Financial Planning
Achieve your most important financial goals
What is Financial Planning?
Financial planning is the process of strategic goal setting and resource management to help you get the things that you want for your family, your business, and your retirement. Financial planning consists of identifying your long-term goals for wellbeing and security, then aligning your savings and investment strategies to help you get there.
Five Components of Financial Planning
A complete personal financial plan has several components: a retirement strategy, risk management strategy, a plan for long-term investment, tax reduction strategy and estate planning. Together, these elements form a complete picture of how your finances will function as you move into the later stages of life.
Retirement Planning
When do you plan to retire? What kind of life would you like to have once you can stop working? What will it take to get there? How much money will you need?
Long-term Investments
Analysts have shown time and again that long-term investments in stable stocks are among the best ways to see your assets grow. Your level of risk tolerance and specific goals can help to determine the best strategy for you to maximize returns while protecting your nest egg.
Risk Management Planning
Now that you have a plan to grow your wealth, you’ll need a plan to protect it. Risk management planning includes a review of personal liability, life, critical illness and disability insurance options to ensure that you and your family are protected financially in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Estate Planning
The final component of a complete financial plan, estate planning identifies the heirs and beneficiaries of your estate and arranges to transfer them the maximum amount of your assets with the least amount of tax after you pass on.
Tax Reduction
Minimizing the amount of tax you pay in retirement can have a significant positive impact on your quality of life. A shrewd tax reduction strategy uses the provisions of the tax code to reduce your tax burden to the extent permitted by law, helping you keep more of your hard-earned dollars.
Financial Planning for Business Owners and Professionals
Financial planning is a critical success factor for any business owner with a strong vision for the future of their company. Businesses need to engage in strategic thinking to understand their long-term goals and objectives, identify the resources necessary to achieve those goals, measure the costs, and establish a budget that guides the company towards meeting its targets.
Operating at a profit, maintaining a steady cash flow, avoiding bad debt and minimizing your tax burden as much as possible are all factors that contribute to the stability and financial health of your business.
Financial Planning in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan residents are set up for success when it comes to financial and retirement planning. The province of Saskatchewan offers several attractive programs that make it easy, such as Canada’s only province-operated pension plan that can be joined by any member of the public.
The province of Saskatchewan also has some of the lowest provincial income tax rates in Canada, with a top rate of 14.5% (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island all pay more), giving families a slight edge in long-term investments and retirement savings.
Saskatchewan residents (and all residents of Canada) won’t pay capital gains tax on the sale of their primary residence, which is great if you’re from Regina where home prices have risen by 25% over the past decade. Death benefits from life insurance policies and income from tax-free savings accounts are also considered tax-free income.
Frequently Asked Questions about Financial Planning in Saskatchewan
Whether you’re doing it for yourself or for your business, budgeting is an important step towards making your financial dreams into a reality. Many people think of budgeting as a system that denies them the things that they want, that tells them not to purchase a $5 coffee or a $100 dinner at a nice restaurant.
What budgeting really does is help you identify what your real priorities are and helps you put more resources towards those things. When you feel like you’re saying “No!” to something that you want, you’re really saying “Yes!” to something you want even more.
That’s three questions in one, but the answer to all of them is that it depends. How many more years are you planning to work? Are you planning to retire on a beach in Costa Rica, or stay in your own home? Who will you need to support? How much risk can you tolerate from your investment portfolio? Will your kids go to Harvard or the community college down the street?
The key to an effective financial plan is a personalized approach that addresses your unique financial goals and situation.
Our Approach to Financial Planning
Our approach to Financial Planning is simple. Let us show you how we can help you get the things that you want for your family, your business, and your retirement.
