Making Dreams A Reality

Why I Am So Passionate About Leaving A Legacy!

Betty-anne — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:19:47 +0000

As the 20th anniversary of my Mother’s death comes closer I am reminded of how much I miss her, how she drew us all together like a magnet within our family, kept us all close & cohesive, feeling loved & cared for. Our four year emotional roller coaster from; breast cancer diagnosis to surgery to cancer free to cancer back to treatment to remission to “how do you want to spend the time you have left” is firmly imprinted in my memory & my heart. She died at the age of 64 & I was 36, my youngest brother was 27 & his kids were so young, they can barely remember her. We were very fortunate as we received a ton of support from friends & family members both during my Mother’s illness and after my Mother passed away. When I first heard of The Gilda’s Club providing support to anyone dealing with any type of cancer I thought, “wouldn’t that have been nice to have available to us throughout my Mother’s four year ordeal with cancer”.

I have been involved in many charitable pursuits including my most recent one, last summer, where I swam the length of the lake I live on to raise money for my local community – Lyndhurst. I managed, with the help of many supporters, to raise close to $4500.

Challenging myself physically is something I love to do so the 200km Lung Association two day bike ride was something I had my eye on & so was very pleased when I was one of the top fundraisers the year I completed it.

Pictured Above: Gilda's Club - Original Group

I have organized & completed many fundraising events for a number of different charities & organizations. My dream has always been to leave my own legacy with my goal to leave half a million dollars to charities, when I die. You see, at this point in my life, the only way I could possibly do that is by using life insurance as a tool. Given I am a Financial Planner & I love helping people understand how insurance works, it was, as they say, a “no brainer” to purchase my own life insurance policy, making the Gilda’s Club the owner of the policy, the premiums I pay of approximately $80/m are treated as a charitable donation & I get to leave $50,000 as part of my Leave a Legacy Goal. If I had started this process earlier, when I was younger, what I pay monthly would certainly be less. I structured the life insurance policy so I would have it all paid for, in a few years.

Finding that balance between living for today & planning for the future is a basic tenant in Financial Planning. When it comes to charitable giving I try to do that as well, help charitable organizations now by making cash donations while trying to make a bigger impact for the future by leaving much larger sums of money through life insurance. Making my dreams a reality & that of the charitable organization. Therein lies my passion.

Betty-Anne Howard, B.A.(Hons), M.S.W.
Certified Financial Planner,
Making Dreams a Reality Financial Planning

What If’s

Betty-anne — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:56:27 +0000

Testimonials speak volumes. The one below was based on a conversation I had recently with a Professional Woman working in the health care field, in her 50′s who said she really wished that their financial planning had more specifically addressed two issues with she & her deceased husband; ensuring they had sufficient life insurance in place & their Wills reviewed.

I wanted to make sure we all learn from her experience.

Betty-Anne Howard, B.A.(Hons), M.S.W. Certified Financial Planner, Advanced Estate Planning Specialist

“When I made a career change in my early forties, my husband and I went through the usual ritual of reviewing our Financial Plans as we transferred benefits, reviewed pensions and made some decisions about the type and amount of life insurance coverage that would be appropriate.

Being the primary wage earner and being a relatively young and healthy couple we went through the details without too much of a second thought. Nothing’s going to happen anyway. We’ll be working hard for many years doing the best we can and enjoying life along the way.

No one could prepare me for the totally sudden and unexpected loss of a spouse – no warning, no family history, no nothing.

As we deal with the shock and sadness of losing a loved one, we might think we are well prepared and ready but life doesn’t treat us kindly in these situations. Had I had any foresight into what the experience might be like, I would have considered two additional very important things.

One, at no time did we think about or consider reviewing and updating our Wills – things were ‘the same’ as they always were in the big picture of our minds and after all, we’re not ‘rich’ so it didn’t have much to do with our
employment. We planned properly, Financial Plans were in place to ensure everything transferred to the surviving spouse leaving no legal estate for distribution.

