Spring Cleaning For Your Finances
Spring cleaning brings about the opportunity to clear, declutter and get rid of what no longer serves you in order to make space for more of what you do want. So what better time to use this same theme in your financial life as well. And for those of you that don’t like cleaning, no problem! Because spring cleaning your finances is a different kind of cleaning that is a valuable investment in yourself and your financial future! Listen to find out my list of top recommendations for doing some important spring cleaning on your finances that will set you up for achieving your goals and feeling empowered about your money.
About the Host:
I am a financial professional, who specializes in helping people to achieve their financial goals. My absolute passion is creating new possibilities in people’s lives by showing them the ropes when it comes to money. I’m here to spark healthy and positive conversations around wealth and investment and create a world where nobody is limited by their financial situation. I believe this begins with education and shifting our relationships with money. I love getting to witness people achieving their most ambitious goals and creating new possibilities for themselves and their families!
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Email: kalee.boisvert@raymondjames.ca
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Transcript
Welcome to the wealth and wellness podcast with
Kalee Boisvert:me Kaylie Bob air, I specialize in helping people to achieve
Kalee Boisvert:their financial goals. I have a love for all things numbers, and
Kalee Boisvert:I'm passionate about financial literacy. My goal is to spark
Kalee Boisvert:healthy and positive conversations around wealth and
Kalee Boisvert:investment, and create a world where nobody is limited by their
Kalee Boisvert:financial situation. But wealth is just one piece of the
Kalee Boisvert:equation of living our best lives. So join me as we explore
Kalee Boisvert:both wealth and wellness topics. From your net worth to your self
Kalee Boisvert:worth, get ready to take confident action.
Kalee Boisvert:Hello, this is Kaylee. And thank you so much for tuning into this
Kalee Boisvert:episode of the wealth and wellness podcast, I figured it
Kalee Boisvert:would be fitting for the time of year to talk about some spring
Kalee Boisvert:cleaning ideas for your money. So we're calling this spring
Kalee Boisvert:cleaning for your finances. I'm all about acknowledging the
Kalee Boisvert:energy of things. And there's so much power in cleaning and
Kalee Boisvert:clearing and decluttering and getting rid of things that no
Kalee Boisvert:longer serve us and making space to welcome in more of what we do
Kalee Boisvert:want. So whether it's going through and cleaning your closet
Kalee Boisvert:or going through the garage and clearing it out, or doing you
Kalee Boisvert:know spring cleaning around the house, well, we can also
Kalee Boisvert:transfer that spring cleaning directly to your finances. And
Kalee Boisvert:all these cleaning and clearing is going to really serve you in
Kalee Boisvert:moving in the direction of where you want to go. So I'm no
Kalee Boisvert:organization expert. And so I'm going to stick to spring
Kalee Boisvert:cleaning for your finances. So I'm not going to give you any
Kalee Boisvert:other cleaning tips. So don't worry about that. We're going to
Kalee Boisvert:stick to finances and money on this call. Okay. So a great
Kalee Boisvert:place to start when it comes to spring cleaning for your
Kalee Boisvert:finances is checking in on your goals and the progress towards
Kalee Boisvert:those goals. So maybe you set out at the start of the year
Kalee Boisvert:with a specific goal. or really any time with a goal that you
Kalee Boisvert:had in mind for your finances. Maybe it was something along the
Kalee Boisvert:lines of save for a down payment on a home, or a vacation
Kalee Boisvert:property, saving for your long term financial freedom goal or
Kalee Boisvert:retirement, saving for your children's education. Whatever
Kalee Boisvert:it might be, this is a great opportunity. And again, you
Kalee Boisvert:probably have more than one goals as well. But this is a
Kalee Boisvert:great opportunity to check in on your progress. So using this
Kalee Boisvert:spring cleaning time as a check in time, see where you're at in
Kalee Boisvert:relation to the end goal. And it's you know, from seeing where
Kalee Boisvert:we're at and checking if you're on track, it's a great time
Kalee Boisvert:again, a great time to be doing this checking in, the check is
