Did You Know? The average Canadian owes $23,000 in consumer debt and has at least 2 credit cards. Source: CBC.ca

If you live paycheque to paycheque, the idea of somehow having enough money to invest and eventually having financial freedom seems about the furthest thing possible.

But experts in financial education like to point out, that no matter your income and place in life, a few changes to the way you’re living life can make all the difference. It’s never too late to start learning and reverse course. If you’re still not convinced, here are a few simple ideas to get you started:

PRETEND YOU EARN LESS THAN YOU DO

Give yourself a cut in pay. The goal is to put 10% in savings from each paycheque into your savings account. The easiest way is to do an automatic direct transfer from your chequing account to your savings every payday.

CREATE A BUDGET

In order to stop living paycheck to paycheck, you need to know where that paycheck is going. Creating a budget is simple with Google docs, or look into other online tools and sites to get started.

BUILD AN EMERGENCY FUND

Once you have your budget in place, review it and break it down into non-discretionary expenses (rent, groceries, utilities, etc.) and discretionary expenses (eating out, entertainment, clothes, etc.). See where you could cut down on discretionary spending and put that money towards your emergency fund. Even starting with just a little amount is great and helps you build the habit of saving.

CONSIDER DOWNSIZING

It may be time to consider a lifestyle change. Consider moving to a smaller place. Get rid of the cost of going to that expensive gym with a trip to the local park. Think about if you really need that brand new car or if a used one would work just as well.

PAY DOWN DEBT

If you have a lot of credit card or unsecured debt, try paying the minimum on all but one of them and aggressively pay down that one card. Once it’s paid off, attack the next one. If you’re so deep in debt that you can’t fight your way out, consider consulting with a company that specializes in debt consolidation. They will help you negotiate your debt into smaller amounts that you can begin to pay off.

DON’T FORGET YOUR FUTURE

Putting at least 3% of your paycheck into a retirement fund is a great idea, or maybe when you get your first raise instead of thinking of it as free money, simply put it into a fund and forget about it. You’ll be glad it’s there when you need it in the future.