Key takeaways:

☑ Double check your life and disability insurance coverage.

☑ Teach your kids about budgeting by letting them plan the winter vacation.

☑ Automate contributions to an investment account.

☑ Prepare for higher mortgage rates at renewal by shopping now.

Between school concerts, holiday shopping and figuring out whose turn it is to host the big family dinner, the end of the year probably doesn’t feel like the ideal time for financial housekeeping. (Does it ever?)

But before the calendar flips, there’s value in taking stock of your family’s financial plan: What worked? What got expensive? And what did you hope to accomplish, but still haven’t crossed off your to-do list?

Evaluating the reality of the past year’s spending and saving can help you make a better plan for the next one.

You don’t need to overhaul everything — just a few intentional actions can give your family a clearer starting point for January.

Q&A with Kyle Prevost, financial educator and head writer at Million Dollar Journey

To help with your year-end financial housekeeping, we asked Kyle Prevost, a financial educator and head writer at MillionDollarJourney.com, where Canadian families should focus their attention as they wrap up 2026 and prepare for 2027.

1. If you could give all Canadian families one financial housekeeping task to complete before December 31, what would it be?

Triple-check your disability and critical illness insurance coverage.

Life insurance gets most of the attention, but for working-age Canadians, losing the ability to earn a paycheque can be a much more likely financial disaster. If you want to disaster-proof your life, you need disability and critical illness insurance, especially if you have a young family.

Start by finding out what your workplace benefits cover, and then determine where the gaps are.

» 🤓 Learn more: What is employment insurance?

2. What’s a valuable money lesson parents can teach their kids at this time of year?

Give your kids a real budget and put them in charge of planning the winter family vacation.

Have them research transportation, accommodations, meals, and activities, then figure out how to make the numbers work. They’ll quickly discover that an extra night at the hotel or a more expensive activity means sacrificing something else.

Nothing teaches budgeting quite like making real-world trade-offs, especially when it’s something they’re excited about!

» 🤓 Learn more: Teach your kids these money lessons before they leave the nest

3. Let’s say a family hasn’t done ANY investing this year, what’s a simple step they can still take?

The essential step to take is to automate your investing system as much as possible so that you don’t find yourself in exactly the same position next year.

Research on DIY investors has found that people contribute substantially more when they automate their investments instead of relying on occasional manual contributions.

If you already have an online brokerage account, set up a monthly bank transfer and a recurring calendar reminder to buy the same low-cost, all-in-one ETF that fits your risk tolerance.

If you’re starting from scratch, a robo advisor is the easiest way to automatically turn a portion of every paycheque into a diversified investment portfolio.

You don’t need to dedicate a weekend to reading the finer points of the RRSP vs TFSA debate. Pick one, choose a system, automate as much as possible, set on cruise control.

» 🤓 Learn more: Investing for the first time? Here’s how to choose the right platform

4. Are there any upcoming financial changes that families should consider when planning for 2027?

Canadian families should be preparing for the possibility of higher mortgage rates in 2027.

Rising government bond yields have already pushed fixed mortgage rates higher, even without the Bank of Canada raising its benchmark rate. The BoC estimates that the last wave of pandemic-era five-year fixed mortgages will see payments rise about 15% on average when they renew.

Start shopping around for renewal rates early, and build that higher payment into your family budget before it becomes an unpleasant surprise.

» 🤓 Learn more: What to do if your mortgage is up for renewal but your finances have changed

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet Canada, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.