SHOULD YOU DO YOUR OWN FINANCES?

WHAT ARE YOU MISSING?

There is a lot you can learn about finances on the internet.

You can learn a lot about the differences between using TFSAs vs RRSPs for your retirement saving. You can learn about investment strategies and risk profiles. You can learn about tax strategies.

But the problem is – you don’t know what you don’t know.

I recently had potential clients provide me with their financial strategy. They are intelligent people. They had built this strategy themselves. They were fairly confident in their plan but wanted a second pair of eyes.

There was nothing technically “wrong” with their plan. It included many components that are widely recommended.

But there were very clear gaps and missed opportunities.

If either of them became seriously ill, they would very quickly be faced with a massive income shortfall and no way to make up the difference except by dipping into retirement savings.

Why?

They had no critical illness insurance. They did not know about this protective option.

The plan had their retirement age as 65.

But through tweaks to their current cash flow, they could free up more capital for investment. This increased investment, combined with tax efficient withdrawal strategies, would enable them to retire at 60 instead.

They did not know how to free up cashflow, or how to withdraw their savings in the most effective way.

One focus of the plan was paying down the mortgage on their primary home.

But paying down their mortgage early would actually cost them $140,000 in the long run. That is money they could use to purchase the cottage they dreamed of owning.

They did not know that paying down a mortgage isn’t always the best option.

Their plan wasn’t a bad one.

But it had not been stress tested under various scenarios.

Why?

Because they did not know how.

Working with a financial planner allows you to get a much fuller understanding of your options: what would retirement look like at age 55 vs 60? How is your family protected in the event of illness? What investment vehicles will allow you to accomplish simultaneous financial goals? Should you prepay your mortgage or invest?

Whether you are starting from scratch or already have a financial strategy, a financial planner can fill in gaps and create opportunities that you may not even know existed.

Book a call to make sure you aren’t missing opportunities to accomplish your financial goals!