Happy New Year!
As we enter the new year, new financial goals and strategies to achieve them must be set.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a hit on everyone’s financial health in 2020. As the new year is here, it’s time we reflect and prepare for a better 2021. Are you financially ready?
Pandemic Survey Financial Impact
A survey from FP Canada that reached 1,600 people in a matter of two days between September 18 to 20, 2020 shows that the pandemic had a major impact on Canadians and 30% of those people are currently concerned they will not financially recover from the crisis. Another survey “released in advance of Financial Literacy Month, revealed that 42% of Canadians feel they are not in a strong enough financial position to handle the challenges of the second wave of COVID-19. Nearly as many (41%) confirm that they already feel that they’re in a worse financial situation today than they were before the pandemic began. More than one third say they have already had to draw from personal savings or take on new debt to make up for money shortfalls and cover expenses.”
The unfortunate reality forced many individuals, families, and businesses to put a pause on their financial goals and some were even short in funds.
Analyze 2020
From a Financial Advisor’s standpoint and expertise, it’s recommended that people review how they did the year before. The first step is to take all 2020 financial statements and analyze whether savings and spending goals were met. With that said, was it successful or not? What could’ve been done differently?
Secondly, if you do have an emergency or a retirement savings fund, it’s ideal to check if the account is at what you want it to be.
Lastly, always looking for ways to cut down on spending helps increase the money amount going towards the savings account or towards the next big purchase.
If your goals were affected by the pandemic, implement a solution for 2021.
Prepare for 2021
Knowing that 2020 was difficult and some had to break any savings they had, don’t feel bad for having to ask for help when planning for the following year. It’s proven that Canadians working with a financial planner say they are much more confident about their financial health than those who are not. (Source: FP Canada)
Our clients focus on priorities important to them and we build, invest, and maintain their financial health.
We put together a blog post that will help with budgeting and planning for the year ahead
Read the blog post: “The Importance of Creating A Budget”