I want to talk about the Law of Attraction and how it works in your financial picture. The Law of Attraction is defined as “I attract to my life whatever I give my attention, energy, and focus to, whether positive or negative.” When I sit down with my clients it is very important to me to get to know what they want. Planning for your financial future in my opinion starts in one place. What do you want? What do you want to spend your time and money on? What are your dreams for the future? What I find is that most people are very passionate and clear of what and why. What is not clear is the ‘how’ and that’s okay, that’s where we do the planning work together. Without the passion of what and why we want it – there is no ‘juice’ to the desire. It has to start there!

There is plenty of advice out there today on how much you should have and where you should be at certain stages of your life. It can be very discouraging if you feel that you haven’t got a chance in getting ‘there’. I say SO WHAT! You are where you are now, and even if you have not started, or just have a little, or circumstances have not been favourable, it does not matter because the future is not here yet. I think we often develop beliefs that do not serve us very well and we keep attracting and creating what we do not want. Whatever you think about most becomes your reality.

Look at your life now – are you getting the results that you have been thinking about most? Focus on what you want. Go ahead it’s perfectly okay. In fact, you will be surprised at the results! This is not a secret. In fact the old adage, the rich get richer while the poor get poorer is exactly the Law of Attraction at work! What do rich people think about most? More money, prosperity, homes, cars, vacations, travel, and what do they get more of…MONEY! What do poor people think about most? Lack, bills, debt, no money, what do the get more of …LACK!

I recommend reading the book ‘Law of Attraction’ by Michael Losier. My guess is that many of you have and are already creating the results that you want! I have a link below to his website where you can order his book.

I want to thank Bill Rutledge, Notary Public, for contributing to the newsletter this month. The importance of having a will and a power of attorney tends to get ignored until it is too late. I know. When my ex-husband died with no will or insurance it was a wake up call for me. If you have kids under 18, I’m sure you have specific people you would want to raise them. Without a will, the courts decide. Make sure that you decide what happens with not only with your kids, but your possessions too. Please read his article and I have attached his pre-questionnaire for your convenience.

Watch for details on The Diva Club’s meeting on Wednesday Dec 6th ! Ladies join us for 2 hours of fun and entertainment. Final planning is in the works and details will be on the website soon!

And yes guys – a Diva and Dudes night is being planned for next year – stay tuned!

Remember there is no end to how good life can be, if you find good in the first place.

Cheers!
Shari

Did you grown up in a home where finances were never discussed, talked about, or hinted at, let alone taught? If so, you may have become a financial disaster as a young adult. Did you know how to balance a checkbook, when, where, and how to use credit cards, how to save, how to budget, and what to spend? Did you believe that if you had money, it was yours to spend on whatever you wanted? It didn't really matter if you had existing bills to pay. Unfortunately, many also learned that if they wanted something they could easily borrow to get it.

Sad to say, that is learning your lessons the hard way.

When it comes to teaching kids about money, the sooner the better.

Up until they start earning a living, and sometimes well beyond that, kids are apt to spend money like it grows on trees. This lesson will help you put your children on the road to handling money responsibly.

Long before most children can add or subtract, they become aware of the concept of money. Any four-year-old knows where their parents get money -- the ATM, of course. Understanding that parents must work for their money requires a more mature mind, and even then, the learning process has its wrinkles. For example, once he came to understand that his father worked for a living, a five-year-old asked, "How was work today?" "Fine," the father replied. The child then asked, "Did you get the money?"

Once they learn how money works, children often display an instinctive conservatism.

Instant gratification aside, once they learn they can buy things they want with money -- e.g., candy, toys -- many children will begin hoarding every nickel they can get their hands on. How this urge is channeled can determine what kind of financial manager your child will be as an adult.

An allowance can be an effective teaching tool.

When your kids are young, giving them small amounts of money helps them prepare for the day when the numbers will get bigger.

On idea is to give your kids an allowance equal to half of their age, and then round up to the nearest dollar. For example, if your child is 12, half of his age would be $6. It is a fair amount and should be a sufficient amount for their needs and wants. Also encourage them to earn extra money through baby sitting, or doing chores for other people, as well.

One thought is that this 'allowance' should not be based on behavior or grades and not used as a punishment or motivator - use other rewards for good deeds and disciplinary action for misbehavior.

Let the kids learn from their Mistakes - When giving the children their own money to use as they wish they are bound to make mistakes. The best thing that we can do as parents is to sit back and allow them to make their mistakes and use it as a teaching opportunity.

