From fear to freedom: How Jean rebuilt her life after divorce

I loved the house we bought together and didn’t want to move. It was the first one to be built in the subdivision at the time and we have a beautiful view, great neighbours, and are only a five-minute drive to downtown St. John's. At first, I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay in the house — there were so many memories and to run a house on your own is expensive and a lot of work.

That was the hardest year of my life. I was dealing with the physical challenges after a surgery, trying to stay in a good space mentally, and going through this huge life transition. But I decided I did want to stay in the home. Our mortgage was paid off long ago, but to split assets with my husband fairly and keep the house, I needed to buy him out with money I didn’t have on hand.

It was luck that I met my advisor Andrea when I did, and it was a great match immediately. I walked into a CIBC Banking Centre without an appointment looking for a home equity line of credit to give me the funds I needed. Andrea was incredibly approachable and always smiling. 

I told her about my situation and that my goal was to maintain my current lifestyle, but I was concerned about the worst case scenarios. Andrea could see all sides — she helped me come up with a financial plan and was able to look at my situation objectively and bring my attention to options I wasn’t aware of. She gave me confidence that the advice I was getting was right for me, and that wasn’t something I had felt before. I don’t have kids, so being on my own, it was reassuring to know I found someone I can trust to be in my court. 

I ended up transferring all my banking to CIBC and it’s been great having everything in one place. If it weren’t for Andrea I probably would have left my money where I had it, which wasn’t doing a lot for me. Andrea explains things to me in a way that just makes sense and makes me feel really comfortable.

I was one of 14 kids and my mother taught us to be independent. There were seven of us girls and she said, “Don’t depend on any man.” So I always had my own money and I learned to be pretty good with it, but even still, facing your future alone brings up uncertainty. 

“Jean needed her money to be working for her, and at the same time, being retired, she also needed a relatively safe place for it to be,” recalls Andrea. “I gave her advice on what to do with her investment portfolio, educated her on the current trends that might affect performance and we found a solution that Jean’s really happy with. It can be really scary taking on your finances alone but Jean’s doing all the right things and she asks me questions whenever she needs.”

Andrea remembers, “There was one time, where she had money to invest, and she wasn’t sure what kind of account to put it in. She was getting close to the age where her RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plans) would be converted to a RIF (Retirement Income Fund) and she’d need to start withdrawing specified amounts, so I suggested she put the funds into her TFSA (Tax-Free Savings Account) instead to give her more flexibility.”

Andrea’s been fabulous and I have peace of mind now. Any time I have a question I never feel like an inconvenience sending Andrea an email or giving her a call and I almost always hear back right away. I’ve never had service like that with a bank before. 

I referred my sister to CIBC, and I tell other people too. The best thing I can recommend is to find somebody who understands your needs and knows how to help you. It’s easy to avoid having the hard conversations about money or to not look closely at your bills, but it’s far better to be empowered by understanding money than to be concerned because you don’t. Having the right financial advisor who you can talk to before making any decisions is important. 

I know I’m financially fine now. I own my house and I’m able to live by myself. This summer I plan to bring in some extra income with a rental apartment in my basement. I have everything I could want to feel secure.

• Know your risk tolerance – This is about your ability and willingness to accept investment risk. When your ability and willingness to accept risk are different, go with the lower of the two, as it's more likely you can stick with this approach through good and challenging times.
• Diversify your investments – It’s important to have a diversified portfolio, so that if a particular investment or sector hits a rough patch, it can be balanced with different types of investments and industries that can weather varying storms.
• Use a TFSA over an RRSP – Both accounts are valuable tools Canadians can use to grow their savings and potentially reduce taxes, but each works a little differently. Contributions withdrawn from a TFSA don't count as income, and don't affect eligibility for income-tested federal government benefits, such as the Canada Child Benefit, GST credit, age credit, Old Age Security benefits or Guaranteed Income Supplement.