Tag Archives: Karen Collacutt

Streamline Your System & Focus Your Finances

Karen Collacutt Certified Money Coach in Barrie ONBy Karen Collacutt, CFP, Certified Money Coach

Are your financial papers all over the place? Are bills and documents hard to find? Would you like more control over your household finances? Well, families and individuals who focus on their goals and dreams become more conscious about their spending and make better overall financial decisions.

If your papers are piling up and hard to find, your journey to empowerment and control with your finances will quickly get derailed. By setting up systems to automate and structure your money, and the never-ending paper that goes with it, you can get and keep your financial house in order.

Follow these three simple steps to increase control and confidence in Your Financial System.

1. Create a Money Spot
Choose a particular location for all financial information to land when it comes into the house. Try a three-tiered tray system or three baskets. Collect the tools you need to manage your family finances: stapler, sticky notes, stamps, paper clips, envelopes. Keep them handy at your Money Spot so you can complete your financial tasks in one sitting.

Basket 1: All incoming financial information. Teach your family (and yourself) that all financial documents and requests go to the Money Spot: bills that arrive in the mail, receipts from your wallets or your cars, your child’s field trip request… anything to do with money and the family finances.

Basket 2: Bills to Be Paid. Set up 2 file folders in this basket – Bills due to be paid during the 1st-15th and bills to be paid 16th-31stof the month.

Basket 3: All items to be filed. Place all paid bills, statements and information here; ready to be filed once you have dealt with them.

2. Choose a Money Day
Decide when you’re going to deal with your money. Book a time each week, or each pay day to handle your finances. It could be weekly – Money Mondays, Financial Fridays, or perhaps bi-weekly Pay Day Parties! Instead of trying to handle finances daily, choose the time and day you will sit down and deal with all of your finances for the previous week or two. Use My Money Day Checklist to keep you on track.

3. Create and Maintain a Financial Filing System
Get rid of that six-inch stack of papers that isn’t filed! Download our tool My Financial Filing System to organize your papers and know exactly where to find them. Use the third basket in your Money Spot to collect your papers to be filed. Then file them at least once per month. If you do it every Money Day, they won’t build up and you will have very little to file each time.

Setting up these three systems will completely organize your household finances. You will know where your documents are when they come in and long after you deal with them. A sense of order and peace will follow, allowing you to check on your finances periodically and easily.

Remember, staying on top of your finances doesn’t mean shuffling financial papers every day. Streamline your System and Focus your Finances today so that you have more time for creating and living the life you want tomorrow…

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Introducing Money Coaches Canada – a nation-wide team of money coaches

When we started helping our clients organize and manage their money, money coaching was virtually unknown in Canada.

We pioneered the concept here and now we are delighted to announce the launch of a country-wide network, Money Coaches Canada co-founded by Karin Mizgala and Sheila Walkington, to help more Canadians manage their financial affairs.

Money is a sensitive topic for many Canadians, often fraught with emotional issues that make it difficult for individuals to achieve sound financial management of their resources. Some of the common problems we see are maxed out credit cards and overdrafts, high debt loads and relationships strained by these financial pressures. Often this stress can be reduced by good money management and that’s where money coaches can help, showing clients how to create and stick with a system for managing their money, not dwelling on guilt and blame but helping people to meet workable goals. Coaches can meet with clients in person, or they can connect online via email or through teleconferences. You can choose your own coach or let us recommend one for you.

So meet our new Money Coaches Canada team.

Sheila Walkington 2010SHEILA WALKINGTON, BBA, CFP
Sheila is a money coach and the chief financial officer of Money Coaches Canada. She also co-founded the Women’s Financial Learning Centre. Based in Vancouver, Sheila’s coaching practice specializes in helping women and couples who are struggling with debt and cash flow issues. When Sheila was interviewed in 2004 by CBC, she was named as one of the first money coaches in Canada. She uses a common-sense approach with the belief that nothing is impossible in helping people reach their goals. More about Sheila

Karin Mizgala 2010KARIN MIZGALA, BA Psyc, MBA, CFP
Karin is the chief executive officer of Money Coaches Canada and a money coach, based on Salt Spring Island, one of British Columbia’s scenic Gulf Islands. Co-founder with Sheila of the Women’s Financial Learning Centre, in her coaching Karin specializes in working with women and couples in transition stages of their lives – retirement and divorce. After earning her MBA and building a career on Toronto’s Bay St., Karin found herself struggling with corporate cultures that valued efficiency and growth above all else. That realization led to a career change and to her work today in which she uses a holistic approach that blends financial planning and counseling skills to help people live more comfortable, balanced and meaningful lives. More about Karin

Karen CollacuttKAREN COLLACUTT, BRLS, CFP
Karen, a money coach who specializes in families and entrepreneurs struggling with debt and cash flow issues, is based in Barrie, Ontario. Karen spent 15 years in the business world and seven of those in a traditional financial planning practice. During this time she achieved Top Advisor in Canada, qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table and was a member of the Top 7 team for Freedom 55 Financial. But finding that clients needed the most help with day-to-day financial concerns led Karen to change her focus to answer those needs, turning to money coaching as the solution her clients were seeking.

Katherine DavidsonKATHERINE DAVIDSON
Katherine lives in Kingston, Ontario where she is a money coach, focusing on cash low, debt management and life transitions such as divorce and retirement. Katherine has worked in the financial field for 10 years, starting as an administrator and moving on to become a financial advisor. Her background as an educational therapist along with her financial planning experience are now combined in her role as a money coach, to help clients achieve their financial goals. Katherine is currently working toward her Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst designations.

Renee VerretRENÉE VERRET, BCom
A Toronto-based money coach specializing in retirement and women in transition, Renée grew up the daughter of a single working mom, learning early the importance of being in control of one’s financial life. She learned too that being in control brings with it pride and freedom and that is something she imparts to her clients in her money coaching. After 17 successful years in advertising, sales and management, Renée switched gears, heading back to school where she successfully completed her Certified Financial Planning (CFP) exam. Today Renée helps her clients achieve financial fitness; coaching them to take control of their money and helping them realize the freedom and well-being that comes with that.

Whether you are simply curious to learn more about money coaching or already eager to get started, contact us to set up a complimentary Initial Consultation. We’d love to hear from you!

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