Get the skinny on your financial ‘well being’ by taking the Summer Shape up Quiz.

 Quiz 

1.       I earn enough money each month to pay all my bills? Yes/No

2.       I have enough money saved to pay for emergency or unexpected costs?  Yes/No

3.       I have written financial goals?  Yes/No

4.       I have a written savings and spending strategy that I follow? Yes/No

5.       I know my net worth (what I own minus what I owe)? Yes/No

6.       I know where ALL my important financial documents are located? Yes/No

7.       I have a Will and Powers of Attorney in place? Yes/No

8.       I know where and how my money is invested and I meet with my advisor at least annually to review? Yes/No

9.       I have had my insurance needs reviewed within the last 2 years? Yes/No

10.   My mortgage and loan payments are less than 30% of my overall income? Yes/No

 Please give yourself one point for every yes answer and then add up all your points to see how you did.

If you want to manage your money better and didn’t fare so well on the quiz, don’t get discouraged. This is the time to make a new start.  Changing even a few of those ‘no’s’ to ’yes’s’ can make a real difference in your overall financial well-being.  Here are a few simple tips to get you started:

·         Educate yourself. There are many great websites and books available where you can find useful information depending on your needs.

·         Find a qualified financial adviser/coach. If you wanted to lose weight, you might hire a trainer or join a weight loss program. Well if you want to lose your debt or build up your savings, get a good financial advisor/money coach who can create a plan and support you along the way.

·         Stick to a plan. Why do diets fail? Because we do not stick with them. Make sure your financial goals/strategies are realistic and attainable. Most importantly, renew your commitment daily and follow through.

 Don’t worry if at first you find it a challenge to make sense of your financial health.  Like anything, it takes time. The most important thing is to just get started. Set some financial goals, follow a budget and save and you’ll be ahead of most.

Nobody takes pleasure in suddenly becoming unemployed. Just the ‘prospect’ alone can be very overwhelming and stressful. Often the worry or anxiety comes from feeling you have no control over the situation. This is partially true, you may not be able to control what your employer does but you can control to some extent how it will affect you and your family. The reality is, no one’s job is really secure but a layoff doesn’t have to be the end of the world. The key to survival is to be prepared, especially with regards to your finances.   Here are some things you can do in advance of being laid off:

1. Have emergency funds put aside to cover at least 3 to 6 months of your basic living expenses, such as your rent or mortgage, utilities, food and debt repayment.
2. If you are living paycheck to paycheck and do not have the extra funds at the moment to build up savings then set up a line of credit while you’re still employed. I am always cautious giving this advice, especially to people who have trouble staying out of debt. While you have an income, go to your bank and see if you qualify for more credit. If you lose your job and have no replacement income or not enough to cover your monthly costs, you will be in real trouble. This is when people get desperate and max out their 18% credit cards or potentially file bankruptcy. So get a line of credit now just in case you’ll need one later.
3. Get out of as much debt as possible. Transfer high debt loans/credit cards to lower interest rate vehicles and then start aggressively paying them down. By reducing or eliminating your debt, you reduce the amount of money that leaves your pocket each month. If you lose your job, you want to be able to survive on as little amount of money for as long as possible. 
4. Develop a ‘layoff’ budget before you lose your job. Figure out what sources of income you will have coming in such as EI and/or a severance package. Assess your basic living costs - mortgage/rent, utilities, loans, and food.  Ensure you have an emergency reserve and/or line of credit established that would cover any shortfall in income over a 6 month period.
5. Start living within your means now. Generally a good idea, regardless of whether or not a layoff is looming, but if a potential job loss is on the near horizon, avoid any unnecessary purchases for the time being, such as a new car, vacation, or renovating your home. Live as frugally as you can now and bank any extra monies.  We have heard it all before, leave the credit cards at home and pay cash for all purchases. Try to grocery shop only once a week. Eat out less. Re-evaluate your monthly bills and find ways to reduce them; call your phone provider and see if a better, less costly plan exists, let go of some of the cable channels. Get the whole family involved in the process. It will definitely teach your kids some smart money practices. 
6. Find ways to bring in some extra money now and then bank it. You could have a garage sale, sell things on ebay or assess your skills and see if there’s something you can do on the side for extra income or get a part time job now. Necessity is a time for creativity. Most importantly, bank all the extra monies you bring in.

Losing a job can often be a harsh wake-up call to how financially on the edge we have been living. In other words, living paycheck to paycheck.

