26 - Sunday, July 16, 1989 - North

Get off the treadmill

Shore News

" —TIEWS photo Nell Lucente
TED WHITEHEAD, branch manager of the Park Royal Canada Trust, hands over the keys to x 1989 Pon-
tiac Benuevilte to Marilyn McNeill. McNeill won the $22,200 car in a recent Canada Trast promotion.

of personal debt

IMAGINE A tax-free investment
with no risk and a guaranteed rate
of return. It may sound too good
to be true, but that’s exactly what
repaying your personal debt is.
That rate of return could easily be
greater than 25 per cent, equivalent
.to a 33 per cent to 45 per. cent cate
_of return on a taxable investment
— depending... upon -- your: > tax =.
bracket.

Repaying personal: debt “is. an
unequalled investment, and
recognizing, that fact is the most
important step to getting off the
treadmill of personal debt.. Once
you’ve taken the decision to take
-yourself -out-of the -réd, -you, will

then be abie to face the next hurdle.

-— listing your debts, determining

“interest rates, repayment terms,
and your assets, income -
and itures. .

: Writing. “down: your” financial ©
position :will provide , you with a
starting place. from which to
choose the various options for
repaying your debt --liquidatiag
“your assets, consoiidating your
‘debt, reducing - your expenditures
and increasing your income.

If you are thinking about li-
quidating your assets and borrow-
ing to consolidate your. debts, the
following factors should be con-

| Cm capitano
| ae College |
Communications
instructor ss

Duties: To teach one or two '
daytime sections of Report Writing
for students in Business
Management. Considerable time
to be devoted to students in
# tutorial interviews.
Qualifications: Master's degree,
English teaching experience
1 (preferably college-level) and
some business background.

t: Temporary Fart
Time, Sept. 1/89 to Dec. 31/89
Salary: Facutty Scaie

APPLICATIONS TO:

Dean

CareerNocational Programs
Capilano College

2055 Purcell Way

North Vancouver, B.C.

> Vid 3HS

f Closing Date: July 31, 1889

sidered: the after tax vate of return
on assets versus cost of the debt;
market conditions; penalties for
early liquidation; refinancing
costs; amortization period of loan
and the type of loan (¢.g. personal
line of credit, instalment Ioan, or
second mortgage).

A professional,
‘Certified General Accountant,- will
best be able to advise you on these
<and other factors such as structur-
ing your debt to make it “tax
_ deductible. :

If you don’t own any assets,
consolidating your debt may..stil!
be an option. Examine your’ life
insurance policy to see if there is a
cash value you can borrow against.

Borrowing from family members .

can also be an attractive alternative

- tas they. may welcome the opportu-

_nity to earn a higher rate of. return
“on-their savings. -

Reducing your expenditures may
be the most painful option for
repaying your personal debt. but it

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A DIVISION OF
INTERCITY EQUITY CORPORATION

can be more easily achieved by
creating a written spending plan.
Remember to include annual ir-
regular expenses such.as insurance,
as well as monthly ‘expenditures.
Your final option for getting off
the personal debt treadmill is to
increase your .income, . either
through a part-time job or even a
career change.

Personal debis can be a source
of increased motivation. There are
even some managers who feel that
people in debt make the best sales
people. Of course, the best oppor-
tunity to increase your income will
arise once you've successfully
repaid your debt and are able to
channel the money that once went
to debt repayment into building
your savings. Such a strategy wili
protect you from a need to return
to the personal debt treadmill.

Chery! Mont is the manager of
Financial Pianning for Porter,
Sams, a national firm of Certified
General Accountants.

OPEN
Monday-Friday
10am-G6pm
Saturday 10-5 p.m.
For your convenience
Month End 9am-9pm

From page 25
of stocks. You can therefore diver-
sify your investment by purchasing
the index instead of one or more
individual stocks. oy

!n other words, yeu are manag-
ing your risk — and risk manage-
ment is an essential component of
anybody’s investment strategy,

The most commenly used stock
market index in Canada is the
Toronto 35 index.

In the United States, the Stand-
ard and Poor’s 500 and 100 Indices
mirzor the performance of 500 or
160 blue chip stocks on the New
York Stock Exchange. (The most

commonly quoted index of market -

performance in the U.S. is the
Dow Jones Industrial Average.

’ Derek Cave

If you are injured in an automobile accident, it would be wise
to retain competent legal counsel as soon as possible. The initia! discus-
sion with your lawyer should involve the fees to be charged for his

services.

The contingent fee contract is perfectly tailored to personal in-
jury damage claims since it provides that your lawyer is paid only if
and when you have recovered darnages in your case and then only
as a percentage of the amount actually recovered. Unlike an hourly
rate fee, if there is no recovery under a contingent fee agreement, the
lawyer receives nothing for his services. On the other hand, the lawyer
may receive a great deal, if the recovery is substantial. -

The percentage fee charged obviously will vary from lawyer to
lawyer and there is no ‘‘fixed amount’’ as to what a lawyer can or
should charge. Each agrcement is a matter of negotiation between
you and your own counsel. A rough rule of thumb, however, would
be 2 fee charge of 25% of the damage amount if the case is settled
before trial, and 30% should a trial be necessary. Anyone being charg-
ed percentage fees greatly in excess of those amounts ought to seriously

reconsider their fee agreement.

Contingent fees, like other lawyer’s fees, may be reviewed by
a Registrar of the Court to determine whether the agreement is fair
and reasonable, and the Registrar has power, in appropriate cases,
to modify or cancel a contract if he deems it unfair at the time it was

entered into.

For advice concerning a motoring problem or injury
claim please call our personal injury group at:

Ferguson Gifferd
Barristers & Solicitors :

Suite 50C-Park Place
666 Burrard Streat
Vancouver, B.C. V6C 3H3

CONTINGENT

687-3216

Consider futures trading

This average is not represented by
any iutures or option coftracts
because the owners of the copy-
tight on the index, Dow-Irwin,
refuse to allow it.)

Trading in index futures con-
tracts or options is fast-moving
and highly volatile. But an ‘effec-
tive use of these vehicles will give
you two big advantages. You can
Participate in market advances
without having to select individual
stocks. You can hedge existing
stock portfolios against declining
markets.

Rick Peterson is with investment
dealer Walwyn Stodgell Cochran
Murray Limited. He can be reach-
ed at 669-6262,

LAWYERS |
~ AND

Derek Cave
Dennis Quintan
Martha Konig

G