What we didn’t think about was the emotional and moral obligation that left me feeling I should disburse specific bequests to our children, especially given that they were not all biologically ours, together. That being done, and topping up RRSPs, left precious little life insurance to supplement the loss of family income.

That might not be an unreasonable circumstance to find oneself in considering there was a full time job to go back to, after all, weren’t things going to ‘go on as they did before’? That brings me to the second important thing – what if you don’t want to work full time because your life has just been shattered and you are left with an emotional void that no job, however satisfying, can fill. In fact, it could become the escape from the very necessary work of dealing with the emotions and travelling the grief journey to healing and new life. What a difference additional life insurance coverage would have made in my life, at that time.

Since then, life has gone on, families have grown, new attachments made and the world is a very different place with much hope for the future. New Wills have been written and plans in place to deal with those ‘what ifs’ that we sometimes can’t see until we’ve gone through the experience and come out the other side.”

The Soul of Money

Betty-anne — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:43:06 +0000

What is money? A piece of paper, coin, plastic, all seeming very simple. And yet it controls our lives in so many ways.

Viewing money compassionately means looking more closely at the complexities of this commodity, how we feel about it, how we treat it & what we do with it, physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychically. Examining our attitudes & perceptions about money means looking at the messages we received as we were growing up; from our parents, our community & the society around us. Examining how those beliefs help or hinder us in reaching our life goals & realizing our dreams.

Many of us tend to have an ambivalent relationship with money. We love it at times & loathe it at other times. We ignore it, neglect it, hoping it might go away & yet each day it’s there, a part of our everyday lives.

Recognizing that we have a relationship with money and working on keeping it a healthy one, is all part of the soul process – going deeper, looking at the meaning behind the money & treating it with the respect it deserves – how you handle it, what you do with it & being mindful of your intentions.

To do otherwise keeps it stark & cold, with no meaning other than what we can buy with it. Money is infused with spirit & I believe in the importance of treating it respectfully, like all relationships.

Has the world gone crazy?

Betty-anne — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:30:46 +0000

What does this “intense & gut wrenching market volatility” really mean?

Craig Alexander, Senior Vice President & the Chief Economist for TD Bank Financial Group helped give us some insight in answering that question when he presented at our IPG Annual Conference, Saturday Sept 24/11 in Quebec City.

We can always count on Craig to present a well balanced, somewhat comical version of how he, as an economist, sees the world, current market volatility & what could happen in the days, months & years to come.

I decided to present Craig’s information in a question & answer format in order to make it more interesting for the reader, taken from my notes. Therefore, this is my interpretation of what he said & not his exact words, it was the jist of his comments. I am hoping this information will provide you with additional insight into the craziness that is going on in the markets as this amount of volatility is unprecented for this length of time.

Craig also stated quite emphatically; “what do I know, I’m just an economist!”

What are the three main issues as you see it, that is having the most impact on market volatility?

1. The European Union’s ability to deal with their financial crises

2. The U.S. Government

3. Sustainability of the U.S. Recovery

What is the financial crises in the EU, what’s really going on?

Let’s start with the most obvious, Greece’s debt. They issued bonds, in the past, that were priced at 30X the amount that the country is worth. Greece has high debt levels. When the financial crises hit their tax base was reduced. Their economy is contracting, they can’t pay their bills (Greece is insolvent) & the biggest/greatest amount of Greek debt is held right now, by banks in France. They (the banks in France) need time to get ready for the default by getting on more stable/solid footing to begin writing down this debt & recapitalizing.

The other big problem is that if Greece defaults (whereby they could settle at paying say 29cents for ever dollar they owe) then other countries would probably want to follow suit like; Spain, Portugal, Ireland, & any other country that is experiencing similiar issues. It is important to keep in mind that the debt ratio in Spain is lower than that in the U.S. & Japan and, Greece is a very small country. Italy’s debt has remained the same for the past 30 years.

The European Union is deferring the inevitable & that is a good thing because if the banks in Europe become insolvent, we’re in very big trouble. That’s not going to happen as these are some of the biggest banks in the world, they just need some time to shore up their reserves/capital so they can start writing off this debt from their books.

