Doug Hoyes still smiling, and still not budgeting

Budgeting is hard. Most people who try to make a budget stick with it for a week or two, or a month, but then they get off track. (Here’s an article on the Top Five Reasons For Not Budgeting in Canada; are these your reasons as well?) There’s no point in devoting a lot of time and energy to something with limited chances of success.

However, I am a strong believer in learning to manage your money. If you don’t know where your money is going, you can’t pay your bills, or have a savings plan. So last week I shared my answer to the budgeting problem. I said:

Don’t budget. Just pay your bills every time you get paid.

Simple. Instead of trying to pay your rent on the 1st, your hydro bill on the 8th, car insurance on the 12th, and cable and phone on the 22nd, simply divide all of your bills by however often you get paid, and pay them on payday. If you get paid every week, and your phone bill is $100 per month, pay $25 every week, on-line, using internet banking.

Simple.

I even explained it in this video:

And for those who want more details on exactly how to do it, I recorded a second video, with the details:

Some people thought it was a great idea. Here’s an e-mail we received this week (slightly edited, to protect the identity of the sender):

Mr. Doug Hoyes, I heard your radio announcement this morning about budgeting. I read your budgeting report on your website, The Secret to Making a Budget: DON’T, and it all makes perfect sense! Thank you. My husband and I are both in our 50′s. Since I can no longer work due to medical issues, and we are still paying lawyers to deal with support issues, we thought it was the end for us. We did look into bankruptcy a few years ago, but we couldn’t do it. We have been keeping our heads above water for the last five years, but we were just looking into using quick books to help us with our spending.
I like your approach to not-budgeting, and maybe in conjunction with quick books, we can make things work out for us.
I just wanted to email you and say thank you.

Excellent! That’s exactly why I wrote the article, and recorded the videos: to show everyone simple methods to manage money.

Other people seem to think my approach is too easy. How can you just set up your bills to automatically get paid? My answer: try it; see if it works for you. If it doesn’t, you can use the conventional method of keeping a detailed budget on paper, or on-line, using a program like Calendar Budget. Need some help?

Here are some thoughts from Ted Michalos on budgeting for Christmas – his advice? Start now. As Wendy Young in our Hamilton office describes it, it’s time for a fresh start. Joel Sandwith also agrees that it’s time for a fresh start, and tracking spending is a good starting point, and then budgeting by making small changes is the next step. Benny Mendlowitz in our North York office agrees that budgeting often is a broken New Year’s resolution, so paying your bills when you get paid makes more sense. Scott Schaefer also offers his Top 6 Budget Tips. And for the person who asked, yes, in Toronto, or anywhere, there is an easier way to budget.

Jason Quinney in Barrie offers his 5 Tips to get your budget in control. Rebecca Martyn in Windsor asks the question How can I manage my money?, and she gives some straight-forward advice. Ross Stevenson in Vaughan (Woodbridge) talks about budgeting, and he tells an interesting story he overheard at the mall.

And yes, I’ve posted my thoughts in many places as well, including my comments on the Budgeting the Easy Way, and The Easy Way to Budget.

So why do some people get upset with the “B” word, budgeting? It’s not because they don’t want to budget, or don’t know how to budget. It’s because they have a lot of debt, so there is no way to make a budget that balances; there’s just too much going out each month.

If you can’t budget because you have too much debt, a consumer proposal might be the answer. Try our debt options calculator to see what might work for you, then let’s get started.

Doug Hoyes smiling, because he's NOT budgeting

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to make a budget and stick to it. This year, I have some advice for you:

Don’t bother.

Budgets are like diets: they are hard to do, and after a week, or a month, you give up, because it’s too difficult. Think about it: are you really going to carry a pencil and paper with you and write down every penny you spend? Will you write down each cup of coffee you buy at the coffee shop? Will you go home every night and punch the numbers into your computer, and then create graphs and spreadsheets to analyze everything?

Perhaps you will. But to successfully manage a budget you need to be very disciplined. You need to stick to it. If you are very disciplined, great. There are some great tools that you can use to help you make a successful budget. Calendar Budget is an on-line program that makes it simple to track your spending; they even offer a free trial. You can go to our personal budgeting page and download an Excel Spreadsheet Budget Planning Worksheet if you want to do it yourself.

