In the past couple of blog posts, I’ve discussed budgeting and debt management. If you read them and believe you have a good grasp of these topics, then it is time to move on to the third area of focus, which is savings.
In client meetings, I always ask: How do you want your retirement to look? We live in a time in which few companies are offering pensions in the traditional way. For that reason, it is extremely important for people to create their own nest egg for retirement. This is something that with discipline and guidance anyone can do, regardless of their income level.
When it comes to retirement, the cost of doing nothing is excessively high. Not funding your own retirement, or not having your own savings, is going to force you to rely on government programs such as Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), and if your income is very low, perhaps the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).
A lot of folks who do have pensions are faced with the reality that many companies in Canada are having trouble funding their defined-benefit plans and have opted to halt all contributions until further notice. Others suffer from the paycheque-to-paycheque trap that pensions can lead to (while you have constant cashflow, it becomes too difficult to build a sum for big ticket items).
So how do you start building wealth?
The best way to build wealth is by having goals and understanding the time horizon required to achieve those goals. From that point on, you can dedicate a percentage of your income to put towards savings/investments. When you have a time horizon in mind, you can then decide how aggressive you want your investments to be in terms of risk. This area requires some expertise and I urge all readers to speak with a financial professional who can guide them.
Once you have decided what you want your retirement to look like, and you have decided how much to put away, you can structure an investment strategy that involves various types of investment vehicles. Again, this requires a close look given that everyone’s situation is different, and consideration has to be given to taxes and cash needs.
We will be discussing these different investment vehicles in a future post, but your takeaway from this post should be that doing nothing now could cost you a lot in the future.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss your specific situation, please feel free to reach out and we can chat.
Post Written by: Dan Fernandez
Dan is a Wealth Advisor with DMF Private Wealth, who provides independent financial advice.
Dan is happy to answer any questions you may have about your financial picture. He can be reached at 905-512-5629 or by email at dan@dmfwealth.ca.
The comments contained herein are a general discussion of certain issues intended as general information only and should not be relied upon as tax or legal advice. Please obtain independent professional advice, in the context of your particular circumstances. This article was written, designed and produced by Dan Fernandez for the benefit of Dan Fernandez who is a Financial Advisor for DMF Private Wealth, a trade name registered with FundEX Investments Inc., and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of FundEX. The information contained in this article comes from sources we believe reliable, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy or reliability. The opinions expressed are based on an analysis and interpretation dating from the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. Furthermore, they do not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Mutual Funds Provided through FundEX Investments Inc.
