non-taxable income will reduce your taxes and may put you in a lower tax bracket. As an incentive to save for retirement, the government has made RRSP contributions as non-taxable. You can find a full list of non-taxable income on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website.  

Once you have calculated your taxable income (earnings minus deductions), federal and provincial tax rates are applied in a tiered system to calculate the taxes you owe. These tiers or “brackets” consist of paying a certain rate on the first approximately $50,000 you owe, paying a higher rate on the next approximate $50,000 you owe, and so on. You can see that with this system, higher-income individuals get taxed at a higher average rate than lower-income individuals.  

The final step of the calculation is considering benefits or tax credits. A tax credit is an amount of money that can be offset against a tax liability and can serve to encourage or reward certain behaviour from the government. You may have noticed the new Climate Action Incentive credit, which was introduced to support the environment if you live in Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, or Ontario.  

Tax credits come in two forms – refundable and non-refundable. A non-refundable tax credit will only reduce your tax liability to zero; however, a refundable tax credit can provide money back if your tax liability is already reduced to zero. Visit the CRA website for a full list of refundable and non-refundable tax credits available in your province.   

Once you have totalled your tax credits, subtract them from your previously calculated tax liability to get to your final numbers. If you owe taxes, it’s a positive result. If you are due to receive a refund, it will appear as a negative amount.  

What are your options to file your taxes? 

There are many online programs that allow you to file your taxes, such as SimpleTax or H&R Block. Personally, I set up an account with TurboTax and found the software very user-friendly and, most importantly, free.  

These programs can sync seamlessly with your CRA account, and you can file from there. Since the information is pulled from your CRA account, it’s important to log in and make sure that everything is up-to-date, such as your email, mailing address, and direct deposit information. That is how you will receive a refund (if you receive one, that is). If you’re like me and the idea of remembering a password every year is daunting, a nice feature is that you’re able to login using your banking information.  

This year, the date to file is June 1st, 2020, and the date to pay any amounts owed is September 1st, 2020 and can be done online. If you have a tax refund, you should receive it within two weeks if you file online, and eight weeks when you file a paper return.  

How was my experience filing my taxes? 

Overall, I would say that my first filing season went smoothly. If you’re anything like me, your expectations are a lot worse than the reality. You don’t have to be a seasoned CPA to file on your own. Plus, if you’ve already passed up on the opportunity this year, maybe this is the encouragement you need for next year, and the perfect chance to give your poor parents a break. 

The post How to File Your Taxes in Canada For Beginners appeared first on Mixed Up Money.

If it were a sport, a credit score of 650 would get you in the game. 800 would get you on the starting lineup and 850+ would make you an all-star.

Your credit score can impact your life in a variety of ways. Whether it’s to obtain a mortgage, score a new rental unit or gain approval for your choice credit card — having a good score is important.

Personally, I didn’t realize how important it really was until it impacted accomplishing a financial goal that mattered to me. 

In 2019, myself and my not-so-pretty credit score walked into a car dealership. After neglecting my financial health almost entirely for a year and blowing right past my savings and into the dark and deviant world of credit card debt, I had money monsters in my closet. When it was time to apply for a loan to buy a car, the lenders wanted to take a look around, which is common practice. 

Spoiler alert — they found the monsters.

At the time, my credit score was 599. I had recently started a new job and I was going to be on the road a lot. I wanted something newer, more fuel-efficient, and reliable. I knew this wasn’t the absolute best time for me to be buying a new car because of my financial position and credit score at the time. But, that didn’t matter to me because this purchase meant a lot. It was a statement to myself that I was ready to commit to a new career path. To me, it symbolized a commitment that I was embarking upon at a new stage in my career and in my life. I was willing to absorb the less-than-ideal terms in order to further engrain that belief in myself as I continued to press on and forge this new identity. 

Despite the high total cost of borrowing, I went ahead with the purchase. My rate on this auto loan is ridiculously high at around 8% APR. Yeah, not great. 

What I realized from this less than ideal scenario was how important your credit score could be in determining the rate at which you pay for things — or your ability to be approved for some purchases at all. 

Enduring this situation also led me to focus a lot more on my credit score over the past few years. I am happy to report I now regularly float around the 800 mark. But, this took time, work, and an understanding of how the system works. If you are here, I can only assume you want to learn more about what credit scores mean, how they impact you, and how they are calculated. So let’s get into it.

