About
Learning how to manage your money means gaining control of your life - and your debt. And being able to do the things you’ve always wanted to.
This requires a plan, your active participation, and making changes in your day-to-day decisions, habits, and thinking. For many, this is a difficult process but I’m going to help you get there every step-of-the-way.
You're not alone. Recent Manulife Bank studies found that:
- 60% of soon-to-be retired Canadian homeowners (10 to 15 years away) lack confidence they’ll have enough savings for retirement (2016)
- 30% of people are very unhappy with how they’ve managed their debt and day-to-day finances (2013), while
- 49% of Canadians don’t think they’ll be able to retire debt-free
All this could have been avoided with some financial education. However, the school system doesn’t teach it and many parents aren’t necessarily good at it. No surprise then that many people struggle with money throughout their lives, while others thrive.
In my 30 years in the mortgage industry, I’ve dealt with many people that just needed a little guidance to improve their financial habits.
Educational Approach
Overall, I take an educational approach in my Money Coach program. This website’s Financial Education section, 'Money Myths' and 'Mortgage Myths' sections serve as a starting point for upgrading your knowledge; blog articles make you aware of common issues.
Life Goals Re-visited
It’s also essential to have a personally motivating factor: namely, life goals-dreams you may have forgotten about or set aside. These give you powerful inspiration to make the changes you need to.
My Debt Eliminator course:
1) Helps you identify your goals and dreams, 2) Explores your current spending habits, 3) Introduces habit changes, and 4) Guides you on how to make expense reductions, leading to eventual debt elimination. It’s a balanced, methodical, and sensible course of action to get your life back.
You will need coaching to change your thinking and spending habits. However, once you do so, and have some success, it’s easy to revert back to old ways. I stress accountability to keep you on track. Ongoing contact achieves that.
My Debt Background
Based on a personal debt situation (car loan, credit cards) in my 20s, I understand how easily debt can accumulate. After repaying it, I resolved to make money management a lifelong study. For the past 5 years, I’ve been counseling my mortgage clients about wise money practices.
My years in debt developed within me great empathy so I come from a place of care and compassion. I’m going to help you through your debt problem by offering direction and support. For many, it’s just a small change to totally improve theirlives. My goal is to be the change-maker.
30 Years Financial Experience
My 30 years of experience in the financial industry is broad and diversified. I’ve served as a:
- Loan Officer at a big 5 bank
- Mobile Mortgage Specialist for a big 5 bank
- Mortgage Underwriter for the Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC), a bank, a trust company and a major mortgage lender
- Accredited Mortgage Broker (AMP) for the last 20 years
Due to my breadth of knowledge, I address the majority of your questions upon your asking. For the others, I’ve got a reliable network of long-term associates who get back to me quickly. Finally, Dominion Lending Centres have a great deal of on-staff expertise.
As a mortgage broker, I operate on a 100% referral basis, demonstrating the trust I’ve developed over the years. I’m an Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP) in Ontario and a proud member of Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC).