Money smart: Developing financial literacy as a newcomer for future success

01 Feb 2023

马塞拉·门德斯 Marcela Mendez

三年前，当玛塞拉门德斯从哥伦比亚来到加拿大时，她有一些积蓄可以帮助她度过难关。但她很快就惊呆了。 When Marcela Mendez arrived in Canada three years ago from Colombia, she had some savings to help her along. But she soon got a shock.

“我所有的积蓄都是比索，所以一旦兑换成加元，就几乎一文不值了，”她回忆道。 “All the money I had saved up was in pesos, so once it was converted to Canadian dollars, it was practically nothing,” she recalls.

COSTI 移民服务公司首席执行官萨米娜·萨米 (Samina Sami) 指出：“最关键的一点——这一直很关键，但由于生活成本不断上涨，现在尤其如此——是货币兑换。”对于像门德斯这样的新加拿大人来说，这是一个挑战，他们习惯于处理一种价值与他们习惯的货币完全不同的货币。 “One of the most critical points – which has always been critical, but particularly more so now because of the rising cost of living – is the conversion of currency,” points out Samina Sami, CEO of COSTI Immigrant Services. It’s a challenge for new Canadians like Mendez, accustomed to dealing with a currency whose value is wholly different from what they are used to.

决定前往加拿大旅行需要勇气、决心和扎实的资金管理能力。这是安置机构敏锐地意识到的事实。他们在银行、税务和预算编制等领域为客户提供多个一对一和小组介绍会。 Deciding to make the journey to Canada takes courage, determination and a solid grasp of money management. It’s a fact that settlement agencies are keenly aware of. They offer several one-on-one and group orientation sessions to clients in areas including banking, taxes and budgeting.

萨米娜·萨米 Samina Sami

“我们的许多项目都融入了金融知识，”萨米说。 “如果家庭和个人没有考虑到生活成本和通货膨胀，或者可能不知道如何去做，那么现在就更加重要了。我们必须给他们这些工具，这样他们才能成功地在加拿大定居。” “Financial literacy is integrated in many of our programs,” says Sami. “It’s even more crucial now if families and individuals are not budgeting with the cost of living and with inflation in mind – or perhaps don’t know how to do it. We have to give them those tools so they can successfully settle in Canada.”

“这可能是一个过山车，”门德斯指出，指的是移民和难民面临的许多金融学习曲线。 “It can be a rollercoaster,” Mendez notes, in reference to the many financial learning curves immigrants and refugees face.

尽管搬到多伦多遇到了一些挑战，但这位 38 岁的年轻人渴望在这里继续建设自己的未来。作为艺术和写作爱好者，Mendez 参加了 The Shoe Project 在多伦多举办的工作坊，这是一项协作活动，新来的女性受到一双鞋的启发，创作并表演了一个关于她们旅程的故事。门德斯非常享受这段经历，以至于她仍然参与该组织，现在是布兰普顿车间的当地协调员。她还担任全职业务管理员。 Although moving to Toronto has had its share of challenges, the 38-year-old is eager to continue building her future here. A lover of the arts and writing, Mendez participated in the Toronto workshop of The Shoe Project, a collaborative effort where newcomer women, inspired by a pair of shoes, create and perform a story about their journey. Mendez enjoyed the experience so much that she remains involved with the organization and is now the local coordinator of the Brampton workshop. She also works as a full-time business administrator.

就在最近，她创办了一家自由摄影公司，将她的爱好变成了一种可行的收入形式。 And just recently, she launched a freelance photography business, turning her hobby into a viable form of revenue.

“这一直是我的梦想，”她说。 “但我还需要一种赚取额外收入的方法。这几天非常具有挑战性，因为在加拿大，尤其是多伦多的生活变得越来越昂贵。” “It was always my dream,” she says. “But I also needed a way to make extra income. It’s very challenging these days because life in Canada, especially in Toronto, is becoming more expensive.”

HMC Connections 的社区定居经理玛格丽塔·卡多纳 (Margarita Cardona) 指出，新移民还需要缴纳很多税款，HMC Connections 是一家在安大略省荷顿地区提供定居服务的非营利组织。 “我总是告诉客户，他们在商店的价格标签上看到的不是真实价格；在安大略省，加收 13% 的 HST。” There are also a lot of taxes for newcomers to contend with, points out Margarita Cardona, the community settlement manager at HMC Connections, a nonprofit providing settlement services in the region of Halton in Ontario. “I always tell clients that what they see on the price sticker at the store is not the true price; in Ontario, 13 per cent HST is added.”

玛格丽塔卡多纳 Margarita Cardona

移民和难民需要处理的手续很多，尤其是考虑到安大略省免征 HST，包括基本杂货，以及一些商品和服务仅征收 5% 的联邦税。销售税也因省和地区而异。 Cardona 说，这就是为什么新移民必须尽可能多地了解加拿大的销售税如何影响他们的开支，这反过来又会影响他们的储蓄能力。 It’s a lot to process for immigrants and refugees, especially considering there are exemptions to the HST in Ontario, including basic groceries, and some goods and services only have a five per cent federal tax. And sales taxes also vary across provinces and territories. Cardona says that’s why it’s crucial for newcomers to learn as much as they can about how sales taxes in Canada affect their expenses, which in turn will impact their ability to save.

