Planning Your Finances as a Newcomer to Canada

Budgeting is a vital financial skill that everyone should develop, especially newcomers to Canada.

Creating a budget allows you to track your income and expenses, identify areas where you can save money, and work towards your financial goals. As a newcomer, it's particularly important to start budgeting early on to manage your finances effectively in a new country. With a well-planned budget, you can make the most of your income, monitor your expenses, and work towards a secure financial future.

Why build a budget?

Achieving financial success in Canada is likely one of your top priorities. Taking steps to manage your finances is important to achieving that goal. Building a budget can also help you take better control of your finances, manage debt, and work towards your short- and long-term financial goals as you build your life in Canada with confidence.

Budgeting can also improve your credit score by helping you manage your spending, avoid penalties and late payments on credit cards and bills. This can positively impact your interest rates when applying for a loan or mortgage.^[1]

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What to consider in building a budget?

When building a budget, it is important to evaluate your needs and wants, prioritize them, and establish your financial goals.

Needs are things essential to live your daily life, like paying for a place to live, utility bills, food, and getting around.

Wants are the non-essential things that you enjoy but are not necessary for survival, such as fine dining, shopping, and entertainment.^[2]

Identifying your short- and long-term financial goals is important because having clear financial goals can help you prioritize your day-to-day spending. Short term goals may include setting a monthly target amount that you would like to save, while a longer-term goal might include buying a house. Your goals can also help you make informed financial decisions and stay motivated as you make progress. Whatever your goals are, they deserve some thought and make up an important part of planning your finances.

Know where your money is going

Tracking your expenses is also important for managing your finances. Every dollar spent affects your overall budget, and small changes in spending habits can have a big impact on your ability to save. You can keep track of your spending easily by using TD MySpend, which automatically sorts your transactions into categories such as needs, wants and other transactions. You can even move a transaction to a different category at any time by simply tapping the category icon next to it in the Spent by Month, Spent by Category or Transaction History views.

Try an exercise for one or two months using TD MySpend to record all your purchases and bills, divide them into categories, and identify areas where you can make changes.

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How to build a budget?

Simply start with a monthly review of your income, expenses, and investments. This will help you understand your financial situation and identify areas that need changes. You can use a budgeting worksheet to organize your income and expenses and calculate your savings.

Understanding your spending and saving habits is also essential. Tools like the TD Cash Flow Calculator can help you track your income and expenses; and identify areas where you can save money.^[3] Setting up spending limits can also be helpful for staying within your budget. This can include setting up automatic payments for bills and expenses, and avoiding impulse purchases.^[4] You may wish to use TD MySpend to track any purchases made through your TD savings, chequing or credit card accounts and stay on track of your spending.

Finally, it is important to track, monitor, and adjust your budget as needed. Your budget should be a living document that changes as your financial situation changes. By regularly reviewing your budget, you can make adjustments and stay on track towards achieving your financial goals.

Click here for more assistance on building a budget in Canada.

Why Choose TD?

150 years helping Canadians:

TD has a proud history of delivering financial solutions to Canadians for more than 150 years. TD also brings a century of experience helping newcomers navigate the unique challenges of the Canadian banking system.

With over a thousand branches, a reputation for excellence in financial services, and the ability to also serve you in more than 50 different languages, TD has become one of the largest and most trusted banks in Canada, now serving 16 million Canadians.

TD offers online support and resources of interest to newcomers on topics such as banking. basics, moving to Canada, credit score essentials, and more. TD is open longer hours for your convenience. TD has thousands of ATMs across Canada to help you take care of your everyday
banking quickly and easily.

Ready to Bank?

Learn more about TD’s New to Canada Banking Package today.         

Book an appointment to talk with a TD Personal Banking Associate about the TD New to Canada Banking Package. You can book online right away, or visit the TD website to learn more.

Legal Disclaimer: Information provided by TD Bank Group and other sources in this article is believed to be accurate and reliable when placed on this site, but we cannot guarantee it is accurate or complete or current at all times. Information in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial, legal, accounting or tax advice and should not be relied upon in that regard. This information is not to be construed as a solicitation to buy. Products and services of the TD Bank Group are only offered in jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale. All products and services are subject to the terms of the applicable agreement. The information in this article is subject to change without notice.

^[1] https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/make-budget.html

^[2] https://www.td.com/ca/en/personal-banking/how-to/budgeting/budgeting-between-needs-wants

^[3]  https://tools.td.com/Cash-Flow-Calculator/

^[4] https://www.td.com/ca/en/personal-banking/how-to/budgeting/make-a-budget