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How to save

Like most people, you simply need a little help to get going.

Save systematically

Every financial planner will tell you, the only way to gain wealth is to save. Even by saving a little at a time, your savings grow with time and can pay off in a big way. But for this, you need discipline and perseverance.


Make a budget	See the section on how to make a budget. Find out more See Draw up a monthly budget.
Save by instalments	Take a close look at your daily expenses and see where you might have some flexibility to save. Start by finding a few dollars to put aside each week. The goal is to build a financial cushion, or emergency fund, to be able to meet unexpected expenses without having to borrow. Find out more See Create an emergency fund. Now, decide on what amount you can have automatically taken out of your paycheque to go into your savings account. You can transfer $10 a week or $60 a month, for example. Or more, if you can do it. Work toward putting 10% to 15% of your income into savings. It won't be easy at first, but with time you'll get used to the discipline. The more you save, the faster your savings will grow. Calculate Use our simulator to find out how much will your regular instalment savings be worth. The next step See When it comes to saving, time is money.
List the amount you're saving each week or month as an expense in your budget	For your savings plan to work, you have to do whatever it takes, and that means putting it into your budget as if it was a bill to pay.

Where to put your savings

Short-term savings
(for emergencies, for example)

Use:

a Regular Savings Account
Regular Deposit Term Savings
a TFSA, in which you can put one of these 2 savings products

Find out more

Read about the Regular Savings Account, Regular Deposit Term Savings and the TFSA.

For help selecting the account and plan that's best for you, use our account and plan selector.

Medium- and long-term savings

Avoid the risk of relapse. If you leave the money you've worked to hard to save in an account that's too easy to access, you might be tempted to dip into it when you need extra cash or to treat yourself to something special.

You have to put your money out of reach. In other words, invest it. Nothing too complex, you decide.