“All I ask is the chance to prove that money can’t make me happy” – Spike Milligan

The Importance of Budgeting

Regularly updating your budget is always advisable. Your budget is your financial checkup – helping you determine if your monthly cashflow is positive or negative – and accurately detailing your expenditures can help you identify where money is being spent inefficiently/unnecessarily.

Most of our clients provide us with their current budget during their client on-boarding process, and we then work with them to re-organize their expenditures where necessary.

The goal of the budget is to ensure you have a positive monthly cashflow (after factoring in your required savings), such that you are not forced to retain balances owing on credit cards or lines of credit.

It is best to review your budget routinely, such as every three or six months, to be sure that any changes in that timeframe have been accounted for and so you can adjust your expenses as necessary to maintain a positive cashflow.

Feel free to use our basic budget template, located on our website here.

We are happy to help you review your budget, be it at your annual review or at any other time. Feel free to contact us if you would like help in reviewing your budget.

Weekly Update – By The Numbers

North America

• The TSX closed at 16,900, up 218 points or 1.31% over the past week. YTD the TSX is up 17.99%.
• The DOW closed at 26,935, down 285 points or 1.05% over the past week. YTD the DOW is up 15.47%.
• The S&P closed at 2,992, down 15 points or 0.50% over the past week. YTD the S&P is up 19.35%.
• The Nasdaq closed at 8,118, down 59 points or 0.72% over the past week. YTD the Nasdaq is up 22.35%.
• Gold closed at $1,524 per ounce, up $28 or 1.87% over the past week. YTD gold is up 18.60%.
• Oil closed at $58.09 per barrel, up $3.27 or 5.96% over the past week. YTD oil is up 26.75%.
• The USD/CAD closed at 0.7544, up 0.18 cents or 0.24% over the past week. YTD the USD/CAD is up 2.95%.

Europe/Asia

• The MSCI closed at 2,198, down 8 points or 0.36% over the past week. YTD the MSCI is up 16.60%.
• The Euro Stoxx 50 closed at 3,571, up 21 points or 0.59% over the past week. YTD the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 18.99%.
• The FTSE closed at 7,345, down 22 points or 0.30% over the past week. YTD the FTSE is up 9.17%.
• The CAC closed at 5,691, up 36 points or 0.64% over the past week. YTD the CAC is up 20.29%.
• DAX closed at 12,468, down 1 point or 0.01% over the past week. YTD DAX is up 18.08%.
• Nikkei closed at 22,079, up 91 points or 0.41% over the past week. YTD Nikkei is up 10.31%.
• The Shanghai closed at 3,006, down 25 points or 0.82% over the past week. YTD the Shanghai is up 20.53%.

Fixed Income

• The 10-Yr Bond Yield closed at 1.755%, down 0.148 points or 7.78% over the past week. YTD the 10-Yr Bond Yield is down 34.76%.

Sources: Yahoo Finance

This information is provided for general information purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice. Please contact a professional about your specific needs before taking any action.