But what if you are not highly disciplined? What if you don’t know how to work a spreadsheet, or if you don’t have time to record every penny you spend? I have a solution:

Instead of budgeting, pay your bills as often as you get paid.

That’s it. That’s the system. Here’s how it works:

If you get paid bi-weekly, pay your bills every two weeks, on payday. Here’s an example:

You get paid on January 13 and January 27, and your hydro bill is due on the 30th of every month. So this month your plan is to use $100 from your January 27 paycheque to pay your hydro bill. That makes sense, but your rent is due on February 1, and your car insurance is due on February 2, so you know your paycheque won’t last that long. Here’s a better plan:

Use internet banking to pre-program a $50 payment, every payday, to hydro. Do it now, for the next six months. Then, every payday, $50 gets automatically sent to hydro. If you send $50 on January 13 and $50 on January 27, by January 30 you hydro bill is paid. No worries.

Even better, in May you get three paycheques, on June 1, 15 and 29, so in June hydro will get three payments from you. By the end of June you will be $50 ahead with hydro.

Think about that: You will be ahead on your bills. Instead of always “playing catch up”, you can get ahead and stay ahead.

To find out more, read our special report on the Secret to Personal Budgeting. It’s easy. Don’t budget, just pay your bills as often as you get paid.

Back to our record levels of debt: The average Canadian owes $153 for every $100 they earn.

Think about that.

If you have a job where you take home $30,000 per year, and if you are the average Canadian, you owe about $46,000. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, household debt per person in Canada is $46,100, which is 1% higher than it was three months ago, and 5% higher than it was a year ago.

Think about that.

If you are average, you are carrying 5% more debt today than you were carrying a year ago.

Did your pay go up 5% this year? Probably not. According to Statistics Canada, average hourly wages were up 2.4% in the last year, but that’s just the average. If you work through a union your wages were only up 1.5%, and if you are a temporary worker your wages only increased by 1.0%.

Perhaps the news isn’t all bad? Perhaps we have more debt because we borrowed to invest, and our investments went up in value, so even with higher debt we are actually better off?

Nope.

Household net worth per person fell 2.5% in the last three months. That’s a big drop. Even worse, in 2010, when we released our study on Joe Debtor: The Profile of the Average Bankrupt, the average bankrupt owed 2.2 times his annual income in debt.  As of today, based on our own proprietary data, our debt is now 2.4 times our annual income.

Is there no good news? I suppose the fact that for the twelve months ended August 31, 2011 total personal insolvencies in Canada are down 9.7%, and personal bankruptcy filings are down 16.7%, is good news. However, the bankruptcy rate increased significantly in the past, peaking in 2009, so this year’s drop is just a drop to still very high levels. The unemployment rate in Canada has dropped since the peak in 2009, which is good news.

However, it’s no surprise that 2009 was both the peak in unemployment and bankruptcy filings in Canada, so those two statistics are related. The unemployment did rate did increase in November, so if that trend continues we could see higher bankruptcy rates in the future.

Here’s my point: We are carrying more debt than ever before, and debt is bad. If you want to know why, Ted Michalos and I discussed that on the radio as well (and this clip is under two minutes):

Debt reduces your cash flow each month, and if you are trying to pay interest on debt you don’t have money to save for your children’s education, or retirement, or anything else. If you have debt, your resolution for 2012 should be: get out of debt.

You can get out of debt by making a household budget and cutting expenses. If you have more debt than you can handle, credit counselling, a consumer proposal or even personal bankruptcy may be required. Try our debt options calculator to see which option may be right for you, but above all, make a plan and start today.

Debt problems do not go away on their own, so the sooner you start, the sooner you can be living debt free.

What is a “staycation”? Well, ask yourself a question, if you were visiting from another country where would you want to go and see, write a list and each day take your kids to a new place or have them do a different activity.

Your “staycation” doesn’t have to be anything fancy as there tons of things that you can do during the winter months. You can visit your local outdoor skating, visit the local ski hill, you can even take a drive to the nearest lake and try ice fishing. Also most museums, libraries and recreation centres have activities that your kids will enjoy during March break. Even a matinee movie, with a big bag of popcorn can be a great way to spend the afternoon with the kids.

So this year, instead of going away and spending tons of money, try a “staycation”. It can be lots of fun, and also a great way to save money over the March break.