Kalee Boisvert:going to help you identify whether maybe you're falling
Kalee Boisvert:behind. Or even better, maybe you're ahead of the game and
Kalee Boisvert:you're on track to reaching your goal sooner than you originally
Kalee Boisvert:planned. So that's, you know, positive and great to see. And
Kalee Boisvert:so that can happen as well. So this check in is really just,
Kalee Boisvert:it's very powerful, because it gives you that time to revisit
Kalee Boisvert:the goal. So giving it time and attention. We have busy lives,
Kalee Boisvert:we get off track sometimes. So it's really taking that time
Kalee Boisvert:giving ourselves time and attention to actually focus back
Kalee Boisvert:on the goal. Where are we in relation to where the end goal
Kalee Boisvert:was. And do any adjustments need to be made, because it's always
Kalee Boisvert:better to spot those sooner than later. And maybe you've made
Kalee Boisvert:absolutely no progress towards the goal you had in mind. So
Kalee Boisvert:maybe it was a goal that you had in your head of what you wanted
Kalee Boisvert:to achieve this year, but you haven't actually done anything
Kalee Boisvert:to take action on it. No shame in that. And that's completely
Kalee Boisvert:okay. But even better that you're checking in, because this
Kalee Boisvert:is your opportunity to say okay, I'm actually going to take
Kalee Boisvert:action now, I'm going to do something to get started towards
Kalee Boisvert:this. So again, spring cleaning task of taking time to review,
Kalee Boisvert:check in on progress and make changes if need be for your
Kalee Boisvert:goals because goals are so important. But part of the value
Kalee Boisvert:is that we're not ignoring them. We're not just leaving them to
Kalee Boisvert:do their things that we are actually making sure that
Kalee Boisvert:everything is still on track. Okay, so another spring cleaning
Kalee Boisvert:for your finances is to check in on your cash flow. So I know the
Kalee Boisvert:thought of a budget makes many people cringe and it's a task
Kalee Boisvert:you probably want to put off for a future date. Maybe it's one of
Kalee Boisvert:those things in your calendar that you just keep pushing out
Kalee Boisvert:to a further date. But having a check in with your cash flow can
Kalee Boisvert:be very beneficial and helpful for your finances. What happens
Kalee Boisvert:is you might spot some expenses that can be easily eliminated,
Kalee Boisvert:you might even find extra savings opportunities from
Kalee Boisvert:what's coming in as far as your income. So this cash flow and
Kalee Boisvert:taking time to look in check in on it. Again, it's sometimes it
Kalee Boisvert:brings up sort of that, that fear and that like will not, not
Kalee Boisvert:the fun is tasked to do. But let's switch that mentality in
Kalee Boisvert:that mindset. And let's look at it as a positive, let's see that
Kalee Boisvert:it's a great awareness tool, it's a great opportunity to spot
Kalee Boisvert:things that we can change that we can actually take action on.
Kalee Boisvert:Again, the more you were aware, the more strategic you can be
Kalee Boisvert:with your finances. So the more we know, the more empowered and
Kalee Boisvert:the more we can actually work towards our money goals. So
Kalee Boisvert:that's really the goal behind checking in with your cash flow.
Kalee Boisvert:The Cash Flow exercise of going through spending might also lead
Kalee Boisvert:you to discover some expenses, such as subscriptions that you
Kalee Boisvert:no longer even use, and therefore you can cancel and
Kalee Boisvert:save yourself some cash. So we're in a time where we sign up
Kalee Boisvert:for all sorts of things. And then sometimes it's months
Kalee Boisvert:later, you realize I'm not even using that that probably was not
Kalee Boisvert:worth my time to purchase. Or maybe it's not something I
Kalee Boisvert:actually need. Well, this check in is going to bring those to
Kalee Boisvert:your attention. And then you can make sure it's time that you
Kalee Boisvert:maybe cancel those and do some rejigging and seeing, is there
Kalee Boisvert:anything that's money is going out? Is there all sorts of
Kalee Boisvert:things that you're like, Okay, I'm aware of that makes sense?
Kalee Boisvert:I'm okay with all that, are there some that stand out to
Kalee Boisvert:you, and you're like, yeah, that's not serving me, I don't
Kalee Boisvert:need that, let me make some adjustments, because every
Kalee Boisvert:little bit that you don't spend is more money for you to keep.
