Design Your Future Financial Services - Brought to You by The Financial Engineer

When was the last time you went on vacation and didn’t even think about work? If you’re like most people, it probably seems like forever ago. Here’s an idea.  Try turning off your mobile phone. Give one person at the office the phone number of the place you’ll be staying. Before you leave, offer to take that friendly co-worker out for a nice lunch or BBQ the week you get back — they get to pick the place if you don’t get a single call. It’ll be one of the best lunches you’ll ever pay for. Hey, there's still lots of summer left!  Make the most of it!  Try turning off that cell phone while at a BBQ with friends and family too.  At the end of the summer we can chat about how to be a financial role model for your child, until then, here's the recipe for my wife's "Million Dollar Burger".  It will be a huge success! Mix: 2 lbs of Lean Ground Beef (or yummy lean Bison) 2 Eggs 1 Packet of Onion Soup Mix 1/2 Cup of Ketchup 1 Diced Onion ...

Did you know that many Maritimers believe they are unable get insurance? We are #1 in: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.   Would you like to see if you are lucky enough to be accepted for a policy that many do not have the honor to have? If you think you're uninsurable - think again, you just may be lucky enough to be approved! Let’s talk - it's a great way to end Life Insurance Month and to make sure you and your loved ones are taken care of!! Dedicated to helping you reach your financial potential,  Steve MacLellan, P.Eng The Financial Engineer Mutual Fund and Insurance Representative Email: steve@yourfinancialpotential.ca Cell: (902) 240-6508 www.yourfinancialpotential.ca

If you’re concerned about social, ethical and environmental issues you can have a real, measurable impact on them with your investment portfolio.  Socially responsible investing allows your investments not only to improve your own life, but also your communities and the world.  One of the challenges of socially responsible investing is that it can be difficult to identify the investments that will truly benefit you along with contributing the issues you care about.  To ensure your investments are aligned with the social, environmental and community issues that matter most to you, in-depth screenings of companies and their impact must be conducted, monitored and reviewed. The corporate structure, business practices, history, and of course, the return on your investment are examined in detail, which also offers an extra layer of risk management. Socially responsible investing ( SRI ), or social investment , also known as sustainable , socially conscious , " green "...

Ideally, you’ve been putting away money in your RRSP, TFSA, or other savings accounts. But are you overlooking ways to save money  now  so you can free up more for your financial strategy or help build your cash stash for a rainy day? 1. Pay Yourself First. If you’re making contributions to your RRSP at work, you’re already paying yourself first. But you can also apply the same principle to saving. (If you open a separate account just for this, it’s easier to do.) If you prefer, you can accomplish the same thing on paper by keeping a ledger. Just be aware that paper makes it easier to cheat (yourself). With a separate account, you can schedule an automatic transfer to make the process painless and fuhgettaboutit. Here’s how it works. Whenever you get paid, transfer a fixed dollar amount into your special account – before you do anything else. If you don’t pay yourself first, you might guess what will happen. (Be honest.) If you’re like most people, you’ll probably spe...

Ever consider starting your own business? Does anything sound better than being your own boss?  Well, maybe a brand new sports car or free ice cream for life. But even a state-of-the-art fully-decked-out sports car will eventually need routine maintenance, and the taste of mint chocolate chip can get old after a while. The same kinds of things can happen when you start your own business. There are many details to consider and seemingly endless tasks to keep organized after the initial excitement of being your own boss and keeping your own hours has faded. Circumstances are bound to arise that no one ever prepared you for! Although this list is not exhaustive, here are 5 things to get you started when creating a business of your own: 1. Startup cost  The startup cost of your business depends heavily on the type of business you want to have. To estimate the startup cost, make a list of anything and everything you’ll need to finance in the first 6 months. Then take...

Your biggest expense in life is taxes! If you learned how to reduce the taxes you pay, what would you do with your huge return?  • Invest?  • Buy that boat?  • Finish off your home renos?  • Have a down payment for your new home?  • Travel and enjoy your family vacation?  • or simply get rid of that high interest debt?  Taxes are not just your biggest expense, they are also hindering, sometimes stopping you from accomplishing your goals and dreams in life!  Email steve@yourfinancialpotential.ca if you would like to learn how to reduce your taxes and start dreaming again. Make sure to ask for a free copy of "Wake up and Smell the Tax Savings" and the soon to be released "Your Financial Potential: East Coast Edition" Stephan MacLellan  Mutual Fund and Insurance Representative Suite 402, 6080 Young St Halifax, NS B3K 5L2 Email: steve@yourfinancialpotential.ca Cell: (902) 240-6508 www.maritimesuccess.com UPCOMING ...

If you’ve ever avoided looking at your bank account, if you’ve ever panicked about your finances, if you’ve been immobilized by indecision, or if you’ve overspent yourself into debt ... you’re afraid of money.  When asked what I do for a living – I used to respond  “I help families save and protect their money”  with a nice smile. As soon as I said the word “money” I would usually see instant fear in the person’s eyes and body language. Why, in a society where we idolize athletes and movie stars who get paid the big bucks, are most people afraid or uncomfortable about talking about money? Research and from my experience, it comes down to 3 things: 1) Media – fear sells. Guaranteed on the news in the next few weeks - stories about CRA and “wealthy” people penalized for trying to reduce their taxes. Who’s the villain in most movies and what are they trying to get?  2) Our upbringing – media has also influenced how were raised and raise our children. ...

Most likely the biggest lifetime expense you will encounter is TAXES.  If you invested $1,000 each year in a tax-sheltered plan for 30 years at 10% interest it would you give you just under $165,000!  That would be exciting result from your money that was yours all the time, but it also means that the $30,000 (30 years times $1,000) produced $135,000 of compound interest that the government was getting instead of you.  Do you feel they deserve it?  Then why let them use it? March 1st is the last day to contribute to your RRSP to receive a deduction in your 2017 income taxes.  Would you rather pay the government your money or would you like to invest in yourself? If you would rather invest in yourself and learn more, I'd be happy to send you "Wake Up and Smell the Taxes" - a book that I read back in 2008 that "woke me up!", for FREE. Simply email smaclellan02febc@wfgmail.ca to receive "Wake up and Smell the Taxes" by The Canadian Financ...