How to save without a hassle for your future

Simple way to save money on a regular basis for a secure future

1. As you know people are living longer but and not necessarily healthier!!! 25 years ago, retirement planing was a simple task because we planned for expected retirement of 10-12 years based on lower life expectancy. Now a days, you need to plan for 25-30 years of retirement age. One of the biggest concerns Canadians have is to not run out of their income resources before life. Governments have been concerns of that and that is why you see that the responsibility is being transferred over for us to save for future in vehicles such as RRSP, TFSA and Defined contribution plans. Some of you may have noticed how quickly most big corporations have come out of Defined benefit plans for their employees as they are not able to sustain such expensive plans in low interest rate and and senior longevity environment.
2. Ensure you pay a percentage of your income towards a disciplined saving program. Remember, this has to be done before you spend on anything or pay anyone else. Your personal financial planner can guide you on what program makes sense and saves you some taxes. You will need a minimum of 70%of your final years earning during retirement and we can not depend on the government to provide us with required income.
3. As you may be able to relate, I meet with many clients that tell me that it is so hard to save money. Like most Canadians believe, there is not enough left at the end of the month to save. What is interesting to know here is that people earning 45K combined income say the same thing as a household earning $300K. So the point here is that how much you earn does not really matter, how you manage that income matters a lot. As part of my financial literacy champion role in the community I offer free budgeting and saving for a rainy day seminars. After one of the seminars, a teacher (Ms. Smith, single mother, earns 80K per year), came in to meet with me and first thing she said was "I am left with nothing to save at the end of the month". The first step to saving is knowing your current situation and habits. So I asked her to print out last three months online bank statements and highlight any on-spot payments. So this would exclude her fixed expenses such as mortgage, bills and car payments. She looked very concerned and puzzled that almost $2400 which is half of her net monthly income was spent on on-spot purchases. This expense looked something like this ($900 on fast food; $700 cash withdrawals for pocket money and buying Groceries, fast food, clothes, purses, gifts; $700 to pay overdue cell phone bills and credit cards; not to mention $160 in nsf charges and bank fees). She has been given a very tight budget since and receives $100 per week as her pocket money. Currently, only puts away $100 into a TFSA, that is over and above her rrsp contribution through work. Focus is on paying off credit cards and a line of credit. Her son who currently earns $900 dollars from part time work, happily helping momby paying $400 in rent to his mother. in 12 months when Ms. Smith is done paying off her debts, she would be able to invest $1000 per month towards her next goal of buying a condo.
4. Hire professional help, a financial adviser should be able to point you in the right direction. This help mostly comes at no immediate cost to you as most financial institutions pay your financial advisers directly for the products that you may need to purchase from them, such as Insurance, RESPs, investment,