Money Foundations for Canadians: a free 40 minute class.

Step 1, Know your numbers: how to see your cash flow honestly, income in, spending out, and the gap between them, without shame and without a spreadsheet you will never open again.

In the session, you work through a sample household first, so the method is clear before it is personal. Then comes the part guests remember: the subscription leak exercise, where small forgotten charges tend to surface, and a few quiet minutes to sketch your own three numbers on paper at home. Nothing is shared, collected, or judged. You take home the one page recap handout and your own three numbers, written down.

Step 2, Protect what matters: why protection comes before growth, what kinds of protection exist for income and family, and the questions to ask before buying anything.

The session teaches protection as three gaps: income, debts, and the people who depend on them. A simple example is shown for each gap, and then you get the questions framework this step is really about: what would still need to be paid, for how long, and who would be affected. Common misunderstandings are answered plainly, including the difference between having some coverage through work and knowing what it actually covers. Nobody is told what they personally need.

Step 3, Clear the debt drag: how expensive debt quietly eats a plan, and how to pay it down in a deliberate order instead of random payments.

You start by building the debt list: every balance, its interest rate, and its minimum payment, all in one place. Then the two paydown orders are compared in one worked example, smallest balance first for momentum and highest rate first for math, with the honest trade off of each. You see how minimum payments are designed, and why paying only the minimum stretches a balance across years, and how to find a monthly paydown amount inside your step one numbers.

Step 4, Build for the long term: Canadian registered accounts in plain language, including the TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, and RDSP where it applies, and how to think about which one matters first.

The session uses a simple picture: accounts are jars with labels and rules, and what goes inside a jar is a separate choice. Each account gets its own few minutes: its job, who sets its rules, and the question it answers for a family. You cover time horizon in plain language, why starting earlier usually matters more than starting bigger, and how a family matches the account to the goal and the timeline when deciding an order.

Step 5, Leave it well: wills, beneficiaries, and leaving things organised for the people you love.

This session goes document by document, in plain language: what a will does, where beneficiary designations live and why they can override what a family expects, and what powers of attorney cover when someone cannot decide for themselves. Because names and rules vary by province, you learn which qualified professional in your province prepares each document. There is also legacy beyond money, and one family conversation to start this week. You leave with the framework recap handout.