Michael a uA “BRUCE COHEN used bud- geting to force himself to . spend money. And this has - taught him it doesn't pay to serimp. uo “T come from a a family where ‘money was tight,” said the’44- “year- ‘old financial columnist for The: Financial Post during a tourto pro- mote his book, The Money Adviser . (Stoddart,'$29. 95). “My parents ‘instilled the Savings | oer and.- “an appreciation of a modest ~ lifestyle.” 9 o-< ~. “Pye always made n more money” . than I needed, even when i was with Peace Corps. 1 got into detailed bud-. _ geting — and that’s based only on ping: “I think that’s when | decided money management would be my hobby.” Cohen admits to being “a phe- nomena! saver but at best, a mediocre investor. | used to buy individual socks bul {ike most ordi- nary people, it's hard to be success- ful unless you have the time and interest. “[’'m not a good enough investor - to manage my own portfolio of indi- _Vidual securities. 1 visit shopping ‘malls no more than three times a year so I'm not in touch with trends. Even'though my job provides _. knowledge for investing, I'm not ‘decisive enough.” So Cohen had been investing in mutual funds for almost 20 years. "In addition to making his full RRSP contribution every year (and now also maintaining the additional $8,000 over-contribution), he origi- my take-home pay, everything extra» -. is saved — to force myself to spend. ‘money. Otherwise, left on my own, * devices, [don't make } a commitment to spend.”: 9. ; “i.” About the only thing Cohen does ‘spend his money on is hiking in dif- * ferent locations all over the world. He met his 35-year-old crown attorney girlfriend on a hike “and our Occasional squabbles are about ' * ‘spending money because she’s even +> ore thrifty than I am.”, | o's Still; he’s earned that serimping doesn’t pay off. be am In 1982, when my 15- year mar. _ Fiage broke up,'I followed my. - instincts and moved into a very ° , . cheap, uricomfortable apartment,” he said. Ay was miserable the whole ‘time. © ° roa | learned the key i isto think ; about what’s important to you, then | spend on those things. That way, © you get something worthwhile but: . don’t waste money. - Cohen said while he was mar- ‘ried, he’ sed to do the grocery shop- “Yacht club | launching boat season > “THE: BURRARD Yacht Club is holding its annual Sailpast celebra- * tion on Saturday; May 7. - >" Vessels will depart. from the: North Vancouver club, located at ‘ - 10 Gostick PI, between 8:30 and ‘10:30 a.m. on the taorning of the... 7th." “ Zé The traditional salute to,the .commodore begins at 11/15 4.m., "and then all vessels will proceed to the club for.ceremonies ‘and a reception starting at 2:30 pra} “The Burrard Yacht club was- established on ‘May 5, 1932, and /moved from its: original Coal.” Harbor location to its present loca- tion in North Vancouver in 3977. - The annual Sailpast officially launches the boating season for its _ members and pays tribute to past and present club cornmodores. us nally invested $506 a month, then dropped to $250 after he and his wile split up. Now he's month outside his RRSP, at the moment going into three funds, “When f reviewed my holdings 1 was surprised to see | owned 21 dif- ferent funds,” he said, “1 thought at first that was too many. But then | found IT could cite a reason each one." Cohen bought a house in Toronto in 1978 for $74,000 and sold it 10 years later for $329,000. “But then 1] made the mistake of buying a luxury condo for $400,000 “— and ended up selling it for $300,000 when the market dropped.” Cohen now rents because it’s a renters’ market in Ontario. He hopes to be able to retire at 55 — “or at least not have to be a full-time employee.” af you're 55, it’s a great time.» ‘to be a VanCity_ member. That’ s because now you can begin. taking advantage of our Gold Club - “a complete package of. ws ‘io-charge financial services, And it’s easy because Gold Club: membership i is automatic, ; Great Rates. Plus “A Bonus. VanCity’s non-’ redeemable _ annual’ interest ‘term deposit rates already beat ‘the’ Posted rates = of the five and the HongKong Bank. of Canada by 1/4% and for a limited time en our 5 Year Non- i Redeemable Annual Interest Term Deposit, we beat. them by 314%.* sup to $700 a He has continued to invest the procecds fram the sate of his condo and plans to use that money to help buy a retirement home curing the text real este skimp. lasked Cohen which financial planning moves he considers the most important: Organize yourself. “Money is only a tool,” he said. “You must first get a handle on who you are and what you want out of life. ICs hard to become rich and few people really want to be rich, just financial- ly comfortable.” @ Separate what you want from what you really want. “One of the reasons budgets fuil is that the peo- ple see them in negative terms. Be positive. Once you have budgeted for something, it means you c: have it because you've already set that money aside in your plan.” B Make maximum contributions to ‘special ‘member | an RRSP. Carry adequate insurance, Puta litte time and effort inte learning about maney ninagement. Cohen ends the main part of his book with the comment: No matter how much expertise you buy, ulti- mately you're responsible for your own financial security.” This financial adviser: Ba uses a budget to make himself ' Spend; & rents and relics on mutual fund investments; Ea says know yourself before you": plan your finances, + : Mike Grenby is a North Shore-. based columnist and independent financial adviser who works with individuals; he will answer your questions in his column as space -- allows — write himn'clo 2444" Haywood Avenue, West Vancouw cr vv 1YI a ‘take ‘offer can advantage “of: ‘For a. limited time, when you “visit any / VanCity t branch’ or r call TeleService “at 877-7000.*#* Ani WE'RE VANCITY 8 7 7 : 7-000 * Excludes promotional pricing, ** Deposits are insured up to $100,000 per “separate deposit” (as defined by regulation), per credit union, by the Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation of B.C. (CUDIC).. *** Draw date fune 3, 1994. Entrants must be 19 years of age or alder, Odds of winning are dependent on number of entries received. Full contest rules and regulations available at all VanCity branches.