What is a Credit Score?

Credibility is the quality of being trusted and believed in. In other words, your ability to do what you say you will.

Quite literally, then, your credit score reflects your level of credibility in the eyes of a lender. In this case, you’re promising to make regular payments on time and in full of at least the minimum amount allowable. 

Every time you make the required payment on time, a little checkmark floats into the universe and lands on your credit history report. These checkmarks add up over time and boost your rating. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. When you miss payments, your credit score decreases. 

There are other factors as well, which we will get into, but your proven ability to repay is the most basic and controllable factor determining your credit score.

How is Your Credit Score Calculated?

When it comes to your credit score, there are a variety of factors at play that determine where you stand financially.

#1. Payment History (35%)

This is why paying all of your bills on time and in full is so critical. It is the most heavily weighed factor in determining your credit score. 

Being behind and consistently missing payments will damage your score. Keeping up with your bills for long periods of time will allow you a little buffer that if you somehow end up missing one, it will still impact your score, but it will not be as detrimental as a consistent inability to pay your bills on time. 

This is yet another case for automating payments. The more we can remove human error and reliance on our own memory to keep up with all of the million things we have going on in our lives the better. Take the time to implement automated payments whenever possible.

#2. Credit Utilization (30%)

If you were to add up the limits on all your credit cards, lines of credit and other interest accruing access lines to capital, you’d have your total credit available. How much of that you currently use is your utilization rate. We can express this as a percentage by dividing what you’re using versus what’s available to you. 

For example, if you have the following:

• $7000 credit card limit with a balance of $2500

• $5000 credit card limit with a balance of $1000

• $10,000 line of credit with a balance of $3000

Say you are using $6,500 of $22,000 available. This would give you a credit utilization percentage of ($6500/$22000) = 29.5%. 

The rule of thumb is that anything below 30% is considered a good, healthy and acceptable level of credit utilization percentage. 

That doesn’t mean that if your credit utilization is about the same as the example above that you should be content with continuing to carry these balances. If your goal is to improve your score, lowering this number is a great place to start. Focus on lowering the balance you have on your credit cards and you’ll see your credit card inversely rise up.

#3. Length of Credit History (15%)

The longer you’ve had access to credit the higher your score will be in this category. This is why it often makes sense for parents to have a credit card in their children’s name before they have established the earning power to justify having one on their own, not to mention the self-discipline required to keep themselves out of trouble. Even a card with a $500 limit will help establish a baseline of credit history which will help them later in life.

However, we also realize that having a parent who is also financially equipped to help you build credit at a young age is a privilege. If you don’t have access to this, don’t worry. Your credit score will build with time.

A common question regarding credit history is whether you have to keep the first credit card you ever had just to keep a solid score. It’s not a bad question — considering many of us don’t have a choice in our first card and may not use it as much once we find one that’s better suited to our needs. But, this card is important to keep if you can. Even if you don’t use it, it’s still great to keep. If you really want to switch, consider asking your creditor if they can swap the card to a different type within their decision to keep the same card but upgrade.

#4. A Mix of Credit Types (10%)

Not all types of credit are the same. For example, revolving credit, like credit cards, come with the ability to spend up to a certain limit and then manage the balance with payments on your own timeline. 

For installation credit, such as loans, there is a fixed-payment schedule component to the agreement. These types of loans are often long-term with consistent payments of the same amount at the same time. Examples of this type of debt would be a vehicle loan or mortgage.

Lenders like to see a mix of credit because it gives them the sense that you can manage your finances and maintain your end of the obligation in various types of loans. Your ability to do so shows you’re a trustworthy and yet again, “credible” lendee. 

Keep in mind, though, adding more credit just to obtain a variety is not a good course of action to build your credit score. Each time you add an additional form of debt, lenders are on high alert, as this may look like you’re in need of access to more credit.

#5. Application Frequency (10%)

When applying for a new source of credit, whether it be a credit card, loan, vehicle, etc. the lender will run a “hard” credit check on your name. This is done out of necessity for the lender to understand your financial position and ability to pay back your loan as a way of managing their risk. When these reports are pulled, it slightly impacts your credit score. It’s annoying, but it’s a very minor adjustment, and it’s nothing to worry too much about.

Before applying for purchases or access to credit, be sure to clarify whether this is a “soft” check, which won’t impact your credit score, or a “hard” check, which will.

