How to Eat an Elephant: Achieving Financial Success One Bite at a Time

HOW DO YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT? ONE BITE AT A TIME! Have you ever felt intimidated or overwhelmed by your personal finances? Have you ever wanted to get on top of your financial affairs but always feel it is a huge task? Now you can break down your financial elephant into small, bite-sized pieces. By spending only four hours each month, you can get your personal finances in order and start enjoying a better quality of life. Supported by online resources and tools, you can complete each task set forth in the book easily and efficiently, printing summaries and reports as you go. How to Eat an Elephant will help you to: Put all of your financial affairs in order once and for all. Reduce your stress and alleviate your anxiety about money. Reduce your debts and save you hundreds of dollars in interest. Increase your understanding and confidence about money. Save hundreds of dollars in legal, advisory, and management fees. Organize your financial information using simple and powerful online tools. By dealing with your financial elephant "one bite at a time," you will find the experience to be easy, educational, and empowering. With this book, your financial success begins today! ARE YOU READY FOR A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE? To learn more about this book and its interactive online tools, visit www.howtoeatanelephant.ca. A Step-by-Step Guide to Financial Planning for Canadians

Acknowledgements ix How to Use this Guide xi Introduction 1 PART ONE: Understanding Your Finances 3 Chapter 1: Setting and Achieving Goals 5 Chapter 2: Where Are You Now? 19 Chapter 3: How to Save a Lot of Money! 31 Chapter 4: Income and Debt Management 53 PART TWO: Protecting Your Finances 71 Chapter 5: Benefits 73 Chapter 6: Risk and Living Insurance 93 Chapter 7: Life Insurance 107 PART THREE: Growing Your Finances 131 Chapter 8: Retirement and Estate Planning 133 Chapter 9: Investing 163 Chapter 10: Tax Planning 187 PART FOUR: Ensuring Financial Success 211 Chapter 11: Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Personal Care Directives 213 Chapter 12: Finding the Right Advisors 237 Conclusion 257 About the Employee Financial Education Division 259 Index 261 About the Author 273

FRANK WIGINTON CFP, RRC, FMA, CIM, FCSI, Fellow of the FPSCTM, is a highly sought after personal finance speaker, coach and educator who develops and delivers financial education programs for businesses of all sizes. He also works with select clients to prepare comprehensive financial plans that enable them to enjoy a better quality of life. Frank appears on BNN, CityTV, Global TV, and CBC radio. His advice is frequently quoted by the Globe and Mail , National Post , Toronto Star , Maclean′s , Canadian Business , and MoneySense . A passionate father, sailor and traveller, Frank is based in the Toronto area, where he lives with his wife and children.