Janet Gray - Money Coaches Canada

Janet Gray

B.A., B.Admin, CFP^®, EPC, CPCA

Certified Financial Planner & Money Coach

Ottawa, ON

Office: (613) 834-6639

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“Money is a tool to achieve your goals. By working smarter not harder, you’ll ensure money is never your master.”

My warm, reassuring style, coupled with my energy and commitment to action, changes lives. My clients quickly realize that I’m more than a financial ally; I’m a knowledgeable mentor and advocate in business and retirement issues. My financial plans are built on clear, attainable steps that make clients both excited and confident.

If you’re looking for personalized financial advice, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Let’s work together to achieve your financial goals.

How you can benefit from a customized Money Coaches Canada plan:

Increased financial confidence and clarity
Better understanding of your investment accounts, performance and fees
Insurance review of existing policies and needs analysis
Identifying appropriate tax strategies
Strategic retirement and education planning
Personalized money management and budgeting
Strategies for addressing consumer debt
Access to our Canada-wide network of trusted professionals to save your valuable time (we accept no commissions or referral fees)

Let's Get Started

My Story

Unlock your financial potential and transform your life with expert guidance tailored just for you! As a seasoned Certified Financial Planner® with over 13 years of experience at a major Canadian financial institution and since 2014 with Money Coaches Canada, I bring a wealth of knowledge to help you achieve your goals. My expertise in business and retirement planning has made me a trusted voice in the financial world, regularly featured on major media outlets like CBC, CTV, and The Globe and Mail.

Empowering Your Financial Journey

Personalized Solutions: Whether you’re a business owner adapting to change, a retiree with evolving needs, or a family navigating life’s transitions, I’ll help you create a dynamic ‘financial operating system’ that grows with you. A well-thought-out financial plan gives you the confidence to thrive- now and in the future.

Expert Guidance: As a Certified Professional Consultant on Aging (CPCA) and Elder Planning Counsellor (EPC), I understand the unique challenges you face at every stage of life.

Proactive Support: I’ll be by your side, regularly checking in, reviewing progress, and anticipating future transitions to keep you on track towards your goals.

Beyond Financial Planning

Community Leadership: As the founder of the Ottawa CARP chapter in 2009, now with 10,000 members, I’ve advocated for your interests at the highest levels of government on issues that matter to retirees—so I know what you need for a secure and fulfilling retirement.

Business Mentorship: Twice recognized as Financial Services Person of the Year, I’m passionate about helping entrepreneurs and small business owners thrive.
Financial Literacy Champion: I’m committed to improving financial knowledge for all Canadians through volunteer work and public speaking engagements.

Experience the powerful shift that money mastery can bring to your life and business. Let’s work together to create a brighter, more secure financial future that allows you to live life on your terms!

How I Can Help

Business Cash Flow Planning
Financial Planning
Pre-Retirement Planning
Retirement & Pension Planning

Who My Clients Are

Business Owners/Self-Employed
Professionals
Pensioned Employees
Retirees

Contact Me For a Free Consultation

Testimonials

What an essential experience!

You’ve made everything so seamless and comfortable on every aspect, from being open and clear about what to expect to navigating through the financial budget process. All while simply feeling human for experiencing my past and present financial era and not feeling embarrassed or ashamed for being where I am at my age. I actually believe in myself now, and in my future goals – it’s one thing to have goals… but to truly believe in them is another feeling altogether. A good one! :)

This financial plan and advice helped me to think seriously about some areas that I didn’t consider! I needed this eye opener and a secure plan. My shoulders already feel lighter upon reviewing this financial plan which has enabled me to feel financially more organized already. I will set these plans into motion, and it feels good to know that I can do this on my own, after working all these years. Finally, I will see some results in the positives moving forward.

- Elizabeth.

We thoroughly enjoyed this process and would recommend that everyone have their financial plan/goals reviewed by a professional.

Coming into the process, we felt moderately stressed and a bit disorganized. We really wanted a second set of eyes to confirm we were on what we thought was a good path to retirement and confirm there wasn’t something that we had missed that would throw us off completely. We now feel no stress and very confident in our making good financial decisions going forward.

Having Janet review and provide input into our retirement plan has really relieved a lot of stress for me knowing someone with her level of knowledge and experience confirmed we would be okay in retirement, Also giving us scenarios clearly indicated what we might have to do depending on when my husband decides to stop working. Sometimes this information laid out by a unbiased professional makes the way forward much easier to see.

Our retirement plan options confirmed that we had made some good financial/career decisions and also where we needed to pay more attention to certain areas and what compromises we might need to make depending on when we decide to retire.

