'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
As spring shifts into summer, seasonal spending habits can take a toll on your savings. But one personal finance expert offers advice on how to avoid overspending this year.
“People are coming out of their houses, socializing, starting to be out in the world,” money expert Robyn Thompson told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday. “When they do that, often you have a ‘freshen-up’ of (your) wardrobe. You have a ‘freshen-up’ of some items in the house, and you start to spend some money on things that make you feel great.”
Thompson explained that the added pressure of social media can trap us in a cycle of spending desires that are difficult to dismiss.
“We live in an influence culture, so we start to see on our feeds everything that people are spending money on, buying, doing, all their experiences, and that could cause a bit of insecurity in our own life, psychologically,” she said.
“(Fear of missing out) is rampant in our culture. So it’s really about getting an understanding of how we’re spending money, what it looks like, and does it support our longer term goals?”
Thompson pointed out that behavioural research has shown more discomfort in consumers “shelling out hard cash” than those using other ways to pay, such as debit or credit cards.
“We live in a digital currency,” she said, explaining that this could lead to more impulsive spending that clears the way to “increased debt and reduced savings.”
Thompson suggests combatting this through maintaining further transparency with monthly expenses.
“You want to take a look at your spending,” she said. “You want to download and track your expenses. So make a column. What are your expenses you need to actually have the lights on?”
Along with assessing fixed expenses, Thompson also suggested evaluating discretionary spending: “Do those discretionary expenses actually fit in your lifestyle?”
She recommends reviewing discretionary costs for the last two months, which will lead to a “clearer idea of how to actually achieve your goals.”
To do this, Thompson suggests creating a categorized spreadsheet that can illuminate the spending habits that digital currency often casts in the dark.
“You’d be surprised of what you’ll actually find when you start to deep dive into it,” she said.
More of Thompson’s advice includes setting spending boundaries, bookmarking desired purchases for another time, and taking 15 minute grace periods to mull over big buying decisions.
“Be clear about what it is your buying for,” she said.
For more advice from Thompson, watch the video above.
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.