Your Benefit

Having a financial plan you can believe in is a huge advantage. The plan is your route to getting the most from your known resources. In short, it is “the best you can do with what you’ve got.” We call the answer to this key financial question your "lifestyle number".

What matters is cash flow – today and into the future

Instead of focusing on arcane issues and financial phenomena we cannot control, our basic planning focus is on safely achieving the maximum level of spendable after-tax cash flow – or “lifestyle”. For most of us, lifestyle - the home, the cars, the memberships, the security, the bequests - is the reason we work, save, and agonize over our investments. For most of our clients, the key financial question is “will my assets provide my family and I with our desired lifestyle over a specific period of time?"

Maximizing the effectiveness of your current and future assets is the key to reaching this lifestyle number. There are many resources that go into this calculation: on top of your current RRSP and non-registered investment holdings, we consider items such as your salary, your pension, your group benefits, inheritances, and other assets. We also look at your liabilities – a mortgage, fixed expenses such as for insurance or education, and other debts. We also factor in future expenses such as supporting a parent, or anticipated medical costs. The bottom line is that our plan will account for more of what really goes on in your financial life than virtually any other plan in the marketplace.

When you receive a CS Investment Counsel financial plan you will have a playbook that specifically allocates your resources each year from today to your life expectancy, showing a clear year-by-year savings, investment and withdrawal schedule. These calculations are done with the purpose of generating the maximum spending power over your whole life, starting now.

There is a certain peace to knowing your lifestyle number. Clients have described it as a bit of a relief – knowing that they are doing the behaviours that optimize their family’s income, and that there is nothing more that they could or should be doing. Some clients are pleasantly surprised to find they were over-saving, while others, well, they need to save a little more...and we encourage them to do that.

There is an ideal spending level that is born from your financial situation. Spending at that level takes the focus off sacrificing today and chasing an elusive future, one that often disappoints. Aside from the financial discipline and personal satisfaction that results from having and following your plan, many clients experience a new focus on enjoying life now.

OUR PROCESS          YOUR BENEFIT             FACTS AND INSIGHTS