Win your textbooks for next term ????????

“Financial literacy” can mean a lot of things. This November for Financial Literacy Month, that definition includes a chance to win your textbooks for the Winter 2022 term. All you have to do is attend a webinar or complete the money personality quiz. Visit the Student Success Centre event page to learn more and get started.

During Financial Literacy Month, the Sassy Investor hosted a series of webinars to share her investing expertise with the McMaster community. In case you missed it, you can catch up on the whole series (and all the investing insight) by viewing the recorded sessions.

Sessions include:

• Investment Strategies
• Investing Basics: From Education to Execution
• Fundamentals of a Solid Investment Portfolio
• Types of Accounts
• All About Robo-Advisors

Meet the expert

Michelle worked for seven years in investment banking and venture capital. Her experience in advising companies in capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and other financial advisory services offered her a rich understanding of capital markets and how it all ties in with the average investor.

In 2014, she received her chartered financial analyst (CFA) designation, a globally recognized investment management credential. She is a contributing writer for Canadian Money Saver Magazine, has done webinars for Questrade and has provided fun videos for Cleo (budgeting app) on TikTok. To date, she’s taught people how to invest (over $2 million total!) and save on average over $9,000 per year.

Learn more about the Sassy Investor on our Instagram (@MacSSC). Check out the Money Workshops highlight for Michelle’s takeover.

To learn more on how to manage your money, how loan repayment works, and for tax saving and investment tips, register on OSCARplus and book an appointment with Mac’s Money Coach.

We’re LIVE with the Mac’s Money Show.

Join our hosts as they delve into the wonderful world of fashion! Our guests include, Emily Hynes, our Events and Marketing Associate at the SSC who holds an advanced diploma in fashion design, and Simran Gill (@intosimscloset), a recent McMaster Communications and CCE Marketing graduate. Follow their journeys throughout the fashion industry and find out how to stay trendy on a budget!

We’re LIVE with the Mac’s Money Show.

Today we meet with Liz Enriquez from Ambitious Adulting and Sam Bhuvanendrarajah who is a Registered Nurse. Liz and Sam are both McMaster graduates who have travelled the world on a budget.

Here are some tips to save for your travels.

1. Track Your Spending
2. Small Changes = Big Savings
3. Set Goals

Visit https://money.mcmaster.ca to find out how to keep your travel goals on track with our online budgeting tools. Our money coaches are here to help! #mactalksmoney

SSC Goes LIVE at one of our Mac’s Money Centre Tax Clinics!

For many students, doing your taxes often results in getting money back. Take advantage of Mac’s Money Centre’s FREE tax services:

1. Drop-In Tax Clinics

Visit our tax clinics in Gilmour Hall 110 (Student Success Centre) and have your tax return prepared for free by a trained tax volunteer. There are four clinic dates available in March and April. Book on OSCARplus.

Thursday, April 4 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Friday, April 5 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.  

Tuesday, April 9 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 24 from 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Monday, April 29 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Drop-in clinics will be held in Gilmour Hall, Room 110.

2. Do-It-Yourself Tax Clinics

Want to take control of your finances? Interested in learning how to prepare your own tax return? Mac’s Money Centre is holding DIY Tax Clinics, where tax volunteers will assist you with using the free Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax software to file your taxes electronically. There are three dates available in March and April. Book on OSCARplus.

Tuesday, March 26 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 10 from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 23 from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Do It Yourself clinics will be held in MUSC 311 & 313.

What to Bring:

T4 – Employment Income Slip
T4A – Scholarships, Bursaries
T5 – Investment Income
Rent Receipts for 2018
Medical Expenses – Uhip Premium and out of pocket expenses
Tuition – T2202A – Please consult with your parents if you are transferring up to $5,000 unused tuition
Moving Expenses to Hamilton Ontario to attend School – Transportation
Child Care Expenses
Medical Expenses
RRSP Contribution
Charitable Donations
Last Year’s Assessment Form (if you have it)

If you are filing with your spouse or partner, please have them with you and bring all necessary tax documentation.

You are required to have a SIN in order to file a tax return.

If you have never filed before, we will also prepare taxes for previous years. Please remember to bring your prior year’s slips/receipts to do this. Filing your taxes will allow you to collect your GST/HST credits, rent rebates and register your tuition credits for future use.

Filing deadline is April 30, 2019, for the 2018 Tax Year to collect your benefits on time.

Please register, space is limited.

McMaster has made it simple for students to print their tax forms from MOSAIC.

Log into mosaic.mcmaster.ca
Go to ‘MOSAIC Home’ at the top of the page
Select ‘Employee Self Service’ from the drop down menu Choose ‘View T4/T4A Slips’
Print
Tax Slip: T4

For student staff or anyone that has full-time or part-time work at McMaster, they can print off their T4 through MOSAIC as well. Taxes need to be filed by April 30. To learn more about the tax clinics, visit the website: https://money.mcmaster.ca/…/tax-clinics/#mactalksmoney

On February 14, 2019, Mac’s Money Centre and the Student Success Centre partnered with McMaster’s Hospitality Services to bring students together by creating healthy and budget friendly meals. Throughout the event, our money coaches, award winning chefs, and certified nutritionist provided helpful tips on grocery shopping, meal-prep, creating “planned-overs”, and nutrition facts. In this free interactive cooking event, students learned how to cook Pad Thai and Spring Rolls while staying on a student-friendly budget.

Did we forget to mention that the meals we prepared was vegan, gluten-free, and delicious?

For more events like this, check OSCARplus and follow Mac’s Money Centre on Twitter. 

Thank you to McMaster Hospitality Services, Mac’s Money Centre, and the Student Success Centre for a wonderful event. For those interested in the recipe, see below:

One litre of Gluten free Pad Thai Sauce

1/2            cup                       Peanut butter

1/4            cup                       Coconut milk

1/2            cup                       Sweet chili sauce or tamarind

1/4            cup                       Tamari or soya sauce

1/8           cup                        Rice vinegar

2               cups                      H20

1               Tbls                       Garlic puree

1               Tbls                       Ginger puree

Mix all these ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a light boil.

As soon as sauce is hot add your choice of ingredients to it and top with a lime wedge and (optional) chopped peanuts.

Enjoy!

McMaster’s very own award-winning chef, Leigh Laidlaw, will lead you through this session as you make Pad Thai and Spring Rolls from scratch (both dishes are vegan and gluten-free). You will rotate through stations as you help to prepare and cook the food. Food samples included! Register on OSCARplus.

We’ve launched a new series with Mac’s Money Centre called the Mac’s Money Show, happening twice a month. Check out our second episode, where our three special guests talk about Money and Food. ????

Guests include Chef Leigh Laidlaw and Liana Bontempo from McMaster University Hospitality Services, and Jennifer Chan, a Mac student and #HamOnt food Instagrammer (@jenlovesham). #mactalksmoney