I feel that we also have a better plan, as my husband and I have discussed concrete goals and we know the direction we want to head in. Meeting with Janet forced us to go beyond casual conversations and talk in detail how we plan to manage our money now and into retirement.

Had we not committed to this process with Janet our financial situation in terms of money management, number of bank and RRSP accounts, would still be a mess. We cleaned up bank accounts, took a hard look at where everything was and ensured estate documents got updated. Oddly these issues were at the top of our priority list but we just never got around to doing them!!

We are truly going to be in a holding pattern for the next two years paying down our mortgage, beefing up our emergency fund and contributing to TFSAs. Janet has put us on a solid path that we will follow for the next two years. There is the possibility of an inheritance down the road that we did not want included in our financial plan. Our plan will be to reach out to Janet again in the future when we are in a position beyond merely saving and paying down the mortgage. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this process and would recommend that everyone have their financial plan/goals and management reviewed by a professional.

- Adrienne

Janet is an excellent and thorough coach/planner.

Before I started working with Janet, I was moderately confident and looking for a second opinion on my progress. My questions and concerns were expertly and competently addressed, and I am very confident on the action steps to move ahead and implement my plan and reach my goals. Janet is an excellent and thorough coach/planner and it was good value for the fees paid.

- Ray D.

I could trust Janet

I have known Janet for a very long time. My 26-year-old daughter was able to attend university in another province because of the financial structures Janet put in place for me. Janet also helped build my company’s financial structures (Tiger Lily Marketing) after it was founded almost 10 years ago. More recently, as my business and personal advisor, I leaned on her to help with financial decisions after I was hit in a head-on collision. I was dealing with a traumatic brain injury so when I couldn’t trust myself to make emergency decisions but I knew I could trust Janet.

- Kimothy Walker

We needed someone to force the conversation

Before starting the process with Janet, I felt unprepared and unsure of our future. It’s one thing to save for retirement … transitioning to having a plan to actually do it? Totally different. My spouse and I aren’t good at talking to each other about these things. I needed a coach to facilitate the conversation between us. Organizing our financial life turned out to be really helpful.

Janet was really lovely to work with and I now longer feel stressed about the path forward – I’m confident in making good financial decisions.

- Joy N.

More confident and prepared to put my plan in place

When I started working with Janet, I was very stressed and worried about my finances. Now I have the info and tools to make better decisions to reach my long term goals. Janet shared her excellent knowledge and competence while providing advice and answering my questions. It was good value for the fees paid and I will refer others to Janet.

- Lynn

Thankful for Janet’s direction and calm

My husband and I had the privilege of working with Janet. We felt disorganized, worried, irresponsible and defeated to be honest. We are thankful for Janet’s direction and calm. Her knowledge and advice has helped us formulate a plan for our immediate and future financial situation. Her responses to questions were always prompt. She is encouraging and works excellently and honestly with your income. Highly recommend and we plan to continue on with her knowledge and advice.

- Sue

We now have clarity of our expenses, and a clearer idea on how to tweak plan going forward

After feeling stressed, confused and directionless, we now have more information and now at least know what questions to ask as opposed to being overwhelmed. Taking the time to look at all of the expenses gives some clarity as to where the finances go and have a clearer idea on how to tweak the plan once things change.

- Stephane

As a couple, working with Janet gave us a better understanding of our future together

When planning for my retirement, my partner and I had a good understanding of our own individual finances but we didn’t fully understand how well we were doing together as a couple. Working together on our financial plan with our Money Coach (Janet) gave me the confidence I needed to retire comfortably. Our initial questions and concerns were addressed and as a couple, we now have a better understanding of our future together. Our action checklist is a great reference for moving forward to achieve our goals. This process was crucial to our ongoing financial discussions as a couple and to reaching our short, medium and long term goals. Understanding common goals gave us the push we needed to make this an open forum for great ideas. Janet is very knowledgeable and was patient with all of our questions. We found the planning process to be very useful and her coaching technique was personal and easy to follow.

- Gary R.

We will refer others to Janet for this high value service

Before working with Janet, I felt like I had a pretty good handle on our day to day budgeting and spending portion of our finances. But (had) no real roadmap of how to plan and take action for the future. With my questions and concerns answered and having the necessary action steps, I now feel much better about achieving my long term goals. Janet was very competent and financially knowledgeable and provided us recommendations that we found extremely useful including retirement projections, investment and insurance review, and estate planning issues. We will refer others to Janet for this high value service.

- Ryan

Gave me the confidence to take the leap

Working together with you on our financial plan gave me the confidence I needed to take the leap (to early retirement). I’m very excited and looking forward to less stress and more quality time. Thank you for putting together a solid Financial Plan for us. It has been a pleasure working with you.

