AdvisorCentre Articles

Correcting Four Common Money Mistakes

Sun, 28 May 2006 12:15:00 UTC

(NAPSI) - If you feel as though you keep making the same mistakes when it comes to money, there's good news.

By making a few small, practical changes in your behavior, you can often correct financial mistakes and make some positive changes that are likely to last. Here are four examples.

• Eliminate emotional spending: Before you head off to the mall, take a minute to note what you are feeling. In a recent study by moneycentral.msn.com, people who had just watched a sad movie clip were willing to spend more than those who had just watched other types of movies.

Remember, if you are feeling sad or frustrated, there are ways other than shopping to make yourself feel better.

• Pay off credit card debt as soon as possible: Take a long look at how much you are paying to borrow money from your creditors. Think about consolidating debt with a single loan that has a lower interest rate that's...

Profiting From A Personal Finance Checkup

Sun, 28 May 2006 12:15:00 UTC

(NAPSI) - Making sure that you're on the road to financial security can start with a personal finance checkup. A financial checkup allows you to periodically review how you're doing in light of your finance goals.

Taking the following steps can help put you on the course to financial wellness:

Evaluate your goals. How are you measuring up to the goals you set for yourself? Are you successfully putting money toward saving and investing? Are you saving enough in your 401(k) to get your company match contribution? Where are you falling short and why? Are there changes taking place in your life that will affect these goals, such as a healthy bump in your salary or the birth of a baby? For better or worse, it may be time to adjust your goals.

Assess your investments. Look at the return on each of your investments and make sure they are rebalanced. Are you satisfied with the performance compared to what the market is doing? Consider getting some...

Big mortgage costs stretch couple thin; Sped-up payments leave them little financial flexibility

Sat, 10 Sep 2005 22:43:21 UTC

In Toronto, a couple we'll call Roger, 39, and Ellen, 42, are developing careers with industrial companies and raising their three children ages 6, 8 and 10. Roger and Ellen each earn $75,000 before taxes. Bonuses add another $12,000, pushing their annual family income to $162,000.

Even with their substantial incomes, fixed costs that include a $4,250 monthly mortgage payment and $1,400 a month for private school fees have left them strapped for cash. The crunch is so serious that they sometimes have to put their company-paid daily lunch allowances of a combined total of $17 into their grocery budget.

Ellen hopes to quit work in five years, Roger in 26. Right now, those plans are questionable. They have only $45,000 in registered retirement savings plans, just $8,000 in registered education savings plans for the kids and, as yet, no clear path to retirement. Accelerated payment of the mortgage will save future interest charges, but today they are house...

Little luxuries a roadblock to destination; Maritime couple find that two mortgages and the good life incompatible with goals

Sat, 21 Jan 2006 22:43:21 UTC

In the Maritimes, a couple we'll call Jack and Robert are struggling. Robert, 46, has a chronic illness while Jack, 32, shares their home and contributes about half of their $123,000 annual gross income.

In spite of their above-average incomes and lack of dependents, the men find themselves in a financial bind. They have two houses, two mortgages, travel a good deal, wine and dine often and, as a result, they are broke.

"We have no money!" Robert explains. "I can't make any sense out of what is right, wrong, good or bad."

What our expert says

Facelift asked financial planner Caroline Nalbantoglu, a registered financial planner with PWL Advisors in Montreal, to work with Jack and Robert in order to sort out their priorities and help them deal with the financial implications of Robert's illness.

"Unless they get a handle on their cash flow, their debts will grow larger," the planner says. "They have no breathing room, not...

Lots of property, little cash flow needs quick fix; Gradually unloading their five houses will generate retirement funds this couple need

Sat, 11 Feb 2006 22:43:21 UTC

A couple we'll call Alf and Doris live in a B.C. city. Alf, 60, is retired but active in community affairs. Doris, 56, is a corporate administrator. She plans to retire within a few months.

With a gross annual income of $137,000 and a problematic cash flow from renting out houses, they hope to enjoy a retirement that has taken years to build. Yet the nagging question is whether their current $2,250,000 in net assets will be enough. "Can we support our lifestyle when we fully retire with the assets we have today?" Alf asks.

Alf, who has no company or government pension other than the $523 he draws from the Canada Pension Plan each month, is heavily dependent on his investments, 95 per cent of which are in residential property including their own home.

Doris, whose annual earnings of $117,000 make up the largest part of family income, plans to retire before the end of 2006. The couple will soon have to face a dramatic reduction in income, for Doris's...

Couple find economic hope after divorces; Changes allow them to 'rebuild our lives'

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:43:21 UTC

A couple we'll call Martha, 52, and Phil, 47, have survived costly divorces. At their home in a community not far from Toronto, their combined gross incomes are $114,000 a year. Yet they fear that the drastic reduction in assets that they suffered as a result of their separation settlements will leave them impoverished in retirement.

"Given our circumstances, we are concerned that there may not be enough time left for us to rebuild our retirement plans," Phil says. "I lost half my savings in my divorce and was saddled with high expenses for child support."

What our expert says

Facelift asked Derek Moran, a registered financial planner who heads the Kelowna, B.C. office of financial consultants Macdonald Shymko & Co. in Vancouver, to speak with Martha and Phil.

"The situation is not as bleak as the couple think," Mr. Moran says. "If we take their house, which they estimate is worth $275,000, and deduct their only debt, a $142,000...