If you are fortunate enough to be notified ahead of time of a layoff then I would highly suggest that you use that time to your advantage. Don’t just wait for the pink slip to be given. Even using one of the tips I have given will make a difference to your overall financial health. The reality is that a layoff could happen at any time and it’s best to be prepared. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Rhonda Sherwood, CFP, FMA

ScotiaMcLeod

Wealth Advisor

Do you remember the good old days when spending our tax refund frivolously wasn’t such a big deal? Our jobs were stable, house values seemed to be on a never-ending climb and the stock market was booming. Things were looking pretty good.  Well, we are all feeling a little less wealthy these days; our portfolios have been beaten up, the wealth in our homes have taken a blow and on top of all that, we are worried about our jobs and the stability of our income.  There is a lot of insecurity or fear out there and so spending our tax refund on a great vacation or a new flat screen TV may not be the most financially savvy thing to do

So what should we do with this year’s tax refund- spend it or save it, invest it or splurge?

Well, that all depends. In these tough times, it is a good idea to give some thought to your overall financial health with the first and most obvious area being your emergency reserves.  Lets take Karen for example, a 42 year old marketing executive with a small independent firm who wants to know what she should be doing with her estimated $10,000 tax refund. In past years, Karen just reinvested her refund into her RRSP but this year things have changed. Karen’s company has been hit hard by the economic slump and has been hinting that layoffs are eminent. Although Karen is a long time employee with seniority she is not immune to layoffs.

The first thing Karen needs to do is evaluate her existing emergency savings funds to ensure that she has at least 3 to 6 months of living expenses set aside. Knowing that you have some backup money just in case can definitely ease some of your anxiety about what may happen. If Karen has little in the way of savings, a tax refund can give her the means to start building up a reserve. I would also suggest that Karen open up a low rate line of credit to help make up for the shortfall in savings. It is easier to qualify for debt when you have income, keeping in mind that this line of credit is ONLY to be used to help pay bills or pay emergency expenses.  

Let’s assume that Karen does have an adequate emergency savings fund, how then should she best use her tax refund?

Karen should review her overall debt load and either consolidate her loans into one low rate loan or start aggressively paying down any high rate loans.  You would be quite surprised at how many people have no idea how much they owe and what it is actually costing them to borrow it. Most often this is because we have way too much debt and it’s all over the place.  So we need to simplify our debt. We can do this by taking all our loan statements to our banker and ask if they can consolidate them into one, low rate, manageable loan. If you have only one loan payment, it not only makes life much simpler but also makes getting out of debt much more ‘doable’. Now if you have some high interest rate loans that you cannot negotiate into a lower rate loan then I would highly advise you to make it a priority to start aggressively paying them down. Use your tax refund here.

What if you have already paid off your debt and have a sizable emergency fund- then what? 

Lets say that Karen has a healthy savings accounts and no debt with the exception of her 4% mortgage, what then should she do with her refund?  Today’s low interest rates and stock markets make it a good time to invest versus paying down debt. Karen is in a high tax bracket, has a long time horizon and is a moderately aggressive investor who should yield between 7-8% over the long term. With all this in mind, investing versus paying down her 4% mortgage makes more sense for her. And since Karen’s tax refund was earned by making contributions to her RRSP, then why not continue the cycle and invest back into the RRSP creating an ever-growing nest egg. The $10,000 contribution would generate a $4,000 refund at the 40% marginal tax bracket, which she can throw back into the RRSP again next year.

So what should you do with your tax refund?

It’s important that you understand your unique financial circumstances before making any decisions. Use the refund productively and resist the temptation to spend it on frivolous items. In the long run you will be better off having money in the bank, with little to no debt then a big TV or just the memory of a two week vacation……..

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is whether one should pay down their mortgage or invest in their RRSP’s. Although I am a big believer that financial freedom is achieved first and foremost by being mortgage free, there are a few factors that play into the equation such as, the return on your investments, your marginal personal tax rate and your current mortgage rate.

Why are these factors important? Well the higher your personal tax rate is the greater your tax savings will be on your RRSP contributions. So if you are in a high tax bracket, contributing to your RRSP may make more sense than paying down your mortgage. However, if interest rates are rather high, potentially higher than what you might return on your investments then paying down your mortgage first may make more sense. And visa versa, if the rate of return on your RRSP’s is consistently higher than your mortgage interest rate then investing in the RRSP is the better choice.

