Dec

19.2014

Vacations – Investing in Yourself

December 19, 2014

There are many good reasons to take a vacation – taking some time away from the stresses of work and daily life to focus on spending time engaging in stimulating (or relaxing) activities with family members and friends in a new setting can recharge your batteries.  It will give you added perspective on your life and work, and you’ll return to your regular routine invigorated and more productive. And your health can be greatly improved. Prolonged periods of work without a vacation have been shown to have numerous medical consequences – people who are “all work and no play” become irritable and inattentive, and are more likely to have accidents on the job.  They are at higher risk of cardiovascular problems, depression, anxiety, and other illnesses, both physical and mental. Your financial plan should be flexible enough that you don’t need to save every last dollar you make for retirement.  Life is about balance, just like vacations are about balance.  By helping you make wise budgetary decisions, YourStyle Financial can help you achieve a balance by making judicious investments – in both your financial future and your happiness today. We will do what many financial planner fail to do – we will find out, in detail, about your wants and needs, before helping you develop a financial plan that fits your personality, individual needs and wants (including vacations), and investment goals.  Then we’ll help you implement it.  When you deal with YourStyle, you aren’t getting a quick one-off session with an investment product salesperson – you’re developing a long-term relationship with a financial planner who has your best interest at heart.

Nov

13.2014

Women need to take an active role in financial planning

November 13, 2014

When it comes to money, women’s main concern is working on a budget to lower debt and save more money. The second concern is to develop better skills in investing, and third is to create a financial plan and investment strategy. It’s imperative for women to take an active role in financial planning.  There is a very high probability of women being solely responsible for their finances at some point in their lifetime due to divorce or outliving a spouse. Nearly one-quarter of women say they don’t partake in financial decision making. “Women can make changes to their finances such as lower debt, save money and become good investors.  Making changes to your financial plan doesn’t have to be as difficult as it is perceived to be,” says Doug Buss, President, YourStyle Financial.

Sep

18.2014

FAQ: How Can I Deduct Interest?

September 18, 2014

your business). or 2. Rearranging existing debts – for example, pay off an existing mortgage and convert to a non-deductable borrow with the intent of investing proceeds. There are, of course, other factors that come into play, so we do advise setting up a meeting with one of our advisors to talk about your deductable income (either interest or other).

Aug

29.2014

Tim Hortons and the Jump to Invest

August 29, 2014

financial planning dollar? In all honesty it depends on your personality and financial freedom. Within any stock broker’s client base there are two investors 1. Risk Takers – This group would have taken the murmurs that emerged over the weekend about the Tim’s sale and called, emailed, texted or any used any other form of communication to get on the line to buy or sell their stocks (or do it themselves). 2. Safe Players – These are the long-term investors who will go into more of the ‘sure-thing’ stocks, not watch the market as frequently and potentially invest less to begin with. Going into the stock market, in general, is a consideration to be made carefully. Just because you have the money to invest doesn’t mean you should go in. The payoffs can definitely be big, but it comes down to risk/reward, and ultimately your comfort. If you would like to talk further about stock market opportunities or have any questions on investments, please contact us today to set up an appointment to talk about your financial plans.

Jul

04.2014

Is there Such a Thing as “Good Debt”?

July 04, 2014

financial sense. Let’s go back to the car payment for example. As we see from time to time, dealers and manufacturers will offer as much as 0% interest over a given period. You don’t outright own your car at this point, but you’re also not “losing” money by paying out the additional fee associated with an interest rate. Thus, the final cost for your car will be $30,000, whether you pay a lump sum now or spread it out over the payment cycle, say of 60 months (or 5 years). While you pay this down, meanwhile, your set-aside $30,000 for the car can be making money for you. Putting the money into a monthly or annual payout situation means that at the end of those five years you’ll have made some extra cash on your investment. Ultimately, debt in some circumstances can work for you rather than against you, but it’s knowing all the parameters in advance and being prepared. If, as in the scenario above, you aren’t a big car person and aren’t loyal to a particular make or model and a 0% offer comes up, you may want to look a little deeper at taking advantage of this situation. For more tips from Doug Buss and the experts at YourStyle Financial, check out our newsletter archive.