Financial Planning

A financial plan looks at where you are today and where you want to go. It determines your short, medium and long term financial goals and how you can reach them.

Why do you need a Financial Plan?

  • Worry less about money and gain control.

  • Organize your finances.

  • Prioritize your goals.

  • Focus on the big picture.

  • Save money to reach your goals.

What does a Financial Plan include?

There are 2 main sides your financial plan should address: Accumulation and Protection

Accumulation:

  • Cash Management – Savings and Debt

  • Tax Planning

  • Investments

Protection:

  • Insurance Planning

  • Health Insurance

  • Estate Planning

What’s the Financial Planning Process?

  • Establish and define the financial planner-client relationship.

  • Gather information about current financial situation and goals including lifestyle goals.

  • Analyze and evaluate current financial status.

  • Develop and present strategies and solutions to achieve goals.

  • Implement recommendations.

  • Monitor and review recommendations. Adjust if necessary.

Next steps…

  • Talk to us about helping you get your finances in order so you can achieve your lifestyle and financial goals.

  • Feel confident in knowing you have a plan to get to your goals.

Financial Advice for Business Owners

We can help you determine where you are today financially and where you want to go. We can provide you guidance on how to reach your short, medium and long term financial goals.

Why work with us?

  • Worry less about money and gain control.

  • Organize your finances.

  • Prioritize your goals.

  • Focus on the big picture.

  • Save money to reach your goals.

What can a we help you with?

We can help you with accumulation and protection

Accumulation:

  • Cash Management – Savings and Debt

  • Tax Planning

  • Investments

Protection:

  • Insurance Planning

  • Health Insurance

  • Estate Planning

How do you start?

  • Establish and define the financial advisor-client relationship.

  • Gather information about current financial situation and goals including lifestyle goals.

  • Analyze and evaluate current financial status.

  • Develop and present strategies and solutions to achieve goals.

  • Implement recommendations.

  • Monitor and review recommendations. Adjust if necessary.

Next steps…

  • Talk to us about helping you get your finances in order so you can achieve your lifestyle and financial goals.

  • Feel confident in knowing you have a plan to get to your goals.

Why You Should Consider Critical Illness Insurance

If I did a straw poll, I’m sure I’d find that the majority of those asked have some form of life insurance. The reasoning behind taking out this cover is usually centered around the desire to provide protection and security to their family and loved ones in the event of their death, which is clearly an admirable objective. But, if I asked the same group of people who of them had critical illness insurance – essentially, a policy that pays out if you become too ill to work – in all likelihood the number would be much smaller.

Why is this? It makes sense on paper that people would want to sustain their level of income in the event that they become disabled or too ill to work, yet some of the most common objections include the price, a preference to save themselves for such an event (often known as being self-insured) or simply a sense of denial that this could ever happen to them.

Critical illness insurance varies from policy to policy but typical conditions that it covers in Canada includes heart attack, stroke and cancer. Unlike other types of insurance that provide income replacement, if you are seriously ill, critical illness insurance provides a lump sum benefit that can be used in any way you choose.

The benefits of critical illness insurance

Whilst taking out any kind of insurance policy comes down to personal choice and one’s own individual circumstances, many independent financial experts recognize the benefits that critical illness insurance can offer. Here are some of them:

  • Whilst saving and self-insuring can seem like an attractive alternative, it simply isn’t an option for many. Even if you are fortunate enough to have the means to save for such an eventuality, you would need to be able to guarantee a solid and consistent return on your investment for it to outweigh the financial benefit of critical illness insurance – some estimates put this at a rate of around 10% return for 20 years.

  • Whilst some employers do offer company disability plans, they typically do not pay out the full amount of your pay cheque on an ongoing basis, which can have the potential to have a serious impact on your personal finances, just when you need such a worry the least. What’s more, one of the major advantages of a critical illness policy is that, if you are able to return to work and therefore begin earning again, you still have the benefit of the lump sum that has been paid out under the policy – offering you an incomparable measure of financial freedom to potentially pay off your mortgage or put your kids through university. Essentially, offering you much more financial freedom.

In short, there are no perfect answers in the area of your personal finances, but if you are looking for an option that has the potential to offer you a real sense of peace of mind to secure the financial future of you and your family, critical illness insurance is certainly an interesting avenue to explore.

Saving for Education

Post-secondary education can be expensive, however having the opportunity to plan for it helps with making sure that you’re capable to meet the costs of education. In addition, when you have a plan, it’s easier to make financial decisions that align with your goals and provide peace of mind. In the infographic checklist, we outline 6 factors to consider when paying for education: 

For parents:

  • How much to save and when will your child start school?