- G.R.

A comprehensive review with great value received. Just what we needed.

At the start, we felt that we did not have a clear enough plan and as we were approaching age 55 and 10 yrs from retirement, we needed to take a deep dive into our financial plan, especially as my husband is self-employed.

We now have the information needed to make better financial decisions. Janet was extremely thorough and did not leave any stone unturned. This is exactly what I was looking for when I engaged her professional advice.

I loved Janet’s method and how everything was timed. Sending me clear instructions about what documents she needed, setting up a shared folder to upload them, and setting clear timelines and dates for completion of various steps was exactly the way I like to work so this was easy for me. We found all aspects of the process were extremely useful like life and financial goal setting, retirement projections and planning, and an investment strategy.

I liked knowing in advance what this would cost, and seeing the outcome so you know exactly what you paid for. I really wanted a comprehensive review and this is what Janet delivered. It was great value for the fees we paid.

Everyone should meet with a Money Coach- I will definitely recommend Janet to others I know! I am very organized and very much a planner, but we do not have the expertise and this is just what we needed.

- Alison B.

From our perspective it was an excellent experience

My initial understanding of current and future financial status of our money and finances was vague at best. But we now have the information needed to help us make better financial decisions. While working with Janet, we went over everything to a very specific level and while doing so (my spouse and I) had better communication. We received very detailed options (action steps) and recommendations needed to implement and follow-through on our financial plan and to reach our short, medium and long term goals. Although the outcome wasn’t the “best” to hear – it is now understandable. Wish we had done this at least 10 years’ previously! This was our first coaching experience so there is really no comparison but from our perspective it was an “excellent” experience. Receiving our Net Worth Statement, Spending and Savings Plan, and Retirement projections was extremely useful. We definitely feel we received good value for the fees we paid and I would recommend Money Coaching services to friends, family or acquaintances.

- Patricia S.

Extremely knowledgeable and informed about personal finances

Janet is clearly extremely knowledgeable and informed about personal finances. More than that – she is also very genuine and easy to speak with. She understands both the practical and emotional side of money, and how important it is to identify and work towards meaningful life goals.

- Leah E.

I now feel more prepared

At first, I was curious about the service but also excited over having someone else look at my personal finance plans.

I now feel more prepared in the event that I pass on or can no longer work. Tax planning was super helpful too.

I was fairly comfortable with my own short-term and long-term financial goals but it was really great to have someone take a second look and provide input on where I let things fall through the cracks. I was hesitant with getting advice from banks or other financial institutions because I always wonder if I am just another commission check to them. Working with Janet, I had no doubt in my mind that she was looking out for my own best interests.

- Shekinah R.

We now have action steps and information to meet our goals

In the beginning, I felt like we didn’t have a good plan in place. It was hard to make short-term decisions without having a long term plan.

All our questions/concerns were addressed and we now feel we have the action steps and information needed to move forward and to make better financial decisions and meet our goals.

Janet was very patient with all of our questions. She is very knowledgeable and we found the planning process to be very useful. We received good value for the fees paid and we will recommend Janet’s services to friends and family. Thank you!

- Katie

I wish we had done this years ago…

Prior to meeting with Janet, my husband and I felt ashamed and intimidated and completely unsure about where we were financially and if we would be able to retire. The future was very uncertain and muddled.

Now, it’s like night and day. We know where we are financially and what we have to do moving forward. Not only did Janet help us with our day-to-day financial planning, but she walked us through what we have in place already and what we should put in place.

We came into this with our financial uncertainty and we gained clarity, but she also reviewed all our insurance policies, will, POA and more. Our financial report is inclusive of all elements that could impact our future. We have also noticed that as these financial uncertainties are not a part of our everyday life any more, that our relationship is also better knowing that we are both on the same page. We didn’t know that it was even a problem until it was gone.

All of our expectations were exceeded. We feel so much better, confident and secure in our knowledge of our financial health. Janet is an extremely clear communicator and fully explained what we should do and what we should consider. As these items are checked off our list, we feel more confident and secure as all these loose ends are tied up. Janet was very patient with us and very kind and encouraging in her communications with us. It was worth every penny! We will continue to have annual reviews with Janet and I have already recommended her to others.

- S. Graham

From overwhelming to clarity and confidence

I remember how I felt before working with Janet. In a word … overwhelmed. I was going through a number of life changes, i.e. retired, selling the house, moving to a different city … I was looking for an expert opinion to offer clarity & direction in order to ensure that I wouldn’t outlive my savings.

