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Canooq Learn course0 / 8 parts complete

After part 08

You now understand the system. Here is what to do next.

Nine steps, in order, built from your example numbers. None of them needs a financial advisor. Tick them off as you go; the list stays on this device.

ExampleOntario · age 28 · $65,000 a year · take-home $4,195 a monthChange

Your beginner plan

0 of 9 done

  1. Part 2

    Open a chequing account with no monthly fee and a separate savings account.

    Chequing is where pay lands and bills leave. Savings is where the cushion lives, out of sight. One credit card, paid in full every month, builds your credit file.

    Reread the beginner setup
  2. Part 3

    Write the month down: $4,195 in, then housing, fixed bills, spending, and what is left.

    The last number is the only money you can direct. Knowing it before the month starts is the whole trick.

    Plan the month
  3. Part 3

    Build a $1,000 cushion, then grow it to about $7,550.

    Three months of essentials for this example. It is what turns a broken laptop or a lost job into a problem instead of a debt.

    Size the cushion
  4. Part 3

    Get any credit-card balance to zero before you invest a dollar.

    Paying off a 20% card is a guaranteed 20%. Student loans, car loans and a mortgage go on schedule.

    Plan the payoff
  5. Part 5

    File a tax return every spring, even in a year with little or no income.

    The return is how the GST/HST credit, the Canada Child Benefit and most other payments get switched on. The deadline is April 30.

    Check what you can claim
  6. Part 4

    Open a Tax-Free Savings Account first. At a 30% marginal rate, the RRSP deduction is worth less; the TFSA stays flexible.

    Planning a first home in Canada? Add a First Home Savings Account: the deduction of an RRSP with the tax-free withdrawal of a TFSA.

    Check your TFSA room
  7. Part 7

    Start investing with a small automatic amount into one diversified, low-fee fund.

    Automatic, boring and early beats clever and late. Money you need within five years stays in savings, not the market.

    See what time does
  8. Part 3

    Sort out the insurance that matches your life: tenant if you rent, auto if you drive, and check the disability coverage your job includes.

    The cushion covers a $1,500 surprise. Insurance covers the $150,000 one.

    Read the FCAC insurance guide
  9. Part 8

    Once a year, look at the retirement picture: what public pensions, a workplace plan and your own savings add up to.

    At your age there is nothing to fix yet. There is a lot to notice: the employer match you might be leaving on the table, the account that should be getting the contribution.

    Picture retirement

Keep reading on Canooq

Where the course points next.

Money StepsThe next concrete action for your situation, in one list.New to CanadaSIN, bank account, credit, health card and taxes, in order.BenefitsEvery federal and provincial payment we track, with who qualifies.Credit cardsNo-fee and newcomer cards that build a file without costing anything.Save moneyLower rent, phone, internet and banking costs.All toolsEvery calculator the course used, and the rest.