新移民还应该意识到税收减免会减少收入。这是门德斯在找到工作时发现的。当她收到第一笔薪水时，她最初的兴奋情绪有所缓和。 “我想，‘天哪，发生了什么事？也许他们犯了一个错误。’” Newcomers should also be aware that tax deductions take a bite out of earnings. It’s something Mendez discovered when she landed a job. Her initial excitement was tempered when she received her first paycheque. “I thought, ‘My God, what happened? Maybe they made a  mistake.’”

这是 Cardona 在 HMC Connections 多次目睹的场景。 “新移民没有意识到可以扣除所得税，以及对加拿大就业保险计划 (EI) 和加拿大退休金计划 (CPP) 的供款，”她说。 It’s a scenario Cardona has witnessed many times at HMC Connections. “Newcomers don’t realize there are deductions for income tax, as well as contributions to Canada’s Employment Insurance program (EI) and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP),” she says.

虽然税收是新移民无法控制的生活事实，但他们可以控制自己的信用记录。 “获得一张信用卡，但要明智地使用它，注意你的开支，”Cardona 说。 “确保你只将它用于小额购买，你可以在收到月结单时还清——而不是用于你买不起的昂贵物品。” And while taxes are a fact of life newcomers have no control over, they can take control of their credit history. “Get a credit card, but use it wisely by keeping an eye on your expenses,” says Cardona. “Make sure you only use it for small purchases that you can pay off when you get your monthly statement – not for expensive items you can’t afford.”

她解释说，所有这些都将大大有助于确保金融稳定。 “因为你需要良好的信用评分才能在未来进行更大、更昂贵的购买。” All of this will go a long way to securing financial stability, she explains. “Because you’ll need a good credit score in order to make bigger and more expensive purchases down the road.”

Fazal Amiri 是阿富汗人，最近在加拿大庆祝了一周年，他深知信用记录的重要性。 “我的一个来自埃及的朋友没有意识到如果你想买车或获得抵押贷款，拥有良好信用是多么重要。我告诉他我了解到的情况。”这是这位 39 岁的年轻人通过不列颠哥伦比亚省移民服务协会 (ISSofBC) 发现的众多金融知识主题之一，该协会 50 多年来一直支持新移民在不列颠哥伦比亚省建立自己的生活。 Fazal Amiri, a native of Afghanistan who recently celebrated one year in Canada, is well versed in the importance of credit history. “A friend  of mine who came from Egypt didn’t realize how important it is to have good credit if you want to buy a car or get a mortgage. I told him what I learned.” It’s one of the many financial literacy topics the 39-year-old discovered through the Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC), which has been supporting newcomers building their lives in British Columbia for over 50 years.

阿米里和门德斯说，开立银行账户是他们来到加拿大后做的第一件事。好消息是，所有主要的加拿大银行都为那些重新开始的人提供各种激励措施，例如免除月费或不要求最低余额要求的支票账户，一些银行甚至为开立支票账户提供现金奖励。 Amiri and Mendez say that opening a bank account was one of the first things they did when they came to Canada. The good news is that all major Canadian banks offer various incentives for those making a new start, such as chequing accounts that waive monthly fees or don’t require minimum balance requirements, and some banks even offer a cash bonus for opening a chequing account.

Amiri 发现特别有用的一个工具是网上银行。 “这让跟踪一切变得更容易，”他指出。 “我还学会了如何努力存钱，这样我就可以把钱用于我孩子的未来。” A tool Amiri finds particularly useful is online banking. “It made it easier to keep track of everything,” he notes. “I also learned how to try to save money so I can put it toward my children’s future.”

Amiri 很感谢 ISSofBC 让他获得了知识，这让他更容易在加拿大进行资金管理。他正在以自己的方式付出代价。他一直参与人道主义部门——在喀布尔，他担任乐施会的高级项目经理。现在，在不列颠哥伦比亚省，他继续作为就业服务机构的个案管理支持专家帮助他人。 Amiri is grateful to ISSofBC for the knowledge he’s gained, which makes it easier for him to navigate money management in Canada. And he’s paying it forward in his own way. He’s always been involved in the humanitarian sector – in Kabul, he served as Oxfam’s senior program manager. Now, in his adopted province of British Columbia, he continues helping others as a case management support specialist at an employment service agency.

无论作为新人进行过渡会遇到哪些困难，Amiri 都致力于在财务上保持弹性。 “我努力工作并管理我的财务，”他说。 “我必须继续前进。” Regardless of the hardships involved in making the transition as a newcomer, Amiri is committed to becoming financially resilient. “I try to work hard and manage my finances,” he says. “I have to keep moving forward.”

FCGvisa translated, © canadianimmigrant All Rights Reserved.