Kalee Boisvert:So that's exciting. Okay, now moving on another spring
Kalee Boisvert:cleaning, it's like we have a whole list of tasks for spring
Kalee Boisvert:cleaning. So another goal you might have, or another task for
Kalee Boisvert:your spring cleaning, might be to increase your savings. So
Kalee Boisvert:what we're hearing more and more of lately, of course, is the
Kalee Boisvert:concern of rising interest rates and inflation. And although this
Kalee Boisvert:is out of your control, as far as what you can do, like, you
Kalee Boisvert:know, we don't want to see inflation, but you personally,
Kalee Boisvert:probably not a lot you can do to impact where that's going. But
Kalee Boisvert:when we go okay, well, what can I do? What can I control? Well,
Kalee Boisvert:I can increase my savings towards some of these targeted
Kalee Boisvert:goals, if we're going to see if we're going to see a sustained
Kalee Boisvert:in increase in inflation for years to come. If that is the
Kalee Boisvert:case, then this is going to help offset some or all of that
Kalee Boisvert:impact, saving more towards your goal. So putting more money away
Kalee Boisvert:by ultimately increasing the amount you have at the end of
Kalee Boisvert:the day. And I know saving more money is probably you know, it's
Kalee Boisvert:easier said than done, like, Oh, here's the solution to save more
Kalee Boisvert:money? Well, well, you might say, Well, where am I gonna find
Kalee Boisvert:that there's not much left each month. But again, is an
Kalee Boisvert:opportunity we talked about just previously, going through
Kalee Boisvert:expenses, seeing if there's places you can save it like now
Kalee Boisvert:is a really good time to be doing this again, because we
Kalee Boisvert:want to be directing more of that towards savings if
Kalee Boisvert:inflation is what we're experiencing right now. So when
Kalee Boisvert:it comes to increasing that savings towards the long term
Kalee Boisvert:goals, retirement goals, things like that, every little bit
Kalee Boisvert:counts. And even putting away $50 more per month into your
Kalee Boisvert:retirement savings investments, for instance, can have a big
Kalee Boisvert:impact. So compounded at 10%, over 10 years, just $50 more a
Kalee Boisvert:month becomes over $10,000 After 10 years. And after 20 years
Kalee Boisvert:that's over, or it's around 40,000. So even that minor
Kalee Boisvert:change, where we're just making some tweaks can make a
Kalee Boisvert:difference. And again, it's more money for you then at the end of
Kalee Boisvert:the day. So also good opportunity to review any
Kalee Boisvert:savings plans you have through your work through your employer.
Kalee Boisvert:If your employer offers stock options, or any matching
Kalee Boisvert:programs for contributions into retirement savings plans, or
Kalee Boisvert:anything like that, I urge you to participate and take
Kalee Boisvert:advantage of this. It's essentially free money when
Kalee Boisvert:they're matching what you put in. And, again, if you are
Kalee Boisvert:participating, but maybe you haven't been doing the maximum
Kalee Boisvert:percentage that they're willing to match up to, then there's no
Kalee Boisvert:time like right now to say okay, I need to maximize that I need
Kalee Boisvert:to put that to the absolute amount. And again, because any
Kalee Boisvert:bit more we can do with savings is going to help us and
Kalee Boisvert:especially when we're right now experiencing Okay, inflation,
Kalee Boisvert:and long term that can be a scary impact on those retirement
Kalee Boisvert:savings accounts and whatnot.
