(File photo/CKOM News)

By Alison Sandstrom

Long Term

P.A. financial planners encourage forward thinking during pandemic

Apr 17, 2020 | 2:13 PM

If you find yourself with a little bit of extra disposable income with activities and vacations on hold, local financial planners say you can use it for more than just online shopping or ordering take-out.

Bryan Rindal with BTR Financial Planning told paNOW after initial anxiety as the markets began to fall at the beginning of March, his clients began to recognize the opportunity they had to invest in the stock market while prices were low.

“We opened four to six tax free savings accounts where people just had money laying around and were ready to put it to work,” Rindal said. “They recognized the opportunity for what it was, which was a great opportunity that only comes around every so often.”

Rindal said in addition to investing, his number one piece of advice for people who might find themselves with a little bit of extra money right now is to pay down debt.

“Then in the long-term, you’ll have some breathing room to look at other things like retirement and kids education and other stuff,” he explained. “But if the debt is crippling you right now, there’s just no breathing room.”

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Adriann Locke with Thierman Financial agreed with Rindal people have a great opportunity to get stocks at a low price in the current market.

She also emphasized people may want to start looking at building an savings account. She recommends having savings for three to six months set aside in case of emergencies.

“This might be the time where you want to start setting that aside,” Locke said. “Because now you can see what happens to the world when if you’re prepared, and things like this happen it can go south quickly.”

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom