Are any of these important to know?
- you knowing when you want to retire and how much money it will take to do so (most people just say “lots”, but there is an actual number, unique to everyone).
- removing destructive debt
- increasing investments
- making sure you’re got some income protection (basically optimum life insurance)
Just a little tidbit of information regarding GICs (which I don’t recommend, for anyone, for any reason) – a 2 year GIC can get you up to about 2%, longer gives slightly more interest. The banker will make it sound all gooey and fun. But here’s the kicker – Inflation is around 4% – so you’re actually losing money! (Inflation is simply the average increase of cost of “things” and services from the past year). So if you’re not making at least 4% on your investment, you’re not even breaking even in the long haul.
How can the banks do this? Well, they don’t care about us, really. We give them a little cash up front (called a deposit to your account), and they invest at 12% or more. They are generous and give us back a couple percent… if we’re lucky. The rest is their profit. Ever looked at the profit statements of a bank? Yeah. Banks are a business too.
