How Will Holistic Financial Planning Give My Life Direction?

Like most people, when you think of your life, you probably visualize a series of major milestones, acquisitions and events. Buying your first home. Yearly family vacations. Sending your children to university. Finally focusing on your favourite hobby once you retire. Now, take a moment to look at these images and vignettes from an aerial view—how do they fit together financially? Does saving for one come before purchasing another? How much should you spend at each stage so that you will have enough to retire comfortably? Which investments should you choose so that you can wisely save and build your money towards these milestones?

The answer to these questions is holistic financial planning.

Convert your Wealth from Individual Buckets into an Organized System
Having a holistic approach to your wealth means no longer thinking of your money as individual "buckets", such as your income account, your mortgage, your automobile expenses, your education savings plan and your retirement fund. Instead, your finances will be organized holistically into a "system" comprised of individual parts that work together to achieve multiple financial goals at the same time.

Working with a financial advisor to set up a holistic financial plan is a simple way to manage all of the wealth, investment and money management decisions you need to make in order to retire comfortably. Knowing that all of your income, savings, expenses and investments are working in unison under the direction of one trusted advisor is one of the best ways of getting financial control and peace of mind.

Organize your Finances With a Holistic Financial Plan
At The McClelland Financial Group, our financial advisors are here to help you set up a holistic financial plan that meets your short and medium-term financial goals, while ensuring that you are putting away enough money to retire on your terms. Our advisors will sit with you and your spouse, review all aspects of your income and wealth, and show you how to convert your finances into an organized system that enables each area to work together like a smooth, well-calibrated, directed machine.

Our proprietary holistic financial planning services include:
• Investment Planning • Estate Planning • Insurance Planning • Tax Minimization Strategies • Retirement Planning • Legacy Planning • Special Needs Planning

For further clarification of this topic, please don't hesitate to contact us at the office.

Michael Connon, B.Sc, CFP
Senior Financial Planning Advisor,
Co-Branch Manager,
Certification in Estate Planning and Trust Strategies
Assante Capital Management Ltd.

News

Oil's Slippery Slope

The cost of oil affects Canadians on a daily basis as many have to regularly fill up on gasoline. Minor dayto-day fluctuations or even small discrepancies from one service station to another can prompt consumers to drive elsewhere for the lowest price available. In the broader economy, the price of oil can also exert a significant influence. Canada is an energy exporter and the world price of crude oil influences the growth of our economy. Energy is also a key input in many goods consumed domestically and its price plays an integral role in inflation. Even though recent history has been characterized by weak or even declining inflation, investors should be aware of the risks posed by a reawakening of price pressures and the implications of returning to a more traditional interest rate environment.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Richard J. Wylie, CFA
Vice-President, Investment Strategy, Assante Wealth Management

SECOND HARVEST | No Waste. No Hunger.

Giving… Doing… Since our founding in 1991, we here at The McClelland Financial Group have been involved in many community initiatives. The McClelland Financial Group's shared values are simple; Giving and Doing.

Giving – Rob McClelland and Mike Connon, both Senior Financial Advisors and partners, believe strongly in community involvement. They not only practice this in their daily life, but do everything they can to teach this generosity to the people around them. Their kids for example, must give one third of their allowance to charity. This act of giving not only dominates their personal life, but their professional world as well. Although they cannot give to every organization that knocks on their door, they do give generously to their community in York Region.

Doing – Second Harvest - The ticket to last month's Lunch and Learn Workshop was a donation of one can of non-perishables or a $10 per person donation to Second Harvest. Prior to this workshop, we had raised $105. The McClelland Financial Group matched this amount for a total of $210 and 250 pounds of food was picked up from our office. As a result of the financial donation of $210, Second Harvest will be able to deliver over 420 fresh, healthy meals to those in need. The 250 pounds of food will enable Second Harvest to deliver enough food for approximately 250 meals – that's a pretty fantastic result.

Last month's workshop raised 150 pounds of food and $270, which brings our total to $480 and 400 pounds of food.

We would like to thank all our clients and guests who attented the latest monthly workshop, without all your donations, this wouldn't happen. Hopefully, we can beat this in the months ahead.

The Latest

Reverse Mortgage Home Equity Loans

If you are a homeowner in Canada and are 55 years of age or older, you may qualify for what is called a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage is designed to convert the equity in your home into liquid funds to help pay for living expenses, health care costs, a home renovation, a vacation, or anything else you may need.

While traditional mortgages require you to pay monthly payments, a reverse mortgage does not require you to do so. With a reverse mortgage, the bank makes monthly payments or a lump-sum payment to you based on a percentage of the following factors: the value and equity of your home, your age, the amount of secured debt in your name, the type of property, and the property's location.

With reverse mortgages, you must continue to live in your home and there are certain requirements to be met. The reverse mortgage essentially provides an option of an income stream to allow you to live comfortably. Once you move, sell or are deceased, the loan will be reconciled with the value of the property. Reverse mortgages may be an option worth considering if you have built-up considerable equity in your home and do not want to downsize or sell.

Should you wish to learn more about mortgage solutions, please let us know and we would be happy to put you in touch with mortgage brokers within our professional network.

Assante Capital Management Ltd. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and is registered with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. This material is provided for general information and is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to compile this material from reliable sources however no warranty can be made as to its accuracy or completeness. Before acting on any of the above, please make sure to see me for individual financial advice based on your personal circumstances. Insurance products and services are provided through Assante Estate and Insurance Services Inc.

The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Assante Capital Management Ltd.

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