Book reveals tips for retiring debt free

Local financial advisor Christine Ibbotson has distilled 25 years of experience into her new book Retire Debt Free and Wealthy, sharing the advice she gives to her high net worth clients.
Ibbotson is a financial coach, chartered investment manager, financial planner, insurance agent and mortgage broker, who divides her time between Oakville and Clearview. In her new book, she helps people on the path to becoming debt free before they retire.
She said today, three out of five retirees have debt.
“Some have refinanced and more people are retiring with debt,” said Ibbotson. “And life is expensive.”
It used to be that people would have paid off their mortgages by the time they were middle aged but that has changed, she said.
According to Ibbotson, there is no big secret revealed in the book, it is just a matter of finding strategies that have worked for other people and copying them. The book shares the real life stories of some of her clients, to help illustrate how to consolidate debt and pay it down, while saving for retirement and a desired lifestyle.
“We have a culture of silence around finance,” said Ibbotson. “These are real life clients who have agreed to share their stories. Not every one is relevant to every reader.”
She said it is important to realize that high net clients are not necessarily any smarter than anyone else but they have people giving them really good specialized advice.
So her motivation is to share those tips that high net worth clients are learning and dispel some financial myths along the way.
The book includes very specific tips on how to save money, track your spending, invest, and protect credit scores, no matter the income level.
They are all backed up with real life stories from clients who found success.
“I wanted you to a have a real life story to relate to. It’s a lot more interesting,” said Ibbotson.
The book is self-published but has since been picked up by a publisher. It is currently available on amazon.ca for $22.59.