Not to get personal right up front, but…how’s your credit card statement looking these days? It probably looks pretty similar to mine – a regular rotation of Starbucks, Uber Eats, Sephora, and the occasional Aritzia spend (hellooooo new wool coat, you’re feeling pretty nice now that fall’s kicked in). Who doesn’t spend money on things that make us happy, i.e., #GuiltyPleasures, though?
Long day at work? Ordering in is an easy solution for dinner. Need to celebrate bae’s big promotion? There’s 16,000+ restaurants in Toronto to choose from. Not surprisingly, dining out or ordering take out accounts for more than 70% of food indulgences that Canadians choose to spend money on, according to Capital One’s recent Guilty Pleasures survey. Other purchases that aren’t surprising? 50% of us spend money daily on coffee. 44% of us shop online.
Whether it’s grabbing lunch out most days of the week or getting tickets for Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem AND Jay-Z this fall, we all have some indulgences in our lives that add up and cost us more than we think in the long run. It’s easier than ever to spend money without opening your wallet and keeping track of your finances isn’t what most of us want to do on a Friday night. Or ever, really. But should we? Should we know a thing or two about financial literacy? Definitely.
Credit Education Week is coming up from November 6-10, and Capital One Canada and Credit Canada Debt Solutions are partnering up to teach us a thing or two about financial literacy during Financial Literacy Month this November. So, pay attention to sites like https://www.crediful.com for advice on how to smarten up, and make the most of your hard-earned dough.
We sat down with Colin & Justin, the infamous Scottish lifestyle gurus, to preview Credit Education Week during a panel discussion a few weeks ago and learned a few things.
It’s all about balance, so if your spending habits are starting to rack up debt or are getting in the way of your savings, it’s time to take a step back and re-assess where you’re really at. Are you hiding spending from your partner? The Guilty Pleasures survey indicates more than 25% of us do. Are you putting away money for savings every month? 36% of us don’t.
There are some easy, straightforward ways to get yourself in check. Start with a budget, track your spending and monitor your spending to find efficiencies. Tools like Credit Keeper™ by Capital One® make it possible to view one’s credit score and are a good indicator of overall credit health so Canadians can better understand and manage credit. You can also visit CEWC.ca to learn about what’s going on during Credit Education Week in Toronto and across Canada.