The Financial Engineer - Steve MacLellan , P.Eng

The World Cup is over. Anyone else feel like the last day of summer camp?

Sad it's over, yet grateful you got to experience it.

I thought it was a fantastic tournament as it had everything:

Brilliant goals, heartbreaking losses, controversy, emotion, sportsmanship, and unfortunately, the complete lack of sportsmanship.

I also loved the passionate fans and enjoyed the halftime show. I like the "go big" mentality of the US - I'd rather see people try something extraordinary than play it safe. Do you think this World Cup has done wonders for the image of the US and was a positive step towards world peace?

In the end, I think the best team won.

Not because they had the biggest stars, but because they played as a team who were well coached, trusted one another, stayed disciplined, and they played with class.

There are a few lessons in there for business and life.

Individual talent is important, but great teams almost always beat great individuals. (Not always the case, right Blue Jays?)

What was your favourite moment of this World Cup?

What did you like?

What didn't you like?

And if you could change one thing before the next World Cup, what would it be?

And… That’s how you put on a half time show!!! Amazing

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 ✨S𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗟𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻, 𝗣.𝗘𝗻𝗴 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿✨:

"The problem you might think is the problem, is often not the actual problem at all."

When I first entered the financial industry, I was trained to solve people's problems with products.

Need investments? Here is a mutual fund.
Need protection? Here is insurance.
Need retirement income? Here is another product.

It did not take me long to realize that approach does not work.

My business evolved to where we dive deep into your vision, values, and goals from the beginning and find the actual problem(s). When you can get crystal clear on what you want, not what society is telling you to want, but what you actually want, this will eliminate so much of the noise and distractions which will help you make educated and better decisions... in turn, these decisions will lead to better results which will eventually lead to the confidence and peace of mind knowing you are on the right path.

Take the recent rioters in the Annapolis Valley.

On the surface, according to several facebook rants, most say they are angry at Tim Houston for "not listening", but beneath it all, many are struggling financially and have become reliant on the government.

Being a victim of government regulations myself (my career came to a screaming halt in 2014 due to a ban on my industry in Atlantic Canada), I know what it feels like when politicians and regulations change the direction of your life.

This is what I learned: when we blame others, we lose the chance to fix our own financial situation. In many cases, the real problem underneath the anger is financial stress, fear, lack of control, and the belief that someone else has to fix it.

As business owners and professionals, we don’t control government regulations or politicians, but we can control how we grow, control, and keep our money.

Let’s focus on the real problem and provide real solutions.

Let's grow, control, and keep what we build!
Let's do even better!!
Let's design even better futures!!!

PS - I'm here to help those who help others

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲?

A. Earn your income and pay 24% to 52% in taxes.

B. Earn the same income and pay significantly less tax.

C. Earn even more income and pay significantly less tax.

Most people choose Option A.

Not because they want to, but because they do not know Option B or C exists.

I am here to help those who help others, especially incorporated business owners, consultants, coaches, and professionals who are looking for Option C.

Earn more, control more, and keep more.

If you are one of the few looking for Option C, let’s talk.

Let's grow, control, and keep your money!
Let’s Do Even Better!!
Let’s Design An Even Better Future!!!

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 ✨S𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗟𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻, 𝗣.𝗘𝗻𝗴 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿✨ “Your habits will become the philosophy of your success.”

That may sound deep for the lazy, hazy days of summer, but it's true!

Most people do not fail financially because of one big mistake, they fail because of repeated habits that quietly work against them.

A little too much spending.
A little too much tax.
A little too much bank advice.
A little too much following the herd.
A little too much “I’ll deal with that later.”

In my book, Grow, Control, and Keep YOUR Money, I describe the 6 habits that can help you reach and maintain financial independence.

They are:
1. Increase your Money Mindset to a Wealth Mindset.
2. Know your starting point
3. Always have enough money - The ONE Number Solution.
4. Follow the philosophy of the wealthy.
5. Reduce Your Biggest expense - taxes!!!
6. Work with experts who have your best interests in mind.

These habits are simple and easy to do. They are also easy not to do.

