10 Questions to Ask your Planner – Financial Planning Standards Council’s (FPSC®), November 6, 2019
Financial planners can help you plan for retirement, find the best way to finance a new home, save for your child’s education or simply help put your finances in order. Whatever your needs, working with an appropriately qualified financial planner is a crucial step in helping you meet short-term and long- term goals that will help ensure your future financial well-being. Read more here.
“The difference between Millennial and Baby Boomer Investors” by Diane Jermyn, Special to the Globe and Mail, May 30, 2018, updated July 3, 2018 and featuring Cherise Berman of Bespoke Financial
When it comes to investing, what’s up with millennials and their money?  As members of this tech-savvy generation begin to hit their mid-30s, many are choosing to invest differently than previous generations.  Barbara Knoblach, an associate at Money Coaches Canada in Edmonton, works with a lot of millennial clients, so has observed trends she doesn’t usually see in Gen Xers (born in the early 1960s) or baby boomers. Read more here

“Are your children getting in the way of a comfortable retirement?” by Diane Jermyn, Special to The Globe and Mail, Monday, November 6, 2017 and featuring Cherise Berman of Bespoke Financial
Having children is expensive. It costs $233,610 (U.S.) to raise a child born in 2015 to their 18th birthday – with the biggest bite for housing and food, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
While Canada doesn’t officially tally what it costs to raise a child, extrapolating from the U.S. numbers means it would take roughly $295,500 in Canadian dollars to raise a child to 18 – and that doesn’t take into account the cost of postsecondary education.  Read more here.

 “What do the rich worry about? Surprisingly, it’s money.” by Diane Jermyn, Special to The Globe and Mail, Monday, August 14, 2017 and featuring Cherise Berman of Bespoke Financial
Most older people worry about whether they will have enough money to carry them through retirement. The wealthy are lucky they need not bear the same concerns, right? Not entirely true – even the very rich worry about outliving their money. Read more here.

 “Tempting credit card offer? How young people can avoid pitfalls.” by Mary Gooderham, Special to The Globe and Mail, When Laura van Vlaardingen opens her mailbox, it’s not unusual to find a “pre-approved” credit card promising as much as $10,000 in credit inside.  Like many students, Ms. van Vlaardingen, 27, who is studying for a bachelor of business administration at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, is a target for credit card companies. But unlike many students, she knows that such tempting offers come with a significant catch. Read more here.

“Free Spending Parents can Harm Adult Children’s Finances.” by Kira Vermond, The Globe and Mail, Wednesday, May 31, 2017 and featuring Cherise Berman of Bespoke Financial
If we’re lucky, our parents will be able to attend weddings, grandchildren’s births and maybe even the odd shared vacation.  But some adult children are sharing more than that with their aging parents. They’re handing over money.  Ask Cherise Berman, a financial planner at Bespoke Financial Consulting Inc. in Toronto, who receives calls from people looking for guidance when it comes to supporting elderly parents.  Read more here.

“Millennials want to move out of Mom and Dad’s house but can they afford it?”, by Brenda Buow, The Globe and Mail, Friday, October 14, 2016
Tohar Hother-Yishay would love to move out of her parents’ house, for good.  It’s not just the three-hour round trip by public transit from their home in Thornhill, Ont., to her job in downtown Toronto that’s driving the decision. She says there’s something about being a 30-year-old who shares the same address as her parents that doesn’t sit well with her.  Read more here.

“We are boring people”: Gen Y couple shed $73,000 in student debt”, by Brenda Bouw, Globe and Mail Debt Diary, Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Sergio Jaramillo had $33,000 in student debt when he finished his undergraduate degree in biochemistry at the University of Guelph in 2011. That figure climbed to $37,000 by the time he finished his master’s degree in 2013. His wife, Stephanie Boilard, whom he met at university, had $28,000 in student debt after graduating with a degree in molecular biology in 2011.  Earlier this spring, the couple paid off the last of their student debt. Read more here.
“Having kids late in life can mess with your retirement savings.”, by Diane Jermyn, Globe Investor, The Globe and Mail, January 26, 2016 and featuring Cherise Berman of Bespoke Financial
Since many Canadians are having children later in life, people in their 50s, who should be going great guns on saving for retirement, are instead sending their kids through college or university. Read more here.

“Sell your stocks before you retire? Not so fast.”, by Guy Dixon, Globe Investor, The Globe and Mail, Friday, Sep. 18, 2015
A key commandment of investing may be – sacré bleu! – wrong.
The accepted rule has always been that one shall not stay heavily invested in stocks as retirement approaches, but move into bonds and other fixed-income securities. The goal is preserving one’s savings and leaving stock volatility behind….Read more here

“Retirement Planning. Balancing growth and guarantees in retirement planning.”,
by Mary Gooderham, Globe Advisor, June 23, 2015
Canadians want to grow their retirement funds, but they also want security. How advisors can help investors achieve these very different goals. For investors looking to grow their retirement funds but who also want security, retirement planning is critical….Read more here

RRSP or TFSA? Invest in both if you can, financial advisers say” by Linda Nguyen, The Canadian Press, Published Monday, February 16, 2015
Instead of debating the merits of an RRSP or a TFSA, Canadians should consider socking away money in both types of accounts for the best tax breaks, financial advisers say.
But since that can be a challenge for most people, the decision of where to save boils down to what you want to use the money for, your income and how much you expect to earn in retirement.
“In a perfect world, people would be maximizing both their RRSPs and TFSA contributions,” Read more here

“Money issues top source of stress: Survey” for Canadian HR Reporter, September 8, 2014 issue
Offering financial planning help to employees can ease worries, particularly for senior executives. Download this .pdf article here.

“10 Fees That Might Be Worth Paying” by Rob Engen, Toronto Star, December 28, 2013
Some fees we just love to hate, so we try to avoid them at all costs. But other fees can be worth it if they save you time and money in the end. So what makes a fee worth paying?…. Read more here.

The Value of Financial Planning – Financial Planning Standards Council’s (FPSC®)
The  FPSC® purpose is to instil confidence in the financial planning profession by establishing, enforcing and promoting appropriately high standards for financial planners in Canada. We are concerned that many Canadians are not receiving the financial planning help they need. We believe that when Canadians engage in financial planning with a qualified practitioner, their emotional and financial well-being will improve.  Download this .pdf article here.