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Welcome to the financial planning information board. In this board you will find resources and topics related to personal budgeting and personal financing. This information can help you to save and budget your money to achieve your future goals.

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Resource from the Ontario Securities Commission

The Ontario Securities Commission is a comprehensive website which defines, explores and addresses concerns related to financial planning and financial management. The website also provides information related to planning, investing and knowing what important life events will impact your financial future. Under the plan and manage tab, users can calculate how long it will take to pay off debts and generate their net worth. Exploring calculation tools such as these will help you to plan and create a timeline for managing your finances and financial goals. Overall, I found this website effective for people looking to gain knowledge related to financial planning and management. I would highly recommend this website as the information is easy to read and navigate around.

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Having a plan can make it easier to make the right investing decisions for you.

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Resource from Sunlife Financial

The Sun Life Financial website is a free online resource which helps defines what a financial plan is, and the components linked to creating a financial plan including: saving, managing and protecting your money. The Sun Life Financial website also provides users with external links to know where their money is going and how to change old habits related to spending money. The component of the website which I found most effective was the health tab related to life events and potentially reducing costs related to doctors’ visits and physiotherapy related costs. These health strategies are both users friendly and easy to understand. Overall, this website was effective in its ability to provide preventative measures to all users.

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Here's a starting point for building a good financial plan. See where you are today and start creating your plan with help from a financial advisor.

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The Financial Planning Board website is an effective source for users to access free online resources and gain effective information related to financial planning. This website breaks down sample financial plans for different populations of people including: families with young children and seniors, etc. Not only does the website break down the financial plans for different people but also helps users navigate their financial plan by reviewing important topics including: goals achievement and coping with financial anxiety. I would highly recommend this site as it is simple to use and provides alternative learning formats for users who have different learning styles.

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Welcome to FinancialPlanningForCanadians.ca.

Managing money is difficult, and scary for most Canadians, but it doesn't have to be. With the right help, you can stop worrying and start feeling confident about how you save and how you spend.

This website's been created to help you deal with life's ups and downs. It'll provide you with the resources you need to get your financial house in order-whatever your age, whatever your money issues.

It's not magic-it's planning. Everyone needs a good financial plan and a qualified planner.

The single best piece of advice we can give you? Get help.

The Find a Planner or Certificant section will put you in touch with CFP professionals who are knowledgeable, ethical and certified by FPSC.

Visit the website's Life Happens section for tips on everything, from how to get on the same page as your spouse about money to painless ways to stop wasting cash.

But it's not all about budgeting. It's finding out what's really important to you and your family.

The Here's the Plan section focuses on the need for a good financial strategy and simple ways to choose the right person for you.

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Welcome to FinancialPlanningForCanadians.ca. Managing money is difficult, and scary for most Canadians, but it doesn't have to be. With the right help, you can stop worrying and start feeling confident about how you save and how you spend. This website's been created to help you deal with life's ups and downs.

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The Government of Canada website provides users with general knowledge related to financial planning as well as, explores alternative formats to understanding how to manage your finances. The website allows users to read case studies, which can help users to compare their individual circumstances and related experiences to learn from past examples. Each case study used is explored in detail and provides tips for addressing future concerns. Depending on the case study, the website provides sample calculations and tools to calculate your own savings or future investments. Overall, I found this website effective because the information is universal to Canada and comes from a reliable source. I would highly recommend the website for people seeking to learn and gain knowledge related to handling their finances.

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Module 11: Financial planning - Canada.ca

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Understand how financial planning, estate planning and financial professionals can help you reach your goals.

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This picture outlines the importance of SMART goals, which is the acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely goals or plans in relation to general goal development and exploration. I find this strategy for developing goals to be most effective because it explores important components to consider when addressing new plans.

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This video describes the advantages and disadvantages of buying or renting a home. As learned in this course, this is a difficult decision to make because there are several components to consider when choosing between the two options. I think this video resource can be helpful for visual learners who are looking to know and understand the positives and negatives to either side. Overall, I would recommend this website for people interested in learning more about the housing market as well as, looking for direction related to what option of housing would work best for their individual financial circumstance.

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Chris Graeve - Renting vs Buying a house

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This video targets one problem that many people face, spending money. This is a concern for many people, due to the fact that the retail and other related markets make products appealing and irresistible. I know managing money is a common concern and something that I have struggled with for some time. This video also provides users with strategies to know what the safest place to keep emergency funds and what steps to take to save up for important goals.  Before watching this video, I was unaware of the common misconceptions related to “hiding places” and found this video to help users know what safety precautions to take to protect their personal fiancees. Overall, this video resource is helpful and easy to understand for users looking to learn what is required to keep your money safe.

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A Simple Trick on How to Save Up A Lot of Money Fast

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This video outlines the importance of tracking and planning your goals. I included this video because an important component of financial planning is knowing what you want now or in the future. I am personally interested in learning what goal setting strategies there are and how they can be incorporated into financial planning. When developing your goals, you want to ask yourself several questions and continue to monitor your progress to effectively achieve and meet your goals. I found this video helpful and interesting to watch as it helps users to develop goals as well as, take next steps in order to work toward the goal.

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This video resource is effective in its ability to clearly state the requirements for developing a financial plan, as well as, managing day to day expenses. The video works to address and outline personal goals, which is key in knowing what you want to plan for and how long that goal will take to achieve. The video also explains what to do when unexpected expenses happen and how to manage those costs without affecting your overall goal. Lastly, the video provides users with a visual representation of what an online financial plan looks like and what steps are required for each component. I would recommend this website for visual learners in order to gain tips and skills to use when developing a plan for the future.

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This picture explores the term financial literacy, which is one’s general understanding of finances as well as, their ability to continue to educate themselves and explore ways to develop new strategies for improvement.

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What did you learn about the topic that most surprised you?

The piece of information that I found most interesting after reviewing the material and external resources was the importance of creating a plan. In order to develop an effective financial plan, you need to create and develop a strategy for how you will achieve and maintain your goals.

Provide a real-life example of how this topic is relevant or interesting for you.

This topic was important for me to review and further learn because I will soon be making difficult and major life decisions which will guide the direction of my future. In the next few months I will be purchasing a car and in the near future moving out of my parents’ house. All of the strategies learned in this course and through this assignment, I will take away and use to implement a successful plan for managing and planning my finances.

If you could pass on your knowledge to a family member or friend, what do you think is the most important thing to pass on?

I think the most valuable piece of information I would pass onto a friend or relative is the importance of accessing and seeking out resources. There are many free websites, videos and services offered to help you to improve your financial literacy. What determines your success is your ability to reach out and access these services.