Jean had never experienced money problems and was enjoying life. When an accident happened to him, he quickly found out that the disability insurance does not allow him to maintain the same lifestyle. He needed a financial cushion and a good budget!
User Profile
Man, 36 years old, parts finishing trainer, owns his house where he lives with his life partner and their 2 children (9 and 10 years old), has no investment other than RRSP, considers his debt ratio as average.
Why Make a Budget?
Jean had never make a budget before. He liked to spend his money and enjoyed the good things of life without thinking too much about the future. That was before a motocross accident happened to him, shortly after completing major home renovation. This event was a trigger for him. He realized that his disability insurance did not pay enough to maintain his lifestyle, and he could not bear to pay interests on his credit card. “That’s money down the drain!”, he says. He then resigned to budget responsibly. And, finally, he’s loving it…
How He Uses Budget Express
Jean began to build his budget with Budget Express software about over a year ago. With its ease of use and as he had time since he was off work, he began to exploit the software as few people do. Indeed, he uses it to maximize the rewards that can be obtained from different credit cards. To achieve this, he is the treasurer of a strategy involving family and close friends. “We are a few using the same cards to draw all the benefits we can. For example, some credit cards give interesting rewards if you spend big amounts monthly. Then, to make sure everyone pays his or her share, I closely monitor the transactions. For instance, I write who owes how much in the credit details.”
Jean keeps an eye on the graphic that shows the annual evolution of the account balance. “It has to go up! Otherwise, it means there is an error somewhere in the budget that must be corrected! ”
Thanks to Budget Express…
Jean quickly regained control of his finances with his budget. He is now planning a trip to Cuba. “I enter the expenditure in the month of January, even though I know I will travel in March. That way, I’m sure I will have enough money available when the time comes”, he says.
Audrey Miller audrey@amtice.com