This is Family Day! A beautiful day, sunny or snowy, tucked in as a pleasant February holiday in many provinces. It’s not New Year’s Day any more, it’s not Easter yet and it’s not Valentine’s Day.
This almost makes it the easiest day off: no gaining weight, no late night parties and no flowers necessary.
In all of its simplicity, Family Day is about family. Take care of those you love, those who are close to you, with or without a bloodline. After all, friends can be family too.
Along those lines, remember to take care of yourself too, look over your budget, look over your assets and take the time to look at your investments (emergency fund, retirement and children’s education).
Sometimes when we look into our own financial situations, we have a tendency to compare them to our neighbours. You know the Joneses, always a happy family, they go camping, they go overseas, they eat out a lot. But there’s something happening beneath the surface: they’re broke. They got behind on payments and almost lost everything when Mr. Jones broke his leg at work. Six months off work to heal and go through rehabilitation brought them to the brink of financial ruin. They chose to file a Consumer Proposal to avoid losing some of their assets.
Now the Joneses are better off now, Mr. Jones is all healed up, they still have fun, and are still happy, but they stick to a budget and are making good financial decisions. Next summer, they’ll still go camping and on a big trip, but you’ll see more of them around the backyard. They’ve adjusted and will still do all they like, but they’ll do it within their financial means.
It’s sometimes temping to look at happy families and say “I want us to be just like them!” Try to avoid comparisons between your household and somebody else’s. Everyone’s path is different and we can only see one side of every person’s situation.
Remember that the most important thing is family. Not things or trips, not big events or glamour: family, that’s what counts.
And if you feel, at any time that you are stressed out about your own personal finances, are starting to be late on payments, it might be time to contact your local Licenced Insolvency Trustee. At MNP we’ll help you investigate all of the options available to you and find a path to financial health.
Now: enjoy your day off, go play outside with the kids or go see Grandma. No need to pull out a credit card to enjoy time with your loved ones.