That being said, you do not want to turn the kids loose with their money immediately. For the first couple of years of receiving their allowance, you might ask them to check with you before they bought anything and then teach them why you did, or didn't think that it would be a wise use of their money. After those first two years they will have a good understanding about spending their money and a little better grasp of wise spending. However, like all kids, they can get impulsive and buy something that they feel they 'have' to have.

Teach the kids about interest - I believe that this is one of the most valuable lessons that we can teach our kids: the dangers and advantages of compounding interest. It is so much better to teach this now, while at home, then to turn them loose and learn this lesson from their credit card company. Start a savings plan and let them see how they earn interest on the money.

Teach the kids to Spend - Another thing that is so important in life that adults seldom do is budget their money. Even if your children are still too young to plan their spending, do attempt to get them to plan ahead for large purchases they want to make. When my kids wanted a video game, or even a new game console, and I didn’t plan on giving it to them for Christmas or a Birthday, they knew that they need to save up and buy it themselves. And when a child saves for months to purchase a new game console for over $100, they take care of it and appreciate it much better than if you bought if for them!

To help your kids with their spending habits here is a tool similar to a check register so that they can track their spending and their money. This allows them to see all of their earnings and expenditures so that they can get into the habit of watching where their money goes now, instead of waiting until they are older and its all gone. Click here for a budget sheet that you can use for your kids.

Teach the kids to Shop - By having them buy their own games, toys, and such, they learn quickly to start shopping around for the best prices by looking in the newspaper for sales, recognizing when something is a bargain, and realizing that things are more expensive when they are brand new, especially video games and electronics.

Teach the kids to Save – Have your children put at least 10% of all their money earned (not including money received for gifts) into a savings account that they don't touch. Help them to get into the habit of long-term and emergency savings and hopefully this money will still be in their accounts when they are ready to retire decades from now.

Teaching the kids to live on less than they earn not only forces them to have funds set aside for an emergency but also teaches them to avoid going into debt. If they can get by on what they have leftover after putting money into savings hopefully this trend will continue for the rest of their lives.

Teach the kids to Share – Teach them to share with those less fortunate. Some do tithing in their churches or it could be helping a food bank, etc…

Teenagers and college-age kids have bigger responsibilities.

Checking accounts, credit cards, and debt are as fundamental to the college experience as books and keg parties. Teaching high-schoolers about banking and credit will make them savvier when they leave the nest.

Model Good Financial Behavior - This is the most important step of all. We can tell our kids all of the things that they are supposed to do but if they see us buying whatever we want, wearing out the magnetic strips on our credit cards, buying a new car every other year, they are going to pick up our habits.

By practicing what we preach, our children can see the benefits of saving their money, shopping wisely, budgeting, and even sharing. If they are learning their lessons now hopefully they won't have to do it the hard way later on.

Click here for a budget sheet that you can use for your kids.

More women see investing as path to financial independence: poll

Independence second only to retirement security as incentive to invest

Sixty per cent of women who have personal responsibility for managing households investments say that achieving financial independence was the reason they became interested in investing, a significant increase over the 50% who cited this reason last year. Those findings are from a recent survey conducted on behalf of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

More than three-quarters (77%) say that “saving for retirement” was the issue that first got them interested in investing, unchanged from last year (76%).

When asked, “What proportion of your current annual household income do you think you will need each year once you have retired in order to have a comfortable retirement?”, the average response was 55%. However, more than a third of the women surveyed (36%) admitted to not knowing.

“More Canadian women are realizing that having their own financial nest-egg is essential to achieve independence, a comfortable retirement and peace of mind,” said Patricia Lovett-Reid, Senior Vice President, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., in a news release. “This is good news when you consider trends such as high divorce rates, the fact that one in five families with children is headed by a single woman and that single parent families now have more children than married couples.”

“What is less encouraging is that more than a third of women don’t know what annual income they will need in retirement,” continues Lovett-Reid. “That clearly indicates they haven’t tried to calculate their retirement needs or haven’t sought professional advice. Even with the best intentions, if you don’t have a goal, you can’t have a plan.”

Those who manage a smaller investment portfolio (under $50,000) are far less likely to have a financial plan or use the services of a financial professional. However, the incidence of using a financial professional is far from universal among those with larger portfolios. In fact, just under two-thirds (63%) of those who manage a larger portfolio report working with a financial planner.

“The sooner women develop a financial plan and put it in play, the closer they will be to becoming financially independent,” says Lovett-Reid. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you need to accumulate significant savings before you can benefit from investment advice. The best time to begin is right now.”

