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End Financial Avoidance and Reclaim Your Power Today

Posted on: August 10, 2016

By Sheila Walkington, co-founder and CFO Money Coaches Canada

Action Changes Things edited blue

 

Most people procrastinate from time to time, it’s human nature to put off tasks we believe to be unpleasant or time consuming. But the habitual putting off of our responsibilities, especially our financial responsibilities, transforms procrastination into avoidance. Avoidance —Stage 2 of the 7 Stages of Financial Well-Being® —is one of the most potentially damaging stages on the path to financial fulfillment.

Are you in Avoidance?

It’s essential to understand that financial well-being comes with a deeper understanding of where you stand with money, emotionally and financially, developing concise and attainable goals, getting organized and implementing a manageable plan to move forward. The 7 Stages of Financial Well-Being® is a framework that will help you better understand where you are, and what actions to take, as you move towards Financial Fulfillment. Continue reading →

Posted in 7 Stages of Financial Well-Being®, Relationship to money


CPP Expansion: A Rare Opportunity to Fine Tune Your Retirement Plan

Posted on: July 20, 2016

By Sandra Mann, MBA Financial Services, CPA, CGA, FPSC Level 1™

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is set for expansion beginning in 2019, but you may be wondering how the changes will impact how you manage your money today as well as how it will affect your retirement.

Hand Inserting Coin In Pink Piggybank

The changing face of work in Canada

When CPP was introduced in 1965, it was meant to be supplemental retirement income to bolster workplace pensions and personal retirement savings and investments. That intention hasn’t changed. What has changed is the Canadian “workscape.”

Working 30 years for the same company is not likely (or even desirable) for many people at the start of their careers. Climbing one corporate ladder is less common than seeking new opportunities at different companies. (I myself left a traditional financial services position for the fresh challenge offered by Money Coaches Canada). Many Canadians change careers completely, some go back to school or start their own businesses. There is no defined path. Even those who decide to build a dedicated career with one employer are not immune to lay-offs and decreasing pensions. Continue reading →

Posted in For your information, Retirement savings


Money and relationships – how to handle difficult conversations about money (with your spouse, your children and other family members)

Posted on: July 13, 2016

Most of us don’t find money an easy thing to talk about in our culture. It’s rarely discussed openly in our families, we don’t tell our friends what we earn, we feel uncomfortable negotiating our salary, and we often avoid the topic with our partners for fear of rocking the boat.

Somehow our lack of openness about money has become an acceptable norm but unless we challenge that norm and become more comfortable talking about money, it will wield too much power over us and hurt our most important relationships.

For many couples, nothing dampens love and tingles more than the subject of finances. Study after study shows that money problems are the single biggest cause of relationship stress and divorce – with sex and raising kids rounding out the big three. While talking about money can be difficult, emotionally charged and sometimes scary, open dialogue can save a lot of tension and resentments in your relationship.

We can’t stress enough how important communication is between couples, especially for a sensitive topic like money. Here are our top 4 tips for “you and yours” to adopt: Continue reading →

Posted in Relationship to money


Coach Spotlight: Sabine Lay, Certified Money Coach

Posted on: July 6, 2016
Sabine Lay, certified Money Coach

Sabine Lay, certified Money Coach

In the five years that Sabine Lay has been a Money Coach the question she has most frequently been asked is: How do other people manage their finances? Or even, “Am I the worst case you’ve seen?” She says the comparison question arises in one form or another from practically every client.

Give your money purpose

What Sabine tells them is that comparison has no benefits. What she shows them is that being clear on their own financial values and creating goals that give their money purpose, generates the kind of confidence that makes comparison questions unnecessary. Sabine helps her clients develop benchmarks and barometers of “success” of their own making. Continue reading →

Posted in Meet Our Money Coaches, Money Coaching


6 Proven Ways to Teach Kids about Money

Posted on: June 30, 2016

mm1Where did you learn about money? From school, from your parents, from a life of hard knocks?!

Well, you as a parent are the most influential teacher your child will ever have, and specifically the mom when it comes to finances, if you can believe that!