Have fun and enjoy your “staycation”

I don’t know about you, but the after Christmas let-down can be pretty hard. I love the anticipation of Christmas – decorating the tree, seeing the children in my family shudder with excitement and scream with delight as the day grows nearer, getting together with family and laughing so hard that our jaws hurt the next day. Then, in a seeming instant, it is all over. Everybody goes home, the tree is tucked away for another year, work routines normalize and all that is left is dealing with winter.

Some people love winter – I don’t so much. I drive a lot for work, so I am always worried about the weather. I am not much for outdoor sports; aside from walking my dog, I pretty much avoid the outdoors. It is too cold, and just simply too much work. I hate shoveling the drive. Well, I think you are getting the picture. For some of us, winter is just not that much fun. It is easy to cocoon ourselves until Spring and that can leave us feeling pretty blah.

Just like winter, finances can leave us feeling a little cold, blue and blah. Just like winter, when dealing with debt, it sometimes just seems easier to pull the covers over our heads and wait for Spring. This is one strategy, but it is probably not the most healthy approach. Here are some alternatives to consider:

1.) Find the strength to take stock of your debt: how much do you owe? Are you behind in any payments? What would you have to do in order to get back on track? Use a debt options calculator to see what it would cost to get out of debt. Here is a credit card calculator that is a great tool to help you figure out what it would take to become debt free on your own

2.) If after taking stock, you determine that managing on your own is not a realistic option, make an appointment with your financial advisor or your bank manager – is there something that they can suggest that can help you to get your finances under control? Would you qualify for a debt consolidation loan?

3.) In some cases, banks and financial advisors can help, in other cases they can’t – if they can’t, there is another professional that I would encourage you to see – a Credit Counsellor – credit counsellors can be a very helpful and objective set of eyes – they may be able to suggest some changes that you can make to your monthly budget that can be effective in helping you deal more effectively with the debt. In other cases, they may be able to negotiate with your creditors – this is called a Debt Management Plan.

4.) Sometimes there is really only one professional who can give you the help you need to get rid of the blahs of debt – this is a Trustee in Bankruptcy – for many people, the realization that they may need to file bankruptcy in Ontario makes them feel even more blah, but this is most often because they don’t really understand how Trustees help. Lots of people make assumptions that they will lose everything and that bankruptcy is the only alternative. While talking to a Trustee can certainly be a difficult thing to do, in most cases the clients who do, are glad they did. Why? Because a Trustee can help them beat the Blahs of Debt. Whether through filing bankruptcy or a consumer proposal, the debt gets effectively dealt with. Most people tell us that by simply talking to us, they feel a weight lifted from their shoulders and their blahs turn into hope for the future.

Although dealing with the Blahs of Debt is similar to dealing with the Blahs of Winter, there is one very big difference. We can’t do anything about Winter – it’s here. But you can do something about your debt. We’d be pleased to help you understand what all of your options are. Give us a call at 310-PLAN, or send us an e-mail – let us help you put the blahs of debt behind you.

Ross Stevenson, Client Service Specialist

Some people that I meet with express their concerns that they do not want their children to go through financial difficulties like they have. So today I’ve got some advice about how to talk to your children about money, and how you can help them develop good money management skills.

First, it is worth noting children can learn financial management three different ways:

• Participation – This can be done through an allowance which I will discuss in more detail below.
• Instruction – Children need education and some guidance
• Observation – Children’s biggest role models are their parents. It is important you demonstrate good financial behaviour.

Participation

An allowance can be a great tool to teach children about money management. The primary reasons for giving a child an allowance are:

• To develop budgeting skills
• To develop decision making skills
• To ease the parents current budget
• To ease the parent’s future budget

The following are some common questions and response to children’s allowances.

When should an Allowance start? A child is ready to receive an allowance once he or she can count and differentiate the bills and coins. Most kids are ready for allowance around age six.

How much should it be? It really depends on what the allowance will cover, but a generally accepted amount is half the child’s age until they reach their teenage years.

Should an allowance be tied to chores? Most experts agree allowances should not be linked to the completion of chores or responsibilities. Children should do these things not because they are to be rewarded, rather because they are a contributing member of the household.