The 2006 poll also finds that more than three in four women (77%) with household investment responsibility believe that they invest differently than men, a slightly higher proportion compared to last year’s finding (72%). Women think they have a different risk tolerance (29%), are more cautious and plan differently (10% each), have a different investment horizon (9%) and are more emotional (8%) than men. In this last category, the number of women who feel they are “more emotional” investors than men jumped from 2% to 8%.

More than four in ten (42%) poll respondents indicate that financial advisors are their main source of financial information, followed by the Internet (11%), media (10%), and family or friends (10%). Notably, there has been a significant drop in the past year in the proportion of women who identify the media as their main source of financial information, down from 19% in 2005.

TNS Canadian Facts conducted the telephone survey on behalf of TD Waterhouse between July 24 and August 8, 2006. 900 women between the ages of 25 to 69 years were contacted.

TD Waterhouse previously conducted the Female Investor Poll in 2001, 2002 and 2005.

By Investment Executive Magazine

Canadians waiting too long to start planning for retirement: survey

Many pre-retirees don’t seriously start saving for retirement until after they reach 40

A survey released today by Desjardins Financial Security (DFS) indicates the message that people need to stash away some savings for retirement is catching on with Canadians. The bad news is the message is not resonating with people until they reach their 30s or even into their 40s and beyond.

In the fifth annual survey on retirement, Desjardins Financial Security measured the cost of complacency for Canadians when it comes to retirement saving and planning. The results are startling: although age 60 is the average, ideal age of retirement for surveyed workers, more than one third (35%) of workers and partial-retirees indicated they didn’t seriously start saving for retirement until they were over 40 years old.

For half of the workers and partial retirees over 40 years old, the ideal age for retirement is between 56 and 65, where as 34% of the same group would like to retire by age 40 to 55. When questioned further about whether it will be possible to retire at this age, given what they know now about their financial requirements, the majority (60%) of workers 40 years old and over feel they are realistic in setting their ideal age for retirement.

“Canadians need to realize that retirement is not a 20 or 30-year vacation,” said Monique Tremblay, senior vp of savings and segregated funds for DFS. “People need to change their behaviour and start planning for retirement as soon as possible -- earlier than the average age of 35 years old. Through this survey, we discovered that there are groups who are in greater proportion to begin saving after 50 years old. And, these Canadians still, on average, want to retire alongside their peers at age 60.”

The survey revealed two groups of workers began saving before they reached 30 years old. Generally they are couples with children (37%) and those with savings and investments over $100,000 (36%). But in greater proportion were those groups who left saving it until they reached age 50. They are pre-retirees (33%), those with an income between $20,000 and $30,000 (28%), those with savings and investments between $10,000 and $25,000 (25%), part-time workers (20%) and those who live alone without children (18%).

“It is understandable that the extent of the planning and saving must be in relation to the needs and financial capacity, but a simple plan is better than no plan at all,” added Tremblay. “Retirement planning is not just about RRSP contributions. People also need to consider the social aspects of retirement and how that impacts their finances as well.”

Three-quarters (74%) of workers aged 40 years and older indicated they were psychologically prepared for retirement, yet social factors such as loneliness, boredom and no longer being around colleagues weighed heavily on the minds of those surveyed.

A solid majority (82%) feel that it is important to make plans for one’s free time and social life, yet only about half (55%) have actually done so. Seven out of ten (69%) workers feel that it is important to consult with a financial advisor before retiring - only 53% have actually done so. Interestingly, approximately half (49%) feel that it is important to seek advice for the emotional impact that accompanies retirement; few (23%), however, have sought out such advice. Given the fact that most respondents don’t want to work after retirement, it is not surprising that only 22% consider it important to seek advice on this matter and that less than one in ten (9%) have done so.

“Saving for retirement is important but Canadians need to recognize that they must plan their activities to keep themselves occupied and healthy during this long-awaited life phase,” said Dr. Paul Garfinkel from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. “Work reflects hours put in, but it’s something much more for most people. It helps provide part of your sense of identity, who you are, who your community is and how you connect. Those networks are disrupted at retirement.”

SOM conducted the telephone survey on behalf of DFS between August 3 and 16, 2006. In total, 1,666 interviews were conducted with a representative sample of Canadian adults. The sampling plan provides proportional estimates with a maximum margin of error plus or minus 2.6% at a 95% confidence level (19 times out of 20). The data was statistically weighted to accurately reflect the composition of Canadians by region, gender and age based on 2001 Census information.

