Cutting Corners, 2008 6 x 4 inches, Currency Collage by Mark Wagner
Even though the market has started to strengthen and the economy is picking up, employment is a “lagging indicator.” If pundits say the recession is over, many of us will still find ourselves at the receiving end of a pink slip. Recent Stats Canada reports showed that EI beneficiaries shot up more than 50 per cent (roughly 300,000 Canadian) since last October.
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If you’re still working, what can you do to start or increase an emergency fund? For starters, don’t link your savings account to your ATM card and create a fund that will be easily accessible in an emergency. Canoe’s money section compares rates on a variety of savings products and has a useful section on personal finance
This podcast, I look at other ways to build that fund, including how to earn as much interest in your savings accounts as possible and making such funds – term deposits, money market funds or GICs are options – accessible. They don’t do much good if they’re locked in for five or 10 years.
And if you are laid off, you’ve probably realized that you need to do two things: spend less and make more. Easier said than done, you say? True. But I talk about a few easy things (buy used, sell a second car, downsize your apartment or house), along with some long-term options for the newly unemployed. U
The artwork above is by Mark Wagner, who uses U.S. currency in sometimes irreverent, always clever collages. See more here.
Category: Audio, Money, Multimedia, Rich by Thirty
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