What is a Good Credit Score?

If credit scores were a sport, a credit score of 650 would get you in the game. 800 would get you on the starting lineup. 850 would make you an all-star. 

To obtain a mortgage in Canada, you’ll need a credit score of 680 and above. A score of 670 and above is a great way to score a vehicle loan with an ideal interest rate.

If you’re not quite in the game just yet, don’t be discouraged — you can still work your way up! Just like in the sporting world, the best way to improve is through deliberate practise and learning from others around you who are already performing at the level you aspire to. 

That is what has brought you here. You want to learn. Keep at it. Continue to absorb information and focus on your goals by improving the things within your control.

How Do I Check My Credit Score?

There are a variety of options for checking your credit score for free in Canada. Two of my favourite places for this are Borrowell and Credit Karma. Using these two platforms does not impact your credit score, as checking your own free report is considered a ‘soft’ check.

I like these tools for the following reasons:

• They provide a full credit report

• Bi-weekly updates via email notification

• A log of your credit inquiries

• An update on current debts owing

• User-friendly 

• Educational content

Regardless of the platform you choose, but especially if you go with a free one, you’re going to be “pitched” a lot of products. Remember, whenever a product is free, it is very likely that you are the product. 

So with these types of “free services” such as credit monitoring, one way or another the company is monetizing your data and your attention. They’re selling the aggregate data for analysis to lending agencies and they’re also selling ad space for financial service products. A certain percentage of users will click the ads and ultimately acquire the products; the mortgage, the line of credit, the credit card, etc. 

Remember that the purpose behind your utilizing this service is to improve your credit. Especially early in your credit repair journey, do not chase seemingly attractive opportunities. There is very likely fine print which makes the deal not so great. Ironically, so long as some people keep clicking these ads and the odd clicker eventually buys – these types of products will continue to be “free”.

My personal bank, Bank of Montreal, recently started to offer credit score monitoring which is kind of sweet. It’s fairly basic and doesn’t provide the level of detail I have grown to enjoy, but it still gets the job done and provides a basic understanding of where I am at. If all you’re looking for is the credit score number itself, check to see if your bank can already give you that.

One of the main benefits of checking your credit score is to confirm there is no fraudulent activity and protect yourself from any unwanted activity.

Stick to the Basics

It always comes back to basics. Don’t borrow more than you can afford or even close to what you think you can actually afford. Expect the unexpected and plan on the plan not going according to plan. Leave yourself a buffer and you’ll mitigate your risk. Spend less than you earn, save the rest. Your credit score will thank you for it.

The post Your Credit Score and How it Impacts Your Life appeared first on Mixed Up Money.

My favourite book I read in 2021 was undoubtedly Atomic Habits by James Clear. 

I’ve leaned on its contents before in previous posts and at this rate, I might be doing so every other post, but by golly what a masterpiece! Every single one of the concepts in this post has been influenced by concepts from Clear’s book. So while this isn’t a review, it is hopefully a testament to the type of quality content that resides within those pages.

I have taken the concepts from Atomic Habits and infused them into my own life, and wanted to share the ideas with you in hopes that this encourages you to grab a copy and start doing the same.

The Problem

At age 31, with no direction in my career, a negative net worth, and no idea what I wanted to do next, I realized that something had to change. At that point in my life, the one thing I did have an abundance of was time. So, during this quarter-life crisis of sorts, I reflected a lot about how I ended up where I did.

The answer I came up with was that I tended to veer toward the path of least resistance. To do the easy things and avoid the difficult things.

Instead of setting a goal and working backwards, I’d simply make the best decision as situations presented themselves. I was reactive to my reality rather than the creator of it. Alas, we can’t control everything, and it’s dangerous to think that we can, but there are many things in our lives within our control. So why is it so hard to stick to the things that we already know to be in our own best interests?!

We get back in the gym only to quit days, weeks or months later. We think about writing a book but immediately get deterred by the magnitude of the task. We haven’t proven to ourselves often enough that we can act with the discipline and consistency required to accomplish challenging goals.

As Clear says in his book Atomic Habits, “Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become.” And unfortunately, the opposite is also true. The longer we procrastinate the actions we wish we could or know we should be making, the more we perpetuate the story and drive into our identity that we can’t do those things.

Our ambitious dreams are quickly washed away by avoidant behaviour and self-doubt without that belief. Even worse, sometimes we stop dreaming altogether.