Active Release Techniques (A.R.T.®) Soft Tissue Management Systems
Submitted by Dr. Terry Dyck, D.C.

With a success rate of over 90%, Active Release Techniques or A.R.T.® has become one of the most sought after soft tissue treatments in the world today.

A.R.T.® is one of the most effective forms of treatment for repetitive-motion injuries. It has helped Olympic athletes achieve gold medals and allowed injured athletes to return quickly to their training protocols.

What is Active Release Techniques? (A.R.T.®)

A.R.T.® is a patented, state-of-the-art, soft tissue management system that treats problems that occur with:

• Muscles
• Tendons
• Ligaments
• Fascia
• Nerves

Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with A.R.T.®. These conditions all have one important thing in common - they often result from injury to overused muscles.

How do overuse injuries occur?

Overused muscles (and other traumatized soft tissues) can cause changes to your body in three important ways:

• Cause acute injuries (pulls, tears, strains/sprains, etc.)
• Accumulated small tears (micro-trauma)
• Reduced oxygen flow to cells (hypoxia)

Each of these changes causes your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up:

• Muscles become shorter and weaker
• Tension on tendons causes tendonitis
• Nerves can become trapped

This can result in reduced ranges of motion, loss of strength, and pain. With trapped nerves, you may also feel tingling, numbness, shooting pains, burning sensations, weakness, muscle atrophy and circulatory changes.

What happens during an A.R.T.® treatment?

Every A.R.T.® session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The A.R.T.® provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tension, movement and function of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements. These treatment protocols - over 500 of them - are unique to A.R.T.®. They allow providers to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. A.R.T.® is not a cookie-cutter approach.

Treatments take about 8-15 minutes for each area being treated. A condition may require (on average) two to ten visits before full functionality is restored. Manipulation, if requested, is frequently carried out in conjunction with A.R.T.® to increase treatment effectiveness in some cases.

Whenever possible we have our patients perform active movements during the treatment process. Active motions stimulate neurological pathways in the spinal cord that help to reduce pain during treatment. Motion also helps to reproduce the stresses the patient will actually be under during normal active motion.

How does an A.R.T.® treatment feel?

Treatments can feel uncomfortable during the movement phases as the scar tissue or adhesions "break-up". This discomfort is temporary and subsides almost immediately after the treatment.

It is common to feel a duplication of your pain symptoms during the treatment (a good indication that the problem has been identified).

Patients report that "It hurts good".

What you can do to help yourself

• Get injuries checked early. Don’t let them “get worse”. Seek professional advice.
• Use ice immediately on strains and sprains.
• Work on maintaining good posture. Come in to our clinic (the Woodgrove Pines Clinic) for a free posture exercise brochure.
• Drink lots of water!
• Exercise regularly.

For further info on Active Release Techniques please contact the Woodgrove Pines Clinic at 250-390-2003.

A.R.T.® Testimonials

My injury left me with no chance of ever playing hockey again. Now, after being treated with ART and a proper rehabilitation program, I have completely regained my career in Hockey.
— Gary Roberts NHL Forward, Toronto Maple Leafs

Making action films has really been tough on my body. Thanks to Dr. Leahy and Active Release Techniques, I'm able to perform! After treatment, I feel great... ready for the next challenging role.
— Danny Glover, Professional Actor

All the doctors said I needed surgery for impingement syndrome in both shoulders. After one treatment, I rebooked all my competitions and trained to be in the best shape of my life.
— Milos Sarcev Mr. Universe, 1989

Since taking ART, I have been able to treat certain spine, extremity, and nerve entrapment conditions more quickly and effectively. I try to let my hand do the talking. ART speaks volumes. It’s as simple as this: ART has made me a better chiropractor!
— Steven M. Horwitz, D.C., CSSP, CSCS 1996 United States Olympic Team Chiropractor

www.woodgrovepinesclinic.com
 

The choice of a wine glass is really a matter of personal choice, but there are certain factors to take into consideration if you want to get the best out of wine.

To get the most out of the aroma and the flavor, the glass needs to be completely free from detergent as it often leaves a film which can affect the wine. When tasting wine in the correct way and to ensure an accurate assessment of a wine's appearance, the glass needs to be clear and colorless. In order to swill the wine to release its aromas, the glass should be narrower at the top and filled only a third of the way up to avoid any spillage. This also helps retain the wine's aroma in the glass.

