Tell Me Your Story | Janea Bellay

Tell Me Your Story | Janea Bellay
I want to hear your story. How has Critical Illness Insurance affected your life? If you have a loved one that has been diagnosed with a Critical Illness, how would $100,000 of tax free cash affected their life?

Saskatchewan has longest surgical wait lines in Canada

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so how fitting that I was reading the Star Phoenix today and it made me sick to read the article on how Saskatchewan has the longest surgical wait lines in Canada: Click here for the article.

Imagine this.....
You have just been diagnosed with Cancer

• By the way the statistics are that you have a 1 in 2 chance of getting it sometime during your lifetime - Click here for the stats

You need to have surgery to remove the tumor because the cancer is spreading.

But -- there is a 6 month waiting list because you live in Saskatchewan.


I Don`t Think So, Dr. Whatshisname.

That`s when I get to tell him I have Critical Illness Insurance. In 30 days my financial advisor is going to hand me a cheque for $100,000 tax free, and I am going to Mayo Clinic to get this cancer out of me NOW. I am paying for it, but my life depends on it. I need this surgery to live.

And what`s worse about these wait times, is that it isn`t going to get better. The number of baby-boomers in our country is increasing at a rapid rate. By the year 2020, our country is going to look like the state of Florida, all white hairs! And this is going to put an even bigger drain on the health care system because the older you get, the more health problems you will incur.

This is why I ask clients, "In the event you are diagnosed with cancer, have a heart attack or stroke or some other critical illness, do you have enough money in your savings to pay your bills, take care of your family, and seek alternative medical treatment?"

Most of the time, its a no, I don't.

Then I ask, "Do you know of someone that has cancer and had to host a fundraiser so they can ask for money from friends and family in a really nice way because their medical bills and household bills are too steep that they can't manage on their own?"

Most of the time, its yes, I have been to a fundraiser.

Then I ask, "Ok, now do you want to ask your friends and family for money when you get sick, or do you want an insurance company to hand you cheque for $100,000 tax free so that you don't have to worry about your family's financial well-being and you can get better."

This is what Critical Illness Insurance does for people. I am so glad the Star Phoenix ran that artical today because it just proves how this insurance is the one you need.

Probability of Developing/Dying from Cancer

• On the basis of current incidence rates, almost 40% of Canadian women and almost 45% of men will develop cancer during their lifetimes.
• On the basis of current mortality rates, 24% of women and almost 29% of men, or approximately 1 out of every 4 Canadians, will die from cancer.

Click here for more information on Critical Illness Insurance.

Visit www.janeabellay.com for more up to date information.

Not taking advantage of free money

I came across a 55 year old gentleman who has been working for the same company for the last 30 years, he wants to retire in 5 years. He has roughly $30,000 saved in his pension through work, but he has only contributed to his pension in the last 7 years.

I had bad news for him -- He is not retiring in 5 years.

I asked him why he didn't start contributing to his work pension when he first started his job? He told me

• He didn't mean to stay at his job for so long, he planned on staying there a few years and then moving on to a different company
  
• He figured he would just start saving later in life, he didn't need to save when he was young

This is why it is so important to start young!! If you find that you may be in this situation, here are some ideas you may want to consider:

• If you are employed, start contributing to your pension NOW! If you leave the company, you can always take what is vested to you with you. If you transfer jobs, you can have your financial representative transfer your pension into your control, not your previous employers. Once you leave a company, they don't care about your pension money anymore, so make sure your money is working FOR you!
• Start investing and saving young. If you start young, you don't have to contribute as much because you can take advantage of compound interest. Take a look at this example: http://janeabellay.com/investments-money/
  
• Sarah who starts contributing at age 20 ends up with more money in her retirement fund than John who starts at age 30. Only because of compound interest. Get your money working for you. You work hard for it, so now make it work hard for you.
• The earlier you start the easier it is.
• Take advantage of free money. If your employer offers a profit sharing program, an RRSP sharing program or pension program, MAXIMIZE IT! Its free money. But its up to you to get on it and make sure that you are taking full advantage of everything the employer will offer you. Check your employee handbook or talk to your HR Manager.
  

Besides the fact my gentleman above doesn't have enough in his retirement plan to retire, he really should have taken advantage of all the opportunity that was offered to him.

These opinions are exclusively those of Janea Bellay. You should seek out a licensed financial representative before incorporating any strategy into your financial plan.

What about my retirement fund?

Hello:
As most of your read the newspapers this week and read about the US economy in a deep decline and wonder how this will impact the Canadian economy. Most of you are probably watching the endless news of how the stock market is in a deep decline, stocks are falling, retirement funds are decreasing, and most of us are sweating bullets right now, wondering what is happening to our investments. Most of you are wondering what is going to happen to yourself and your retirement fund.

