Scantlebury Wealth Management

Whenever I am asked, "Does a single person really need life insurance?" my mind immediately goes to two children. Both were under the age of ten, and both were eventually declared uninsurable. I’ll focus on one child—let's call him "Bob"—who was born with a genetic kidney disease. Bob’s parents had considered buying him a life insurance policy early on. They were aware of the disease because it ran in the family, but they were concerned about affordability and decided to take a chance. When Bob began developing at a slower pace than his peers, his parents took him to a doctor. Tests confirmed their fears: Bob had inherited the condition. In that moment, he became uninsurable. This story illustrates a critical, and often overlooked reality: your true health can be worse than you expect. While a doctor looks for current symptoms, insurance companies look deeper into your long-term risk. That deeper look can have devastating consequences for your future ability to ...

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...

During my career, I have been asked a simple question repeatedly: why should a twenty year old buy life insurance?  In many ways, this is the easiest and hardest financial planning question to answer. For the answer to the question lies in statistics, expectations, hopes and the way in which we wish to live our lives. Statistically, it is quite clear that most people in the Western World will not die tomorrow. The Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Children and Their Families noted that while those between the age of 0 and 19 made up 29 percent of the population in 1999, they only made up 2% of all deaths.  In fact, if you look at statistics from Canada, the US and the UK, you see a remarkably similar trend. From birth to the pre-teen years, the likelihood of death drops off dramatically. Or put differently, based on the StatsCanada data from 2014-2018, from birth to age 1, 4.5 Canadian babies out of 1,000 will die. However...

Getting married is a large life commitment and there are so many things to think about. Many people think about the invitations and the flowers. The Groom thinks about his tuxedo, while the Bride thinks about her dress. There is food and venues and honeymoons that come to mind and need to be planned. Before getting married, however, I have learned that finances should be put alongside the cake and confetti. For, just as marriage is a time to celebrate the coming of two people, it is just as important to remember that two different ledgers are being merged. So, financial goals are important. Just think about it. If your spouse and you buy a house and they pass away, one question is left: is there enough money to allow for continued ownership of the house? Building a strong financial foundation can answer that question; and, often times that means reviewing the life insurance portfolio. Or, in a few cases, creating one. After over a decade in the industry, I have three reasons for this o...