John and Jane had spent many months planning for their special day. They had also budgeted and spent many thousands of dollars to celebrate their wedding. Now what?
Since John and Jane have made a for richer or poorer commitment to each other, it's time to do something about it; and they need to start right away. Following is a list of the primary areas that will need their immediate attention:
Most people want financial freedom over financial servitude. Who doesn't want to be financially independent, where their money is working for them rather than working for their money? The problem for most Canadians is that financial freedom can be a struggle of living paycheck-to-paycheck or where spending tends to win out over savings. Ultimately, financial freedom is not so much a single choice to attain it, but about daily choices that can make it a reality.
Recent studies have shown that as many as 60% of Canadians will not have saved enough money in order to adequately provide for their retirement.1 The problem for most people is not that they plan to fail, they simply failed to plan, adequately. And, while many may have been conscientiously saving towards retirement, somewhere along the line they lost sight of their target. Either the target never existed or it was never very clear in their sights. Without a target, they can't possibly know where or how high to aim.
Despite what many people think, the number one financial dream killer isn't portfolio losses, or financial emergencies, or unemployment, and not even natural disasters. The number one reason people fail to reach their financial goals is procrastination - putting off the inevitable until the cost of your dreams or goals become prohibitively expensive.
Why People Procrastinate
We've had a few weeks to make and break our New Year's resolutions. Now is a good time to make some promises to give your finances an extra boost in 2018 and help see you better off by year-end.
His banker asked Trent what his net worth was for a loan he was applying for. He had trouble answering the question right away.
Quite simply, net worth is the difference between what you own and what you owe. But true net worth may not be quite that simple.
The current compensation model for financial industry participants*, who promote the use of investment funds and other managed investment products for retail clients, has been mostly unchanged for over 30 years.
Have you considered putting aside extra funds for the teenage years?
If you have not thought about this, then you may want to if you have a child that is quickly headed towards the adolescent years. This can be a turbulent time, not just with the emotion and drama it can bring, but also with all of the associated expenses that it can add to the family budget.
When you think of your family financial strategy, you need to consider each and every phase of life. To their detriment, many families do not consider just how expensive the adolescent years can be.
Many people have no idea. Some people have a vague idea. A few people, a very few, have it all worked out. When it comes to retirement planning, many people do not take action until forced to by a mid-life event (career change, death of loved one) or by hearing about seniors running out of money.
Most people want to be wealthy, or at least financially independent. The sad truth is that very few people are financially independent when they reach retirement. The rest are dependent to some extent on others or government benefits for their daily money needs.
Far too many people today live a lifestyle that is under a mountain of consumer debt. In many cases, that debt follows them into retirement. There are simple strategies to achieve financial independence; however, they may not necessarily be easy to follow.
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