Angela and Colin
Picture two individuals, Angela and Colin, who are complete strangers to each other but have a lot in common. They’re the same age, married, and have two kids each. They earn the same income and each is the primary income earner. Angela and Colin will face the same life events, but their financial plans will evolve in different ways.More income
While their kids were very young, Angela’s husband and Colin’s wife were stay-at-home parents. Now that the kids are in school, their spouses re-enter the workforce, and because of this, each couple has extra income.Colin and his wife want to allocate the extra income to two goals: paying down the mortgage faster and bumping up their retirement savings so they can retire earlier.
Angela and her husband, on the other hand, have a different idea. For some time they’ve dreamed of purchasing a cottage to begin a new family tradition. They’ll now invest toward this goal through their Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) and a joint non-registered account.
Job loss
A corporate reorganization hits both Angela and Colin, and both lose their jobs.Once his severance runs out, Colin and his wife begin to feel anxious. Colin decides to speed up the job hunt and ultimately accepts a lower-paying position. To compensate, his wife switches from working part-time to full-time.
Angela, on the other hand, is determined to continue searching for her desired position. She meets with her advisor and they develop a plan to buy time, combining employment insurance benefits, household budgeting and drawing from her emergency fund. Her search is successful.
An inheritance
While in their early 50s, Angela and Colin each receive an inheritance. Angela uses this windfall to anchor her portfolio with conservative investments, which enable her to take on more risk in order to seek out potentially higher returns with the rest of her investments.For Colin, however, the inheritance means he no longer needs to aim for a higher return to meet his financial objectives. He reduces his level of risk.
A parent’s health suffers
When Angela’s father suffers a stroke, she fulfills his wish to remain at home and arranges for 24-hour private nursing care, paid out of her own pocket. Also, Angela and her husband decide to purchase long-term care insurance for themselves.When Colin’s mother has a stroke, he and his wife consider several options and the financial consequences of each. They decide that Colin’s wife will leave her job to help care for her mother-in-law. They plan to monitor the situation over time and adjust their plan as needed.
A customized financial plan
Your personality, beliefs, goals and choices shape your life journey – this includes the financial aspects. To prepare for more events that come your way, consider having a financial plan that is tailored to your needs.This document is provided as a general source of information and should not be considered personal, legal, accounting, tax or investment advice, or an offer or a solicitation to buy or sell securities. Every effort has been made to ensure that the material contained in this document is accurate at the time of publication. Market conditions may change which may impact the information contained in this document. All charts and illustrations in this document are for illustrative purposes only. They are not intended to predict or project investment results. Individuals should seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding any particular investment. Investors should consult their professional advisors prior to implementing any changes to their investment strategies.
Certain statements contained in this communication are based in whole or in part on information provided by third parties and CI has taken reasonable steps to ensure their accuracy.
The opinions expressed in this communication are solely those of the author and are not to be used or construed as investment advice or as an endorsement or recommendation of any entity or security discussed.
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.