How to keep your savings on track and meet your financial goals

By: News Canada

For many, the fallout of COVID-19 has stalled plans for the foreseeable future. If you have recently moved to Canada, you may be feeling the impact even more as you get settled and plan for your life here.

But no matter what’s going on in the world around us, we should never lose sight of our short and long-term financial goals. Consider these tips to keep you on track to save for your financial goals, whatever they are.

Start a rainy-day fund. As you may have noticed, all of our social calendars are quite empty. So take some of the money you would have put towards regular dinner plans or a weekend excursion and set it aside in a rainy-day fund. You never know when that money will come in handy.

Stay the course. If you had plans to make a bigger investment for things like a home or a wedding but have delayed them, don’t lose sight of those plans – just adjust your timing. Take the delay as an opportunity to re-evaluate what you want and pivot as needed.

Have a plan. It may sound like a cliché, but having a concrete savings plan written down will help you stick to it. Map out what you want to save for over the short and long term and set incremental goals to help you get there.

Check your finances:. While spending may be up in some areas like groceries and online orders, you may be spending way less in other categories like entertainment and travel. Take some time to check your finances on a regular basis to see how you are doing. Setting up a virtual meeting with a financial advisor is a great way of assessing and taking care of your financial health.

More info at rbc.com/newcomers.