Making the most of a summer paycheque

When I was hired for my first-ever summer job, I was excited at the prospect of being able to accumulate savings. Despite my best efforts, checking my balance online has become a cringe-worthy routine. Between summer sales, weekend trips and margarita nights, I seem to be burning through my paycheques.

According to Alison Stolz, a financial advisor at TD Canada Trust in Kingston, saving money during the summer doesn’t have to be hard.

“I think that as a student you’re so busy during the school year you don’t notice that you stick to more of a budget,” she said, adding that when you have more time to spend money, budgeting just seems harder.

Here are some of her tips for students looking to give their bank accounts a boost.

Preauthorized transfers

It’s easy to set up automatic, preauthorized transfers from a chequing account to a savings account. Money can be transferred monthly, every few weeks or using any other time frame.

“If it’s an automatic transfer, it’s going to be sent to your savings account no matter what you have going on,” Stolz said.

Another option is to set up your account so that with every debit transaction, money is automatically transferred to your savings. It can be as little as 50 cents but it will add up.

Look at the small things

“If you’re going to buy a five dollar coffee every day, that’s really going to add up,” Stolz said.

Looking at the little things you spend money on and cutting back on them will make a big difference.

Be realistic

Even though the summer season presents more opportunities to go out to restaurants and bars, it’s important to know when you won’t be able to splurge, Stolz said.

This may be difficult, especially during the summer. That’s why physically budgeting where your money needs to go will help.

Make a physical budget

Taking the time to write down a physical budget of how much money needs to go towards certain expenses such as utilities and groceries will help you figure out how much money you have leftover to play with.

“You really realize where your money is going,” Stolz said.

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