I’m sure you have heard the expression that riffs on the only two sure things in life are death and taxes. And I’m sure we’ve discussed taxes in previous blog.

And also knowing some folks dodge their tax obligations, we’re left with the only real certainty to discuss in this blog entry: the big sleep, curtains, toast, toes up, six feet under, etc.

A couple of days ago, I woke up early in the morning - way too early - and experienced one of those health scares that I understand many of us face as we enter our middle age. Although I’m sure I’ll be put through many a diabolical medical tests in the weeks ahead, all signs and my intuition, which is right nine out of ten times, suggest I’m just fine.

So, as I’m working through this, it occurs to me there is a hefty financial implication to the one certainty in life. A friend who recently lost her father just learned that due to a lack of estate planning the government gets a share of the inheritance. This, along with my detailed examination of the emergency room ceiling tiles, has lead to the decision that this is probably a good time to begin working on what will be the first version of my last will.

It’s not that I am leaving a substantial estate when my time comes (although I’m assured anything is possible), but there is enough there to get my son through the rest of elementary school, high school and hopefully whatever is next. I would like him to gain fast access to that in the event something truly unfortunate happens.

And fortunately, I’m healthy enough to get on with this often overlooked financial planning task. Now to find the appropriate expertise.

At the risk of beating all possible interest out of the concept of planning one’s financial year in advance, I thought I would take one more swipe at it. Probably more for my benefit than anyone else’s.

By knowing what I need to shell out in a given year, I can figure out how to handle each pay cheque. And - here’s the best part - if I manage to hit the plan every second week when I’m paid, I don’t need to worry about my annual car insurance bill, and my son’s extra-curricular sports bills, etc.

So, I get paid every second Friday. A bi-weekly pay cheque means that for two months every year, I will get a third cheque that month. I should be able to save $800 from each of those cheques. Already, that’s $1,600 set aside. That covers car insurance and my lad’s soccer fees.

If I can make the supreme effort of also saving a “mere” hundred bucks from each of the other 24 pay cheques, …well you can do the math on that one.

Suddenly, I’m looking at $3,800 set aside. Not only are the big bills covered, but there should be a little extra for those unpleasant surprises or maybe a treat or two.

So, that is the financial plan for the year. Let’s see how well I do.
It will likely mean taking lunch to work a little more often, but that wouldn’t hurt the waist-line either.