It's good to have it, but do you want it to be your only option?

Group benefits aka Work benefits - you know that booklet you get at work, but don't really know much about except for how much they cover for prescriptions and dental? Well, I must say, it's something we review for client's A LOT, mainly because they "don't want to read the fine print". Group benefits can be great, and they can also be confusing - and at times a big shock when what we thought we had, we didn't in fact have...

My general rule of thumb is that group benefits are a bonus and should work along side your personally owned plan. They should never be all you have. Never ever.

Some of the great things about group benefits are:

- if you are unable to get personally owned insurance such as, life insurance or disability because of pre-existing medical conditions or risky lifestyle, they can really be a financial life saver. You don't have to qualify medically or do a questionnaire for you work benefits.

- As an employer it will really help your employees feel valued and can be a major reason why they will stay with your business or company for the long haul.

- low/no cost to you as the employee and good value if you know the ins and outs of your plan and use it to it's full advantage

A statistic from 2007 states that 61% of Canadians (Sanofi Adventis Health Care survey) would prefer group benefits over a $20,000 annual raise. I put this question to you on my facebook status to find out what you think?

Because I provide both group benefits and work with clients on their personally owned and administered plans, I see is people relying too much on their group benefits. Some things to consider are as follows:

- what if you leave that job? You cannot take your benefits with you and if you are older and in worse medical condition it may be very expensive if not damn near impossible to get your own coverage.

- How much insurance do you really have? Most people think it's a lot more than it is. Typically it's one time your annual salary. You can purchase more but I would always recommend purchasing more that your personally own, not through the benefits because again it's tied to your employment there. To put it in perspective if you have a mortgage here in Kelowna (400,000 give or take) and two children you likely need more than 1,000,000 dollars worth of life insurance. How far does one year of your annual salary go? Not far...

- What if your company decides that they can no longer afford or do not see benefit in the group plan any more? The ceiling might not look so nice looking up after having the carpet pulled out from under you.

The overall point here is you are responsible for your own protection and security when it comes to your finances. You are the energy source that puts your pants on one leg at a time and goes to work. If you couldn't do that who would pay your basic bills never mind the fluffy stuff? You need to understand and have someone review your booklet with you in order to figure out what it provides for you and what you may need to do on your own. The "no surprise when the shit hits the fan factor" is extremely important. No one likes to submit a claim and think they are getting money back, or covered while they were off only to find out it's not. Won won...(you know the sound?)

As an employer, it says a lot when you offer up these plans to your employees. It can set you apart from other companies or the possibility of losing employees during recessions to the abundance of jobs in Alberta. To take it a step further, you can also (I highly recommend) have your plan advisor come in and work individually with your employees so that they know the plan really well and also know where they need to cover themselves with their own dollar - this is at NO extra cost to you. To provide this kind of service to your employees is a gift they will have for life. I'm sorry if that sounds cheesy but it's ultimately true.

The problem with group benefits can be that you would rather chose natural health care over "Western medicine" (prescriptions, medical doctors etc.) Often times you get the best coverage when it comes to prescriptions and you may feel backed into a corner because you can't afford to do the alternative. I speak from experience on this one and I mean to offend no one here. I haven't used our prescription coverage in 4 years and my plan doesn't cover Chiropractic, acupuncture or massage. To be honest, I haven't used my plan at all since I have had it and as someone who is self employed I pay for the ENTIRE cost, but I am required to have it.

My last point is this: It is always great to have coverage at work but you need to see if the coverage matches up with your health care needs/wants. If you are someone who would like to take $100,000 and go to Spain for cancer treatment then you need to have personally owned coverage because you get to chose where the money goes.

My recommendation is this - take some time to think about "the shit hitting the fan situation" and consider what you would like to do if you were sick or seriously injured. You don't want to be caught in a situation that you haven't thought about and try to make the best decision when your wallet is staring you in the face. The big decision is whether or not you are happy to go through government funded and group benefit funded treatment or if you would rather weigh out your options and chose from a large array of alternative treatments.

As someone brought up in my status question about what you rather...would you take the money and just buy new flashy crap or would take some or all of it and get your own plan in place protecting you in a way you see fit (Did you know there are plans and policies that will allow you to have coverage and also get all your money back at retirement!). It's always easier to have it done for us, however not always what is best. If you make your own choices as to where you money goes, it then works harder for your specific goals and needs!

With gratitude,

Grace & Erin

The butcher the baker the candlestick maker, they all have an important specific job!

In speaking with my mother this week regarding taxes, I realized that it's one of those areas that provides so much confusion that people avoid or give up on trying to keep track and get ahead. The toughest part is to find someone who has every possible professional title. Then you might end up with the right answers but no one can possible be an expert in all areas - we just don't have that kind of time. You really want people to be experts in their field, not trying to juggle many different roles. See, each of us - financial advisors/planners, accountants, lawyers, realtors and the like know a lot about one area and a bit about the others. What I have found my client's really need is a team of people who can communicate to give you the best well rounded advice out there.

To be honest, your professionals should be suggesting this right from the get go - that they are willing or would like to meet with the other advocates you have working for you in your life's biggest decisions and or finding those people who will go to bat for you in each area of your life. If the only thing these people have in common is your best interest, then that's all you need.

When it comes to taxes, there isn't one specific person who is going to have all the answers. Accountants are tax specialists but they don't always (and rarely) know all the tools for you to use in order to reduce tax. Life insurance is the biggest one that they don't often know about.

As far as financial advisors go, we know what can reduce your taxes but we need to know more about how you report and what your business structure looks like so in comes the accountant and so on.

It can be compared to dentists, doctors, naturopaths, chiropractors, accupunturists etc. All of these people want to help you become healthy but you wouldn't go to your dentist for a pap/prostate exam. I know that's extreme but you get the point right?

So instead of trying to find all these people, ask a professional you trust to help build your team for you. If they care a lot about taking care of you in a holistic way, they will have this team built and at your disposal.

Can I buy the blue dirt bike now?

March! Really? Already you say? I know right.

March is actually an excellent month to get going on those things you said you wanted to do in the new year but haven't been able to come out of the winter fog yet to do.

Most of us are well on our way to recovering from Christmas and budgets and financial plans are starting to seem like a good idea again. I think it's always a little scary and overwhelming to set out on the path to improvement. I mean haven't we tried to do this a thousand times?

Anything that I have tried to do or get better at in my life has always worked out much smoother and much further when I have someone supporting me and helping me along the way. It's basically someone who promises to not let you lose sight of your long term goals. Even those of us who do this for other people, such as myself, need others to encourage and support us.

Different perspectives and information are essential in growing and adapting to our ever changing lives. Someone who can take a look at your situation in an objective way will always shed new light on something you may have looked at a thousand times.

Recently, Oliver wanted a new blue dirt bike. He has been asking us non-stop, until finally we had to say "we don't have the money for that." It's the truth so we figured it would be the best reason to give him. He then ran off and came back with a quarter and said "I have my money, now can we get it?" We both looked at each other for the next answer to give him.

So, we explained to him that it takes time and patience to save enough money to buy things we want. We gave him a money counting piggy bank that is fairly large and told him every time he finds some money, to put it in his bank. I know, I know, he's only 3 but he does understand that he has to fill the bank before we can get the bike. Obviously it won't be enough but we will save along side of him and I think it will be a good lesson for all.

In teaching our children how to save and the value of time and money, we learn also. Sometimes when the student becomes the teacher we all learn and those lessons become ingrained in us enough to cause a major shift to happen. Seeing things from a different light can make the difference in changing our perspective.

If you want someone to support you in your journey to freedom, be it money or habits - we are here for you!