Family 1: Peta and Ruth, ages 27 and 31 respectively, are new homeowners.They do not have any children at the moment and do not expect to have any.They do have 3 cats and 2 dogs. The value of their home is $950,000, they used all their savings and got some help from their parents to buy their house.Their mortgage is still $850,000. This is affordable because Peta and Ruth both have good paying jobs earning around $90,000 each. They feel they don't have to worry about money because of their income.So they buy only the best quality products. Ruth works as a dentist and Peta works as an information architect. Ruth is worried about arthritis in her hands as her mother and father suffered terribly from this at 50 years old.

Family 2: Betty is a graphic designer aged 34. She has one child called Rhonda, who is 2 years old. Betty has just returned to work and earns $70,000 p.a. Rhonda's father is not involved in the family. He left Canada and refuses to pay child support. Luckily, Betty was an avid saver.She used her savings as a down deposit on a modest sized condo valued at $550,000 and has a mortgage of $400,000. She also has a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) with $25,000 for an emergency. Betty's health is a good state, but she is very mentally stressed from working fulltime whilst being the sole carer of Rhonda.

REQUIRED:

a)Identify the stage of the life cycle each family is in.

b)Describe the financial priorities for this stage.

c)Identify how each couple differs in their financial needs and explain why.