My challenge to you is to pick the better of the 2 easy's!

To help you turn your knowledge into action, and form the good habits needed for financial success, here's my list of DO's and DON'Ts:

DON’T want what you do not want.
DO focus on what is important: your career, health, and relationships.

DON’T follow the herd.
DO forge your own path.

DON’T put all your eggs in one basket.
DO invest in a truly diversified portfolio.

DON’T try to do it all.
DO work with experts and professionals who have your best interests in mind.

DON’T forget your “why.”
DO the right thing.

DON’T rely on the banks.
DO become your own banker.

DON’T give away your money to taxes, fees, losses, and the unknown.
DO grow, control, and keep YOUR money.

DON’T wait.
DO take the first step.

Financial independence is not built by accident; it's built by habits.

And the right habits, repeated long enough, become your philosophy of success!

Be healthy, be wealthy, be wise. Push through the noise!

Let’s Do Even Better!!

Let’s Design An Even Better Future!!!

PS - Get your book and great habits at www.TheFinancialEngineer.ca

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀?

This is another important question that usually gets the typical response:

“It depends.”

Thanks. Very politically correct and not very helpful...

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿:

Yes, every business owner is different, but some rules of thumb do apply.

If you plan on living past the age of 75, and I hope you do, then starting with a monthly base salary and topping up the rest with dividends is usually a smart answer.

Why?

Because salary does things dividends do not.

Salary can help you:

$$$ build CPP.
$$$ create RRSP contribution room.
$$$ help with mortgage and financing applications.
$$$ can create cleaner, more predictable personal cash flow.
$$$ can help stop the bad habit of randomly pulling money out of your corporation whenever life gets expensive.

For many incorporated business owners, an annual base salary of approximately $70,000 to $74,600, with the rest in dividends, can make sense.

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵:

The goal should be to leave as much money inside your INC as possible while still maintaining your lifestyle. When money is invested wisely inside your corporation, you will also be able to use tools like dividend tax credits, the Capital Dividend Account, and collateral loans tied to a properly designed whole life policy, providing massive tax savings down the road.

That is where things can get really interesting, because the goal is not just to avoid tax this year, but to design a system that helps you grow, control, and keep more of what you build for the rest of your life.

Most business owners I work with want to live a healthy, wealthy, and wise life and do not have an income problem. Their problem is keeping what they build.

Once making money becomes easy, the hard part is being able to keep it.

Is it time to grow, control, and keep your money?

Be healthy, wealthy, and wise!!

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 ✨Steve MacLellan, P.Eng - The Financial Engineer✨:

"Vacations can actually improve your net worth."

Wait a sec, Steve...

Are you telling me that my summer vacation, winter getaway, golf trip, family adventure, or long weekend that costs a lot of hard-earned dollars can actually increase my net worth?

Yes. When done right.

Vacations can improve your net worth because they do two very important things:

1. They help you reset.
2. And they help you become more productive.

When you know a vacation is coming, you often work harder, smarter, and more efficiently before you leave.

You prioritize better, you stop wasting time - you get more done.

And then something interesting happens when you finally slow down.

Ideas show up. Big ones.

My idea for my book, Grow, Control, and Keep YOUR Money, came to me while on vacation.

My 6-step financial planning process was created during COVID when I had a week to myself while my son was at hockey camp in PEI.

And most recently, an alliance with Alain Cormier - Mental Performance Coach and In The Zone Coaching started to take shape where we decided to develop an app designed to help take your net worth to the next level while you are on the golf course.

Sometimes the best financial ideas do not come when you are grinding harder.
Sometimes they come when you finally give your brain enough space to think.

So yes, vacations cost money, but if they help you reset, reconnect, think better, create better ideas, and come back more productive, they can also help you build wealth.

Be healthy, be wealthy, be wise. Push through the noise!
Let’s Do Even Better!!
Let’s Design An Even Better Future!!!

Yes, Canada needs fixing AND sometimes we forget that it is still a great place, even with everything that is going on...

