'Feeling great about your finances': Advisor offers tips for 2023

Last year was a tough year financially, but you can get your books in order 2023, one financial advisor says.

Kalee Boisvert said it begins with coming to terms with 2022.

“We saw inflation, which made everything expensive. We had interest rates rising. We had the stock markets going down. We were getting hit on all ends. It wasn’t a great year for money.”

She said this year was a fresh start for those wanting to improve their finances.

Boisvert advised thinking of goals as intentions, rather than resolutions.

“New year’s resolutions sometimes feels a bit heavy,” she said.

“A good intention for anyone this year is feeling great about your finances. That way, everything that comes at you, you can assess as ‘does this go in the direction of feeling good or not so much?’”

She said the three biggest issues for those struggling with money were debt, spending and saving.

GET DEBT FREE

Getting rid of debt was an important goal, Boisvert said.

“A lot of times when it comes to debt we want to turn away and hide from it. But we need to look at it and assess and address ‘where I’m at.’”

She said it was important to start by taking an inventory of debt.

“From there it's taking action. When we’re taking action, we want to set SMART goals when paying down debt.”

SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely, Boisvert explained.

“The uncomfortable part of debt is you might have to dig a little bit deeper. When we think about debt, it’s a number.”

But there is an emotional aspect as well, Boisvert said.

“What if the thoughts coming are ‘I can never get out of debt. I’m always going to be in it.’ Well, then you have to do some of that mind work on it. Maybe that is going through some of the beliefs you have about money.”

She said it was essential to remember that money is neutral.

“It’s not good or bad. The beliefs we have are what we are attaching to it.”

SPENDING

Boisvert said another pain point for people was the feeling they spend too much.

“What we need to do is assess your values. Spending only irks you when you look at those expenses and things you don’t feel good about spending money on.”

She said people can look over their expenses and treat it like a treasure hunt.

“You’re looking at everything you spent over the last month or the last few months and say ‘Wow. Here’s a subscription I don’t actually use. How about I just cancel that?’”

SAVING  

Sometimes people don’t start saving because they are too busy to make a plan, Boisvert said.

“I always tell people when it comes to saving make it as easy as possible. Find ways to automate it so it’s just happening. Maybe it’s every paycheque or every month you have money going away into savings.”

She said saving was too important to let it be something that gets forgotten.

COUPLES AND MONEY

When it comes to money and your spouse, it’s going to look different for every relationship, but communication was the key, Boisvert said.

“Money can be a huge source of stress for relationships or you can treat it as something that is like a business discussion,” she said.

“Treat it like a business meeting and schedule a time and talk about it. You both find a time in your calendar that works and say ‘We’re going to sit down and have a money date or a conversation.’”

She recommends picking a topic for the conversation like goal planning.

“So you’re on the same page about where you’re going with your financial goals.”

She warned that it can sometimes feel awkward talking about money, but that it was people’s beliefs that were behind those feelings.

“Our own vulnerability around it. Do what you can to take the emotion out and say, ‘We just need to have this conversation for the sake of our money.’”