Don’t panic. Don’t fret. Keep your cool.

Here are a couple of proven strategies that you want to keep in mind when in a recessionary period:

1. Dollar Cost Averaging – Do you have an automatic payment plan set up? If not, you should. What happens with dollar cost averaging is that you buy funds when they are low and you buy funds when they are high, so in the end, you have a weighted average of the fund price you paid.

2. Learn about the market - One of the best ways to reduce anxiety is to brush up on your financial knowledge, and understand how the stock market works. This can be a good way to "de-mystify" the information you hear from the economic experts and stock market analysts, so you can make clear, independent investment decisions in all market conditions.

3. Do your homework - In the same way, in-depth knowledge about the individual holdings within your portfolio can go a long way to alleviate investment anxiety. The more you know about why you've chosen a particular investment, how that investment works and how it fits into your overall portfolio, the better you'll be able to stomach a market downturn.

4. Focus on your goals - All too often, investors make rash financial decisions because they read a report or hear some news that the end of the financial world is coming. How do you stop this? By staying focused on your long-term investment goals. If you haven't already, write some specific, reasonable financial goals for yourself, and refer to them whenever you feel anxious about your finances. It will help you focus on your goals, rather than the current crisis. Long term investing means investing for 10, 20 or 30 years, and sticking with your plan.

5. Invest regularly - Do you have a large sum to invest? Anxious about investing right before a downturn? One way to rid yourself of the anxiety is to take the market out of the equation. By investing on a regular basis, you don't have to worry about predicting the best time to invest.

6. Everything happens in cycles – The market goes up and down. Its a given. Case in point, the Canadian market dropped 10% or more 11 times since January 1970. But between January 1970 and December 2007, the stock market has had an average annual return of 10.5% in Canada. Each time the market drops, and it will frequently and without warning, many investors stray from their plan. Yet, most market gains occur in just a few strong, but unpredictable short-term periods. To maximize your plan’s long-term performance, you have to be in the market during those periods.

7. Its a great time to invest! – Buy low, sell high, not the other way around. If you haven’t started a regular investing plan, now is a great time to start.

When it comes to investing, there will always be a reason to be anxious. The real challenge is to look past those reasons and stick to your long-term financial plan. Stay focused on your financial goals, do your homework and seek out a professional opinion before you make any decisions. That's the best way to prevent investment anxiety from wrecking your financial future.

I have attached some information if you would like to read further on investing in volatile times.

Contact me anytime should you have questions/concerns.
Best wishes,
Janea Bellay
www.janeabellay.com


More documents on investing in volatile times:
Investing in Turbulent Times: http://ficl.distributech.ca/uploads/61108103E.pdf
Putting Market Volatility Into Perspective: http://www.ci.com/orderform/pdf/tk_market_volatility_e.pdf
Dollar Cost Averaging: http://www.ci.com/orderform/pdf/tk_dollar_cost_avg_e.pdf

Mortgage Insurance - Banks vs Financial Advisor

The banks make it seem like the client MUST take the insurance out at the bank. When in fact, they don't have to at all. It is not a requirement to get a mortgage. However if you want your loved ones protected in the event of your death (and guess what, you are going to die someday, we just don't know when), then you absolutely need mortgage insurance, which is essentially life insurance.

So what happens at the bank --

· Your premiums will remain the same price, but your coverage will decline as you pay off your mortgage

· When you die, your beneficiary does not receive the insurance to decide how to pay off all the debt, the bank gets the insurance money to pay off the mortgage only. Your family doesn't see a dime of the insurance.

· If you change banks where your mortgage is at, your mortgage insurance will also be cancelled, and then you will have to reapply at higher rates

· When you die, the bank will then determine if they should have sold it to you in the first place, and in some cases it has been declined. If you are a detailed person, you would have read the small print on the mortgage insurance application. One of the questions is "Have you ever had a cancer exam, if yes, you will be declined the insurance". Guess what, if you have had a breast exam, a pap smear, or a prostate check by your doctor...you have had a cancer exam.

· Banks are not licensed to sell insurance. They buy it in bulk and then sell off each of the policies. Would you deal with a doctor that didn't have a valid license? Then why deal with an unlicensed person at a bank who is handling the second most important thing to living well, your money.

In any case if you purchase mortgage insurance from a licensed representative, someone with a life insurance license, these things won't happen because all the pre-work is done up front and honestly.

Most life insurance licensed professionals work with about 12 difference insurance companies so they are able to shop around and get the best prices, and in some cases cheaper than what the bank is quoting.

Who do you want to put your trust into? Someone who is licensed and trained at what they do, or someone who is doing what their bank manager told them they should do....make a sale.

More information on mortgage insurance can be found on my website at www.janeabellay.com