The year has come to an end! Believe it or not, we’ve made it through 2020! It was a full year of thinking of finances every day and examining how our money is working for us. If you’ve made it through–even partway–CONGRATS! You’ve put in work to get yourself in a better position financially. A Year’s Worth of Lessons This year Gail took us through so many aspects of our lives. Some of my highlights from the year’s lessons were: Focusing on my core values and goals (Week 1) Making my money work harder by choosing better High Interest Savings Accounts (Week 10) Learning about concepts such as Curveball Accounts…

This week was a short one and it really does feel like things are starting to wrap up for the class. The brief topics touched on were helping others and taking care of our stuff. Helping Others Gail has focused a lot on helping others this year–so much so that her requested “payment” for the #MoneyMasterClass was for donations to women’s shelters and food banks. She carries this message through the end of the year, talking about helping others this week. Stuff and Things Are you a part of any barter groups or neighbourhood groups? They are a great way to connect with others for items to borrow and share.…

Budget! It’s one of my favourite words! And in this week’s Money Master Class, Gail had us looking over and refining our budgets. Budgeting Gail started by getting us to check how our budgets are balancing. It’s important to review your budget–especially if there are changes in income–to make sure the budgeted amounts for each category is realistic. I am a huge fan of keeping a spending journal. It can sound like a lot of work to write down every single purchase you make, but once you get into the habit, it takes no time at all. The spending journal helps me to track my spending, ensuring I don’t go…

This week was both one of reflection on the year and also looking forward to 2021. Gail also continued to answer participant questions as November came to an end. Checking In How did this year go for you? Gail would love to hear it! Just as she’s anonymously shared participant questions in November, she will share your stories on Twitter. November Questions This week had the last day of November, so there’s one more participant question. I’ll type out the Q & A below the tweet as I have in previous weeks so it is easier to read. Question: I was a young single mom and now I’m 31 working…

This week Gail continued to answer Money Master Class participant questions. She also touched on topics of helping others and building community. Relationships Relationships can be tricky. Adding money talks into relationships can be even trickier. Helping Others This topic is a hard one, but it is an important reminder. Helping people is a wonderful thing, but if offering financial help puts you at risk, it is better to find an alternative way to help. This can be anything from giving time to helping search for resources that will assist the person in need. Money The all important reminder: credit is not your money! Community I love the idea of…