Often parents are overwhelmed about how to teach their kids about money. Where to start?

WHY do parents need to teach their young kids about money? Continue reading →

Posted in Budgeting and Cash Flow, Kids and Money, Relationship to money


How to Take Charge and Say Goodbye to Financial Chaos

Posted on: June 22, 2016

By Sheila Walkington, co-founder and CFO Money Coaches Canada

Do you remember the children’s game Chutes and Ladders? Players are moving forward and climbing the ladders when suddenly a roll of the die lands them on a chute that sends them tumbling backwards. When we meet clients in Stage 1 of the 7 Stages of Financial Well-Being® – Chaos, it is almost always because a major life event (illness, death of a spouse, job loss, transition to self-employment or divorce), has sent them sliding down a chute into Chaos.

The base of the 7 Stages of Financial Well-Being® pyramid represents those furthest removed from feeling in control and empowered financially. For many, Chaos represents their starting point on their journey to Financial Fulfillment.

It’s essential to understand that financial well-being comes with a deeper understanding of where you stand with money, emotionally and financially, developing concise and attainable goals, getting organized and implementing a manageable plan to move forward. The 7 Stages of Financial Well-Being® is a framework that will help you better understand where you are, and what actions to take, as you move towards Financial Fulfillment. Continue reading →

Posted in 7 Stages of Financial Well-Being®, Money Coaching, Relationship to money


Don’t give-up on retirement yet! Ten ways to get started…

Posted on: June 10, 2016

By Steve Bridge, BA (Hons.), FPSC Level 1TM

We know it can be daunting to take those first steps in planning for your retirement and it often seems easier to put it off for another day. But the earlier you start, the better prepared you’ll be and you’ll lose the stress that comes from worrying about the unknown in your future.

I’ve seen it first hand with many of my North Vancouver clients. The second we work together, confront their inaction, and begin putting a plan together, the anxiety and stress fades away.

Here are 10 basic – but essential – strategies and considerations to think about right now: Continue reading →

Posted in Budgeting and Cash Flow, Debt, Retirement savings


5 Steps to Getting Financially Unstuck

Posted on: May 26, 2016

By Melanie Buffel, BA Psych, MBA Candidate

Does your financial situation feel like an immovable object – something that cannot be moved and is keeping you from making progress towards your goals? The situation might feel entrenched, even hopeless. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way.

Consider the following statements. If they apply to you and your relationship with money, you are probably stuck financially:

  • You can only see one way of doing things – and you don’t like your what you see
  • You’re overwhelmed by choices – and you don’t know which one to pick
  • You don’t know the first step – so you can’t get going
  • There’s too much at risk – and you’re afraid of chasing the big dream

To become unstuck, something needs to change. And that change can come from inside. Seeing the same thing in different ways, discovering new insights and changing your attitudes or beliefs, can inspire small behavioural changes. And even small changes maintained over a period of time can shift your life in dramatic ways.

But change often brings with it discomfort and frustration. These feelings are a necessary part of the process, and often provide the fuel to spark the creative and mental energy need to get unstuck, and move forward financially.

Here are five specific actions you can take today to become unstuck, move forward and get closer to reaching your dreams. Continue reading →

Posted in Budgeting and Cash Flow, Money Coaching, Relationship to money


Your Money, Your Life – A Discussion with Steadyhand’s Tom Bradley

Posted on: May 18, 2016
Tom Bradley, President and co-founder of Steadyhand Investment Management Ltd.

Tom Bradley, President and co-founder of Steadyhand Investment Management Ltd.

Money Coach Noel D’Souza, P.Eng.,CFP® recently sat down with Tom Bradley, President and co-founder of Steadyhand Investment Management Ltd. to talk about what Steadyhand offers Canadian investors how it serves its clients and his perspective on personal finance in Canada.

In addition to Tom Bradley’s leadership at Steadyhand, he selects and monitors Steadyhand fund managers and manages the firm’s Founders Fund. He has over 30 years of experience in the investment industry, including senior leadership roles at other well-known investment management firms. He currently serves as the Chairperson of the Investment Committee of the Vancouver Foundation.

