The power of setting financial goals

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What is financial literacy?

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This is a measure of how well

someone understands topics like

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investing and debt, such as

credit cards and lines of credit.

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Are you comfortable putting a budget together?

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Do you pay your bills on time

and have a good credit score?

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This likely means you have a good

grasp on financial literacy.

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It's important for Canadians

to understand financial literacy

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so they can spend within their means.

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Less and less of us have pension plans

offered through our employer.

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So we are largely required to save

for retirement ourselves.

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And it's important for us to feel comfortable

and make investing a habit.

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Being financially literate can help you

avoid incurring additional costs.

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For instance, did you know that paying

the minimum monthly amounts

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on your credit card means that

you'll be charged interest every month?

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Interest rates on credit cards

are extremely high

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 and can lead to high costs

on a monthly basis.

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Also, only paying off the minimum amounts means

that you continue to have debt,

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and if you use the credit card

the following month,

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you are adding to that debt.

This can turn into quite a debt spiral.

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If you're not financially literate,

you may not realize

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that you need to save for retirement

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and what savings vehicles to use

that are most beneficial to you.

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It's important to work

with a financial advisor

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to help you plan

and save for your retirement.

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And work with them to develop

a written financial plan.

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How important is having

a written financial plan?

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Every year, Fidelity produces

our retirement report,

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and we survey about 2,000 Canadians

from coast to coast,

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age 45 and older, who are

retirees and pre-retirees.

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Consistently, the survey reveals

that having awritten financial plan

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significantly enhances preparedness.

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Not just financially, but emotionally,

socially, and physically as well.

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You may be asking yourselves,

how can I start building a financial plan?

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Our survey shows that retirement planning

can be much more complex today

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compared to 20 years ago,

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but that financial planning has also

evolved to meet these challenges.

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Working with a financial advisor can be

extremely beneficial,

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especially when it comes

to building a financial plan.

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Our retirement report found that

85% of individuals surveyed

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who have a written financial plan

are working with a financial advisor.

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If you are not working with an advisor,

I highly encourage you to do this

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so that they can help you

put a financial plan together

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and help you stay on track.

Thank you for your time!