How do you feel when you hear the word retirement? If you are like many Canadians, the word sends pangs of guilt and discomfort through your mind and a fluttery nervous sensation through your stomach. Why? Because many people have the vague feeling that they aren’t doing enough to plan for retirement, but they don’t act because they are nervous that the situation will be worse than they imagine.
So how do you banish retirement planning fears? Continue reading
In part one we met Jill, a successful single women in her early 40’s who was laboring under debt and stuck in a pattern of avoidance and confusion with her money. She tried many times to create a budget but just couldn’t seem to make it stick. A big or unexpected cost always seemed to come up and lead her to overspend. She felt like the universe was conspiring against her, “This always happens to me!” One month it was her property taxes, the next month it was a vet bill and then a car repair and then her parents came to town and then and then…. Once the budget was blown for the month she didn’t see the point in being careful with her spending and would “treat” herself with a new outfit, a new haircut and dinners out to deal with the anxiety. Her VISA bill climbed and her sense of failure deepened.
The eight money archetypes, as defined by Deborah Price in her book Money Magic, offer a way to build our awareness of what fuels our money behaviours and transform our relationship to money so we can release the fears and live from a deep sense of abundance.
I shared the first four archetypes in part one. The remaining four types are described below. Do you recognize what archetypes Jill is operating from? Do you have a sense of what archetypes most influence your behaviour? Continue reading
What’s the best way to save for my children’s education? I’ve seen brochures on Group Education Savings plan in my doctor’s office – are these a good idea?
Answered by Sabine Lay, money coach
Education is one of the biggest expenses that families face, so it’s important to make your education savings decisions within the context of your values, beliefs and an understanding of the numbers. Before setting up a savings plan, ask yourself:
How do I want to assist my child with post-secondary education? Moral support? Some financial assistance? Pay for everything?
Do I expect my child to contribute a portion to their education costs or living expenses?
Will my child attend a local school and live at home? Or do I want the option to send my child to a school in another province, or country?
How much money will I need to cover the portion of schooling costs that I expect to pay for? Continue reading
Jill is a single woman in her early 40’s. She enjoys her job and has interesting hobbies. She has good friends and family who often remind her how fabulous she is. Her cat seems to think so too, at least when he’s hungry.
Jill makes $75,000 a year, significantly more than the average Canadian income of $48,250. Yet she feels trapped by her money, always chasing her debt and never managing to put anything away in savings. How do other people manage she wonders?
I’m not giving any secrets away if I tell you it is relatively easy to create a spending and savings plan for Jill. We can add up all the numbers and create a balanced plan that provides a good lifestyle today as well as put money away for a dream vacation, some renovations on her condo and toward her retirement. We can easily make the numbers add up on paper. But then the real work begins. Continue reading
Parents often ask me if they should give their children an allowance. The answer is yes! As our children grow and change they will have many different dreams for their future, but whichever path they take they will need to know how to manage their money.
You may have read Money Coach Kathryn Mandelcorn’s recent post about being the architect of your financial future, she suggests people look at their family history around spending and saving to understand their current relationship to money. Your children’s future habits are being shaped right now. The good news is you’re in a position to help shape them.
Of course not everyone sees that influence as good news. One of the concerns I hear from many parents is that they don’t think they are doing a great job with their own finances, so they shy away from “teaching” their kids. I say that’s all the more reason to make teaching their kids about money a priority! Kids are watching and listening all the time, so you are either actively or passively teaching them your attitudes to money every day.
So where do you start? Continue reading
You are not born with a set of values around money. The blueprint for your financial habits and behaviors is drawn by the experiences and significant people in your past and present. The current state of your finances, good or not so good, likely has less to do with your income and expenses than it does with your internal, emotional blueprint.
Don’t believe me? I started my work as a Money Coach because of a need that was not being met by people seeking traditional financial advice: the need for financial peace. I saw millionaires living paycheck to paycheck. I saw people consolidate their debts or refinance their home only to be in debt again a year later. I saw people with enough assets to get them through retirement and provide for their children but still could not sleep at night for fear of losing everything.
You may have been fortunate enough to receive a blueprint that matches the financial home you are trying to build. If so, you are probably working a plan and feeling pretty good about it even if you haven’t yet achieved all your goals. But if you are feeling stuck, stressed, or worried around money, you may be working from a blueprint that doesn’t support your aspirations. Fortunately a blueprint is changeable, but we can only change it when we become aware that it exists. Continue reading
I’ve met Preet Banerjee in person on several occasions, heard him speak and watched him on TV countless times, and engaged with him on social media. He’s extremely personable, a natural showman, and I get the sense that he really cares about making good financial advice more accessible to the Canadian public.
So I was glad to hear that Preet had written a book aimed at the personal finance novice. While there are a TON of books on investment strategies, tax reduction, insurance, and so on, most of them start with the premise that you are already interested enough in the topic to pick up a “deeper dive” book on the subject. For those who are only beginning to realize that they should do “something” to improve their finances – but don’t know what to do or where to start – there are just a few books from which to choose. Continue reading
There is a popular expression, that’s actually the title of a book published in the 1980’s, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” But my experience as a financial planner and money coach tells a different story. The people who are most successful following their bliss are the ones who don’t just assume the money will follow, they take charge and make a plan. These six steps are a great way to start.
Step 1: Evaluate. Look at this career change decision as an opportunity to evaluate your mindset around money. Examine your limiting thoughts, and be determined to believe in yourself and your ability to take charge.
Step 2: Take stock. With a positive attitude in place, take stock of your assets, savings and debt level. You can use this Net Worth Statement to get started. If your debt is high, (especially credit card debt) you will want to work on lowering that debt before you make changes. But don’t let debt stop you, let it take you to step 3. Continue reading
We’ve seen a growing interest in Do-It-Yourself (DIY) investing over the last few years within two distinct groups of Canadians. In the first group, the interest is triggered by media reports about high and hidden investment fees in Canada. While their concerns are valid, their interest in investing doesn’t go much beyond saving money on fees. What we usually suggest to members of this group is a better understanding of fees and how to minimize the fees they pay.
Group two is often triggered by the same frustration with fees, but members of this group are also genuinely interested in learning more about and getting more involved in their own investing. But is that interest enough? It’s certainly the right motivation, the more you understand about investing, the better able you’ll be to make decisions on your own or with an advisor. That’s a good thing, but the right motivation is only the first consideration. Continue reading
Fee has become a four letter word.There is a lot of talk in the financial media about investment fees; is there enough transparency, are people getting what they pay for? Many Canadians would probably say they aren’t really sure how much they are paying and many are disgruntled.
It’s not surprising then, that we frequently receive calls from people wondering if they should manage their own investing to avoid fees, and whether a fee-for-service money coach or financial planner can help them. Continue reading
A revolutionary step-by-step money management system where you will learn how to:
Combining practical financial tools, tips and resources with insights into the emotional and psychological challenges of today's money culture, this thought-provoking book will help you bring more joy and ease into your financial life.
