The health crisis has put our patience and endurance to the test. This exceptional situation has often led us to question our choices in different areas, or even certain goals that we had set for ourselves. Our lifestyle has changed, our habits too.
With some return to normalcy in sight, even though the situation remains uncertain, we asked a few experts from our fdp team what practical lessons they have learned from this crisis and what recommendations they would like to make to improve your financial well-being. We present them to you in the form of a checklist, designed for you as professionals. We hope you find it useful in the coming months.
Optimize your financial plan
Your budget
- A budget is a must! If you haven’t taken the time to update it in the past year, do so now and be sure to include all your major projects or expenses.
- Prioritize budget items that have undergone voluntary or involuntary changes, calculate their impact and make any necessary adjustments.
- Verify the expenses column and focus on the major ones.
- Also review your debts and pay those with the highest interest rate first to avoid increasing your debt.
- Don’t put all your cash in a joint bank account: if your spouse falls ill or dies, it could be difficult to access these amounts.
- Make sure you always have an easily accessible emergency account that is equivalent to three to six months of income. A personal or mortgage line of credit, available at all times, can also do the trick, but set it up before any loss of income that could affect your application.
- If you’re having trouble making your payments, contact your financial institution before the due date to make an arrangement: this will protect your credit rating.
Your financial needs and your investments
- If you need cash and all your investments are in registered accounts, contact your advisor before making transactions in those accounts. Your advisor can help you assess the tax consequences and consider other more tax-efficient and financially advantageous options. With interest rates at historic lows, other alternatives can be considered, depending on your project.
- Update your investor profile.
- If you lose your job or suffer a drop in income, review your investment priorities. Reduce the risk of short-term investments while staying the course on your long-term investments, even if the markets decline.
- Notify your advisor whenever a significant financial or personal change occurs.
Your personal and professional insurance
- Update your life insurance and disability insurance If you don’t have any, find out what coverage is available.
- Critical illness insurance for you and/or your business may be appropriate, depending on your situation.
- Review the list of beneficiaries in your life insurance policies and make changes, if necessary.
Protect your person and your property
- Make sure you have a general power of attorney and a protection mandate in case of temporary or permanent disability. Depending on your situation, you should also have a cohabitation agreement if you are de facto spouses, a shareholders agreement if you are a shareholder of a corporation with other shareholders, and an indivision agreement if you jointly purchased a home. If these documents were drafted many years ago, it’s important to have them revised at least every five years to ensure that they reflect your current reality.
- You should revise your legal documents following the occurrence of one of the following situations:
- If you are incorporated or intend to incorporate;
- If you are separated or divorced, or intend to separate or get a divorce;
Each of these situations can affect your plan, so it’s important to review certain documents and adjust them accordingly.
Don’t forget retirement
- Review your retirement plan. Consult your advisor and discuss the options available to you.
General advice
Get into the good habit of periodically reviewing and updating all your legal documents. By adopting this good habit, you can avoid problems and have peace of mind no matter what, even when something unexpected or tragic occurs.
Live well and enjoy every momentWe hope these recommendations will be useful to you and enable you to enjoy even more the challenges and satisfactions of your profession and the pleasures of your personal life. Your fdp team is there for you and ready to support you and guide you every step of the way: don’t hesitate to call on us! |
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Nathalie B. Poisson, |
Catherine Cloutier, |
Kahina Benbarkat, |
Yannick Bernier, |
