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5 Millennial Money Hacks

July 8, 2015|By David Lester

Happy halfway through the year! How has your year been going financially?  Did you get the promotion you were hoping for?  Have you been paying down your debt and getting on top of your money?  If the answer is no, that’s ok, because we still have six more months to go until next year!  So do these 6 things to be a millennial money hack.

1. Money Plan:  Do you have a plan yet?  Just like a map, if you don’t have one, you’ll always be lost.  Sit down with a planner at your local branch (they are generally free) or ask to use your parents expensive broker.  Most of them have software that you can plug in your goals and it’ll shoot out where you are now and where you need to be.  It should include a budget to keep you on track, debt repayment and savings projections.  Determine what your D-day is (debt free day) and write it on a calendar to keep you motivated.

2. Credit Score:  It is easy to forget our credit score but it is more and more important in our financially dizzying world.  You need it to buy anything from a cell phone or to rent an apartment.  Contact TransUnion Canada here for your free score.  The way to keep it up and running is to open a card and keep it for the long run.  History of credit is a chunk of your score.  Also, don’t charge up more than 25% of all of your credit cards.  Utilization of  less than 25% will give you a good score.  And be sure to charge, payback, and charge your cards each month.  Place your cable, gym, cell phone on your card and make sure you pay it off each month to boost your score.  Having a variety of products helps too like a credit card, line of credit and a car loan is a nice mix.

3. Debt:  Take a look at all of your debt to see what is bobbing around there.  Many times people will have a government student loan, bank student debt and consumer debt so make sure you see at how fast you are progressing and if you can speed up higher cost interest rate loasn – then go for it.  Your money plan should show when it is all paid off based on your payments.  Try to speed it up.  It’s amazing how an extra $50 a month can accelerate your D-day.

4. Savings:  Save for a sunny or rainy day.  Use a TFSA or high interest savings account and plunk in some money from Nana or an income tax return.  If things turn sour unexpectedly you will appreciate that.  Ask for a raise at work or try to fill up your savings with money on the side.  Coupon cutting and movie nights can only generate so many savings but getting some money for working on the side can really add up.  If you are good at websites, design work, or painting – make some money from it.  Who knows, your passion might turn into a full time job one day.

5. Assets:  Get some assets.  Money badonkadonk is what will make you rich.  Try to buy a place or invest the money you save in rent. Take advantage of employer matching programs to save in or outside of your RRSP and build up assets when you are young.  Start a part time business on the side and try to sell it.  Real Estate, Stocks and Selling equity in a business are three ways to make some good change overtime.  I love big assets and I cannot lie.

Get on top of these 5 areas and come out this year like a money hack!

 

 

David Lester
About David Lester

David Lester is a best selling author and professional Financial Coach, helping people be better with their money. David has written a personal finance book that breaks with traditional attitudes towards finance and describes his own philosophy to money that he has gained through his personal and professional experiences. His philosophy on money applies to many areas of everyday life, including banking, investing, goal setting, shopping and entertainment.