Abby, 57, is feeling the financial fallout from a divorce. Her lifestyle has dramatically changed with the loss of her husband's income and she fears retirement looming on the horizon. She plans to work until age 70 in order to play catch-up. Then she wants to move to a cheaper location to retire.

Abby earns $37,440 ($3,120 monthly) net of deductions and noted that she has two adult children. She also noted that a long-term goal was "someone to care for me when I am unable to care for myself," but the specifics were unclear. Other financial goals in the short and intermediate term are a $3,800 cruise, $4,000 of home improvements, pre-paid funeral expenses, and "money to live on $3,500 per month."

Another concern is insurance. After her divorce, she lives in fear of a major illness or disease (e.g., cancer) because her current employer does not provide great benefits.

Abby has been gradually spending money received from her divorce settlement to make ends meet. The simple fact is that she can't afford her lifestyle and her savings is running out. She estimates that there is a monthly gap between what she earns and what she spends. Her household costs including her mortgage, house insurance and utilities are $1,500. She spends $150 a week on food and $160 a month on gas for her car. Luckily her car is paid off and is worth about $3,000. Her car insurance is about $65 a month. She spends $50 a week on entertainment and $100 a month on personal care. She also estimates that she spends an average of $200 per month on clothes and $200 per month helping out her children. Her personal loan payment is $120 per month and she makes only the minimum payment on her credit card which is about 3% of the balance.

Her home is worth $185,000 home. She also has $206 in chequing, $1,960 in savings, $5,786 in two bank GICs, a $2,625 money market fund, $4,602 in mutual funds, $3,514 in stocks, and $20,000 of personal property.

Abby owes $56,032 on her home, a $28,759 mortgage and a $27,273 home equity loan. Other debts are a $4,611 personal loan, $2,500 on Visa and $1,760 owed to a friend. Abby is concerned that her debt load has been rising. Her house needed a number of repairs, which resulted in the home equity loan.

Abby has no will to indicate her estate planning wishes. "I don't have enough to worry about, she notes. She has a $20,000 whole life policy that could pay funeral costs and $300,000 of liability coverage on her car. She has no earmarked retirement savings such as a RPP or RRSP.

1. draft the client's Cash Flow Statement and Personal Net Worth Statement.

2. Do a quick SWOT analysis. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.