This is your second week on the job working as a financial planner. You are about to advise your next client - Raul Avarro, originally from Mexico, about financial responsibility and growing his financial literacy and net worth. Raul is a 24 year old student who plans on living in Toronto permanently with his 6 year old dog called Scruffy. Scruffy is a boxer and his gums swell a lot but Raul doesn't think it is a big problem at all. Once Raul finishes his degree - a Bachelor of Education, he dreams of getting a job in a Canadian High School. He would like to rent a place, perhaps a studio apartment downtown Toronto and buy a middle range car. He also wants to be able to visit his family in Mexico once or twice a year. As he does not work, he also does not have any medical insurance for himself. He is due to finish his university degree in July 2022. He has $10 000 in his bank account and a $25 000 student loan. The federal student loan interest rate for undergraduates is 3.73% for the 2021-22 school year. As Raul is an overseas student in Canada, he needs some basic financial advice on how to start his own independent life. His family back home is well-off, however, Raul is very ambitious and wants to be financially independent from his family as soon as he graduates. He is positive he will do well in the future. You have noticed that since Raul is still quite new to Canada, he is not aware of many things e.g. he wants to use his credit card to buy a car. He doesn't know how much his loan repayments will be every month but he wants to pay off his student loan debt within 5 years.