The longer the EU is able to put off Greece’s defaulting on their debt, the less the damage will occur.

What do most countries do when they are in this type of situation – have large debt issues?

1. Depreciate their currency – Greece can’t do that because it’s the Eurozone & one common currency, the Euro.

2. Fiscal Austerity, raise taxes & reduce programmes. This is not going over well in Greece right now.

What did the European Leaders do when first faced with this crises in July?

They went on holidays! From mid July to the end of August. Therefore the markets lost confidence in Europe, as they were clearly underestimating the gravity of the situation.

Is the United States also insolvent?

Absolutely not, the U.S. is solvent (ie. they are not going to go bankrupt given their debt levels). Their Debt to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is not that different right now to Canada. It’s when you project further into the future that the picture starts to change. They haven’t saved a cent for health care, social security etc. for the baby boomers who will be utilizing these services more & more as they/we age.

What’s the simple answer/solution?

A 5% national sales/consumption tax (like Canada’s GST), could completely wipe out their deficit. Americans don’t like taxes!

Well, why aren’t they doing that then?

There’s no polictical will. And, Americans don’t like taxes.

What does that mean?

The Republicans & Democrats are moving further & further away from each other polictically. What’s happening in Europe is putting pressure on the U.S. to deal with their debt. There’s an election coming in 2012 – the Tea Party & the Republicans are facing off & there’s no compromising. It’s complete insanity. The Senate is controlled by the Republicans. Recently, for example, a Bill failed to pass – disaster relief for Americans hit by tornadoes – because the Senate insisted on a corresponding cut in spending so, no disaster relief for these people!

What has the American Government Done?

They’ve created a Joint Select Committee with representation from most political parties & they have to agree to 1.3 trillion dollars of fiscal savings, by November 23rd, 2011.

What’s the likelihood of them coming to an agreement?

Are you a betting kind of person?

What else is going on in the U.S. that’s having an impact on the economy & the markets?

The U.S. is dealing with an enormous structural problem. Home prices are still falling, a reflection of supply. And, due to the current political environment, nothing is going to happen/change until after the U.S. election

Where does Canada stand in all of this?

We have an excellent banking system, we are making changes to our CPP in order to ensure it will be fully funded, we have, as a country some issues but nothing like what other countries are experiencing right now.

What else can you say that could be seen as, positive?

Developing countries like; India, China, Brazil are growing & need many of our resources including those of multi national companies that are based in the U.S., this will help to fuel some growth in the developed countries. Corporations & business around the world are sitting on mountains of cash, playing a wait & see game. Once they start spending that money, the economy should pick up.

What’s the one thing that stock markets hate the most?

Uncertainty.

Well, we’ve seen a lot of that lately.

What are your concluding remarks?

Please keep in mind that newspapers & the media have a role to sell more newspapers & make money. Do not use this as your sole source of information in order to make investment decisions. They like to sensationalize & focus on the negative.

About the future, I am cautiously optimistic and, we have a rocky road ahead.

Notes to the reader: Please refer to the diclaimer section on our website.

We hope this helps to clarify some of what’s been happening in the markets over the past few months & around the world. These are uncertain times however it is extremely important that you not make decisions about your investments based on emotions, instead ensure that your risk tolerance is aligned with your investments & review your fiancial plan on a regular basis. If you don’t have a financial plan then give us, or your own advisor, a call & get one in place as that will help to address your concerns & your fears.

Warren Buffet, a world renowned investor basically says, “when others are selling out of fear, he is buying & when they are buying with exuberance, he’s selling”. That’s probably why he’s a billionaire & currently buying!

SWIMMING & FINANCIAL PLANNING – WHAT COULD THEY POSSIBLY HAVE IN COMMON?

Betty-anne — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:27:21 +0000

Let me start by providing you with some background information.

I moved to Bass Lake (near Lyndhurst) just over a year ago. One of my dreams was to live on a lake in a home with a panoramic view, quiet setting, clean lake & thanks to my partner, it came true.

