A Story of Financial Success
Spender and Saver
Philip, a registered massage therapist, admitted to being a spender. Not a crazy spender – he didn’t have clothes with the tags still on that he’d bought 6 months ago – but he liked to buy what he wanted when he wanted it. Philip simply didn’t pay attention to his money. As a result, he found himself in debt and hadn’t really tried to get out of it, resolved instead to “just kind of live with it.” Hayley, a marketing executive, was a saver. Squirrelling money away was second nature to her. Partly because she grew up learning this valuable life skill from her parents. But also because, in the cutthroat world of corporate marketing, Hayley keenly felt the threat of potential job loss and she handled her money accordingly.
On the Same Page
With a wedding just months away, Philip and Hayley wanted to find a way to join their finances in a way that made sense to them. They weren’t on the same page, and they knew if they didn’t get there life could get ugly. They needed, and wanted, to get better at money management together. We talked with them individually about what was important, then helped create a united financial strategy they could both get behind. We know it can be a lot all at once, and to avoid overwhelm we made sure to take just one step at a time. Because Philip is self-employed and the primary bread winner, we put some security in place with disability and critical illness insurance. Then together we prepared a spending and debt elimination plan. Philip and Hayley got focused and started achieving their goals, and it didn’t take long before they were able to buy a condo. Married life was starting on an exciting, right foot!
Life Happens and Plans Evolve
Today, all the pieces of their financial puzzle are in one coherent picture. Philip and Hayley are competent at money management, and they have also became parents! Their little one officially became our youngest client! We put in place child critical illness insurance and we started a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) so that his grandparents can help contribute to his education.
The best part about working with The Lifestyle Protector? As Philip said, “You handle all that financial stuff I’m not interested in. If we’ve got a question you’re on it. You help us make informed decisions. We don’t have to remember all the details. We know you’ve got our back and that’s just what we want when finances aren’t our thing.”