BUSINESS Survival planning calls for realistic analysis UNCERTAINTY NEEDN’T mean doom and gloom. You can always improve your personal and financial situation, in bad times as well as good. Let’s start with the overall _view. Barring a major (or personal) catastrophe, we will continue to wake up cach morning, expect to see the sun in the sky, breathe the air and drink the water without too much concern, eat three meals a day (more or less), spend time with family and friends, and so on. Our cars will take us where we want to go; buses, trains and planes will continue to operate. We'll have our political up- heavals, but we are unlikely to see soldiers in the streets. Canada should continue to be one of the more stable countries with one of the highest standards of living in the world. : We need to take comfort from . the likelihood that whatever short-term disruptions occur, in the long run life is likely to con- tinue in a reasonably normai way, -as it has for so many years in the past. With that assurarice and ex- pectation, we can then deal with - the. uncertainties that concern ’ . many of us at the moment. My philosophy is to be op- timistic, te hope for the best, bur at the same time to consider and ’ be. prepared for the worst. You will never have a problem living with. success, but if things turn bad-at:least you will have a sur- . . Vival plan. - Nobody can. tell the future. ‘All _ you can do is consider the. various predictions, read about (listen to, © watch) what’s. happening and decide what you feel is most likely _ to occur. Then, no matter what * does happen, you. will know you made the best decisions and moves at the time, that. you couldn’t have dorie any better. @ Working. Unless you have retired (and sometimes even if you Michael foe ye DOLLARS AND SENSE have), earning a livelihood is a basic necessity. _ Become marketable. Broaden and develop your knowledge and skills. You might work in an of- fice but have good teaching abili- ties. Then you “‘sell’? both your office job. and your teaching skills. What could other family members do to earn money? Everybody has certain strengths: look for those with in- come-producing potential. What about starting. a_ self- employed sideline? This could continue as a sideline or possibly develop into your full-time work. As long as you have a ‘‘reason- able expectation of profit’? you will ‘also have a more than rea- sonable opportunity to save tax'— especially if you get your business under way while you are still employed and so can deduct any startup business losses from your employment income. Watch for opportunities. If a business goes under, could you move into the gap left and provide those goods or services more prof- itably? @ Living. Exercise tight control over your spending. Use the con- cern over an uncertain future to motivate you to be more businesslike about your finances. List all your expenses in order of priority and trim from the bot- tom. You want not only to live within your after-tax income but also to build up a reserve. Then, if you are out of work, you won't have to deplete your other sav- ings; ideally you should have an emergency fund equal to three to six month’s expenses. If you worry about debt, con- tact the lender to see what can be done to reduce the worry. A lender is more likely to be ac- commodating if you make the first move than if the lender has to contact you after several months of missed payments, When — or .before —. your money is gone, look to barter to provide some of your necessities. @ Investing. If you are a cautious investcr, uncertainty will drive you into an even more protective mode. But if you take — or could take — an aggressive approach with some. of your investment monies, you could increase your chances of profitability. If history is any indication, boom invariably follows doom. However, the timing is tough to predict. So do your research carefully, buy the most ap- propriate stocks/real estate/ business, and then be prepared to hang on for the long term — up to 10 years. Interest rates are relatively low if you need to borrow. But leave yourself a margin in case there’s still more doom before the boom, @ Saving tax. Again, use the uncertainty to motivate you to make an extra effort to minimize income tax. . Church focuses on world missions THE ANNUAL focus on missions takes place this year at the North Shore’ Alliance Church, 201 East 23rd St., from Feb. 23 through march I. This. focus on world Missions happens ‘:ach year in Al- liance Churches around the world. - There are 14,200 churches located in 54 countries with a total constituency of over two million people. These churches support 1,246 missionaries serving in 38 countries. Two of these mis- sionaries will be at the North Shore Alliance for this conven- tion. : Mrs.. Dawn Sawatsky has just recently returned home to Canada from Zaire. In September 1991, missionaries had to flee the coun- try as army troops stormed through the capital city of Kin- shasa, laying waste to everything they touched. The city was com- pletely shut down ... no water, electricity, medical services or food. Dawn was just one of many forced to return because of th ‘devastating situation. . . " She will be sharing the entire story of her escape. Rev. Robert Brougher has expe- jtienced the tension of living in "p ~ Bogota, Colombia, where the power of drug dealers and the government has touched thou- sands of lives. He has been church plannting, teaching and preaching and coordinating ministries with young couples and junior high youth. Bob has been challenged by the response to the gospel from the two million people in the two-mile radius where he works in Bogota. There is a complete schedule of activities for the week and more information may be obtained by calling the church at 984-6422. AT “How do they manage to do it?” RIMARK MUTUAL FUNDS WE MANAGE.TO OUTPERFORM. They chast represents the pedoemance of Tamark Canadun fund's 10 year avenge annual compound Tale ob rerun te December 3h W891 of st The Lies 1, 3 and 5 year returns are 20 24, 7 4D and Deh mspeatirly These sates of eetum reflect didabutets revested, ex bude sakes changes and RRSP adcuntarainn fees and have heen audited hy Eenst & Young. 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