The Antidote

The solution to our lack of confidence is a commitment to the behaviours that we know are in our best interest and aligned with our goals. A devotion to do the things that we feel better after doing but don’t do enough of. 

Intentionally planning our lives with processes and designing our environments with purpose will give us the best chance at success. The more we can successfully commit to the activities that keep our mind and body in a healthy and happy state of being the more fulfilled we will be. 

#1. Track Your Habits

Before completing even the first half of the book, the first thing I did was start a Habits Scorecard. As you can see, I have linked Clear’s version here, but I prefer to make my spreadsheets from scratch, so mine is slightly different. Nonetheless, it is working! I am now three months into the practice, and I can’t imagine not utilizing this tool. 

I only accomplished a 55% success rate in the first two weeks with the ten habits I committed to. Not a great score. Still, I gave myself a break because this was mid-December when I started, so the holiday season had a lot to do with the lack of routine and some extra food and alcohol.

Even still, I committed to the process. I kept tracking, even though I didn’t love the results. But I established a baseline and committed to the process. That was something to be proud of. 

I also realized how much lower my success rate would have been without tracking at all. Even with the low daily habit scores, there were still plenty of times I didn’t feel like completing a habit, but I did. Now that I was objectively tracking it, I added an extra layer of accountability. I craved that checkmark on the screen. 

I now had a new accountability buddy — my future self. And I knew damn well he would be reviewing this spreadsheet at the end of the month, heavily invested in the outcome. So, knowing he’s a ruthless leader, I thought I better keep him happy. 

#2. Track What’s Right For You

As Clear puts it, “Does this behaviour help me become the type of person I wish to be? Does this habit cast a vote for my desired identity?”

So what was I tracking? The list below is composed of activities, and when I complete them regularly, I feel very healthy in both mind and body. In brackets are all the minimum thresholds for each habit. Of course, I often go well beyond these metrics, but these are attainable for me on a regular busy day. 

• Sleep (7 hours)

• Exercise (20 minutes)

• Stretching (10 minutes)

• Water intake (2-litres)

• Spending ($20 max)

• Reading (10 minutes)

• Writing (10 minutes)

• Junk Food (Y/N)

• Alcohol (Y/N)

• Tracking on-time (Y/N)

#3. Keep It Simple, Silly

I attempted a very similar version of this a year before even reading Atomic Habits. However, I made a couple of critical mistakes. 

First, I overcomplicated it. 

Rather than stick to a binary measure of success with objective thresholds to determine a clear pass or fail for the day, I initially took a more qualitative approach, including a ranking system. So I tried giving myself a score out of ten for each habit. Then I’d add up all the categories and give myself a daily score out of 100. This lasted like three days. Cool. Cool. Cool. I spent too much time wrestling with what score to give myself in each category that I would dread opening it up at all.

I can track my entire day in 30 seconds with the new version and feel very clear about how things went. 

I will admit that I get tempted to track more and more habits all the time. I legit have a wishlist for things I want to track in the future, and there are about 20 things on it now!  However, I don’t want to fall into the same trap again. So in 2022, I will commit to keeping the total number of habits tracked to ten per month. 

Secondly, I was overly ambitious. 

I challenged myself to reasonable goals to accomplish on my best of days, not thresholds of success that were appropriate for an average day. When building a habit in our daily life, we must start by committing to just showing up. Start small and simple and grow from there to challenge yourself more.  

But Wait, There’s More

In a short blog post, I, of course, couldn’t cover all of the topics that I found helpful in the book even though I wish I could! So, as a bit of a teaser on the topic of how our environment affects self-discipline, I am going to leave you with this:

“Disciplined people are better at designing their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower and self-control. In other words, they spend less time in tempting situations.”

Recommended Readings

If you do end up grabbing a copy of Atomic Habits and are interested in similar types of material, you should check these out. I have read them all and found them useful in different ways.

High Performance Habits

Power Of Habit

The Upward Spiral

The post 3 Ways to Build Healthy Habits in Life appeared first on Mixed Up Money.

As the book’s title suggests, “The Psychology of Money” does not take the crunching approach to finance education and instead focuses on a study of what happens between the ears. As Housel so eloquently reminds us, “You’re not a spreadsheet. You’re a person. A screwed up, emotional person.”