Whenever I get into a body of water I always need a place to go, a destination, preferably one where I can go there & then get back. For example, I see an island within eye shot, I have to swim to it, I see another shore, same thing so, when we got to Bass Lake I thought “I’d really like to swim this lake” – meaning the entire length of lake because it’s a long & narrow lake. Long is not that long – it’s about 3km in length. It’s also a very beautiful lake with one shore that has virtually no development on it which gives it a more rugged & Algonquin Parkish feel. Not only did I decide that I would indeed have to swim the length of Bass Lake, I also decided to make it a fundraiser for the Lyndhurst Rejuvenation Committee by seeking sponsors & added to that a goal of raising $5500.

There were so many aspects of my experience this summer that reminded me of the whole process of financial planning that I wanted to write about it. Lessons learned from my swim experience & how that relates to Financial Planning. Five Key Points.

1. Setting Goal(s): I set a goal to swim the length of my lake as a fundraiser & I wanted to raise $5500 for my new & wonderful community. I also decided I needed to complete this event in August before the lake started to cool off. SMART.

Goal setting is extremely important when it comes to Financial Planning & the starting point. Often times we hear that the goal needs to be attainable, measureable & realistic – sometimes that’s true, not always. You need to be able to dream, aim in the right direction & start doing what it takes to get you there. I had no idea (although I was pretty sure & I was VERY determined) if my goal was realistic or not – it was a big goal – having never swam that distance before -2km was the longest when I competed in the Kingston triathlon back in the 80’s. However, I was going to give it my very best shot. I also knew I would never give up trying to attain my goal.

I believe that we can have dreams both big & small & they all deserve to be recognized & achieved.

My experience has shown me that when you set big goals there is a driving force that inevitably pushes you towards that goal, reminding you that there are things you will have to do in order to attain what you set out to achieve. The goal setting itself can prove to be very motivational. Motivating you to engage in the behaviours required to meet your goals. That’s what I did. I knew that I would have to swim, a lot and longer & longer distances. That was the reality of it. It also helped that I had built in some accountability, to my community & to my friends & family. My goal was being widely publicized which added additional pressure & motivation to achieve it.

Similarly, if you set certain financial goals for yourself, like; retiring comfortably at the age of 60 or to celebrate your 50th birthday with an Alaskan Cruise, you will need to allocate your resources accordingly, adjust your lifestyle & behaviours in order to get started on working towards these goals.

2. Emotions Accompanying the Goals. Our underlying emotions, a range of emotions that can accompany your goals are important to pay attention to. For my swim, very early on, I started to doubt myself, I questioned my ability to swim that distance and, quite frankly, asked myself what I’d gotten myself in for. I even went so far as to think that my goal was a stupid one & who did I think I was, anyway.

Self- doubt can arise out of a fear of failure. This fear of failure can come from many different places including; past experiences, insecurities, & inexperience, to name a few. The way I saw it was; my options were; let my fears take over & disappoint myself & many others or, continue on, break the goal down into its smaller parts &, keep going.

Similarly, as you are living your day to day life it is very easy to slip into feelings of self doubt about what you are trying to achieve. You wonder if you are ever going to be able to retire, send your kids to University & go on that special trip.

The thing to keep in mind is that if this happens it’s important to recognize that these feelings are a natural response to the many uncertainties that exist in your life – you don’t know what’s going to happen to; inflation & what impact that will have on your retirement plans, stock market turmoil & the impact that will have on your investment portfolio,& your nest egg that you were hoping to leave to your children.

It helps to have a plan & the assistance of a trusted advisor so you can stay on track with this plan & to not let the emotions interfere with what you have set out to achieve.

3. Be prepared for setbacks: About six weeks into my training, swimming more often and longer & longer distances I started to experience some pain in my forearm – sharp, intense pain. Once again my fears rose to the surface and I started to get worried that I might have an injury & that could threaten my swim. I decided that I would need to start cross training, let up on the swimming so I could preserve my arm, keeping it in the best shape possible to complete my swim, the day of the big event. I had done enough swimming at that point where I was fairly certain I could complete the full distance so started to run every other day & lift weights, instead of swimming.