  • Registered Education Savings Plan- have you a family RESP plan and received the Canadian Education Savings Grant? If your income is low enough, you could qualify for the Canada Learning Bond.

  • Savings- are you saving separately for your child’s education? Cash Value Life Insurance- have you considered using this as a savings vehicle for your child’s education. What happens if your child decides not to go to school? These alternative savings vehicles provide flexibility so that you can use the funds for something else such as a down payment for a future home.

For children:

  • Will the child be working part time and have their own savings for school?

  • Can the child apply for scholarships, bursaries or grants?

  • Will they need to apply for government student loan, personal loan or personal line of credit?

If you need help planning to save for your child’s post-secondary education, contact us!

Retirement Planning for Employees

When thinking about retirement, it can be overwhelming to figure out all the numbers, like what age you’re going to retire, how much money you need and how long do you need the money to last.

We’ve put together an infographic checklist that can help you get started on this. We know this can be a difficult conversation so we’re here to help and provide guidance to help you achieve your retirement dreams.

Income Needs

  • Determine how much you need in retirement.

  • Make sure you account for inflation in your calculations

Debts

  • If you have any debts, you should try to pay off your debts as soon as you can and preferably before you retire.

Insurance

  • As you age, your insurance needs change. Review your insurance needs, in particular your medical and dental insurance because a lot of employers do not provide health plans to retirees.

  • Review your life insurance coverage because you may not necessarily need as much life insurance as when you had dependents and a mortgage, but you may still need to review your estate and final expense needs.

  • Prepare for the unexpected such as a critical illness or long term care.

Government Benefits

  • Check what benefits are available for you on retirement.

  • Canada Pension Plan- decide when would be the ideal time to apply and receive CPP payment. (Payment depends on your contributions)

  • Old Age Security- check pension amounts and see if there’s a possibility of clawback.

  • Guaranteed Income Supplement- if you client have a low income, you could apply for GIS.

Income

  • Review your company pension plan. Check if it’s a defined benefits or contribution plan. Determine if it makes sense to take the pension or the commuted value.

  • Make sure you are saving on a regular basis towards retirement- in an RRSP, TFSA, LIRA or non-registered. Ensure the investment mix makes sense for your situation.

  • Don’t forget to check if there are any income sources.  (ex. rental income, side hustle income, etc.)

Assets

  • Are you planning to use the sale of your home or other assets to fund their retirement?

  • Will you be receiving an inheritance?

One other consideration that’s not included in the checklist is divorce. This can be an uncomfortable question, however divorce amongst adults ages 50 and over is on the rise and this can be financially devastating for both parties.

Next steps…

  • Contact us about helping you get your retirement planning in order so you can gain peace of mind that your family is taken care of.

Guide to Covid-19: Government Relief Programs in Canada

The intention for our “Guide to Covid-19: Government Relief Programs in Canada” is to help businesses and individuals to cut through the noise and make sure they’re getting all the help they can receive from the federal and provincial programs.

Federal programs include:

  • Small Business Wage Subsidy

  • Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

  • Canada Emergency Business Account

  • Canada Emergency Response Benefit

  • Student Loan Programs

Individual provincial programs include:

  • Utilities

  • Housing

  • Student Loan Programs

The Best Way to Buy Mortgage Insurance

Before buying insurance from your bank to cover your mortgage, understand the difference between self owned mortgage life insurance and bank owned life insurance. The key differences are ownership, premium, coverage, beneficiaries and portability.

Ownership:

  • Self: You own and control the policy.

  • Bank: The bank owns and controls the policy.

Premium:

  • Self: Your premiums are guaranteed at policy issue and discounts are available based on your health.

  • Bank: Premiums are not guaranteed and there are no discounts available based on your health.

Coverage:

  • Self: The coverage that you apply for remains the same.

  • Bank: The coverage is tied to your mortgage balance therefore it decreases as you pay down your mortgage but the premium stays the same.

Beneficiary:

  • Self: You choose who your beneficiary is and they can choose how they want to use the insurance benefit.

  • Bank: The bank is beneficiary and only pays off your mortgage.

Portability:

  • Self: Your policy stays with you regardless of your lender.

  • Bank: Your policy is tied to your lender and if you change, you may need to reapply for insurance.

We’ve created an infographic about the difference between personally owned life insurance vs. bank owned life insurance.

Talk to us, we can help.