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RISING WOMEN EXPERT
ADVICE... In the midst of what appears to be the start to a
rather cold New Year I wanted to ask you all a few questions to get you
thinking about your financial plan.
To begin, I’m positive we’ve all envisioned a point in time when we’ll have
the freedom to fill our days with whatever activities we choose and to live
carefree knowing everything we’ve worked for over the years is both safe and
secure. This is, and should be, a glorious time to accomplish each and every
task we always dreamed about while working long hours in our careers year
after year. But like so many times before, life invariably gets in the way
and derails our momentum by throwing us curve balls at the most inopportune
times, steering us away from the quickest route to retirement to a path full
of unknowns and obstacles. Now many of these hurdles are by no means our
fault and even the most well-heeled plan can’t anticipate or prepare you for
everything, but it can certainly help!
So please ask yourself what you’ve done up to this point from a financial
planning perspective to manage everyday risks that may adversely affect your
retirement goals. Do you today have an emergency fund in place? If so, how
accessible is the cash? Have you utilized the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA)
as of yet and if not, why? Are you contributing monthly to a certain type of
investment such as an RRSP? What are the advantages to doing so and what
investments are most appropriate for you to hold? On this topic, is a TFSA
better than an RRSP, and why would someone possibly want to have money in
both? Who do you contact to help you answer these questions?
As well, if the worst case happens and you leave loved ones behind, are they
going to suffer financially without you in their lives? What can you do to
prevent this? If you own life insurance, how does it work exactly? What
about if you get hurt while skiing this winter and have to remain at home
for six months…are you covered for such an event? Maybe you have group
benefits through your employer and feel you’re adequately covered, but do
you know with certainty?
The one fact that remains true is that we can only control what we do and
how we react and if we don’t ask questions such as these, how will we know
whether or not we’re on track to meet or exceed our goals?
Jim Coleman is a Financial Advisor with Raymond James Ltd.
403.863.7093 jim.coleman@raymondjames.ca
*The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of Raymond
James. This article is for information only. Raymond James Ltd. is a member
of CIPF. Securities-related products and services are offered through
Raymond James Ltd., member CIPF. Financial planning and insurance products
and services are offered through Raymond James Financial Planning Ltd.,
which is not a member CIPF.
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