BMO employees give advice on budgeting

 

 

Not being disciplined and not having goals are two big reasons why people struggle with budgets.

That was the general consensus at the Bank of Montreal booth inside the former Rona store at this year’s Windsor Home and Garden Show.

Kristi Webb, an assistant branch manager for BMO, suggested sitting down with a financial planner or online and using the tools offered by any financial institution.

“Honestly, a lot of my clients don’t have formal budgets,” said Alec Lauziere, a BMO financial services manager. “Step one is putting it all together.”

Lauziere said step two would be to track the budget for a few months to get a better picture of how you are spending your money.

“It’s tough to budget if you don’t know what you spending your money on,” said Lauziere.

He said one way is to write out goals and expenses, then review the expenses. Most people’s income is fixed but their expenses are variable.

“Itemize line by line on what you are spending,” said Ken Broadbent of BMO Private Banking. “If you don’t do it on  a regular basis, you can get away from  it.”

Broadbent also suggested reviewing financial statement, keeping receipts and said it is much easier to spend  more money on entertainment instead of paying bills.

“It may require some lifestyle changes,” said Jim Inglis, a regional vice president of personal banking at BMO.

He also said “try to pay yourself first” by putting some money in an emergency fund.

“Young people need to budget for a rainy day so they don’t jump to credit cards,” said Lauziere.

A budget is especially important in a marriage situation.

“There has to be a meeting of the minds or it may not work as well if you were only single,” said Inglis.

One reason why so many people don’t have a budget is because they are afraid.

“People are fearful of creating a budget because it might clue them into the realities of

spending,” said Broadbent.

If someone is afraid of starting a budget, they can go to a bank for a review.

“The bank tries to help people figure things out,” said Teresa Tessier, a branch manager for BMO. “Once they figure things out, it’s a little bit easier.”