{"id":268743,"date":"2026-01-28T18:07:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/268743\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T18:07:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:07:25","slug":"the-best-ways-to-save-money-in-2026-according-to-our-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/268743\/","title":{"rendered":"The best ways to save money in 2026, according to our experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Visual Generation\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

On Jan. 14, personal economics reporter Erica Alini<\/a>, retirement and financial planning reporter Meera Raman<\/a> and data editor Yang Sun<\/a> answered your questions on how to organize your finances, plan for retirement and pick the best credit card that works for you<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Readers asked about how to save for a home purchase, the best tools to help manage money and how much of their income they should be putting away every month. Here are some highlights from the Q&A.<\/p>\n

Household finances<\/p>\n

How can I better prepare myself and my finances in 2026? I want to get better at saving and spending smarter.<\/p>\n

Erica Alini: If you\u2019re not already doing it, tracking your spending is the first step to both spend smarter and, once you\u2019ve cut out mindless spending, have more to save. I go over three ways to track your spending here<\/a>. If you find apps are your preferred method to track your spending, some options in Canada include YNAB and Monarch. <\/p>\n

In general, the beginning of the year is a great time to do an audit of your spending: Looks at your bills and bank statements from the last three months and track where the money went. You\u2019ll almost certainly find forgotten subscriptions or be surprised at how much you\u2019re spending on certain things. Start by consciously cutting out what seems superfluous and tracking your spending going forward.<\/p>\n

Want to teach your kids how to invest? Here\u2019s how to get started<\/a><\/p>\n

What are the best tools, resources and books available to teach elementary-aged kids about money? And what is the best age to move from cash to online?<\/p>\n

Meera Raman: I\u2019ve seen some families online that have dedicated money nights with their kids. Basically they\u2019ll say, \u201cHey, here\u2019s your $30 allowance for the month,\u201d then will let them decide how much they want to put into savings (which can be put into their RESPs, and I\u2019ve seen parents match that contribution) and how much they want to put into spending money. Great to start with cash, then can move to a platform. Mydoh lets parents assign chores and reward their kids by topping up a prepaid Visa card that kids can use.<\/p>\n

I just started saving for my first home purchase, which I hope to make in the next four to five years. How much should I be looking to save to afford a down payment on a home in the GTA?<\/p>\n

Alini: The best way to approach this is to think about what kind of home would suit your needs and have a look at prices for those properties. Then head to an online mortgage payment calculator (such as this one<\/a>) to get an idea of how your monthly payments would change based on different down payment percentages. What size payment would you be able to comfortably afford? Of course, home prices, interest rates and your income will likely all have changed four to five years down the line, but you\u2019ll get a rough idea of what you need. Keep in mind you\u2019ll also need to qualify for the mortgage stress test. You can use this tool to understand how that works<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Personal economics reporter Erica Alini says one way to save on kid-related expenses is by buying second-hand.Milko\/iStockPhoto \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

How can I possibly save money as a parent of two kids? Where can I start?<\/p>\n

Alini: As a fellow parent, I feel your pain. One way I\u2019ve been saving a lot on kid-related expenses is by buying second-hand and selling a few in-demand items that I usually buy new once my kid has outgrown them. For example, I usually buy most of my kid\u2019s clothing in second-hand kids\u2019 stores or on Facebook Marketplace. I also sell things like winter and rain boots, scooters and bikes once they no longer fit my child.<\/p>\n

Erica, you recently wrote about \u201cmindless spending.\u201d<\/a> How can I better look out to avoid getting into bad spending habits like that?<\/p>\n

Alini: I think tracking your spending is the key here. The best way to do it is to audit your spending regularly \u2013 some experts recommend every three months \u2013 by going through your banks statements. Pay attention to the small expenses. That\u2019s what everyone tends to overlook, but they add up! So review your spending and cut out the small expenses that, as Marie Kondo, would put it, do not \u201cspark joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saving for retirement<\/p>\n

How are retirees meant to manage the discrepancy between recent stock market performance and the high degree of disruption in terms of trade and tariffs, geopolitical disruption, and U.S. erratic politics?<\/p>\n

Raman: It hasn\u2019t been an easy year for retirees, especially new retirees. There\u2019s this concept called \u201csequence of returns risk.\u201d If markets fall right after someone retires and they start withdrawing to cover expenses, those losses can compound faster than if the same downturn happened later in retirement.<\/p>\n

Basically, try to not to react in any rash way and stick to your plan. We\u2019ve had situations like this in the past, and we will have them again in the future.<\/p>\n

Many seniors want to age in place, but few are prepared for the financial and emotional costs<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m 25 and working a full-time job. I contribute to a TFSA every month, but when do I start putting away money in an RRSP? How much of my income should I be putting away?<\/p>\n