Similarly, there are bound to be set backs when it comes to your journey towards meeting your financial goals. It’s important to not get discouraged, deal with the setback, see what you can do to address the challenge(s) you are facing & never lose sight of your goal! Unexpected car repairs, a furnace that needs to replaced earlier than you`d planned, a child who needs some interim financial support, these things happen & you need to address them & then get back on track, making whatever adjustments needed to achieve your goals.

4. Always Be Safe: Whenever I would go out swimming on my own, I wore a fluorescent pink bathing cap so I would be visible to any boat traffic that should happen to come my way. I had a lifesaving device strapped to my body (purchased by my partner who was much more concerned about my safety than I) in case I had a cramp and was far from shore & needed to be safe. When I went out into the middle of the lake for my swims my partner was right beside me in a row boat in order to alert other boaters that I was there, so they wouldn’t run me over.

Similarly, from a Financial Planning perspective we focus on the Risk Management side of your plan. It is very important that you have a contingency plan in place should something go wrong, in order to keep you & your family safe. Making sure you have the necessary protection in place to take care of you & your family should you, for example; become critically ill, need long term care or the worst possible risk, should you die. These are all aspects of a complete & thorough Financial Plan.

5. Celebrate Your Accomplishments: You should always celebrate your accomplishments. I had the joy of completing the swim with 30 people waiting for me on shore, family, friends, clients, community members, Bass Lake residents & local politicians.

I couldn’t even begin to describe how elated I felt & honoured to be recognized in this way.

We all need to feel proud of the effort it took to achieve our goals, sometimes that is simply basking in the pleasure of the goal itself. Give yourself lots of credit, you deserve it!

Postscript: One part of my goal was to raise $5500. We are at $4,000 & I’m not giving up still trying to raise the additional $1500. I am shamelessly & assertively approaching people & businesses whenever I can to address this gap, I’ll let you know by the end of the year, how I did. Like I said, I never give up!

I would also like to thank all of the businesses (mutual fund companies, insurance companies, real estate agents & my mortgage broker), my partner, friends, family, co-workers, colleagues, clients, Bass Lake, Lyndhurst & Seeleys Bay residents & the media for your generous support in getting me to the $4,000 mark.

I am so very proud of what all of you have done to support me in this endeavour - I am getting teary as I write this – you are truly a remarkable group of people & I am grateful to have you in my life.

Making Dreams A Reality with Compassion

Betty-anne — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:18:55 +0000

I was asked by Kathy Sage, Minister at the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship, to participate in the Sydenham St. United Church’s Charter for Compassion Series this summer, in Kingston. Interfaith Services were taking place with the focus on how different religions & spiritual beliefs bring the Charter into their ministry.

How this came about is because, Karen Armstrong; Author, Theologian & Recipient of a TED Award brought together represenative leaders from all faiths & religions, a few years ago, to map out the Charter, seeking to find the common ground within all belief systems.

I am happy to say that I was one of the first people in Kingston to sign the Charter along with organizing two events in Kingston as part of this endeavour. I was asked by Kathy when it came time for the Unitarian Fellowship to address the congregation to talk about how, as a Unitarian, my work is guided by The Charter For Compassion.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, I believe a story can have an equivalent currency.

There are two aspects to the work I do in Financial Services with the ultimate goal of “Making Dreams a Reality”. One is investing money & the other is, financial planning – designing a plan to achieve all that you want, for your life, with a focus on mindfulness & compassion.

These two stories help to illustrate how mindfulness & compassion are an integrated daily part of all aspects of my work.

The first story is based on an interview I heard on CBC radio – it was a Congressional Hearing into the demise of a very large investment firm in the U.S., called The Leahman Brothers. One of the defendants, during the hearing said; “People don’t care HOW they make their money, they just want to make money!” I & most of my clients care immensely about HOW we make our money. Doing so in a way that has a positive impact on society & the planet, adhering to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing that have been signed by Money Managers who are managing trillions of dollars, so we are not alone – there are many people who care about HOW money is being made; Profits with Principles, making a committment to incorporating compassion into the investment world.

