same details to several companies personal finances allows — write to Mike cla 2444 e business-like financial adviser who works with MANAGING YOUR money well is like running a business successfully. Aind if you aren’t good at it, hopefully your partner is. | . By Mike Grenby . Contributing Writer ~. .. “Ask me what our personal and business position is right now and I'll probably guess within 15% of - the figures,” said Jim Lang, who started out to become a Roman Catholic priest, switched to the music business, became a teacher/principal in a two-room schoolhouse and now teaches entre- ' prencurship through seminars, TV, - videos, articles and his first book. Make Your Own Breaks: Become an Entrepreneur & Create Your Own * Future (Trifolium/Stoddart, $18.95). “Ask my wife Mary about our finan- “cial position and she won’t have any - idea — until she opens her record - books’ and then she'll have the exact “ antounts.” Focus on a couple of these tips if you want a new year’s resolution with a guaranteed payoff. ¢ Always Keep a reserve: “The temptation is to put all your money into something, whether it’s your everyday spending, buying a home or running a business.” Lang rea- sons. “But you should always have a reserve, a fallback position. We have a mortgage on our home and a busi- ness loan. But we also have a 1960 four-seater Cessna 210. worth per- haps $60,000; if all else fails, we could sell the plane.” * Don’t rush major purchases: “I ‘guess I'm arguing against spontane- ity. against rushing out to buy a $5,000 home entertainment centre because you see a ‘limited time .offer’ ad in the paper.” Lang suid. In business, people don’t buy equip- ment until they have done research. “You should also shop around in your personal life, and don’t auto- matically deal with a place because you or your parents always dealt there. When our home insurance came up for renewal, Mary gave the 4 THE RETIREMENT SPECIALISTS ..'., Monthly income on $50,000 investment Raies subject to change without notice For your personal Annuity or, R RRIF illustration or a copy of our Guide, “call : 925-3101 RSP / GIC Rates Solguard Financial Ltd. 401-100 Park Royal S., West Vancouver A: Building better retirement incomes since 1974 ~ Winning /\ Strategies for. ; your 1995 RRSP Every year Canadians wonder what they should do with their RRSPs and | every year financial decisions are made in a rush without regard to the best fy ‘choices available. These last minute decisions can cost you thousands and thou- s|_sands of dollars over time. We've prepared a package that provides the infor- #|. mation you need to make the right choice when you are ready. You will learn: 1) How you can get over 9.5% per year guaranteed with Government bonds. | “fi -2) The 5 things you must know about RRSPs to improve performance today. o} 3) Our top-ranked mutual fund choices for 1995. . . ‘[1"4) Which individual investments we believe will outperform through the 90s. i] 5) The cost of underperformance in an RRSP calculation designed specifically .» for you. 6) Our asset allocation predictions for the best performance in 1995. If you have $50,000 or more in your RRSP, then having a Self-Directed Pian at ‘RBC Dominion Securities makes financial sense. It’s tow-cost, efficient and able . to house alt your available investment choices under one umbrella. Please call 981-6600 for your package or complete and return by mail or fax the coupon below: ' Please forward your 1995 RRSP Infurmation Kit Last Name: / ote hens : Addis: u “city: Telephane + Home: Work, — First Name: Postal Code Attn, Kevin Konar/Trevor Bromicy RBC Dominion Securities Suite 201 -250 15th Street West Van., B.C. V7T 2X4 Tel: 931-6600 Fax: 981-6601 P RBC | ? DOMINION 2 > SECURITIES — ~. Member of Royal Bank Group and asked for quotes. We ended up with more coverage at a lower cost. © Have an idea of your financial position: “I might look in my individuals; he will answer vour chequebook, see a balance of $2,000 and think ‘Hey, that’s great’” he said. “Mary. on the other hand, would know what bills had to be paid and would point out by tomor- row that balance might be only $600." ¢ Do some tax planning: “Use all the tax breaks you can.” Lang said. “Talk to an accountant to make sure you don't miss anything. For exam- ple. when you develop a sideline or full-time business, you might be able to claim some expenses you incurred before you actually started the business, through perhaps sellin: a cellular phone to your business." The Royal Bank recently pro- duced a 24-page business report, Little Giants — How Smail Business Drives the Canadian Economy, which is a simple introduction to starting a business. You can get a free copy from Royal Bank Business Banking, 9th Floor, South Tower, Royal Bank Plaza, Toronto. Ontario M5J 2J5. . Mike Grenby is a North Shore- based columnist and independent Simple and sophisticated tax and investment ° strategies you can use today and tomorrow. Mz your investments }erow and your tax © bill, shrink. That's | the “key to financial planning, _ _whether you are starting out in life or dealing with tetirement. With this upbeat ‘slide show in clear language, Mike Grenby will help you focus on the best ways to manage your money - whether you are 24 or 84, a homemaker, employee, _businessperson or. retiree, and whether you have $100 or $100,000. Mike's suggestions will feassure you in these uncertain economic times. His two hour presentation includes: © The ideal home owner- ship plan * How to substitute non-taxable for taxable income © When to pay your partner How to grab the disappear- ing capital gains exemption questions in this column as space Haywood Ave., West Vancouver, V7V 1Y1. Rosemary Murchison Community Office Manager North Anserican Trust is pleased to announce the appointment of Rosemary Murchison to the position of Community Office Manager of the West Vancouver Office. Prior to joining North American Trust in 1993, Rosemary Murchison worked at North American Life's Edgecombe Group, where, as Manager, Mortgage Administration she developed exten- sive experience and expertise in all aspects of real-estate, mortgage financing and the administration of other financial services. 8 Rosemitry has made West Vancouver her home for many years and has devoted much of her time to supporting various community yroups. An invitation is extended to come and meet Rosemary and her staff who fire dedicated to providing the high level of personalized service that North American Trust clients expect. North American Trust, Canadian owned and operated. is a full Oy service national financial institution with 30 branch- es across Canada. ft isan integral part of the North American Life Group of Companies which has provided financial security to its clients for over 112 years. Ceontiied General Accountants Association oo nf British Columbia ; : leave enough. behind? ° Special ' estate. planning worksheet gives you the answer. : “, Mike Grenby. writes an_ award-winning :"“money” -: column,. appears regularly © .on radio and -TV,. has _. Written five books and has “ Spoken ; 35,000 people at __ financial seminars. He sells no products se: his advice is. completely, unbiased; a: : handout’ at the Money show will summarize the - seminar's key points. Based | in . Vancouver, Mike provides independent financial - counselling -to’ individuals,employee groups and families. | * Five simple parts of the ideal investment plan © The best way to approach mutual funds ¢ Your international investment options Which RRSP provisions to use - and which to ignore Extra: You can't take it with you - but will you . . Mike Grenby BA MSc CFP RFP ' Saturday, February 4,1995, Carson Graham High School Show opens 1:00pm - Seminar starts 2:00pm - Tickets (for cash payment) at the North Shore News 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, B.C. Tickets available: 8:30am-9pm Monday to Friday. | _ 9am-4pm Saturday & Sunday . 7.00 (includes cst) (for MasterCard and Visa) phone Lynda Gleeson 2pm-4:30pm - 985-2131 or the Classifieds front desk ‘weekdays 5-9pm weekends 9am-4pm - 986-6222 » to more. than:-: his.