Scantlebury Wealth Management

Some might ask why a financial professional would talk about shredding. Shredding after all has nothing to do with Life or Accident & Sickness Insurance. Shredding has nothing to do with exempt market investments, mutual funds, segregated funds or GICs. Reducing the level of “paper” - either the digital or physical version - has nothing to do with reducing debt or taking out a credit card. So why is a financial professional talking about shredding? Well, that is all true. There is not a direct link between shredding and the numbers that come along with a financial plan. Or put differently, while putting more money into an RRSP will bring someone closer to retirement, there is no corollary which says that putting more documents into shredder will do the same.  With that being said, if one shreds their financial documents properly, it does mean that that same person will increase their level of privacy. Shredding more reduces the ability of hackers, thieves, criminals and/or othe...

In April, Gold’s Gym proactively closed 30 company-owned gyms; and by May, they declared bankruptcy. In making that decision, it meant that they separated themselves from “nearly 700 gyms around the world.” J.Crew joined them by  filling for Chapter 11 protection in early May.  Since then retailers have either gone bankrupt or filed for Chapter 11. In the US, Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney, Tuesday Morning, PQ New York, Lucky Brand, Brooks Brothers and Sur La Table. In Canada, David’s Tea, SAIL Outdoors Inc, Henry's and Aldo did the same.  The 85 year old vitamin company called GNC saw a 30% drop in their store sales; while 24 Hour Fitness couldn’t provide their chief product - a place to exercise. Both filed for bankruptcy in June.  While, in the same month, CEC Entertainment - a company which owns 550 Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza locations - after COVID lockdowns found itself doing an oxymoronic and/or paradoxical thing: on one day, they both reopened 266 venu...

Every few years, CBC Marketplace looks at Canada’s big banks and their practices of providing balance-protection insurance. CBC Marketplace says that notes that “high risk for consumers” are often provided with a product "without appropriate explanation.” CBC Marketplace says: "It's expensive, doesn’t cover a lot of situations, and it pays out a very small amount most of the time." Please take the time to watch it: 

When I gained my Life Insurance Licence, I had one belief: there is very little difference between life insurance companies. After all, don’t all life insurance companies provide a product which pays out at death? Isn’t that all one needs to know about life insurance? I quickly learned that the answer to those questions is not that simple. For example, all the big Canadian Banks partner with the largest Canadian Insurance companies to provide creditor insurance products in their retail bank branches. At this point, Canada Life Assurance Company works with ScotiaBank, TD Canada Trust, CIBC, & RBC; while SunLife Financial works with BMO. Manufacturers Life ensures that First National has a creditor plan.  However, there is a problem with this type of life and/or health insurance: there is no guaranteed payout. Now, for many people, this might seem odd; however, it is the truth. Because Canadian Banks cannot sell individual life or health insurance policies in their bank branches,...