Kalee Boisvert:So what else can we do for spring cleaning, automate, so
Kalee Boisvert:let's automate as much as you can when it comes to money. We
Kalee Boisvert:have endless to do lists for to do list in our lives, right we
Kalee Boisvert:have household duties We have you know, kids, their their
Kalee Boisvert:things, their activities, we have everything going on in our
Kalee Boisvert:work lives and, and what needs to get done. So if any, in any
Kalee Boisvert:way you can simplify things that's ideal. There's a lot of
Kalee Boisvert:ways to simplify your money. And one way is to ensure that you're
Kalee Boisvert:automating it. So if you manually pay some bills, or all
Kalee Boisvert:your bills each month, maybe now's the time to set up those
Kalee Boisvert:auto payments, and it gives you that many sort of less tasks to
Kalee Boisvert:have to remember each month. And that, you know, saves you from
Kalee Boisvert:as well, because you know, when we have all these tasks, things
Kalee Boisvert:can be forgotten. Unintentionally, maybe, of
Kalee Boisvert:course, but it happens, right. So if that's the case, with
Kalee Boisvert:bills, well, it saves you from having to pay interest if you
Kalee Boisvert:are to forget, or having it impact your credit by missing a
Kalee Boisvert:payment or a few payments if you do forget to pay. So by all
Kalee Boisvert:means automating it really simplifies things, takes it off
Kalee Boisvert:of your to do list gives you some more headspace to focus on
Kalee Boisvert:other things that maybe have a little bit more, you know more
Kalee Boisvert:importance and that you'd want to focus on. Same is true for
Kalee Boisvert:savings, though. So automating bills and expenses, great, but
Kalee Boisvert:you want to automate savings as well. You never want to forget
Kalee Boisvert:an opportunity to save because if you have a goal to put away,
Kalee Boisvert:you know, $100 a month and you forget a few months, well, it
Kalee Boisvert:might be harder to kind of find where where that went and, and
Kalee Boisvert:where you can kind of pull that from so having it all happen on
Kalee Boisvert:a recurring basis. So maybe one of your goals is that you wanted
Kalee Boisvert:to save $100 A month towards your children's education,
Kalee Boisvert:automated habit, just go into that Education Savings Plan on a
Kalee Boisvert:regular basis. And take it one step further and have it auto
Kalee Boisvert:invested to so not just is the $100 a month that you have as
Kalee Boisvert:your goal going towards that account. But it's also being
Kalee Boisvert:invested automatically, as we know, the markets are going to
Kalee Boisvert:go up and they're also going to go down. And so if you automate
Kalee Boisvert:those recurring investment savings, it ensures you're
Kalee Boisvert:taking advantage of some of these dips along the way. So
Kalee Boisvert:unfortunately, it's really hard to predict short term what the
Kalee Boisvert:market moves are going to be. But if you're adding all along
Kalee Boisvert:the way, you don't have to be so focused on the day to day of the
Kalee Boisvert:market, knowing that you're going to be taking advantage of
Kalee Boisvert:some of those sort of when things go on sale along the way.
Kalee Boisvert:So adding and having it actually automatically invest too is a
Kalee Boisvert:great strategy to accomplish that. Okay. Um, spring cleaning
Kalee Boisvert:is also a wonderful time to assess any debt and make a goal
Kalee Boisvert:to paying down your debt. So get really specific and targeted
Kalee Boisvert:with that goal of what your debt repayment plan is. As I
Kalee Boisvert:mentioned previously, we are facing rising interest rates.
Kalee Boisvert:And what that means is that is going to be passed along on the
Kalee Boisvert:rates of borrowing. So your rates of interest on money owed
Kalee Boisvert:can very much be impacted by this. If you have a line of
Kalee Boisvert:credit, there's a good chance you may have seen an increase or
Kalee Boisvert:will be happening in the coming months. For a mortgage, if
Kalee Boisvert:you're set to renew in the coming months or years. Again,
Kalee Boisvert:likely you're going to have to renew at a higher rate than you
Kalee Boisvert:were previously locked in for. So getting really serious and
Kalee Boisvert:intentional about the debt repayment. Because if interest
Kalee Boisvert:rates are increasing, that is working against you if it does
Kalee Boisvert:impact those rates on what you owe. So you don't want that that
Kalee Boisvert:sort of compounding right working against you. So getting
Kalee Boisvert:serious about paying down debts, having a really specific plan on
Kalee Boisvert:how you're going to achieve that. And and really talk about
Kalee Boisvert:the bad debt when we talk about it in the finance industry that
Kalee Boisvert:you really want to target first that bad debt. It's that high
Kalee Boisvert:interest rate debt, double digit, think double digit,
Kalee Boisvert:interest rate debt, or even the high single digits, that's where
Kalee Boisvert:you want to put your focus on getting that down, paid down.
Kalee Boisvert:Because if there is an increase or a jump in that rate, it's
Kalee Boisvert:just going to again, compound against you, it's going to
Kalee Boisvert:increase the amount you have to pay.