The second story focuses on another HOW. I met with a woman who works with an investment broker with another institution, she came to me as she wanted to take a year off to spend with her Father who was dying. She wanted to spend that time with him & to help out her Step-Mother. I asked her why she didn’t go to her Broker to discuss this & she said; “Because he will tell me NOT to do it & you will show me HOW I can do it” – which was true. Focussing on her needs & how to make her money work for her in order to attend to her family was paramount.

I believe in what I call; the meaning behind the money, what it can do for you as an individual & your family – it is a very different perspective & requires a very different way of approaching things, with compassion & asking questions that lead to different outcomes.

As a final story & a way to sum it all up, I am reminded of Muhammad Yunus, the pioneer of micro enterprise lending who won a Nobel Peace Prize for that work & shining example of someone who took a compassionate approach to money. He too recognized the importance of the HOW & the questions we ask when he said; why are we approaching lending from the perspective of the banks asking; “are you a lending risk” but instead people should be asking the banks, “what makes you worthy of my business”.

The questions we ask, determines the solutions we seek & who does the asking helps to establish the path that will be followed. For me, this needs to be done with compassion & respect.

Useful Links for Additional Information:

Visiting Iceland

Betty-anne — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:58:14 +0000

Visiting Iceland & Audur Capital
April 15, 2011

I read an article* over two years ago about Audur Capital, written by Ruth Sunderland, in The Guardian, which is a very popular newspaper, published in the United Kingdom. I was amazed at what they had accomplished, having left behind successful careers within the traditional banking sector in order to create a new way of doing business in Iceland. They managed to make their way through the financial crises & meltdown during 2008 & 2009, largely unscathed, while attributing their success to their feminine values & principles.

I was invited to visit them, should I ever be in Iceland. I finally got my chance last week & returned to Canada filled with even greater admiration for these incredible women who are devoted & committed to making a difference in the lives of women, businesses & investors.

Unlike the weather I experienced while in Iceland; unpredictable, moody & mercilessly battering at times, Audur Capital, while clearly a force to be reckoned with, is steadily growing a Financial Services Firm that is on a mission to change how investments are made & perceived. They are paving an entirely new road with feminine values as their foundation & driving force, within the field of finance.

Their vision is firmly rooted in a belief system that anything is possible, based on who they are as Icelandic women, acknowledging their history of strong women who came before them. I was struck by how proud they were of this history as they honoured these women in a variety of ways including; naming meeting rooms after them & prominently displaying their pictures.

With a set of values & principles guiding their business, they are convinced that in order to be successful & for businesses to be sustainable over the long term, you must be mindful of how you make your money. “Profits with Principles” is one of their stated values, which to Audur Capital means; caring about the environment, human capital & society.

How a company is managed, the values of the company & sustainability commitment are all part of their emotional due diligence or Emotional Capital, the people side of the business. Their other values include; Independence – putting clients interests first, Risk Awareness – understanding the nature of the risk involved in an investment & finally, Straight Talking – telling it like it is, the pros & the cons, the risks & the benefits of investments.

As Halla Tomasdottir, one of the founders of Audur Capital, said to me, “it really is quite simple and we truly believe that the world is changing & with that what is required is a new business model, one that embraces both masculine & feminine values, in order to create a sustainable world.” “You believe that something can be done & have the humility to recognize that you can’t do it alone”.

I would encourage you to visit their website www.audur.is in order to learn more about their company.

Audur Capital has chosen a different path to the socially responsible investment movement in Canada & the rest of the world. Although there is certainly some overlap in aspects of what we are all doing. The content is similar while the methodology is quite different. We have similar goals & vision for the future but how we plan to get there, is quite different.

Audur Capital sincerely & proudly focuses on promoting & adhering to feminine values & principles, drawing on their rich history as Icelandic Women. They feel strongly that the traditional financial system & structures that are in place must be changed in order to achieve our shared vision of a more sustainable world. Their way of achieving this is through embracing feminine values & principles, recognizing that this is in fact our only way forward.

