BUDGETING IS not a dirty word. It’s simply being businesslike. — If your income is $150,000 a year, you probably earn more than many small businesses. _ If your income is $50,000 a year, the only difference between you and a big business earning $50.00 00,000 a yeer is those The underlying principles — keeping outgo within income, bor- rowing for sound reasons, making plans to reach objectives, review- ing progress — are as important to collars and sense Michael Grenby eee you as they are to the business, How much or little you earn is not as important as how much or © little control you exercise over your finances. “Forget the ‘quick fix. ” Start with the basics. No- matter how fancy a house you want to build, you must first put in the founda- tion. “Budgeting is boring,” you say. “T tried it once but couldn't keep it going. > . Budgeting doesn’t have to. be boring. Simply discovering where your money goes will be a surprise — perhaps even a shock — but A Policy Comm will be on AT 7:30 34 — Wednesday, April 5, 1989 — North Shore News THE CORPORATION OF ~ THE CITY: OF NORTH VANCOUVER NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING - In the Council Chamber, City Hall, 141 West 14th Street MONDAY, APRIL 10, 1989 Members of the public are invited to attend the second Public Policy _ Committee meeting concerning View Preservation. The meeting will again provide the public an opportunity to present their opinions to Council. - PLEASE NCTE CHANGE OF DATES - never boring. Once you know how much you spend on what, then you can decide if you want to make any You might take a short cut: pick a fi inane set up an automatic sav- ings program and live on what’s left. If that works, great. But just like in a business, the more infor- tmaticn you have, the more effec- tive plans and decisions you can make. — Peggy Waterton, whose Dollars & Sense Budget Planners business teaches people to regain — or gain more — contro] of their finances, outlined the following steps to budgeting for a better life: (1) People go through a long period of denying anything is wrong. So the first step is to accept that your financial situation is out of control. . (2) Then you must overcome the perceived stigma that if you can’t handle your money, there’s some- thing wrong with you. There’s nothing wrong with admitting you can’t fix money problems — just + as you freely admit you can’t fix the car, plumbing or stove. (3) If you need to, seek help from a government debt counsell- ing program (if debt is a problem), community or social agencies, your church or an employee assistance Program at work, @ You must know how much money is going out. Ideally, keep _ track of all your expenses for a year. But six months will give you . ‘an indication — and even one ’ month is a start if you are in a crisis and car.’t wait. Keep receipts in separate envelopes, or write down in a notepad everything you spend each day. You might go toa cash machine because you need $8, for example, but the smallet withdrawal is $20, and you’ll have no idea where the remaining $12 goes, (5) Total all annual expenses like Christmas shopping, car insurance, house insurance, house taxes, holidays, major clothing and car expenses, possibly income tax and RRSP contributions. Divide by the number of months until you need ittee Meeting heid P.M. BUSINESS each sum. -Have. this. total put automatically into a. special “ac- count every month. (©) Pay everything by cash or cheque. Each payday,