Instead of giving you a playbook describing the do’s and don’ts of money management, this book gracefully introduces concepts of personal bias, emotional factors, and the psychological shortcomings we all fall victim to. In addition, its pages are filled with telling anecdotes of how and why even the smartest of us slip up when caring for our finances. 

Was It Any Good?

Rather than grade this book with a score based on some arbitrary metrics I’ve created, I will share with you the lessons I took away from the book. 

In many cases, I will rely upon direct quotes to get a feel for Housel’s writing style and his ability to convey complex topics in digestible terms. The quotes throughout this post are some of the highlights I made to the book during my first read. If they’re intriguing to you, then you might find this book to be worth the read.  

By all accounts, this book has been wildly successful. It is #1 ranking in various financial categories and #20 in books overall.

Although there were many things to ponder and take away from the book, my top four lessons are here.

#1. Embrace Complexity 

“We prefer simple stories, which are easy but often devilishly misleading.”

To the analytical mind, nuanced topics with insights stroked in shades of grey are more challenging to integrate into our lives than concrete solutions with black and white answers. Or, as Housel puts it, “We have brains that prefer easy answers without much appetite for nuance.”

This concept of being comfortable with the unknown was one I noticed Housel inserting many times in his book. As he says, “The illusion of control is more persuasive than the reality of uncertainty.”

“Everyone has an incomplete view of the world. But we form a complete narrative to fill in the gaps.” We like to think we’ve got things all figured out. Deep down, we know we don’t and can never possibly understand all of the complexity of our world. But accepting that and surrendering control is a scary feeling. So instead, especially in times of stress, we resort to closing the case on complex problems, making up our minds, and calling it good. 

“Coming to terms with how much you don’t know means coming to terms with how much of what happens in the world is out of your control. And that can be hard to accept.” 

#2. Learn How to “Have Enough”

“The hardest financial skill is getting the goal post to stop moving.” 

The more I learn about personal finance, the more I realize how important this concept is. Even the most wealthy of us all can find ourselves stuck on the hedonic treadmill, constantly trying to fill a void with spending on fancy and stimulating products and services. The temporary escape that we get from the feelings we choose to avoid in our fancy cars or otherwise will still be there for us after the pleasure dissolves. The purchase becomes just another row on our credit card statement.

“Independence, at any level of income, is driven by your savings rate. And past a certain level of income, your savings rate is driven by your ability to keep your lifestyle expectations from running away.” (215)

#3. Cultivate Patience

This stat blew my mind. 

“84.2 Billion of Warren Buffet’s, 84.5 Billion accumulated after his 50th birthday. 99.6% of his wealth.”

Compound interest takes time. Your most considerable returns are always going to be at the tail end of your investment career. This is why it is always emphasized to start as early as possible. If you’re like me, you’re just getting started in your 30’s. Take a breath, be patient. Starting late is infinitely better than never starting at all.

As Albert Einstein famously said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it earns it; he who doesn’t pays it.”

#4. Wealth is What You Don’t See

Last but not least, I will summarize my favourite concepts from my favourite chapter in the book – Chapter 9, “Wealth is what you don’t see.” 

Let’s kick this off with a tandem of two excellent quotes.

“When people say they want to be a millionaire. What they might actually mean is, “I’d like to spend a million dollars.”  

“It is so ingrained in us that to have money is to spend money that we don’t get to see the restraint it takes to actually be wealthy.” 

Um yeah. Guilty.

I have always thought that you were on cruise control once you were rich. And sure, that’s probably the case in sporadic cases, but for the everyday wealthy of us, they’ve done it the fundamental way through spending less than they make for an extended period. 

Just because you’re making six figures doesn’t mean you need a nice new car or taking four vacations a year. Conspicuous consumption does not indicate wealth; in fact, it may signal the opposite more often than we think.

“Wealth is hidden. It’s income not spent. Wealth is an option not yet taken to buy something later. Its value lies in offering you options, flexibility, and growth to one day purchase more stuff than you could right now.”

Last but not least, here is a quote that ties everything together. This is essentially the thesis of the book. 

“Academic finance is devoted to finding the mathematically optimal investment strategies. My own theory is that, in the real world, people do not want the mathematically optimal strategy. They want the strategy that maximizes for how well they sleep at night.” 

The post Review: The Psychology of Money By Morgan Housel appeared first on Mixed Up Money.