I spent Canada Day with good friends, a BBQ, on the water, fresh air, enjoying the outdoors, and was reminded... This place is still pretty amazing.

Yes, the winter is too long. Yes, our spring sometimes feels like wet winter. And yes, taxes can make even the most patriotic Canadian question their life choices.

But Canada is still worth building in, raising families in, and still worth helping the business owners, consultants, coaches, and professionals who keep this country moving.

I cannot do much about the winter.
I cannot do much about the spring weather either.
Trust me, I’ve tried complaining about it - it doesn't work.

But... I can help you grow, control, and keep more of what you build instead of losing too much of it to taxes, fees, and poor financial performance.

Because maybe the problem is not that you do not like Canada. Maybe the problem is that too much of your hard-earned money keeps disappearing before it gets to serve your family, your business, and your future.

So here is my Canada Day question:

If you paid less unnecessary tax, had more control, and kept more of what you built...

Would that make you like this country a little more?

Happy Canada Day, folks.
Let’s Do Even Better!!
Let’s Design An Even Better Future!!!

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to protect your wealth in an event of a bubble bursting?

The noise is getting louder, folks! Reddit is full of nervous investors, advisors are whispering in back corners while telling clients everything is fine, and even Jeremy Grantham went on The Diary of a CEO to talk about the potential storm ahead.

So what is a hard-working business owner, consultant, coach, or high-income professional supposed to do?

Panic? Hide in cash? Try to guess the exact day the bubble bursts?

No. That is not what The Financial Engineer (that's me) would recommend.

I recommend engineering your wealth using 3 things:

1) Grow with a truly diversified equity ETF portfolio

I still believe in equities, but your portfolio should not depend on one country, one sector, or one story. A properly built ETF portfolio should give you broad exposure across markets, sectors, and sources of return. The goal is not to avoid every downturn. The goal is to stay invested long enough to benefit from the recovery.

2) Control with a properly designed whole life policy

A properly designed participating whole life policy is not trying to beat the stock market. It will provide stability, liquidity, guarantees, tax-deferred growth, and access to capital when markets are ugly. When everyone else is forced to sell at lows, you have options because the value of your whole life policy never goes down. You are in control and will have the ability to seize the opportunities when everyone else is panicking.

3) Keep investing in yourself

Your greatest asset is not your portfolio. It's you. When you know this, you need to act like it. Great business owners improve. They invest in skills, systems, health, coaching, relationships, and better advice. Because wealth is not just what you own, it's also what you can create.

Final thought:

The goal is not to predict the next crash. The goal is to build a plan strong enough to survive it, and smart enough to take advantage of it.

That is how you grow, control, and keep your money.

Be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Push through the noise!

Let's do even better!!

Let’s Design An Even Better Future!!!

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 ✨S𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗟𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻, 𝗣.𝗘𝗻𝗴 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿✨

"Congrats, Canada. June is Tax Freedom Month."

June 9 is the day the average Canadian family finally stops working for the government and starts working for themselves.

Nice of them to let us keep some, eh?

According to the Fraser Institute, the average Canadian family will earn $166,790 in 2026 and pay an estimated $72,539 in total taxes.

For the Love of Anne Murray!!! That's 43.5%.

To put that in plain English, if you had to pay all your taxes up front, you would work from January 1 to June 8 just to pay the tax bill from federal, provincial, and local governments.

Taxes used to calculate Tax Freedom Day include income taxes, payroll taxes, health taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, profit taxes, taxes on booze and smokes, fuel taxes, motor vehicle licensing fees, carbon taxes, import duties, natural resource fees, a host of other levies, and coming soon I’m sure, a tax for complaining about tax.

Do you think taxes are going to increase or decrease in the future, given federal and provincial governments are projected to run $113.1 billion in deficits in 2026?

So, if you are a business owner, consultant, coach, or incorporated professional and you feel like too much of your hard-earned money keeps disappearing, you are not crazy.

That feeling is real.

Congrats, Canada. In June, you finally start working for yourself.

Now let’s make sure the money you keep actually works for you.

Let’s Do Even Better!!

Let’s Design An Even Better Future!!!