What women need to know about their finances

Women need to take charge of their finances and make sure they understand their financial situation. It’s important to create a budget, track your spending, and set financial goals. Too often I see women take a back seat and don’t make sure their are a priority in all aspects of their life. It is important to ensure you have set yourself up for financing success. Here are a few ways to help with this:

  1. Ensure you have at minimum 2 active trade lines on your credit bureau. A suggestion is a major credit card and Line of credit. They don’t have to be large just a $200 minimum each. Use these monthly to pay for groceries, fuel or any other household debts and pay off each month. This will ensure you have an active credit bureau. If for what ever reason you were on your own and haven’t set these up prior you would be forced to start again with no credit and if you are not working that maybe very hard to be approved for. Here is a great read on how to build credit: Increasing your credit score in Alberta (patriciamckean.ca)
  2. Ensure you and your spouse have a will in place in the event something were to happen to either of you. If you don’t have a will in place in Alberta, the province’s laws of intestacy will determine who will be the beneficiaries of your estate. This means that your assets will be distributed according to a formula set out by the provincial government. Generally, your spouse and children will receive the bulk of the inheritance, but it may not necessarily be in the proportions that you would have chosen. It’s important to remember that without a will, you won’t be able to appoint a guardian for any minor children, so it’s important to make sure that you have a valid and up-to-date will in place. Without this it can cause time delays and may leave you without a home or funds to pay for essential living if you do not have a plan in place.
  3. Ensure you have considered life insurance for both you and your spouse. I try and explain to clients is isn’t only important to have life insurance on the income earner but also the spouse at home who us caring for a family. If something were to happen to that spouse would the other spouse be able to pay for the help needed or take time off work to manage the house hold? It is always to good to have something in place to help take the financial burden off if something were to happen. Here is a link to some information on different life insurance policies: Mortgage Protection and Life Insurance Canada, Cochrane (unbeatablemortgages.ca)

Additionally, it’s important to create an emergency fund to ensure you have the money available in case of any unexpected expenses. Finally, make sure you review your finances regularly and make any necessary adjustments to ensure you are staying on track. For a review of your financial plan I am happy to sit down and review with you, give me a call 403.875.2969 and we can do this. None of this is fun but it is all part of being a responsible adult.