Instruction

It is important to teach and educate your children about money management. Below are links to free online resources provided by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy – to help teach your children about money management:

• The Financial Guide – Children: 5 & 6 Years Old
• The Financial Guide – Children: 7 & 8 Years Old
• The Financial Guide – Children: 9 to 12 Years Old
• The Financial Guide – Children: 13 to 15 Years Old
• The Financial Guide for Post-Secondary Students

Observation

Whether or not you children see you fight about money, is going to have a huge impact on their future views of money. It is important as parents to be calm when discussing money management. It is also important to be calm when discussing the issue with them.

A lot of people I meet have a strict budget and cannot afford everything their children wants (who really does?) When a child asks for something you cannot afford, I advise them to be calm and explain that a lot of people are having difficulties with money right now and it is important that we as a family make some changes to the way we spend our money in order to make sure we have enough money for the things we really need. Follow-up with saying something like, “here are some things we have money for and here are some of my ideas about how we can have fun as a family. Do you have any ideas that we can do?”

It is important you allow your child to ask questions and share any concerns and feelings. Reassure them you understand their feelings and explain that is why you are discussing the issue with them and you want them to know that you are on top of it and everything will be ok.

Whether we are talking to our children, friends, family or someone else, money can be a difficult subject for many of us. If you are having financial difficulties I invite you to use our free, 10 second, on-line debt options calculator to review your options. Then call us at 310-PLAN (that’s 310-7526, no area code required, and that number works for all of our Ontario offices), or e-mail us today to arrange for a free initial consultation.

Joel Sandwith

Although there’s never a bad time to start taking better care of your money, January is a nice choice since you’ve just gotten the holidays behind you, and the calendar is fresh and clean.

What can you do this year to move towards a better financial future?

There is a lot of advice available about how to build a budget, how to set goals for yourself and your money, and how to plan for the future, but let’s concentrate on the small stuff first.

First, start tracking your spending. It may not be something you will want, or need to do for long, but for at least one month write down every penny you spend. You may be surprised at where some of your money goes! In fact, almost everyone who does this for one month ends of making significant changes to their budget, and spending patterns.

Second, try and spend only the money you actually have, if at all possible. What I mean by this is don’t use credit cards and try to avoid borrowing from your line of credit, if you have one. The best solution would be to work only with cash for a while – that’s difficult these days, but not impossible.

Third, ask yourself two questions every time you spend any money. Question number one is: am I happy with where this money is going? What this means is to remember that the money you are spending belongs to you. Are you certain that the best place for it is in someone else’s pocket? The second question is: how long did I have to work to pay for this? A good example is lunch – if you spend $10 on lunch, and make $15 per hour, you had to work 40 minutes to pay for that sandwich and coffee. Are you sure you couldn’t just bring a lunch from home?

Fourth, look at all your bills, and see if there is anything you can do to reduce them. Are you paying for channels you don’t watch? Does your cell phone plan give you more features than you actually use? When your car insurance comes up for renewal do you always shop around for the best rate for your needs?

Fifth, see if you can figure out how much the interest on your debt is costing you. Here’s an example: if you are paying 19.5% interest on a credit card, and have a balance of $5,000, you are paying $81.25 in interest on it every month. Go back to tip number three above – how long do you have to work to make $81.25 – after taxes?

Sixth – set a goal. You have 12 months – what can you accomplish? Can you become debt free, or at least get part way there? Can you start an emergency fund, setting money aside for things like car repairs or medical expenses? How can you save money every day to get to that goal?

The seventh tip is to not be afraid to seek out some help. If you have the flu, you make a doctor’s appointment, if your car won’t start you call CAA or your mechanic, and if your basement floods you call plumber. So, if you are struggling with debt, call someone who can help. The tips listed above are always good ideas – and all of them will help you. But it is possible, if you have debts, that paying them off in full simply can’t be done. If this is the case, or you think it may be, call us for a free evaluation – bankruptcy is not your only option. In fact, more and more folks each day are discovering consumer proposals as an alternative to bankruptcy, and we can help you learn more about all of these options.

Make this a better year – build a plan starting now, so that by this time next year you can look back on 2011 as being the year you started to control your money, instead of the other way around.

