Practical steps for building up your financial stability

(NC) Managing finances can be stressful under any circumstances. But when you’re having difficulty, the struggle to catch up and regain stability can feel overwhelming. The good news is that you can make it back by making some small changes.

Credit can be part of your stability plan

“Having credit is ultimately having flexibility,” says Peter Kalen, CEO of Money Mart. “For Canadians, it means having options when it comes to responding to the unexpected, as well as for making longer-term plans. That’s why protecting and maintaining your credit is so important.”

Credit health is one of the first things that can slip when life gets busy or unpredictable, and it’s hard to recover it once it does. Paying your bills and credit cards on time makes the biggest difference, so keeping due dates front of mind is essential—you can set up reminders if that helps. Always cover at least the minimum payment on credit cards before the deadline. If you think you might have to make a payment late, call your provider before it’s due, not after.

Your stability checklist for unpredictable weeks

• Budget starting with the essentials: housing, utilities, groceries and transit. Figure out what you genuinely can’t skip, then match those costs against what you know you’ll make in that time. In a tight week, essentials and minimum payments on credit cards come before anything else.
• If your income shifts from month to month, always budget around a leaner month, not your best one. It means you won’t be caught short, and also lets anything extra go toward bills, catching up or making some savings.
• A small cash buffer can change how a rough week feels. Even setting aside $10 or $25 each pay period can mean the difference between a stressful surprise and a manageable one. Depositing it into its own separate account can help keep it from disappearing into everyday spending.
• When something unexpected comes up, resist the urge to fix everything at once. Figure out what has to be dealt with this week, what can wait and where you’re flexible.

Staying stable doesn’t take massive changes. Sometimes, it’s the smaller ones that can add up to the biggest difference. Learn more at moneymart.ca/blog.