For many Canadians, building a budget and tracking their spending can be a challenge at the best of times.
But at a time when people across Canada are facing enhanced financial hardships as a result of economic disruptions caused by COVID-19, those challenges may be amplified.
"What many customers are looking for is a way to revisit personal and family budgets to understand how and where their money is going in order to reprioritize and focus on essentials during this difficult time," says Imran Khan, Head of Digital Customer Experience at TD.
"We know that many of our customers are looking to take greater control of their finances and are trying to adjust their day-to-day spending during this time of uncertainty," Khan said.
One of the digital tools TD offers to help its customers track their spending is TD MySpend, a money management tool within the TD app that is helping more than 2 million Canadians with financial goal-setting and automatically tracking their spending in real-time.
"TD MySpend has features that can help our customers if they are feeling any pressure during these unusual times to adjust their day-to-day expenses and create better spending habits," Khan said.
Khan explains how TD MySpend features can help customers better understand their day-to-day spending and then be able to rethink their budget.
Category Spending
TD MySpend automatically tracks and categorizes transactions from TD deposit and credit card accounts to help customers quickly see where their money is going. Many of our customers have found using TD MySpend helpful because they can see their spending by category, which then helps them to differentiate between their spending on 'wants' such as entertainment and 'needs' spending such as groceries.
Spending Notifications
TD MySpend helps our customers immediately see where their money goes, with instant notifications about how and where they're spending. A Spending Insights meter updates in real-time after each transaction, providing a quick snapshot of whether they are above, at, or below their typical monthly spending. When budgets are tight, this feature can help flag when spending is higher than usual.
Setting Targets and Goals
Setting monthly category spending targets can help track spending in key areas. TD MySpend lets customers adjust these targets within the app and prioritize essentials like groceries and utilities over dining out and entertainment. A new feature within TD MySpend called Wish List allows customers to set their financial goals when saving for larger ticket items and easily track their progress. When operating on a tighter budget, financial experts advise that it is critical to get into the habit of setting aside money when you can – even if it’s a small amount – to help finance larger spends, including potential emergency expenses, in the future.
"Now is a time when many of our customers are closely watching their spending and making sense of your finances can be a tough topic to tackle," Khan acknowledged. "TD MySpend is an easy way for our customers to see where their money is going and help boost their financial confidence about their spending during these difficult times."