Practical steps and clear benchmarks, so you keep more of your money each month.
Read the chapters in whatever order suits you. Each one opens with a worked example, so you can see right away what a change is worth, then moves on to concrete steps and keeps the useful facts off to the side. If the payments are still too heavy after all that, we tell you where to go next.
Chapter 1 of 7
You don’t need a perfect budget. What matters is knowing which expenses take up the most room, and which ones you can actually move.
The number for this chapter
$1,560 a year
A $45 meal replaced by a $15 meal, once a week. That’s $130 a month, without cutting anything else.Calculation: ($45 − $15) × 52 weeks. The saving only counts if the expense you avoided was really there.
Go through your last three months of statements and pick out three expenses worth a second look.
Housing, transportation, food: work out what share each one takes of your monthly spending, then look at the benchmark beside it.
Get the full picture of what your vehicle costs with the CAA tool: payment, gas, insurance, maintenance.
Keep in mind. Changing vehicles carries costs of its own. Weigh the whole picture before you decide.
The statement says it all: the balance, the rate, and a minimum payment that gets you almost nowhere.
Chapter 2 of 7
Using credit is fine. Carrying it is what costs. A balance left on a card ends up costing far more than whatever you bought with it.
The number for this chapter
$4,800 in interest
That’s what a $10,000 balance at 19.99% costs when you pay only the minimum. The same balance, cleared at a fixed $500 a month, costs less than half that.
Illustrative calculation: interest compounded monthly, a 5% minimum with a $10 floor, no new purchases. Same method as the published example from the Office de la protection du consommateur, Quebec’s consumer protection office ($1,000 at 19.9%: $442 of interest over 6 years). Check your own situation with the FCAC credit card payment calculator (opens in a new tab).
Pick a fixed amount you can keep up, and set it to run on its own. A fixed amount always beats a percentage that shrinks.
FCAC example: $2,000 at 18% with the minimum only takes 3 years and 11 months and $793 of interest; the minimum plus $100 a month takes 1 year and 2 months and $231. Source: FCAC, paying off your credit card (opens in a new tab)
If you carry a balance from one month to the next, a low-rate card can cost you less than the rewards bring in.
Source: FCAC, choosing a credit card (opens in a new tab) (“A lower interest rate card may save you money over time.”)
Pay the minimum everywhere, then put every extra dollar on the debt with the highest rate.
Source: FCAC, paying back your debt (opens in a new tab) (highest rate first, or smallest balance first; always the minimums everywhere)
A fifteen-minute call. That’s often all it takes to bring down a bill that comes back every month.
Chapter 3 of 7
A single step today frees up a little money every month for years. It’s the best return in this guide.
The number for this chapter
$240 a year
A cell plan that goes from $60 to $40 a month after one call. Add a bank account at $4 instead of $16, and that’s another $144.Calculation: $20 × 12 months; $12 × 12 months. Prices vary; these are orders of magnitude.
Keep your favourites, pause the rest, if the contract allows it.
Keep in mind. Count only the payments you actually avoided, after any fees.
Compare your cell or Internet plan, then ask for a better offer, in writing.
“Hello. I’m going over my budget. Here’s my usage and a comparable offer. What’s your best total price for what I need? How long does it hold? Is there a device balance or a fee if I switch?”
Keep in mind. A lower promotional price can hide a higher bill later.
Source: CRTC: compare services and prices (opens in a new tab)
Ask for a low-cost account: $4 a month or less at participating banks.
Keep in mind. A low-cost account doesn’t necessarily come with unlimited transactions.
Source: FCAC: low-cost and no-cost accounts (opens in a new tab)
Ask for quotes before your renewal, with the same coverage and the same deductibles.
Keep in mind. A higher deductible leaves more for you to pay when you make a claim. Keep the coverage you need.
Source: The AMF, Quebec’s financial regulator: understanding car insurance (opens in a new tab)
Look at your Hydro-Québec usage and find the steps that suit your home.
Keep in mind. Equalized Payments spreads the payments out; on its own it doesn’t lower your usage or your yearly cost.
Sources: Hydro-Québec: your bill explained (opens in a new tab) and Hydro-Québec: thermostats, savings, and peak periods (opens in a new tab)
The price per kilo instead of the price on the package. That’s where the real deals hide.