These are not the only factors to consider. A suitable decision can only be made after all your financial circumstances are known, such as

•  How far off is your desired retirement date?
• How many years do you have left to save for retirement once your mortgage is fully paid down?
• What will your current sources of retirement income be i.e. RRSP’s, company pension plan & Government pension plan?
• What is the type of lifestyle you want in retirement and what will it cost?
• How many years in retirement will you need to fund ie. 20 years, from age 65 to age 85?

If you make paying down your mortgage your priority, you’ll save a lot of money in the long run on interest costs and be debt-free sooner. Unfortunately your retirement income may be at risk. However, if you decide to invest in your RRSP’s and forgo any additional payments to your mortgage, you will pay more in interest costs and be no closer to owning your home. You will however, have the benefit of tax-deferred, compound growth and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you can live the lifestyle you desire in your retirement.

   Tips to consider

1.  Contribute the most you can each year to your RRSP. Consider setting up an automatic monthly savings plan. The ‘pay yourself first’ method of investing will help ensure that you are consistent with your contributions to your RRSP plus you will get the benefit of dollar cost averaging. You can then use the tax rebate to either invest back into your RRSP or use it as a lump sum payment down your mortgage.
2. Make sure that your mortgage amortization is no more than the numbers of years you have left until you retire.  For example, if you plan on retiring at age 65 then you should ensure your last mortgage payments is made before this date. Ask your banker for help with this.
3. Make bi-weekly mortgage payments instead of monthly payments. Using this strategy will cut years off your amortization as you are actually making an extra payment each year.
4. If you take out an RRSP loan at prime or prime plus one, consider using your tax rebate to pay down higher rate loans. For example, if you take out a $10,000 RRSP loan at 4.5%, use the tax rebate to pay off your 18% visa bill. Then make your scheduled monthly regular payments to the RRSP loan.

 Whether you decide to pay down your mortgage or invest in RRSPs, in the end both are good strategies that focus on paying yourself first. Although I usually advise clients to do both - contribute to your RRSP and pay down your mortgage (using your tax rebate).  Start early and be consistent and you should have a mortgage free home and money in the bank by the time you hit retirement. With proper planning and determination you can achieve both.

Rhonda Sherwood, CFP. FMA
Wealth Advisor
www.rhondasherwood.com
www.itsHERmoney.com

Live by Design- create a retirement adventure of a lifetime that is exciting, comfortable and worry free.

I specialize in working with retirees and those nearing retirement who are looking for ‘Wealth Planning Advice’. Be it money management, insurance, retirement and/or estate planning advice. My clients portfolio’s typically range from $100,000 to $5 million.

In the last few issues of ‘itsHERmoney’ we discussed the importance of organizing the 5 rooms of one’s financial house; our personal debt room, our savings plan room, our retirement plan room, our estate plan room and our insurance needs room. Last month we tackled the topic of managing and understanding our ‘debt room’. In this issue we will deal with our ‘savings plans room’ or more specifically the importance of establishing an emergency savings fund.

Why are emergency savings so important?

As they say, “life happens when you’re busy making other plan” and life tends to cost money. Having enough money put aside for such unexpected events can be the difference between staying afloat or sinking financially. So one of the most important elements of your financial plan is to ensure an emergency fund is in place - and sooner rather than later.

Why an emergency fund?

An emergency fund is an easy to access pool of money to be used solely for the purpose of emergencies. Having an emergency fund in place gives you the “peace of mind” that you can handle most financial crises that come your way. This could be anything from an unexpected car repair bill to losing your job. Unfortunately, those who have not planned in advance for such unexpected events tend to borrow the money at the last minute and often at very high interest rates. In addition, those without emergency funds tend to collect more debt overtime.

So how much is enough?

This depends on many factors specific to each person’s situation such as, how employable you are, whether or not you carry substantial debt, if you have adequate insurance, if you are a dual income household and/or if you have children. The general rule of thumb is to have 3 to 6 months of your current living expenses set aside for emergency situations. However I recommend the following to my clients: 

• At the very minimum save a $1000 now in a separate high interest savings account. Set it up so it cannot be accessed by your ABM card. This will help protect against impulse buying. Remember an emergency isn’t, “I NEED those shoes’ but truly an unexpected bill or expense.
• When you have that $1000 saved and put aside you should aggressively start paying down those high rate loans and/or consolidate your loans into one lower rate manageable loan.
• Finally, when your debt is paid (excluding your mortgage) it is time to start saving 3 to 6 months worth of your current living expenses. If you find that you are spending what you earn then take 3 to 6 months of your current after tax income as the barometer of how much you need to put aside.
  I also recommend setting up a line of credit that would cover a few months of emergency expenses. I say this with caution to those who have trouble steering clear of debt. This is solely to be used for emergency means only.
   

