Winter blues: How to make January suck less in Canada | Blog

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A Canadian man smiling in front of the picturesque Lake Louise, happy that he's made January suck less.

The Get

How to make January suck less this year

For this week’s top story, we’re looking at the impacts of January, why it’s such a downer month and how to make it, well, suck less.

By Carli Whitwell

From the icy weather, to the holiday comedown, to the pressure of new year’s resolutions, January feels like a month of Mondays. It doesn’t help that most of us are also nursing financial hangovers from December. Nearly half of Canadians worried about overspending during the holidays, according to Interac, and we carry an average credit card balance of $4,652. Our incomes also tend to be lower in the new year because that’s when Canadian Pension Plan (CPP and CPP2) and Employment Insurance (EI) deductions start up again. It’s enough to make you want to crawl right back into bed and stay there until spring.

“We’ve got the post-holiday emotional drop,” says Dr. Houyuan Luo, psychologist and founder of MindPeace Psychology Toronto. “It’s the new year, we have new goals, but we probably haven’t even finished our goals from last year.” The stress can add up. Financial pressure affects us the same as any other pressure—whether it’s relationships, work, health. “That being said, financial pressure hits people harder at this time and in this context. It’s overwhelming,” he adds.

January doesn’t have to feel this way. We spoke to experts and regular Canadians about how to make the first month of the year suck just a little bit less—for concerns ranging from finances to friendships.

January money deadlines: tear off the band-aid and look at your finances

I know. We said we were going to make January suck less. But, in reality, a lot of anxiety around money comes from not knowing how much or how little we have. Grab a glass of wine or a leftover box of Pot of Gold and log into your accounts and look at those credit card statements. You can even upload them to a GenAI tool to help spot any ways to save.

Feelings like guilt, shame and anger may pop up, but instead of criticizing yourself, “move through these emotions and trying to understand your behaviour,” says Toronto-based financial therapist Aseel ElBaba. She suggests asking yourself questions such as: What habits keep showing up for me? Why do I have the need to prove my love through spending? Why am I feeling inferior to my friends and therefore want to dress a certain way around them or spend money to hang out with them? Why do I feel the need to keep up with trends I’m seeing on social media?

For Marta Young, a lawyer in Toronto, tracking her spending helped her realize just how much of her paycheque she was putting toward beauty products and procedures. “It helped me realize how much I was overspending on certain items.”

Schedule your money to move

If you have the means, pay off at least the minimum payment on that credit card debt—whether it’s with rewards or setting up automatic payments. Even better: Save. Start automating $50 a month (or more) to a high-interest savings account. This habit gives you the reward-feeling, which you’ll appreciate in January.

“It’s a reward,” says Dr. Luo. “We don't need a big achievement to boost dopamine—it’s really about completion of a task.”

Make saving money feel better than spending it

Not spending money often feels like we’re denying ourselves. “When we’re approaching a spending decision by ‘I shouldn’t’ or ‘I can’t afford it,’ there is a part of us that rebels against this logic because it takes away our sense of autonomy,” says ElBaba. “I help my clients to frame it differently. You’re not saying no, you’re saying yes to another goal, something more important.” Your debt. Your vacation. Your new car.

Even using different words can help inspire better savings habits, says ElBaba, like calling a budget a “money map” or, if you’re saving for a downpayment, describe it as your “safe sanctuary fund.” Prioritize paying down those debts that have interest rates higher than 6%. According to financial experts, if the rate is lower than that, you may be better off making the minimum payments and investing the difference for a higher long-term return.

Visually track your goals

Grab your craft supplies, like you’re seven years old again, and build yourself a savings tracker. Be inspired by how charities track their fundraising goals with a thermometer. Put it on your fridge and colour it or add a sticker every time you hit a milestone, says ElBaba. Make it silly, make it fun and make it visible. “That dopamine hit is created when you’re seeing that goal growing. When you start to see the results of your own discipline, it’s a snowball effect.”

Find hidden money

Of course there’s only so much we can save, so think about getting more money instead. ElBaba asks clients to think of 20 sources of new cash. The number sounds big—on purpose. “It gets you thinking creatively about all the different ways money can enter our life. Starting to expand our awareness around that is healing.”

Sometimes money is in more obvious spots than you think. If your company has a pension plan and matches your contributions, make sure you sign up ASAP. It’s essentially free money. Also, if you have the means, start contributing to your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) as soon as you can—that reduces taxes by allowing you to deduct contributions from your taxable income. If you start this in January, you’ll be able to make contributions on your 2025 income until March 2, 2026 and it will get you in the groove of saving for the rest of the year.

Lean on your friends and family

Get your friends involved, and don’t be shy. “The trend of loud budgeting normalized sharing our financial goals with our friends and talking about it,” says ElBaba. Take that a step further by creating a financial support group. This offers accountability, she says, but also “you’re able to exchange ideas and spark each other’s insights.” (Not sure who in your inner circle to approach? Look for personal and professional growth groups in your city, she suggests.)

Talking about money with your loved ones can help, says Johanna Peetz, professor in the department of psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa. She’s found that couples who speak regularly about the everyday details of their finances felt more connected.

“To start right and build a positive habit, talk about the small decisions—‘How are we investing this money? Should we buy this lamp?’ ” she says. “Those kinds of small conversations can help calm down fear about money, when you know you’re in this boat together.” It’s ideal to do this in January, as it’s habit forming and tackling these small, manageable to-dos will make you more inclined to keep them going.

Schedule hangouts that don’t cost anything

One surefire way to get that dopamine hit: quality time with your friends and family. Socializing releases feel-good chemicals in our brain, and it’s easy to do without the added stress of spending. If you’re dying to try out that new Italian dinner spot, ElBaba suggests asking yourself: “What’s an alternative way for me to create that experience in my life? Maybe I’m going to ask my friends to come over for a potluck, and that helps me get the culinary experience I was looking for at a fraction of the price.” You can also try free activities, like outdoor skating (borrow skates from a friend if you don’t have a pair), play boardgames at the library, and more.

The key to making January fun is to feel in charge. And these actions can help with that.

Carli Whitwell is an award-winning Toronto-based lifestyle journalist. She’s written for EE72, Refinery29, ELLE Canada, The Toronto Star and others. Her hobbies include going out for dinner and sleeping in.