* This article was provided to me by Kathy Sage, the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship Minister & to whom I am grateful for bringing the work of Audur Capital to my attention.

Ode to Spring

Betty-anne — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 21:11:10 +0000

Spring is an exciting time of the year, filled with anticipation & patience, knowing that we will soon be seeing the beauty of what Mother Nature has in store for us. I gently moved some of the leaves in my flower beds & was thrilled to see the tender shoots of the crocuses, daffodils & the not so fragile hyacinths. I covered them back up as I also know that it could snow & they may need that protection in order to bloom, in a few months. I love watching the trees go from budding to blooming, a process that never ceases to amaze me. That & seeing my surroundings go from grey to so many different shades of green.

Many of the themes that come with spring can be applied to Financial Planning.

1. Planting of the seeds & letting them grow. Just as these seeds can produce food & flowers, that nourish us, the seeds of Financial Planning can allow you to realize your dreams. The seeds can be many things including; being aware & mindful of your spending, utilizing effective money management strategies & allocating a certain amount of money to be used for your future goals.

2. Knowing that the rain is a necessary part of this process, even though you may or may not like it. Having a rainy day fund is also necessary. A rainy day fund or cash buffer/emergency fund is one of the four pillars of a solid financial plan. The general goal is to have three times your monthly expenses sitting somewhere that you can get access to quickly & easily. Preferably not under your mattress however that’s certainly where my Grandmother kept a lot of her money because she didn’t trust banks. Imagine!

3. Knowing that the landscape will change, even though it is snowing outside. It isn’t always easy to set money aside for your future. It is so much more immediately satisfying to spend for today while hoping that the lottery will take care of your retirement. Having a financial plan in place is one of the greatest predictors of financial success & it is a dynamic process, just like spring.

4. Protecting your garden. This is called risk management in financial planning terms. Just as you want to take steps to mitigate the harsh winter damage that can be done to your trees, plants & shrubs so too must you address the things that can happen in life that can potentially get in the way of your reaching your financial goals. What would happen if you were to become disabled, critically ill, need care in your home or a facility or if you were to die. Insurance is the protection you put in place in order to enjoy your life to it’s fullest, by providing you with some peace of mind that you’ve done all you can to ensure this happens.

I hope you allow yourself the time to breath in this time of rebirth, renewal & regrowth. Celebrating the anticipation of food & flowers that will be springing forth from the frozen ground, once it thaws, warms up & delivers the gifts from all our hard work or if not ours, then that of our farmers.

Hard work can also produce a successful financial future for you & your family. It helps to plant the seeds, provide the environment & protection that will allow them to grow & produce your garden of Eden. Having a financial plan in place always helps with this process.

St Patrick’s Day

Betty-anne — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:22:44 +0000

March 17^th is St. Patrick’s Day where we celebrate the death of the patron saint of Ireland, who hails from the Emerald Ise (that’s why we wear green) and, as the legend goes, was the saint who drove the snakes out of Ireland. I bet you didn’t know all that! You may be wondering how the leprechauns fit into all of this. Did you know that if you can catch a leprechaun (the male version of a fairy) you can make him tell you where he hides his gold. Notice how the male fairies have the money and the girl fairies grant wishes. So what prey tell does this have to do with Financial Planning?

1. What is your pot of gold? Are you looking for cold hard cash that you want kept under your mattress? What do you want to buy with all that gold? Or, do you just want to feel good, knowing it’s there? Everyone has different needs so no one can tell you how much gold it will take to meet those needs. Your starting point must be your life, your needs and the amount of gold necessary to fulfill your dreams. That includes how much should be kept under your mattress, as that is the money that helps you sleep at night.

2.The Rainbow that takes you to your pot of gold can be many things. It can be a haphazard, fly by the seat of your pants, with enough determination, you can get there. Or, the rainbow can be a full fledged financial plan. Creating a path that will take you where you want to go, in the way you want to get there. Keep in mind that life has a way of throwing you off your rainbow and, you may need some help getting back on.