 How to get started on your emergency savings plan 

1. Determine what you can ‘reasonably’ afford to put aside each month - $25, $50 or $100
2. Setup up an interest bearing savings account to save the initial $1,000. Again I advise that you open up an account that is not easy to access i.e. no chequing or ABM privileges. This $1,000 will help cushion any unexpected bills that may come your way.
3. Set up an automatic process to save – this can be an automatic monthly payment or an automatic transfer between accounts.
   When you are ready to start saving the larger emergency reserve- 3 to 6 months worth of your current living costs – open up another high earning savings account or a money market mutual fund (the latter is not as easy to access and takes a few days for the monies to settle once sold. It also tends to pay a bit more interest than a regular savings account). You want to ensure these funds are liquid and assessable when needed but are also growing with the cost of living (after tax and inflation).
4. Make sure that you keep your emergency funds separate from any accounts that you are using for other savings purposes, like reno’s, travel or a new car. 

How to find money to save

• Basically, spend less than you earn
• Save all your loose change
• Have a garage sale.
• Review your current expenses/bills to see where you can make some sensible changes - do you really need the movie channel?
• Cut back on indulgences (Bring lunch to work, have one less cappuccino a week, eat out less, and/or rent a movie versus going to the theater).
• Consolidate your debt into one low interest loan.
• Pay cash for all your purchases. People tend to curb their impulse buying when they actually have to fork over cash to make a purchase. Using cash also helps prevent out of control credit card debt and saves on the interest charges you incur when you borrow money.
• Cut down on bank machine withdrawals – those service charges do add up.
• Find creative ways to make extra money. Do you have a skill set that can be put to work?

Financial emergencies can come at any time and at any cost. All you can really do to help protect you and your family from such financial crisis’s is to ensure you are adequately insured and that you have enough savings put aside to help ride out whatever uncertainty comes your way. Start small if need be but start soon.

Rhonda Sherwood, CFP, FMA
Wealth Advisor
www.rhondasherwood.com
www.itsHERmoney.com

In the last blog, we discussed the importance of decluttering your financial house, as clutter and chaos tend to go hand in hand. Hopefully you have had the chance to tackle the mounds of paper that represent your financial house and separate the ‘must keep’ documents from the ‘shred now’ stuff. And even further, file those ‘must keeps’ according to each financial room they represent; personal debt, savings plans, retirement plans, estate plans and insurance needs.

Once you have accomplished this hefty task, you can then educate yourself on the basics of each of your financial rooms. Let’s begin with your personal debt room; do you know how much debt you have? What your debt is costing you (interest rate you are being charged)? And how long will it take you to pay off each loan that you have?

If you don’t know the answers to the above questions you could be in danger of accumulating debts that you will find hard to repay. Unfortunately anyone can experience financial difficulties and fall into the debt trap. The only way to avoid this common problem is to take the following precautions.

• Develop a good understanding of exactly what you owe and to whom. Create a debt journal with the following headings; amount owed, to whom, interest rate being charged, scheduled repayment amount and date loan will be repaid. Have the highest rate loan as your first entry, then the second highest as the second entry, and so on.
• Create a debt reduction plan. It is best to do this with the help or guidance of your banker/financial planner. Not only can they provide advice as to what loans you should pay down first, they can also help create and implement a debt repayment strategy.
• If you decide to go it alone, then ensure you pay down your highest interest rate loans first. If you can, try paying more than the scheduled repayment amount. You might also talk with your banker to see if you can renegotiate the interest rate on your high rate loans.
• If you have many loans, consider consolidating them into one manageable loan.
  Credit cards are probably the worst debt traps. They are often easy to acquire and easy to use…. and abuse. If you are not paying down the full amount owing on your cards the interest starts accruing and before you know it, you are knee deep in debt. If this sounds familiar then it may be time to take some serious action. Go see your banker and ask to convert all your credit card debt into one manageable loan. Then cut up those cards and start paying cash for your purchases.

