20 - Wednesday, July 27, 1988 - North Shore News

think:

SOMETIMES you need to spend money to remind yourself
that the best things in life are free.

My wife Mandy and I have iust
come back from a UBC-sponsored
two-day search-and-sniff
wildflower foray, along with 22
other enthusiasts.

The fields of Hurricane Ridge, on
the Olympic Peninsula, resounded
to the triumphant cries of, ‘‘Just
take a look at that Erythronium!’’
And from the lesser wildflower
hunters: “A Castilleja? Let me
write that down and make a quick
sketch.””

Among the 85 different flowers
we delighted in, with the guidance
of Gerald Straley; UBC Botanical
Garden’s research scientist and cu-
rater of collections, were indeed
the avalanche lily (Erythronium)
and paintbrush (Castilleja).

I confess to being a_ rank
amateur and not too many other
Latin names spring to mind,
although memories of the fields of
flowers are as clear as the
originals.

I must also confess that I didn’t
think once about the after-tax
return of paying off debt, the rise
and fall of the Canadian dollar,
the effect of tax reform on flow-
through shares or the best ways to
survive economic uncertainty.

Well, that’s not quite accurate.
When a fellow wildflower sniffer
asked what I did and I admitted to
being a financial adviser, he did
tell me about the problems he was
having with his stockbroker and
managing some elder relative’s
assets. :

I satisfied him with, ‘‘Get a let-
ter of understanding from the
broker and meet at least quarter-
ly,” then diverted him back to
more serious matters by asking:
“Would you consider the
Erythronium to be one of the more
hardy perennials?”’

Most of us get so involved in our
everyday work and home worlds,
we often forget to enjoy the
simpler yet equally important
pleasures of life.

After a family shopping foray
the other day, during which I
reluctantly bought a new shirt, our
17-year-old son Matthew said to
me: “If it weren’t for Mum and
me, you'd really lead a dull life.’’

He wasn’t referring to my reac-
tion to the price of the shirt (after
all, I did put it on my no-fee
Mastercard so I wouldn’t have to
pay anything for at least a month).

Rather, he — and I suppose
many others — sees me reading

CONCERN

CONSERVATIVE
INVESTOR

and talking and writing about
money almost every day, and
wonders just how exciting such ac-
tivities could be.

In the heat of the chase, I must
admit to a thrill when I track down
a pension income deduction or
RRSP rollover that a person has
missed and can now use to save
perhaps thousands of dollars in
tax. And there’s nothing like a
debt reorganization to make my
day as much as it boosts the deb-
tor’s budget.

But Matt is quite right. Left to
my own devices, I probably
wouldn’t buy a smart new shirt, or
take two days off in the middle of
the week to sniff the flowers.

There’s never enough time to do
all the things we want to do —- just
as there’s never enough money to
buy everything we'd like to buy.

i help people improve their cash
flow by telling them to list their
expenses in order of priority, and
trim from the bottom.

Prompted by remarks like
Matt’s, I must remember also to
help improve my life flow by
listing my everyday experiences in
order of priority, and trimming
from the bottom.

IME SMITH

peu

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ae

Perhaps tonight it is more im-
portant to take a sunset walk with
Mandy than read the latest issue of
The Canadian Taxpayer. Perhaps |
must say no to a speaking
engagement if it would mean
postponing a family outing —
because postponements so often
end up being cancellations.

There will be many more issues
of The Canadian Taxpayer, and
many more speaking engagements.

You've said it loud and clear:

'm charged for seem unfair.”

We hear you.

INTRODUCING
THE FEECUTTER, interest of a ‘tiered’ T-Bill

The FeeCutter does account.

we eye a Racers ean)

dollars

and sense

Mike Grenby

But if something ever happened to
Mandy, might I not regret that
sunset walk not taken?

The roses bloom outside the
French doors of my den, It’s so
easy for me to work until dark and
simply not get around to walking
through those doors to smell those
roses.

Sometimes, it’s almost harder to
stop work than actually to do the
work, Still, we should all stop long

Time to stop

enough to run a quick projection
to the bottom line, to make sure
we maintain just the right balance
in our lives.

You can always ask Revenue
Canada to go back three years to
pick up a deduction you forgot.
But you can never go back even
one moment to pick up a family
experience or wildflower bloom
you missed.

Do you have a financial or con-
sumer question for Mike? Or a
story you think should be in his
column? Please write to Mike
Grenby, North Shore News, 1139
Lonsdale, North Vancouver V7M
2H4, Mike cannot reply in-
dividually but will answer as many
of your letters as possible through
The North Shore News.

Remember to include your
Phone number in case Mike needs
to contact you.

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