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Financial Planning

Building your financial plan

A personal financial plan requires one-on-one consultation with a professional financial planner who understands you, who knows the industry, who understands taxation, and who has access to other professional resources, to help you.

Generally, a financial plan begins with some basic principles:

  • Determine where you are now financially
  • Determine where you want to be financially
  • Pay yourself first – use 10% of your income to meet your goals
  • Live on the other 90% of your income
  • Build your financial house from the bottom up on a solid foundation
  • Start now!

A sound plan should also be a flexible plan, one that recognizes that your needs and goals change over time.  Reviewing your plan on a regular basis ensures it is always relevant to your situation.

Non-Controllable Events

There are things in life that we have little or no control of an example would be getting sick.  Being diagnosed with cancer can send your financial world into chaos.  Listed below are the non-controllable priorities that you must consider when building your financial plan:

  • You could die, there’s a need for Life Insurance.
  • You should have a current Will or Power of Attorney.
  • You could become ill or disabled, there’s a need for Disability Insurance or Critical Illness Insurance.
  • You need to have a health care plan employers often provide them.
  • And who will take care of you in your old age?  Long Term Care Insurance might be something to consider.

Controllable Priorities

The things that you have complete control over are:

  • Personal Savings
  • Building an Emergency Fund
  • Debt reduction
  • Buying a home
  • Saving for your children’s Education
  • Saving for Retirement

Growth Opportunities

This is where you’ll find speculative investments like real estate, art, gold and certain kinds of stocks. Growth opportunities are very attractive so it’s not hard to understand why people are drawn to them – this is where all the excitement is, where fortunes can be made overnight!

The investments that fall under this section are volatile; they don’t offer stability in the short term, or guarantees in the long term.  For the average investor looking to pay down debt and build a retirement nest egg, building a financial plan from the top down, rather than the bottom up, puts you in a position where you risk losing it all. By taking care of other priorities first, including insurance coverage and dedicated savings and debt reduction, you put yourself in a stronger position to achieve your financial goals. Call and make an appointment today to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members at North Peace Financial Planning! (250) 787-0365.


Financial Planning, mutual funds and other securities are offered through Qtrade Advisor, a division of Qtrade Securities Inc., member IIROC and CIP. Mutual funds are also offered through Qtrade Asset Management Inc., member MFDA.