Noel: Tom, who would you say is Steadyhand’s typical client and what services does Steadyhand offer?

Tom: We have a wide variety of clients, but I’d have to say that the bulk of our clients are what we call midlife professionals, in their forties and fifties, busy with kids and careers and the stuff of life. Very smart people who just don’t have the time, interest, or maybe knowledge, on the investment side of their finances, and so they look to us to do that for them.

2016-05-16_1212We also have an increasing number of young clients. Our low minimums, which are ten thousand per fund, have opened that door. But of course we also have many retired clients as well.

Our average client portfolio is around $275 000, but we have many clients under $100,000. We offer them investment management and we offer investment advice, not holistic financial planning.

Noel: I think that’s one of the reasons why Steadyhand’s work resonates with what we do at Money Coaches Canada, and why we work well together; we also typically serve busy mid-to-late career professionals, but we provide that holistic financial planning element.

What would you say is the single greatest benefit that a client will experience when working with Steadyhand?

Tom: I’d say that the single greatest thing we do for our clients is right in our name; we do a very good job of providing a steady hand. Dealing with the ups and downs of the market is crucial to long term returns. We keep people on track. We’ve looked at the data and our clients are letting the power of compounding, which Einstein calls the eighth wonder of the world, work for them in growing their assets over time.

We’re all living longer. We want people to think ahead to what I call the last third of their lives, which is going to start somewhere in their sixties and could very well go into their nineties. We need to get people to think ahead to that last third. Continue reading →

Posted in For your information, Investing


What Are You Teaching Your Kids About Money?

Posted on: May 14, 2016

By Karin Mizgala, BA Psyc, MBA, CFP®

“I wish I had learned more about money as a kid.” This is one of the most frequent comments I hear from clients. With financial literacy initiatives being instituted to teach kids about money in school, it made me think about how I learned about money – and it certainly wasn’t in the classroom. It was from my parents.

Now I don’t remember them ever sitting me down and explaining budgets, stocks and bonds to me or my siblings, but I do remember learning that you didn’t get something for nothing. I also got the message that there was money available in the world, but it required a mix of desire, effort, ingenuity and commitment to obtain it.

Coming from a family of professionals, we never went without, but even at a very young age, if we wanted something beyond the extras, we worked on the “matching principle” – we saved up for half of the purchase and my parents matched the other half. As teenagers, we were encouraged to get part time jobs for our spending money. I remember the feeling of buying a ticket to visit my best girlfriend in California at age 16 with my “own” money – that sure was sweet. And even though we resented my father for our house being the last on the street to get a color TV, we learned early that it wasn’t necessary to “keep up with the Joneses” or to have all the latest toys to be happy.

I also remember the bulletin board in the kitchen – my parents would let us borrow money, but our “debt” was published on the board as a reminder for all concerned. It always felt so good to scratch the amount owing off the list when the debt was paid off. Funny how certain things never change.

Over the years, the bulletin board was replaced with informal promissory notes when we needed help with funding university, business ventures or houses – we were never refused financial assistance and I gained a deep sense of security knowing that my parents were there for me, but I also knew that I needed to show them that I took my financial responsibilities seriously.

My parents taught me the importance of goal setting, the pride of accountability, the joy of seeing efforts rewarded, and the value of a buck. I know a lot more about stocks, bonds and budgets than they ever will, but the foundation that they laid for me to have a healthy relationship with money is far more important.

I encourage you to take some time this weekend and think carefully about what messages you are sending your kids about money. Do you talk openly with your kids about the importance of savings and ‘delayed gratification?’ Are you helping them understand why it’s important to keep track of how, and why, you spend money? Are your actions communicating the importance of comparison shopping, and making the most of every dollar spent? If you’ve got all that covered, maybe think about the best way to explain the ‘magic’ of compound interest. No better time to learn about that concept than when you’re young. Or maybe the best place to start is with you – have you confronted your own relationship with money?

Posted in Kids and Money, Relationship to money


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