TikTok trend helping young Canadians save money and set budgets - iHeartRadio.ca

A viral trend on TikTok is helping young Canadians find ways to budget and save money amidst high inflation.
As the cost of living continues to rise, Robyn Thompson, Castlemark Wealth Management Inc. president, told CTV News Edmonton that people are finding creative ways to save money and budget.
The trend has people stuff cash in everyday objects or wallets weekly to create divided physical accounts and then only use that money for everyday transactions. Videos under the hashtag ‘cashstuffing’ had more than 571 million views as of Thursday.
The trend aims to limit overspending and impulse buys by creating a pre-determined budget and taking away the convenience that tapping a credit card to make a purchase has.
Cashstuffing is not a new trend, Thompson said, with its roots based in the envelope method of budgeting. In her view, it is so successful because it helps make money visible to people.
"If you don’t know where your money is going, then you have no way to control how you manage it," Thompson said. "So when you think about the money that is coming in, understand that you only have several pockets of money you can choose from."
According to Thomspon, half of Canadians do not set a budget, and personal finances are the number one reason Canadians say they lose sleep.
"If this is what you need to do in order to get your spending under control, then that’s what you need to do," she said. "What’s important to understand is the whole goal of proper money management is having enough money to stay in the game."
"Money is a scary word for most people," Thompson said. "It usually comes from a lack of, or scarcity of."
The key to building up savings is simply starting, she adds.
"We tap, swipe, and click away all of our money, so it’s about time to sit back and look at what you’re doing," the money expert said. "What you don’t want to do is ignore your money, the ostrich, head in the sand approach. It never works. It’s not a good strategy."
Thompson recommended making a monthly budget to start. That way, it is easy to see how much money is coming in and where it is going out.
"The more that you pay attention to your money, the more your money is going to work for you," she said. "Give your money a job… Put it in a place that’s going to serve you."
"If you really look at your budget and you look at where your money is, chances are you’re spending money in places that you don’t even realize because you are not tracking."
The money expert suggested having at least three to six months’ worth of emergency savings. That way, no matter what happens, you are ready.
"That is the biggest thing by far," she said. "Have enough money to be able to say, no matter what happens, I’ll be OK."
"The key to building wealth is time," she added. "The longer you have your money to grow in the markets invested year-over-year, the wealthier you are going to become.
"The number one thing you should pay attention to is your savings rate. Not your spending rate. Pay yourself first."
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Joe Scarpelli
299 Queen Street West Toronto ON M5V 2Z5