Raman: Kudos to you for contributing to your TFSA each month, your future self will thank you. There\u2019s a rule of thumb to put away 15 per cent of your pretax income annually. If you don\u2019t have an emergency fund for three to six months set up, focus on that first, then go back to investing.<\/p>\n

You can start putting money away in your RRSP whenever you want, but if you\u2019re in a lower tax bracket, I would prioritize your TFSA. Even better, I would focus on your FHSA<\/a>, too, which has the benefits of both the TFSA and RRSP.<\/p>\n

My partner and I are balancing trying to save for a house, putting enough away for retirement and still enjoying our lives a bit. Do you have any suggestions on making decisions around prioritizing savings goals in the short term?<\/p>\n

Raman: I feel you. You want to live life, but also set yourself, and your family, up for success. I suggest making a spreadsheet with all your savings goals and a timeline on each of those goals. For example, you can have a savings goal for a house that you want to hit in four years, while your retirement savings goal will be 20 years. Then you can break down how much you will put away each month for those goals, based on the timeline you have. You can also have a savings goal for fun things, like going on vacation or eating out, and save a certain amount for that each month.<\/p>\n

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Financial planning reporter Meera Raman suggests making a spreadsheet with all your savings goals, such as buying a home, and a timeline on each of those goals.Sammy Kogan\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

I\u2019m retired. How would I go about getting a new credit card? All have income requirements.<\/p>\n

Yang Sun: You can start by talking to the credit card specialists at your bank, but yes \u2013 you can definitely get a new credit card as a retiree. Being retired doesn\u2019t disqualify you at all; plenty of retirees are approved every day. The key is understanding how credit card issuers define \u201cincome,\u201d because it\u2019s much broader than just employment income. Most Canadian issuers count things like pension income, investment income or rental income if you have it. What they really want to see is that you have a reliable way to pay your bill, not that you\u2019re working.<\/p>\n

A lot of cards don\u2019t require high income, and some don\u2019t have any minimum income requirement at all. Our credit card tool lets you filter by both individual and household income if you want to compare options. But above all, your credit score and a strong history of on-time payments matter far more than your job status.<\/p>\n

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Illustration by Illustration by Doug Rodas<\/p>\n

Making your credit card work for you<\/p>\n

How much do you have to spend to really take advantage of the benefits of a credit card?<\/p>\n

Sun: Very important question. In short, people only pay an annual fee for a credit card when they feel they\u2019re getting more value back than they\u2019re spending. And for a lot of cardholders, especially those with premium cards that cost a couple hundred dollars a year, the perks and rewards usually make up for the fee pretty quickly. Higher\u2011fee cards tend to offer things like better cashback rates, bigger points multipliers on common spending categories, generous welcome bonuses, and a bunch of travel perks such as lounge access, free checked bags, hotel upgrades and travel insurance.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not sure whether a card is actually worth it for you, you can plug your spending into our calculator to see whether you\u2019d come out ahead or not.<\/p>\n

The Globe\u2019s Big Guide to Credit Cards: Super users\u2019 secrets for maximum rewards, cash back and more<\/a><\/p>\n

How does The Globe put the credit card guide together? How do you organize the information and actually compare all the different cards?<\/p>\n

Sun: We began gathering detailed information on all major Canadian credit cards in spring 2024 \u2013 everything from baseline earn rates and annual fees to cash advance interest, sign\u2011up bonuses and spending caps, as well as perks and insurance coverage. Very quickly, the list grew to more than 100 cards, and that database became the backbone of The Globe\u2019s Big Guide to Credit Cards.<\/p>\n

The first version of the guide used a single \u201cone\u2011size\u2011fits\u2011all\u201d spending profile: a monthly budget of $2,100. We used that to calculate how much cash back or how many points a typical user might earn.<\/p>\n

For the latest edition, we built a custom calculation engine using computer programming and tailored formulas. Instead of relying on one spending pattern, readers can now enter their own monthly spending across multiple categories. The tool then applies each card\u2019s unique reward structure \u2013 including bonus categories, earn\u2011rate tiers and spending caps \u2013 to show personalized reward totals over time.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in the full technical breakdown, the methodology page walks through the entire process in detail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Visual Generation\/The Globe and Mail On Jan. 14, personal economics reporter Erica Alini,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[30057,1116,25942,25943,25941,72,176,61,60,19293,174,175],"class_list":{"0":"post-268743","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-ac-community","9":"tag-appwebview","10":"tag-aud-growth","11":"tag-aud-headline","12":"tag-aud-url","13":"tag-business","14":"tag-finance","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-noastack","18":"tag-personal-finance","19":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}