• Improving personal health: some of the popular resolutions in this category are weight loss, quit smoking, exercise more, and drink less alcohol.
• Improving education:  such as obtaining a post-secondary degree, finishing high school, learning a new language or improving grades.
• Self improvement: Getting more organized, learning to cope with stress, and better time management are common goals people set for themselves.
• Getting a better job: Many people aspire to advance their career or change their career field.
• Getting finances in order:  save money and get out of debt are the most common.

Ross Stevenson

If your New Year’s resolution is to get out of debt, there are some steps you need to take. The first step would be to make a summary of your debts and your significant assets, such as your house, car and RRSP.

The next step would be to make a budget. It is important that you make your budget realistic. You don’t need to get complicated; you can simply calculate the monthly family income and where your money is being spent each month.

The final step would be to set financial goals. Consider what is important to you and your family. Think about where you would like to be in the future.  It is easy to get distracted by the things going on in our day-to-day lives and we forget about what we want in the future. New Year’s is an excellent time to evaluate where we are and what goals we have for ourselves.

In order to be in control of your financial situation you need to summarize your significant assets, make a budget, and set realistic goals.

After you do these things, you can evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of all your options, which may include:

• Using your assets to deal with the debt, perhaps by selling your house, or your second car, or cashing in some of your investments
• Getting a debt consolidation loan with a financial institution
• Debt Management Plan
• Consumer Proposal
• Personal Bankruptcy

Which option is right for you? Start by using our free, on-line debt options calculator.

If your New Year’s resolution is to get out of debt and you would like to discuss your options, we are happy to help. You can phone us at 310-PLAN (no area code required), email us, or fill out our online evaluation.  One of our experts will contact you and go through all your options. This could be the Year you finally get out of debt, so contact us today, and let’s get started.

Ian Martin

Experts are predicting that Canadians are going to spend less this Christmas. That’s not surprising, since Canadian households are carrying more debt than ever before. The unemployment rate improved a bit this year, but it remains high, particularly if you are one of the many residents of Ontario who are unemployed, or under-employed. The bottom line is that we are all feeling financial pressure.

For those of you who are still struggling with what to get for that someone special, I want to provide some words of advice. Here are my five tips for enjoying a happy and debt free Christmas:

1: Commit to Spending Less

Sounds simple, right? Consider prior years. How many times have you told yourself that next year was going to be different? Making a change takes a focused, determined effort.

If you are like most people, you will be tempted to overspend. Understanding that is a very important first step in keeping things under control.

2: Make a Budget, and then Make Your List

Before you head to the mall, decide how much in total you want to spend this holiday season. Some people might say to start with a list of people you want to buy presents for. That is an important step, but should not come first. Money is a scarce resource for a lot of people these days. The amount of money you have available should be the starting point for your spending decisions, so start by making a Christmas budget.

Once the overall budget is set, the shopping list is critical. Spend time with your spouse to brainstorm for ideas. Check prices online to confirm that the budget works. Once the planning is done, this shopping list is no different than going to the grocery store.

Presents are obviously a big part of holiday spending, but it is not the whole story. When considering your budget, don’t forget some of the other expenses that go along with the holidays. You need something to wrap those affordable presents in. If you are travelling to spend time with friends and family, there will be expenses for gas, hotels, eating out, plane tickets, etc. If you are going to be the host or hostess, you will have expenses for food and decorations.

Bonus Tip: Don’t forget to communicate. If you make the budget together with your spouse, you are more likely to hold each other accountable for variations from the plan. The whole point about a plan is to eliminate surprises.

3: Avoid Credit Cards

No discussion about money and holiday spending would be complete without mention of credit cards. Credit cards can be very useful for making purchases when you are a little short of cash. They are also very useful for making online purchases and booking flights, hotels, car reservations, etc.

The key is having a plan for paying off credit card purchases. If you pay your credit card balance in full each month, there are no interest charges. The trouble, of course, is when you carry a balance from month to month and start to incur interest charges. That’s when your credit cards become a burden. No-one wants to pay for Christmas purchases for an entire year, with interest.

So, leave the credit cards at home, and pay cash, or use your debit card. If you must use credit cards, pay the balance off in full each month.

4: Make a Deal

Continuing the theme of alleviating Christmas induced financial stress, I want to explore the fine art of bargain hunting, or the Art of the Christmas Deal. Here is my advice:

Compare Prices

For those who still read the newspaper, you have probably noticed a deluge of inserts from all manner of stores over the past few weeks. It makes it easy to browse for gift ideas and compare prices.

