From differences in the value of currencies of your home country and that of Canada to payment of bills (some countries pay major utilities like house rents annually), making a budget to live by and wholly sticking to it can be hard. We have one or two tips to share that might help you manage your budget better and make living in Saskatchewan exactly how you have always dreamed about it.
- Be Mentally Prepared
Understanding your income, expenses, and how much you will be able to save can help you feel more in control in case of an emergency and the challenges that come with getting one’s finances right in a new country. Part of being prepared is to have some money saved up in advance before moving even if you have a job offer in Saskatchewan. You might find the job less fulfilling and wants to change jobs or make renovations to your home. You might only be able to afford unemployment for a while if you don’t have to worry about finances.
- There is Income Tax (and others like consumption and property tax)
Canada is heavy on tax! And you can’t entirely blame the government, Taxpayers money is the oil that makes the wheels of social services like the amazing healthcare system, for instance, run smoothly. If you earn a living in Saskatchewan (or any other province in Canada), be prepared to get deductions in your income towards the federal and provincial income taxes. The amount of tax deducted from a paycheck is determined by a taxpayer’s tax bracket and the provincial, as well as federal, income tax rates that applies. Here you can find the current and past federal and provincial tax rates.
- Be In Control of your Expenses
Now that you are aware of your net income, you should list out your expenses (wants and needs) and make some savings. There are several budgeting rules:
-
- Envelope budgeting- Income is divided into expenses categories and placed in an envelope. For instance, a certain amount will be designated as transportation, feeding, or gas, the money placed in each envelope is what will be available to spend throughout the month.
-
- Pay yourself first- Where you prioritize savings and save first but not to the detriment of necessities and wants.
- Zero-based budgeting- Here, your income minus expenses has to be zero by the end of the month.
- 50/30/20 and 80/20 rule- With this rule, you spend 50% of your income on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings as against 80/20 where you simply spend 80% of your income and save 20%.
The bottom line is, you can always tweak the rules as long as you are not spending more than you earn and if you are working towards a financial savings goal you can decide to put 30% into saving and 20% into leisure. You only need to focus on the structure that lets you manage your money better so that you don’t get stressed out when you think about finances.
1 Response
[…] Budgeting […]