I now have the information I need to make better financial decisions. It was more than just about money too. For example, although I had a will & POAs (that I knew needed to be updated), I hadn’t previously fully appreciated the correlation – and peace of mind – that this also is an integral part of the planning process. Janet helped me to narrow in on my objectives and together we arrived at a realistic plan. Ahhh … it’s amazing what one can do with a clear & simple plan! I feel much better about my plans to reach my short, medium and long term goals with the Action steps provided.

I am confident that I have the knowledge and understanding required to achieve my goals – which is what I had set out to do. Having said that, it’s also good to know that I would know who to turn to if I felt I needed more advice.

It was a delight to work with Janet. I would recommend her services to others. Thanks!

- Doris D.

Now very clear on a strategy to achieve our retirement goal

Janet Gray is professional, thorough, personable, and sensitive. We would highly recommend her. We had a general idea about our retirement planning but were quite unsure about specifics.

The Money Coach process has been a tremendous help in planning for retirement. After working with Janet, we are very clear on a strategy to achieve our retirement goals.

- PS and JS

Feel More in Control, an Excellent Picture of my Future Finances

Before working with Janet, I was insecure and not terribly confident (about my finances). I now feel more in control, and Janet was able to give me an excellent picture of my future finances and strategies for taking charge of them myself. I enjoyed meeting with Janet and felt very comfortable giving her very detailed information about my life. I feel I received good value for the fees paid and I will continue working regularly with Janet. I have already recommended Janet to a friend.

- Susan

Empowerment and Confidence

I will spread the word to other single women about your program–it is the Cadillac of financial advising because we become empowered to do it ourselves, or at least, understand it all and move forward in life with confidence.

- J.

Common sense and practical strategies

With Janet, I was able to make well-informed decisions about my personal finances. Janet was very instrumental in establishing my financial plan and future where her professionalism, in-depth knowledge, objectivity and experiences determined how I can better improve my personal finances through common sense and practical strategies that will support my real estate investment business. Janet is first-rate and invaluable in the financial planning industry.

- Michael, Creative Real Estate Investor

Financial guidance and support

Like most, financial planning wasn’t always on the top of my priority list. As a divorced parent, I often felt I didn’t have any extra money to invest. Janet changed my way of thinking! With her professional advice and attention to detail, always based on my personal situation, she changed my focus and helped change the direction of my financial goals. A straight talker, Janet always took the time to explain what was important and why, and always made time for me regardless of my limited resources. With the help of Janet’s financial guidance and support, today I feel empowered and in way better control of my financial future. I would definitely recommend Janet as a money coach!

- Nancy D.

Taking care of my best interests

I met Janet Gray about two years ago as she was recommended by one of her other clients that I work with. Janet was very pleasant, extremely knowledgeable and confident over the phone and I decided to meet with her to discuss my finances. After meeting with Janet I had a much better understanding of my finances and how to move forward with my RRSP’s, savings and overall financial situation. It was my first time meeting her, but it was like talking to an old friend. I felt safe knowing that she was taking care of my best interests and trusted her completely.

- Carlene S.

Easy to understand, client focused

Janet saved my financial life. She explains everything in easy-to-understand language and helps you to reach your financial goals. Janet has all the best qualities of a professional financial advisor: she’s thoughtful, methodical, empathetic, personable and client focused. I trust Janet’s advice implicitly and would recommend her to anyone looking for a financial coach. She’s the best money coach around!

- Marc B.

Sound and honest professional advice

What we most liked about Janet’s advice is that she provided us with sound and honest professional advice based on our circumstances. At no time did we feel she was trying to “sell us” anything but guidance in managing our financial affairs.

- Dale and Denis L.

Personal and customized

Janet made it all easier for me!!! Her personal approach allowed her to capture the scope of what I was looking for with my finances. She listened to my future plans and customized my plan to meet my financial goals. She always talked with me on MY level and did so with a genuine smile on her face. She always made time for me to meet in person or chat on the phone. And most importantly, she made me confident with my money!!! In my opinion, you would be crazy not to select Janet as your money coach.

- Dale K.

I feel better about my future

After working with Janet, I do feel better about my future and have a bit more confidence to tackle some of the money decisions that I have to make – but admittedly there is still some stress. Janet did focus more on the areas I had questions about though she also took me through the financial planning journey and has made recommendations I had not considered. Janet’s financial knowledge and competence was excellent as was her overall ability to coach me through this process.

Wish we had done this 20 years ago!

The information provided was comprehensive and clear. Janet was very open to questions. We enjoyed working with Janet and feel more confident going forward. Wish we had done this 20 years ago!