If you are a member of the 21st century, an easier way is to do some research online. With a little hard work and patience, now is a great time of year to find deals.

Shop Online

If you’re already comparing prices online, why not go ahead and take care of the shopping too? If you’re driving all around town to different stores, you risk throwing away those savings through transportation costs.

Many people are concerned about using credit cards online for fear of identity theft. One way to limit that risk is to have one card that is dedicated for online purchases with a modest credit limit.

Ask for Price Matching

Here’s another way to avoid spending all of your time in the car. Ask for price matching. A lot of stores these days will match or beat a competitor’s advertised price.

It’s Not All About You

Deals are out there. You will probably be tempted to spend money on yourself. The people who want your money will tell you that you deserve it. That’s a marketing ploy. Ask yourself if it is part of your plan.

5: Remember the Christmas Spirit.

This is not a religious message. It is about remembering to be kind and generous toward the people around us. It is about remembering the importance of the bonds we have with our family and friends. That’s the true Christmas Spirit.

So much of the stress we feel at this time of year comes from the pressure of trying to please others. That’s because we want our loved ones to be happy. It’s easy to fall into the trap of spending money in an attempt to find that happiness and strengthen those bonds.

Regardless of your financial situation, my advice is to be weary of that trap. Look for fun ways to enjoy the holidays. Snow willing, a day of tobogganing can’t help but bring out your inner child. Another idea is to go skating with your children or grandchildren. My point is that there are numerous possibilities for bringing people together without spending a lot of money.

So, does cutting back mean you can’t enjoy Christmas this year? Absolutely not, but we really do need to be thoughtful and intentional in our approach to the festive season. And, we may have to rethink what enjoying Christmas is really all about. Even though retailers would have us think otherwise, Christmas really isn’t just about the gifts. Here are some tips and suggestions:

What we can do:

1. Look at your budget and try to be honest about how much money you really have to spend this Christmas. Ideally, the money we have to spend is the cash that we have saved specifically for this purpose.
2. Explain to your young believers, that Santa wants to make sure that all of the children in the world get the 1 gift they really want this year, and ask them to choose what their special gift will be. Beyond that 1 special (and usually more expensive) gift, head to the dollar store and pick up some extras – dollar store finds are perfect for stocking stuffers, and the best part – you can buy a lot of stuff for very little money.
3. See if family members might agree to not buy for the adults this year. I saw a client this week who shared with me that this year, everyone in his family over the age of 16 will be buying a $20 gift certificate – all of the gift certficates will be put into a pot, and each person gets to draw their gift. What a great idea!
4. Consider a pot-luck Christmas dinner – share the costs and the work. My family and I have adopted this tradition, and it is always an overeating success – we all make each other’s favourite dishes and we have a fabulous feast.

What we should not do:

Let’s face it, most of us would like to have more money than we have. Christmas is one of those times when we are generally even more aware of this wish – we want to buy our children everything on their wish lists; we want our spouses and sgnificant others to be dazzled and overcome when they open that special gift. Unfortunately, most Canadians are not in the position of being able to do it all. And, this is where Christmas can get tricky and even very risky. Credit cards can make it easy for us to have it all, but the problem is that “Having it all” in December sometimes turns into “Losing it all” in February or March.

That’s not to say that making Christmas purchases on credit is a bad thing. Sometimes it’s not – if you can manage to pay the debt off in no more than a few months, then it may be a reasonable plan, but if you can’t pay it off on a timely basis, or worse yet, you already have substantial debt that is already a burden, adding to the problem is simply not a good idea.

I know that is not easy, and life’s financial burdens can weigh that much heavier at this time of year; the desire to simply worry about things after Christmas can be a powerful motivator to simply use credit to get through the season.

I’m sorry if I sound like the Scrooge in Christmas – I really don’t mean to, but I do want you to try to PLAN for Christmas this year. A PLAN can take many forms: if you have manageable debt now, don’t let impulse make it unmanageable in the future; if you are already struggling with debt, don’t make it worse; and… if the stress of debt is making it difficult for you to even think about enjoying Christmas this year, we may be able to help – for further information, please  call us at 310-PLAN, or try our free debt options calculator to review your options. Let us help you Turn the Worry of Debt into a PLAN for a Less Stressful Financial Future.