Scantlebury Wealth Management

If you spend any amount of time listening to Canadians, it becomes clear that our health care system  does a good job at treating critical illnesses like cancer, heart attacks and strokes. However, it has  some severe limitations. One of those limitations is imposing a large amount of costs on individual patients. Last year, CBC talked about a Calgary man who was facing cancer treatment delays because the specialized therapy he needs is offered in Edmonton, but is not yet offered in Calgary. With that being said, there are also recent reports that many women in Saskatchewan are having trouble getting urgent breast cancer biopsies; and there are two reasons for that. Firstly, the care is not offered in their home province of Saskatchewan. They have to travel to Alberta, specifically Calgary, to get the care that the government of Saskatchewan will pay for. However, this is where the second problem comes to the fore: even with partial reimbursement from the Government of Saskatc...

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...

If you speak to most Trustees-in-Bankruptcy in Canada, you will find that it is pretty hard to go bankrupt from medical expenses alone. Freida Richer, a Vice President and Principal at Grant Thornton Limited, noted this in an interview with Global News; and, if you think about it, that makes sense.   We, in Canada, are very proud of our social safety net. We believe in the idea that government programmes should cover basic physician and hospital expenses; while other social programmes should provide financial assistance to Canadians who are unable to work because of disability or illness. Accordingly, Canadians don’t receive bills from our hospitals for procedures like a hip transplant or cancer operations.  As a society, our employers and ourselves often go the extra step by creating Extended Health Benefits through Group Benefit Programmes or by purchasing private products individually. According to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA), some 24 mil...

One question I am asked by clients on a regular basis is: “Since I have group benefits through my employer, why would I need to supplement it with life insurance?” This question is especially popular amongst those who are younger and one can understand why. If one doesn’t own a home or have children, one might not see the value in a life insurance policy. In fact, it is often seen as an unnecessary expense. However, I disagree and these are some of the reasons that I share with my clients. Firstly, you might need a life insurance policy in the future. You might get married. You might adopt a baby or – because of death or circumstance – you might take a friend’s child under your roof. I know this because, as a financial professional, I have seen all of those circumstances. I can honestly say that no one can see what the future has in store for them and being prepared is the best way to deal with it. Too often, financial professionals see the consequences of someone who has not prepared...