3.Magic is involved in catching that leprechaun! Believing in yourself, believing you can do it and believing you are worthy of your dreams can sometimes seem like magic. There is also something called the “magic of compound interest” that is important to know & understand. It can help you find that pot of gold, waiting for you, at the end of the rainbow. Or, it can be the opposite, when it comes to debt & sink you into a hole, way off in the forest, somewhere, never to see the light of day.

4.GREEN, GREEN, GREEN: What a golden opportunity for me to mention the environment, the future of the planet and the importance of considering investing in socially responsible/sustainable investments. Green is the colour of $$ & what you do with that green stuff, really matters.

Warm & Fuzzies for the Big Heart Day

Betty-anne — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:25:52 +0000

[Battlestar Galactica (BSG) Fans only]

Disclaimer: The following opinions are mine alone and no one else can be held responsible for them. The following must not be misconstrued as advice. See your Financial Planner/Advisor for more information, please.

I must confess, I have never been a science fiction fan so when friends of mine, highly intelligent feminists, were raving & drooling over BSG I had to pay attention. They talked excitedly about the deep philosophical themes in the show so I decided to give it a whirl. Surprisingly it didn’t take me long to get hooked and like multiple orgasms (finally a tie into Valentines Day!), I just keep coming back for more.

Shamelessly now, I want to draw on what I’ve learned from BSG and bring it into play with our final taboo; you guessed it – money! Talk about money needn’t be boring, complex and anxiety provoking. Why can’t we make it a little more fun, interesting and, heaven forbid, sexy! Accessible would be good too!

So, let’s start with a little primer, a few acronyms and a take off from BSG for some heart warming thoughts to help you deal with the final taboo. Let’s start with, foreplay.

What you need to know as you venture into the maze and quagmire of financial services & products. If you’re already in there, this should help in your journey. Not to mention the great push for financial literacy, the latest buzz word in our industry.

#1. The Financial Advisors Association of Caprica (TFAAC)

You see, I believe that before the Cylons brutally took over Caprica if the Graystones & the Adamas had sought out the services of an Advisor who belonged to their Professional Association, the entire human race would not have been jeopardized. Why do I believe that? TFAAC has an exceptionally long history of professionalism, demanding high ethical standards and commitment to the needs of the public. Imagine if that had been the case in Caprica.

#2. Cylone Free Advisor (CFP)

My advice to you, find one – a CFP that is. You just can’t trust those Cylones (of course a lot of the humans can’t be trusted either, however, I digress). It’s not so much the qualifications that come with a CFP, it’s the additional layer of ethics and accountability to you, the consumer, that you can count on. Isn’t that who you want working for you and your money? No screwing around here, they mean business.

#3. TFSA

I just had to throw this one in here, now! You know how misunderstandings and misconceptions run rampant in BSG with not knowing who is truly human and who is a cylone, that’s what makes it so interesting. It occurred to me the when I had yet another conversation about tax free savings accounts (TFSA) that the emphasis has been on the savings account part of this product and that has resulted in most people thinking that’s all you can hold in them. WRONG! It’s meant to be a vehicle, just like so many vehicles, and you can have whatever investment you want, inside this cute little turbo jet fighter so, remember that when you set one up or are thinking about doing so.

#4. RRSP

Okay, I couldn’t think of a way to use this acronym within the BSG theme so I will simply say, do your own heart a favour and that of your advisor and when February 14th rolls around and you’re thinking about a last minute contribution, do it on the 15th or the 16th., just don’t wait until the last day, if you can. When Valentines Day rolls around on the 14th inside that big heart you should see written, next to your sweethearts, RRSP! Oh YAH, the deadline is looming, must go make a contribution, SOON. Part of this is also very selfish of me, my birthday falls close to the final contribution day and I’d like to be on holidays then.

To be continued ….. Season 1, Episode 2.

Betty-Anne Howard

Useful links for more information

TFAAC: www.advocis.ca
CFP: www.fpsc.ca
Making Dreams A Reality: www.makingdreamsareality.ca