Would your clients have enough money if they lost their jobs?

When a client is laid off or incurs unexpected costs, one of their first worries is whether they’ll be able to keep paying their day-to-day expenses. That’s why helping people build emergency funds is crucial.

Read: Savings a struggle when living paycheque to paycheque

Consider that more than 40% of Canadians say they’d only be able to keep paying their living expenses for one month or less if they lost their main source of income, according to a recent survey conducted on behalf of the Financial Planning Standards Council (Hill+Knowlton Strategies conducted a national online survey of 855 Canadians from across the country between July 22 and August 5, 2016).

What’s more, the survey says, 19% say they’d only have enough money for one week. One of the main reasons, the suvey adds, is fewer than half of respondents (41%) feel they make more good financial decisions than bad, and one in four (26%) are unsure of where to turn to for financial guidance.

Read: Clients need confidence boost from advisors

And, while more than half (55%) say they keep a close eye on their financial affairs, more than one third (35%) live for today rather than planning for the future.

This isn’t the best approach, the syrvey suggests, given more than two-thirds of Canadians say the economy, and their own financial situations, have either stagnated or worsened over the past five years. That’s leading two out of five Canadians to worry about money at least once a day, with one in four saying they worry “almost constantly.”

Given November is financial literacy month, there’s no better time to educate clients on managing money wisely. Read the following articles for tips on helping clients prepare for financial emergencies.

What to do after maxing out RRSP and TFSA

Tips for clients who fear losing their jobs

Do’s don’ts of RRSPs: Golombek

Help clients stick to financial resolutions

Why our obsession with returns is risky

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.