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Welcome to "Retirement and Financial Planning" website

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Welcome to "Retirement and Financial Planning" website

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During your time viewing the different videos, websites and images with comments you will grasp a better understanding of how to secure yourself financially and steps to prepare for your big retirement day.

You will come across various findings of interesting information along with my take on it all...I hope you enjoy.

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Word File with Reflective Questions Answered

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Word File with Reflective Questions Answered

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http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-smarter-mutual-fund-investor/2015/06/15/7-retirement-savings-strategies-to-boost-your-financial-security
As my final image I decided to choose something that ties in how saving money, before retirement and even during retirement can leave you with a positive emotion.  As shown in the image the elderly couple is happy.  This is in my opinion to represent how both personally and financially planning your life can in the end benefit you in many different ways.

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https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-financial-security-image13316716
What I found interesting with this photo is that it almost represents the different keys to financial security, as if each puzzle piece was a different key or step and when all put together it would therefore illustrate full financial security.  I feel it's key to have all the pieces together in order to live a life knowing whatever misfortune happens, you will be able to get through it and remain stable for a lengthy period of time.

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Image #1: Taking a Shortcut to Early Retirement

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Image #1: Taking a Shortcut to Early Retirement

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http://reachfinancialindependence.com/shortcut-to-early-retirement/
This photo in my opinion represents so many things surrounding retirement and financial security which is why I chose it.  Each word embedded into this photo relates to either the present or future of both topics.  Whether it is employment, planning, travel or pension, they all play a part of the process and future regarding retirement and financial security.  It gives the viewer a sense of what to look for and think of when analyzing the two terms.

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Website #3: eHow: The Advantages of Retirement

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Website #3: eHow: The Advantages of Retirement

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http://www.ehow.com/list_6059519_advantages-retirement.html
I wanted to share this site because it lists all the great benefits of what is to come once you are officially retired.  Since we now understand the importance of financial and personal planning, along with the steps in order to financially secure yourself, we can now go in depth with all the advantages of retirement that comes from all this hard-thought planning.  Some of the benefits of retirement include:

Stress Reduction: Don't have to live up to the standards when no longer maintaining a job/career

Health Benefits: Though your health isn't up to par as it used to be at this stage, you now have more leisure time to prepare healthier foods, exercise and sleep.

Philanthropy: More free time gives you the chance to participate in charitable activities or become a member of a community foundation.  These let you continue to use the skills and knowledge you have adopted over your working years.

Family Involvement: This is pretty straight forward, being involved with family gatherings is now simpler to schedule.

New Lifestyle: Without having to worry about a full-time job you are now able to pursue hobbies or interests that weren't attainable before.  Seeing the world has also become a whole lot easier.

I believe it's quite useful to know what's in store ahead of our post-working days, it helps us prepare now for what steps need to be taken in order to accomplish our future goals once we hit retirement.

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Website #2: FreshGigs: What Does Financial Security Really Mean?

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Website #2: FreshGigs: What Does Financial Security Really Mean?

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https://www.freshgigs.ca/blog/financial-security-for-canadians/
Personally I think it is crucial to understand what Financial Security is really all about, which is why I came to the choice to share this site.  I believe Jeffery Bunn, the author, explains its meaning with a lot of depth.  He first states that the Canadian government defines it as achieving material well-being, in essence acquiring the basic needs necessary to live a fulfilling life.  Besides the money factor, financial security is also defined by the choices and freedom we have.  With more debt that means less freedom and earning at a current rate results in limited choices.  Another key point that was introduced is on average a newly unemployed Canadian can go about 21.1 consecutive weeks (5 months) without employment until they start to really struggle financially, so it is ideal that you store at least a half a year's savings that can be easily accessible if a crisis ever arises.  He concludes by stating his unofficial definition/points of Financial Security:

-Earning more than you spend
-Keeping debt levels manageable
-Having at least 6 months of living expenses set aside
-Having the skills necessary to quickly earn income

It isn't about if you have millions stored in the bank to define yourself as financially secured.  As long as you take the appropriate steps and take action you will help protect yourself from any unexpected events such as job loss, illness or a health issue.

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Website #1: Scotiabank: Importance of Planning for Retirement

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Website #1: Scotiabank: Importance of Planning for Retirement

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http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,3145,00.html
I chose this website because it touches on the two components of income planning for retirement; personal and financial planning.  I also trust the opinion from an actual bank institution which is also in fact where I do my banking.  Personal Planning is your starting point that will help shape your end point, during the planning process you need to ask yourself what you wish to do once you retire.  Understanding what your end goal is will lead to the type of financial plan you must make in order to accomplish your future goals.  This is where the site ties in Financial Planning, where your retirement income will most likely come from three different sources; government pensions, previous employment sources and personal investments.  This is useful to know as it guides you in the right direction for a more stable and enjoyable retirement doing what you want to be doing; as long as your income is designed towards your lifestyle choices and have developed a well-organized retirement plan.

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Video #3: New Tax Rate for the Canada Pension Plan (2016)

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Video #3: New Tax Rate for the Canada Pension Plan (2016)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5jJej_pJpU
I found this video quite interesting as it gets right down to specifics regarding the new changes that are happening with the Canada Pension Plan.  Essentially what is happening is our federal government will be taking a greater chunk of our paycheques and distributing it to the Canada Pension Plan.  The goal to become of this is to supply retired Canadians with more retirement income.  The details are obviously in the video but there are views that support this as well as views that oppose of this new system.

Supporting Views:
-Increase retirement benefits will help sustain your living later on in life.

Opposing Views:
-Disposable income will decrease due to the increase of CPP premiums
-Increased CPP premiums are an additional expense for Canadian businesses.
-Making it more difficult for businesses to grow, hire and invest.

This is really good to know and very useful because these changes are going to play an impact on when I come to the age of retirement.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx3b9-5hHiI
Understanding how to live a life that enables you to be financially secured is a major step in living a healthy and positive life, which is why I chose this video, where it states 8 keys that lead to financial security.  These important keys are as follows:

1) Invest in Yourself
2) Protect Yourself and your Loved Ones
3) Borrow Sparingly
4) Pay Yourself First
5) Don't Go for the Home Run
6) Diversify, Diversify, Diversify
7) Live Simply Today...For a More Comfortable Tomorrow
8) Give Generously of Yourself

I find these listed steps as something to live by that will help create a brighter present and future financially.

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Video #1: Retirement Income in Canada | Karen Chang

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Video #1: Retirement Income in Canada | Karen Chang

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq2BZXbLpxA
In this video, Karen Chang a financial advisor briefly explains which kind of income you should receive at retirement if you live in Canada.  She explains the differences and benefits among the varying methods. These income methods include the QPP/CPP, OAS, GIS, Work Pension and Personal Savings.  While it was only a short video it provides some important information about retirement which gets you thinking, and is useful to know when deciding about your future.