Q: All our monthly income goes toward expenses. How can we ever afford a vacation?
Our neighbour’s wise nine-year-old son, Edward, recently gave my husband and me piggy banks as gifts. As soon as I looked at my grinning pig, I said, “That’s going to be our travel fund.” Stash your loonies and toonies there regularly and you’ll reap a hidden windfall in just 12 months. Then check online for travel specials. My happy stuffed pig is going toward a family visit to B.C.

Q: We’re getting a large tax refund. Do we pay down our line of credit and/or mortgage or invest in an RRSP? Help!
You may be able to do more than one. First off, I would pay down some of the line of credit. From personal experience, it tends to grow without discipline, and should only be used for emergencies—say, a falling roof. Next, if you put some money into an RRSP now—yes, long before next year’s RRSP cut-off—you’ll get a double whammy bonus. How so? That early RRSP contribution will start working for you immediately as a tax-sheltered investment and will also reduce your income taxes for next year.

Q: We’re still paying off our wedding loan, plus we owe an extra 10 grand on plastic and are raising our one-year-old daughter. How can we get out of this debt hole?
Try to get rid of the wedding loan and shrink the heavy plastic at the same time. If you’ve been burning up multiple credit cards, speak to your financial institution about consolidating all your debt into one lower-rate loan. To avoid future debt, use only one low-interest credit card—interest rates on cards vary from less than 12 percent to more than 28 percent. And keep in mind that banks don’t advertise their no-frills, lower-rate credit cards. So ask.

Q: We are buying our first home. Should we go for a fixed or variable mortgage? Pay weekly or monthly?
Great questions…not so easy answers. There are as many different mortgage types as there are lenders. That said, one money-saving mortgage tip does hold true: Opt to pay your mortgage either weekly or biweekly if possible, depending on your income flow. That simple discipline will save you thousands of dollars in mortgage payments and will shave years off your mortgage as you’re paying more toward the principal and less toward interest. Comparison shop between mortgage lenders, and remember that the mortgage rate posted may be negotiable.