Chapter 4 of 7
Buy what you need, use what you have, spot the real deals. Three habits, and nothing you have to give up.
The number for this chapter
$1,300 a year
That’s the value of the food an average household throws out, often groceries bought in excess or forgotten at the back of the fridge.Source: RECYC-QUÉBEC (in French) (opens in a new tab): “A family wastes an average of 140 kilograms of food a year, the equivalent of about $1,300.” (Translated from the French.)
Plan the next few meals from the fridge, the freezer, and the pantry.
Source: RECYC-QUÉBEC: reducing food waste (in French) (opens in a new tab)
Compare the price per kilo or per 100 g, not the price on the package.
Source: Office de la protection du consommateur: price indications for food (opens in a new tab)
The Price Accuracy Policy can get you the item free, up to $15.
Keep in mind. There are exceptions, including some regulated products. Check the OPC’s conditions. This refund happens once, not every month.
Source: OPC: Price Accuracy Policy and exceptions (opens in a new tab)
Try Flipp for your list and FoodHero for surplus food available near you.
Keep in mind. Availability varies. Something added to the cart “because it’s on sale” can raise the budget.
Sources: Flipp: using the shopping list (opens in a new tab) and FoodHero: how it works and its terms (opens in a new tab)
A cheque never cashed, a benefit never claimed: a few clicks is all it takes to find them.
Chapter 5 of 7
Amounts waiting to be claimed, benefits you may be entitled to, and things you pay for that already exist for free.
The number for this chapter
$216 a year
One subscription at $18 a month, forgotten for a year. Two of those, and you’ve spent a week’s groceries on nothing at all.Calculation: $18 × 12 months. Count only the payments you actually avoided.
Check the CRA’s uncashed cheques and Revenu Québec’s unclaimed property register.
Keep in mind. No amount is guaranteed. The CRA can apply some amounts to a debt you owe the government.
Sources: CRA: uncashed cheques (opens in a new tab) and Revenu Québec: unclaimed property (opens in a new tab)
The Government of Canada’s Benefits Finder covers the ground in ten minutes.
Keep in mind. The finder suggests leads. It doesn’t confirm that a program applies to you.
Source: Government of Canada: Benefits Finder (opens in a new tab)
Books, audiobooks, magazines, and films: free with BAnQ and your municipal library.
Keep in mind. Resources, access conditions, and loan periods vary.
Source: BAnQ: digital resources and membership (opens in a new tab)
Chapter 6 of 7
Three small tools to turn the ideas into numbers. They’re optional: the guide reads just fine without them.
Enter an expense, how often it happens, and what replaces it. The calculator gives the saving per month and per year.
Tick the steps you want to try. They end up in a printable list, with your estimated and then your real amounts.
Income on one side, spending on the other. In thirty seconds you see what’s left, or what’s missing, each month.
Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing is sent to ZenFi, and nothing is kept without your agreement.
A delivered meal replaced by one cooked at home? A cheaper plan? Compare the two costs, then add the difference to your plan.
Illustrative examples in Canadian dollars. Replace them with your own amounts.
Calculation: 365 days, 52 weeks or 12 months. The cost of the replacement is deducted. Only one calculator idea is kept at a time.
No steps chosen yet. Tick one above and it will show up here with its amounts.
Start from your amounts before the changes in your plan. If a saving is already reflected in what you spend, say so below so it isn’t counted twice.
Tires, back to school, municipal taxes, maintenance or yearly renewals: add up what you expect for the year, then divide by 12.
Enter that set-aside amount here, without repeating a bill already counted in everyday spending or in debt payments.
Make a budget with the FCACYour amounts stay on this page. They are not sent to ZenFi, to the booking form, or to the analytics tools.
Fill in all four amounts to see your margin. Enter 0 only if the category doesn’t apply.
This simplified picture uses the amounts you enter. It does not determine whether you qualify for financing.
Chapter 7 of 7
Sometimes the small steps don’t close the gap. When debt payments still take up too much room, two doors remain open, and both of them are honest.
Free, independent help. Quebec’s consumer associations (ACEF) offer budget consultations without selling anything.
A conversation with ZenFi. Fifteen minutes to see whether folding your debts into your mortgage makes sense for you. If it doesn’t, we say so.
FCAC, debt consolidation (opens in a new tab) and FCAC, borrowing against home equity (opens in a new tab)