Kalee Boisvert:What else Oh, so this is kind of the time of year as well where
Kalee Boisvert:you know, you're probably completing taxes, or maybe you
Kalee Boisvert:have just completed your taxes. So what better time for some
Kalee Boisvert:spring cleaning as it relates to your taxes? If you were in a
Kalee Boisvert:position of owing, this is a great opportunity to make a plan
Kalee Boisvert:now to offset that in as sort of so it doesn't happen again in
Kalee Boisvert:the next tax year. So maybe the best means to do This is
Kalee Boisvert:contributing to a retirement savings plan, which is going to
Kalee Boisvert:help reduce your taxes owing. So again, if you know right now
Kalee Boisvert:that that happened this year, and you don't want that to
Kalee Boisvert:happen again, that's one way to make sure that you're not in
Kalee Boisvert:that same position next year. And, you know, by doing
Kalee Boisvert:something now about it, it's a lot more realistic and less of a
Kalee Boisvert:financial hit. So maybe you say, Well, I'm going to put away $100
Kalee Boisvert:towards my retirement savings plan, and that's going to help,
Kalee Boisvert:you know, offset any taxes owing, next tax year or reduce
Kalee Boisvert:my tax owing, if you're in a position of a big refund, it's
Kalee Boisvert:great. I mean, we love free money, or like what feels like
Kalee Boisvert:free money. So free money, it's actually your money, you're just
Kalee Boisvert:getting back. You know, we love getting a big paycheck, or a big
Kalee Boisvert:amount of money that maybe you weren't expecting, but you might
Kalee Boisvert:want to check to make sure your employer's taking off the right
Kalee Boisvert:amount if you got a big refund. And it might make sense to have
Kalee Boisvert:that reduced. Because remember, when they owe you the money they
Kalee Boisvert:pay you isn't with interest. It's not like they've, they've
Kalee Boisvert:had your money that long, and they're gonna also credit you
Kalee Boisvert:for the interest that you could have earned for that time they
Kalee Boisvert:held it. So you're technically the money is always better off
Kalee Boisvert:in your hands again, the refund or what they're giving it back
Kalee Boisvert:is usually your money, right? It's money, you've paid into tax
Kalee Boisvert:and you've just overpaid. So always nicer to have it in your
Kalee Boisvert:hands. Okay, on to the next one, another spring cleaning task for
Kalee Boisvert:your finances. Oh, this one actually does relate to
Kalee Boisvert:cleanliness, and reducing clutter and organizing. So this
Kalee Boisvert:is about paperwork and going paperless. So with all different
Kalee Boisvert:investment accounts and bank accounts and bills and things
Kalee Boisvert:like that, there's so much paper that can go along with that and
Kalee Boisvert:so much mail. So if you have the boxes and stacks of old
Kalee Boisvert:paperwork, take some time to go through it, see if there's
Kalee Boisvert:really need to hold on to it. If you're unsure, ask your
Kalee Boisvert:accountant as far as you know, how long should I hold things?
Kalee Boisvert:Or what things do I need to hold for a certain amount of time? If
Kalee Boisvert:it's coming from a specific company check in to see if they
Kalee Boisvert:retain a copy and how many years they retain it for and that way,
Kalee Boisvert:you know, okay, how much of this do I actually have to keep? And
Kalee Boisvert:how much do I know, if I need to duplicate I could just reach out
Kalee Boisvert:to them in the future to ask for one. Most companies now of
Kalee Boisvert:course, do really encourage you to go paperless. And then
Kalee Boisvert:therefore you're able to access everything online. So it's a
Kalee Boisvert:great way to reduce waste, less clutter accumulating in your
Kalee Boisvert:home. And again, you're still able to access everything from
Kalee Boisvert:your online accounts, you still get the same statements. It's
Kalee Boisvert:still stored there for you. And you know, really having things
Kalee Boisvert:accessible online is when we think of like, okay, what's
Kalee Boisvert:better physical storage or online? Well, at least when
Kalee Boisvert:things are online, we're usually you know, more able to retrieve
Kalee Boisvert:them down the line versus physical, it could go missing,
Kalee Boisvert:it could get lost, it could, you know, your house could flood,
Kalee Boisvert:you could lose it in a move or something like that. So actually
Kalee Boisvert:having things online is, I would say usually a bit easier to
Kalee Boisvert:track down. So save yourself some, save the environment from
Kalee Boisvert:all that paper and save yourself some clutter in your house by
Kalee Boisvert:making sure you're doing paperless as much as possible.
