Members Lounge

Past Meetings

Pretty simple stuff...

Or so it seems. Financial planning is always stressful; how do we know where to really invest? How often should we check how our money is growing? Whom can we trust?

These are some of the questions that best-selling author, David Chilton tackled in his presentation to PMCQ members. And as the author of Canada’s all-time best-selling book, The Wealthy Barber, Chilton seems qualified to give a little financial advice. Or is he?

An evening of laughs and self-deprecating humor was interspersed with nuggets of financial tips… but not his. Chilton emphasized that he has no inside track when it comes to managing financial success… it really is just common sense. Of course some guidelines are required for this all too simple approach; save 10% of everything that comes in. And this means everything; from regular paychecks, to inheritances to gift money. Teaching children this lesson will go a long way for them in learning good money management, as well. Leave your money alone; it needs time to grow and checking the daily markets might make you feel connected to your money but doesn’t allow you to see the ‘big picture’ of long-term growth. And what is this infamous ‘long-term growth’ anyway? According to Chilton, anything less than five years is short-term and therefore unpredictable.

Other tips included staying away from lines of credit -because for the most part we are not disciplined enough to have them, and checking the interest rates on credit cards to consolidate where needed.

Throughout his presentation, Chilton kept the anecdotes and laughs coming helping to demystify financial planning and encourage the audience to relax when it comes to money management. At the end of the day, financial planning is not an exact science only academics with graduate degrees in economics or finance can understand. It boils down to this: use your common sense and spend less than you make… pretty simple stuff!

Carrie Dandy, M.A.
Account Executive
Sudler & Hennessey