 Access to credit does not have to be your enemy. Credit can be a good thing if you can use it responsibly. I often advise my clients to open up a line of credit that would cover 3 months of their living expenses should they ever happen to lose their jobs and/or become unable to work. I have seen emergency circumstances come about and without easy access to money, the situation can quickly become worse. You just need to be responsible and not use it until you really really need to.

If you decide to create your own debt reduction plan, check out some debt reduction calculators at: www.itsHERmoney.com/herfinancial-calculators. Remember it is not the amount of money you make that will lead you to financial independence but how you spend and save it!

 
Rhonda Sherwood, CFP, FMA
Wealth Advisor
www.rhondasherwood.com
www.itsHERmoney.com

The No. 1 New Year’s resolution people will make for 2008, revealed in a recent survey by Franklin Covey, is to get out of debt. (Losing weight is No. 2 and exercising is No. 3.) As most of us already know through our own experience, when it comes to resolutions more often than not we tend to fail. So how can we make this year different and ensure we stay on the right path to reducing our personal debt?

Here are a few simple steps to help you through the process:

1. Get a good understanding of exactly what you owe. Too often we allow our fear to keep us in the dark when the only way out of the situation is through knowledge. Sit down with a pad of paper, a pen and all those loan documents. Write down what dollars you currently owe on each loan, their interest rate and monthly payment. Number each loan with number one being the highest interest rate loan, number two being the second highest interest rate loan and so on. When you have completed the task you should have a clear picture of what loans you should be paying off first. For example, if you have a car loan at 11% and a line of credit at 4% you want to pay that car loan off first. You might also want to speak with your banker about reducing the interest rate on higher rate loans. See if you can increase that 4% line of credit enough to pay off that 11% car loan. It never hurts to ask.
    
2.  So now that you have a better picture of your current debt let’s move on to your fixed monthly cash ‘outflow’ (after your loan payments have been made where are you spending the rest of your money?). Blind or spontaneous spending is how most people get into credit card trouble. So to avoid this trap know where your money is being spent. First record your ‘fixed’ monthly costs or overhead costs excluding your loan payments. This could be your food, hydro, cable, or phone. It is any costs you must pay monthly to keep afloat. Don’t forget those annual costs such as car insurance. Take the total dollar amount of all your annual costs and divide by 12. Add this amount to your fixed monthly costs. For example, annual car insurance $1200/12= $100 monthly cost. Finally add your total monthly fixed costs to your total monthly loan payments. You now have your fixed monthly cash outflow.
    
3. Now let’s compare this dollar amount to your monthly cash inflow (all the after- tax money you are bringing in every month). If your cash inflow is greater than your cash outflow then debt reduction and savings is achievable. If you have being doing neither so far and have instead been spending your excess cash it is time to make some changes. This is something you can control now. What I recommend my clients do is to record everything they spend on daily basis for at least a month or two (exclude fixed costs). This will help give you a better idea of how you’re spending that excess cash and where changes can be made.
    
4.  Once you know the amount of the excess cash that you had previously been discretionarily spending you can now direct it towards your highest interest paying loans. Continue to pay off each loan with the excess cash until you’re either debt free or until the return you could achieve on a conservative investment portfolio is higher than the interest rate you are paying on your outstanding debt. Step four can get a bit complex and so you may want to seek the help of a financial professional.
    
5.  If your cash inflow is less than your cash outflow (spending more than you make) it is time to make some serious life changes or you will be heading straight for bankruptcy. One option, make more money. Sometimes financial pangs are just the push we need to either ask for that long overdue raise or move on to a better paying job. You might even have to take on a second job temporarily until you are out of the financial crunch. Another option to consider, go speak with your banker to see if you can restructure your current debt. Combine all those loans into just one with a more manageable payment. And finally, it may be time to consider downsizing your current lifestyle. If you cannot afford that home, that car, then it is time to make some changes. It is much easier to sleep at night with money in the bank and manageable debt then it is to be in a big beautiful home that you just cannot afford.
    

Start 2008 on the right track and take charge of your finances. And just as you would hire a personal trainer to get into physical shape consider speaking with a money coach to help you get into financial shape. Financial Planners have the expertise to create personal roadmaps to help you get to where you want to be financially. You don’t need to take the journey alone. They are here to help. And always remember that it is never too late to make a fresh start!

 
Rhonda Sherwood, CFP, FMA
Wealth Advisor
www.rhondasherwood.com
www.itsHERmoney.com