A financial plan can cost you thousands. Here's how to get one on the cheap if money is tight.

Written by:

Renee Sylvestre-Williams

Toronto Star

January 22, 2024

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When it comes to getting financial advice, many Canadians either aren’t working with a financial planner or don’t have a financial plan at all. Only 25 per cent are working with a financial adviser and 30 per cent say they don't have a financial plan at all. That’s according to a poll from November 2023 by CIBC and FP Canada. The poll also found that a third of those surveyed said that the cost was the main barrier to getting a proper financial plan. [...]

While the cost of getting a financial plan can be intimidating, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can't afford one. You can get a plan that suits your budget and your financial goals. It’s about knowing what you need, what your goals are, and how the fee structures work.

What is a financial planner?

A financial planner is a licensed individual who helps you create a plan to reach your goals. This includes helping create a budget, estate planning services, insurance options, planning your retirement and identifying ways to save money on your taxes. A financial adviser helps you manage your investments. Investment brokers, insurance agents and even people who work at the banks are a type of financial adviser.

Advice-only planners

These are planners who don’t sell insurance or investment products. They focus on planning around retirement, tax and estate planning, and financial coaching. Their rates are either hourly or on a per-project basis. [...]

Comprehensive plans take a holistic approach to your personal finances and include your income, expenses, retirement, insurance policies and investments. Focused plans include pension analysis or a retirement-only plan. [...]

Cindy Marques, a Toronto-based certified financial planner and CEO of MakeCents charges clients $2,000.

“I'm typically working with individuals in their 30s, early 40s, who are going through major life changes,” she says. “Planning means starting a family or trying to buy a home or running a business on the side, et cetera. So I recognized that and I tried to keep my rates affordable.”

All the planners said that their plans include spreadsheets with built-in functionalities and tools. They have cash flow plans that can be used to track daily spending, retirement planning and other goals such as buying a home.

Marques says, “My (rate) is not just for those documents. I would call it a container package where it includes not only the tools, but two sessions with me.” She charges $300 for additional sessions that her clients often bank and use when they need to adjust their plan and want to chat with Marques.

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