By Karin Mizgala, Co-Founder and CEO of Money Coaches Canada
November is financial literacy month, and this year is its 10th anniversary. Interesting timing with COVID-19 raging in our midst and financial well-being feels more precarious than ever before. 
There are some bright spots – many Canadians are spending less and saving more, interest rates are low, the stock market has been remarkably resilient, and there’s an opportunity to reflect and re-evaluate our goals and priorities.
As we navigate all the changes that we are experiencing, it is a good time to check in on our individual and collective financial well-being. What’s working, what isn’t?
A lot has happened over the past decade since we launched Money Coaches Canada in 2010. When Sheila and I started working together our initial desire was a simple one. We wanted to offer our clients truly independent and meaningful financial advice so they could use their money to fulfill their financial needs and to live their lives to the fullest. We were part of a wave crying out for more transparency and accountability in the financial-services industry, and we are so proud to be part of the solution.
I think it’s safe to say that 2020 is a year none of us will forget. And even though we are optimistically making our way forward, the uncomfortable truth has settled in. Recovery from this 
It’s been almost six months since phrases like; shelter-in-place, work from home, physical distancing, and social bubbles, have become part of the daily conversation. Wearing a mask in public started out feeling odd, but for most of us it’s become routine. But our ability to adapt doesn’t mean that anything about the COVID-19 pandemic has been easy.
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COVID-19 has rattled us to the core. It has threatened our health and taken lives. It has damaged our economy and taken livelihoods. It has physically kept us apart, yet we have pulled together. When this is over we won’t be the same. But maybe we can be better.
We invest to secure our future, and for years that predominantly meant securing our financial future. With that end in mind, a significant criterion for choosing an investment was its financial performance. But for many investors, there has been an evolution of what securing our future actually means.
This is a hard time to focus on the future. If your employment or income has been impacted by COVID-19, understandably your short-term security and immediate bills are your primary concern. That makes sense, you need to take care of yourself, your family and your community and to make sure everyone is safe and healthy.
