How to manage your expenses? With spring in the air, we all are thinking about that “new” addition to our homes.

However, Canada's housing affordability is hitting an all-time low, as per one of the big banks (the red one) recent report. This report was released at the beginning of March, where It shows, (as of the end of last year), a “representative” Canadian household would have to spend nearly 49% of its income to service a mortgage.  That is an increase of nearly 8% from a year earlier.  The long-term average to service a mortgage since 2000 is around 40.2%.  The share of income needed to pay a mortgage is now at its highest level since the mid-1990s, which was just after Canada’s last real estate crash. The question is, how can we cope with it this time? I’ve put together some tips that may help you in the long run. This list should not be treated as financial advice but, it’s something I use personally.  1. Reassess your housing needs Weigh options out before spending a lot on your renovations. Ask yourself if you really need this particular renovation. Plan ahead of time and take note of everything. This will help you manage those large expenses. 2. Create a list before shopping Making a shopping list is a smart move. It will help you think ahead about your purchases and stay on track with your spending. It will also help you curb impulsive buying. Aside from saving money, it will also save you time and energy. 3. Buy groceries online. Online grocery shopping has been a convenient way of buying all the stuff you need at home with just a click of a button.  Not only that, but it also saves you a lot of gas, parking fees, and less time stuck in traffic, as you get used to buying things and having them delivered to your doorstep. 4. Plan your meals Who doesn’t love to save some money? With meal planning, you can be more prepared, and this will reduce impulse buying of unnecessary groceries, a lot of which will be thrown away a few weeks later. It could also mean that you are able to cut down your spending on takeaway and eating out. Meal planning can help you become more aware of how much money you’re spending on food. 5. Create an Amazon buying day I’m sure we are all guilty of scrolling through deals on amazon at least once. But instead of buying with a single click, experts suggest adding them to the cart and waiting for a designated day in the month to review and purchase those items. Think, before you click. 6. Borrow smartly This again is another aspect of managing your finances. If you carry outstanding balances on credit cards and lines of credit, check if you can move them to a low rate credit card / line of credit or refinance them to an instrument like a mortgage, where the interest rates are still lower compared to a line of credit or a credit card. Or if you are looking to renovate the house, instead of using a Home Depot credit card, (which carries high-interest rates) check if you can get a Home Equity Line credit card. If you need advice on this talk to your mortgage broker who can advise you on possible ways. In final thought, the interest rates going up will force us to think differently about our expenses. Even though it is hard to adjust initially, with a little bit of planning you could be comfortable enjoying the summer in 2022 If you need any advice on how to manage your outstanding debts, give me a call on 289 200 5656 and I will guide and assist you!