financial-planner

Canadian Personal Finance Manager

Your AI Financial Coach — Built for Canadians

Current version: 3.0 | View changelog

A custom skill for Claude that turns it into your personal AI financial coach — built specifically for Canadians.

Claude conducts a thorough financial interview, builds a complete budget and action plan, generates an interactive dashboard with charts, and provides ongoing coaching. All tailored to Canadian tax rules, government benefits, and registered accounts.

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What You Get

You don't need to use all of the below features — most people start with a simple budget and go from there. Claude meets you where you are, whether that's "I just need help tracking my spending" or "I'm incorporating my business and need to optimize salary vs dividends." The list below shows everything the skill can do, not what you have to do. Think of it as having your own AI financial coach on call who happens to know every corner of Canadian finance.

• Personalized financial profile saved to your computer
• Detailed monthly budget with spending insights and optimization suggestions
• Phased action plan (Stabilize → Build → Accelerate) with timelines
• Interactive HTML dashboard with charts for net worth, debt payoff, retirement projections, RESP tracking, CPP comparison, investment growth comparison, and more
• Investment education — popular Canadian ETFs, GICs, and HISAs with risk-matched suggestions, Morningstar ratings, and growth projections
• Life event action plans — structured guidance for 10 major life changes (new baby, marriage, divorce, job loss, parental leave, death of spouse, aging parents, inheritance, moving provinces, buying a home) with Canadian programs, tax implications, and checklists
• Estate planning — wills (types, costs, intestacy rules by province), Powers of Attorney (property + personal care), executor duties and compensation, probate process and fees by province, probate avoidance strategies, trusts (Henson, family, alter ego, testamentary), deemed disposition tax and mitigation, blended family planning, cottage succession, digital estate, charitable giving, guardianship, and incapacity planning
• Retirement income optimization — CPP timing (60/65/70 with break-even math), OAS deferral decision tree, GIS optimization (TFSA strategy), RRSP meltdown, RRIF conversion strategy, income layering by age, pension decisions (DB commuted value vs monthly), pension income splitting, bridge income for early retirement, annuities, and couples coordination
• Tax filing season guide — complete checklist of credits and deductions people miss, couples optimization (who claims what), investment income reporting, tax software comparison, CRA My Account, penalties and disputes, voluntary disclosure, student/senior/new immigrant guidance
• Portfolio management — asset location optimization, rebalancing strategies, tax-loss harvesting (superficial loss rule), ACB tracking, US securities (withholding tax, estate tax, RRSP treaty), employee stock options/RSUs, dividend tax credit, REIT taxation, retirement withdrawal strategy (RRIF minimums, OAS clawback, 4% rule), and behavioral investing
• Self-employed & incorporated — incorporation decision tree with tax math, salary vs dividends optimization, SBD rates by province, business expense deductions (home office, vehicle, CCA), HST/GST registration, quarterly installments, startup planning, business succession (LCGE $1.275M for 2026), SRED tax credits, IPP for 40+, shareholder loans, and gig economy guidance
• All provinces & territories — province-specific tax brackets, child benefits, disability programs, pharmacare, and health coverage for all 13 jurisdictions. Full Quebec support (QPP, QST, QPIP, Revenu Québec, RAMQ). No longer Ontario-centric.
• Insurance deep-dive — DIME needs analysis, term vs permanent life insurance with cost benchmarks, disability insurance (own-occ vs any-occ, elimination periods), critical illness insurance, group vs individual coverage, conversion rights, employer benefits optimization, and insurance estate planning
• Real estate & housing — rent vs buy analysis, mortgage strategy (fixed vs variable, prepayment, renewal negotiation), home equity (HELOC, refinancing, reverse mortgage), investment property with tax treatment, condo vs freehold, principal residence exemption, downsizing, and provincial land transfer tax
• Debt strategy deep-dive — consumer proposals, bankruptcy guidance, collections rights, CRA tax debt, payday loan exit plans, credit rebuilding, and behavioral coaching for debt stress
• Cross-border planning — snowbird tax residency (substantial presence test, Form 8840, days counting), Canadians owning US property (FIRPTA, US estate tax), newcomer financial onboarding (SIN, credit building, RRSP/TFSA room), departure tax (deemed disposition), foreign pensions, FBAR/FATCA for US citizens in Canada, returning to Canada, and foreign tax credits
• Ongoing coaching — monthly check-ins, purchase decisions ("should I buy this?"), and life change updates
• Multiple output formats — shareable PDFs, editable Excel budget, plus interactive HTML dashboard
• Built-in validation — every number is double-checked for accuracy and cross-file consistency

Canadian-Specific Features

• Federal and provincial tax bracket optimization
• RRSP, TFSA, RESP, FHSA, and RDSP strategies
• CPP/OAS deferral analysis
• Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and other government benefits
• CESG and CDSG capture (free government money)
• Provincial variations (probate, health premiums, benefits)
• CRA calendar and deadline tracking
• Self-employed and incorporated planning
• Spousal strategies and attribution rules

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Quick Install (Cowork Mode — Recommended)

The easiest way to use this skill. Works on Mac and Windows.

1. Download the financial-planner.skill file from this repo
2. Open the Claude desktop app (download here)
3. Enter Cowork mode (bottom-left of the Claude window)
4. Click Customize → Skills → Upload
5. Select the financial-planner.skill file
6. Start a conversation and say: "Help me with my finances"

That's it! Claude will walk you through everything from there.

Requires a paid Claude plan with Cowork mode: Pro (C$24/mo billed annually), Max (from C$140/mo), Team (C$27.42/seat/mo), or Enterprise. The free tier does not support skills or Cowork mode. Prices exclude tax. See pricing

Install via Claude Code (Command Line)

For users comfortable with a terminal. Works on Mac, Windows (WSL), and Linux.

Mac

# Install Claude Code (requires Node.js 18+)
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Sign in
claude

# Create skills folder and install the skill
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
unzip financial-planner.skill -d ~/.claude/skills/

# Or install directly from GitHub
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
git clone https://github.com/cjpatten/canadian-finance-planner-skill.git ~/.claude/skills/financial-planner

# Navigate to where you want your plan saved and launch
mkdir -p ~/Documents/MyFinances && cd ~/Documents/MyFinances
claude

Windows (via WSL)

# First, install WSL if you haven't (run in PowerShell as Admin):
# wsl --install
# Then restart and open your Ubuntu/WSL terminal

# Install Node.js
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

# Install Claude Code
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Sign in
claude

# Create skills folder and install the skill
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
unzip /mnt/c/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Downloads/financial-planner.skill -d ~/.claude/skills/

# Or install directly from GitHub
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
git clone https://github.com/cjpatten/canadian-financ