Back to school spending is inevitable. As parents, we do it every year, and yet every year it sneaks up on us, right? Even in 2020, most parents had extra expenses to send their kids back to school, even if it was at home.
This year, let’s do something different and budget for the return to school spending so it doesn’t catch you off guard.
Continue reading “Budgeting for Back to School”
Parents can’t wait until the days of no more alarms or harping on kids about homework, but then there’s all the free time summer creates. Without schedules and structure, it can feel overwhelming and if you aren’t careful, you may forget about budgeting and spend money just to keep your kids occupied.
Rather than throwing all caution to the wind this summer, plan a staycation. This way you’ll have fun planned for your family without the expenses of a vacation and the rest of the summer won’t feel as unstructured.
Before you plan a staycation, though, learn the top budgeting techniques to make it affordable.
Continue reading “Summertime Staycation Planning & Budgeting”If you’re in over your head in debt, you may hold back from doing anything about it. Is it fear? Is it embarrassment or a bit of both? In a world where we broadcast just about every aspect of our lives online, debt is one area we don’t speak about even in person.
We look on as we think others are ‘successful’ not knowing the truth behind the perfectly chosen pictures. The fact is the average consumer has $23,800 in consumer debt, not including the mortgage.
If you’re ready to do something about your debt, but worry about fear and embarrassment holding you back, read on.
Continue reading “Are Fear and Embarrassment Holding You Back from Consolidating Your Debt?”
If you’re feeling financial stress, you not alone. Over half of Canadians are within arm’s reach of financial insolvency thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The numbers are at a five-year high and don’t seem to be falling anytime soon.
Millions of Canadians wiped out their savings accounts during the heart of the pandemic and others relied on credit cards to make ends meet. But where does that leave them today?
If you’re coming off a job loss, shuttered business, or increase in bills, bankruptcy may seem like the only answer, but it’s not. Here’s what to do instead.
Continue reading “Canadians on the Brink of Bankruptcy – Here’s what to Do”
If you’re used to getting a large tax refund at tax time, you may be surprised to see this year’s return. Many taxpayers aren’t getting the refund they’re used to, and millions aren’t getting a return at all.
To maximize your tax refund, make sure your taxes include these deductions, if applicable to your situation.
If you worked from home in 2020 as an employee, you may write off some expenses incurred. If you’ve never claimed a home office expense before, you have two options:
Continue reading “Consider This When Preparing your Tax Returns During a Pandemic”
Millions of Canadians found themselves financially distraught amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the Canadian government came through in a big way with the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit.
CERB provided the financial relief consumers needed, but come tax time, you may owe more money than you thought because of the benefit. Depending on your financial situation, you may even have to pay back CERB, or a portion of it.
Continue reading “How CERB May Affect your Tax Return”
Tax time can be exciting or overwhelming, depending on whether or not you get a refund. If you get a refund, you feel like you’re on top of the world. If you owe money, it can send your budget into a tailspin.
Relying on a refund is not the right choice. Everyone should be prepared to NOT receive a refund, by planning and budgeting throughout the year.
At Creditaid, we want our clients to be prepared for the tax season financially, rather than letting it derail their finances and cause financial destruction. It’s not as hard as it seems. You just need to budget and plan long before tax season begins.
Continue reading “Preparing for Tax Season When you Don’t get a Refund”A proper budget makes room for needs and wants. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to differentiate between the two. It can be subjective, but certain things are clear-cut and easy to determine.
So how do you tell? Let’s look at the basic definition of each.
Needs are items you must have to survive. Clothes, food, proper healthcare, and transportation – those are needs. You can’t live without them, and these apply to everyone.
Other needs may be more individualized. For example, one person may NEED dental insurance because they have extensive dental issues, while another person may only go to the dentist for routine cleanings twice a year and may not consider dental insurance a need.
Write down the things you NEED in your life. If you didn’t have one, it would make it hard to survive or cause financial destruction.
Continue reading “Distinguish Between Needs vs. Wants”Does tracking your spending sound about as fun as going to the dentist? We get it. But just like the dentist is important for your oral health, tracking your spending is important for your financial health.
Obviously recording your spending identifies where you overspend, but there are plenty of other reasons too.
You can say you want to save for specific goals all you want, but if you don’t do it, you’ll never reach your goals.
Recording your spending provides visualization of where your money goes. You can see ‘gosh I spent $50 eating out and now I can’t save for my XYZ goal.’ That accountability is HUGE when you’re trying to meet financial goals.
Continue reading “Why you Need to Record your Spending”Goodbye, 2020! It was a strange and challenging year for many of us for several reasons.
This 2020 tax year will be unlike any other, with many individuals collecting CERB without any tax withholdings. However, this income is taxable, which means that individuals receiving CERB will owe tax on the funds they received, which can seriously impact your 2020 tax return. Those who typically expect a refund might owe money for tax in the current year or significantly reduce their refund.
At Creditaid we want to ensure our clients are prepared financially to assure continued success in our program and beyond. We have provided several tax tips below, some of which may apply to the current year. These are beneficial tax tips and suggestions that can benefit you and your family for years to come!
If you have any questions or wish to set up a tax planning session, please give us a call at 204 987 6890.
Working From Home Office Expenses
Employees who worked from home more than 50% of the time over a period of a least four consecutive weeks in 2020 due to COVID-19 will now be eligible to claim the home office expenses deduction for 2020. The use of a shorter qualifying period will ensure that more employees can claim the deduction than would otherwise have been possible under longstanding practice.