Kalee Boisvert:Check in so last spring cleaning task I have is about checking in
Kalee Boisvert:on insurance policies, beneficiaries and your estate
Kalee Boisvert:documents. So this might sound like a really big undertaking,
Kalee Boisvert:it doesn't have to be it might just be a quick check in and but
Kalee Boisvert:it is a really important one because our lives change. And
Kalee Boisvert:it's so important that we keep these very important items up to
Kalee Boisvert:date to reflect all your intentions if anything were to
Kalee Boisvert:happen to you. So again, it's going down the road of okay if
Kalee Boisvert:something were to happen, where you know, who gets this amount
Kalee Boisvert:of money, or what would I like to see happen with this property
Kalee Boisvert:or what happens, you know, with with children and things like
Kalee Boisvert:that, so it's very important conversations, and things to
Kalee Boisvert:think about. And once it's done again, it feels like a big
Kalee Boisvert:undertaking, but once it's done, it feels so good. It's like a
Kalee Boisvert:big weight is lifted off. So taking time to check in on
Kalee Boisvert:beneficiaries of all your accounts that have beneficiary
Kalee Boisvert:designations. So here in Canada, that means your RRSPs or
Kalee Boisvert:retirement savings plans. That includes like locked in
Kalee Boisvert:retirement savings plans as well. Tax Free Savings accounts
Kalee Boisvert:and your pension account, or your pensions, also confirming
Kalee Boisvert:beneficiaries listed on any insurance policies you hold and
Kalee Boisvert:just again, you're making sure these are up to date. They're
Kalee Boisvert:reflective of your intentions, what you want to happen if
Kalee Boisvert:something were to happen with you. Lots changes in lives,
Kalee Boisvert:right? Like we get married, we have kids, all these things are
Kalee Boisvert:changing along the way. So you want to make sure that These
Kalee Boisvert:documents are reflective of those changes, estate documents.
Kalee Boisvert:So your will your power of attorney, your personal
Kalee Boisvert:directive, always good to just have a check in with these and
Kalee Boisvert:maybe a check in is every, you know, more like several years,
Kalee Boisvert:like five years or so if nothing has occurred. But with life
Kalee Boisvert:events, you are very much encouraged to review these
Kalee Boisvert:documents. So yeah, major life events like getting married,
Kalee Boisvert:having children, things like that, again, just ensuring your
Kalee Boisvert:intentions are all documented. And everything is as it should
Kalee Boisvert:be, if something were to happen to you. So it's all this very
Kalee Boisvert:important, very, very important. So that wraps up my list of
Kalee Boisvert:Spring Clean tasks for you. If you're anything like me, maybe
Kalee Boisvert:you hate cleaning. But this is not about cleaning. This is
Kalee Boisvert:spring cleaning for your finances. And that's a very
Kalee Boisvert:different kind of cleaning. And I see it as an extremely
Kalee Boisvert:valuable, valuable, valuable. Jeepers, I'm having problems
Kalee Boisvert:talking. valuable investment in yourself in your future. So
Kalee Boisvert:spring cleaning for your finances, make it a priority.
Kalee Boisvert:Even if you don't like the cleaning side of things. Maybe
Kalee Boisvert:you got to hire that out. But this this piece of you know,
Kalee Boisvert:it's spring cleaning, it's something you definitely don't
Kalee Boisvert:want to ignore. So thank you so much for listening to this
Kalee Boisvert:episode, and I will catch you on the next episode. All right, bye
Kalee Boisvert:for now. I hope you found value in this episode. And because I'm
Kalee Boisvert:such a proponent of taking confident action, I want to pose
Kalee Boisvert:a question to you the listener. What is one action that you feel
Kalee Boisvert:inspired to take after listening to today's episode? If you enjoy
Kalee Boisvert:listening, please subscribe and share with your friends and
Kalee Boisvert:family. Thank you so much and I will catch you next time