Generally, red wine glasses are larger then those for white wine, allowing the wine to breathe and fully release its aromas.

Sparkling Wines
The flute is the traditional glass of choice. The shape is slightly conical; lengthening the time it takes to fill the glass.

White Wines
Almost never aged, white wines can be served in a glass with a wide or narrow aperture: a narrower aperture helps to concentrate the wine's bouquet. A tulip is often an ideal choice for whites.

Rosé Wines
Sweeter that whites and fuller in aroma, rosé are best appreciated from a glass with a slightly flared rim, which delivers their sweetness to the tip of the tongue.

Red Wines
For reds always use a glass with a wide bowl. Be careful not to fill the glass more than a third: this allows the wine to aerate, while increasing its bouquet. This aeration is essential for big reds like Barolos and Brunellos.

The Olde Nanaimo Brewery Co. Ltd. now has a beautiful selection of giftware. Stop in and mention Shari's newsletter “Momentum " and receive a free wine dial. This valuable tool will help you match food with wine for holiday entertaining!

Wine & Food Pairing Basics

One of the most common questions and concerns is what wine goes with what food. Many people mistakenly believe that they will ruin the whole meal if they make the "wrong" wine choice. The good news is that it's impossible to ruin a good meal if you select a wine that you enjoy regardless of what the "wine experts" say. Remember, the wine experts are not eating your dinner.

If you want to talk "rules" of wine and food pairing, the oldest one in the book is red with meat, white with fish or fowl. But rules are meant to be broken. In recent years we've gotten bold and have said it's okay to have Pinot Noir, which is a light red wine, or even Merlot with salmon. And I personally know some white wine drinkers who will enjoy their Chardonnay whether liver pâté or a juicy grilled steak is on the menu.

Having said that, there are some general guidelines you may find helpful when selecting a wine to enhance your meal.

1. Select light-bodied wines to pair with lighter food, and fuller-bodied wines to go with heartier, more flavorful dishes. Using the salmon example above, the Pinot Noir works beautifully with the fish because you are matching light to light. Otherwise a full-bodied, heavier wine will overpower a light, delicate dish, and similarly, a lighter style wine will not even register on your personal flavor meter if you sip it with a hearty roast. You may as well drink water.

2. Consider how the food is prepared. Is it grilled, roasted, or fried, for instance, and what type of sauce or spice is used? For example, chicken with a lemon butter sauce will call for a different more delicate wine to play off the sauce than chicken cacciatore with all of the tomato and Italian spices, or a grilled chicken breast.

3. For every food action, there is a wine reaction. When you drink wine by itself it tastes one way, but when you take a bite of food, the wine tastes different. This is because wine is like a spice. Elements in the wine interact with the food to provide a different taste sensation like these basic reactions:

Sweet Foods like Italian tomato sauce, Japanese teriyaki, and honey-mustard glazes make your wine seem drier than it really is so try an off-dry (slightly sweet) wine to balance the flavor (Chenin Blanc, White Zinfandel, Riesling).

High Acid Foods like salads with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, soy sauce, or fish served with a squeeze of lemon go well with wines higher in acid (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir). White Zinfandel, although not as high in acid, can provide a nice contrast to high acid foods.

Bitter and Astringent Foods like a mixed green salad of bitter greens, Greek kalamata olives and charbroiled meats accentuate a wine's bitterness so complement it with a full-flavored forward fruity wine (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot). Big tannic red wines (like many red Zinfandels, and Shiraz or Syrah wines) will go best with your classic grilled steak or lamb chops, as the fat in the meat will tone down the tannin (bitterness) in the wine.

Book your Christmas party at the Lighthouse Pub & Bistro – dates still open for reservations – call Susan at 754-3212!

Al and Barb thought they didn’t need wills. They were in their early 50’s and in good health. They held all their possessions in joint tenancy, so when one died the survivor would get everything.

But they died in a common accident, Al living for two days in a coma after the car crash that killed Barb.

Al and Barb had no children and so Al’s widowed mother, who lived in their basement suite and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease inherited everything.

Perhaps this is what Al and Barb would have wanted, but the odds are it wasn’t.

Many people are under the mistaken impression that if you die without a will “the government gets is all”. The government does not “get it all” but the Estate Administration Act does determine how your estate is distributed. By not having a will, a person loses control over who gets how much of your estate, and when. And they also give up the right to appoint a guardian of their choice for any you children they may have.

If you die without a will, the Estate Administration Act sets out the following rules as to how your estate will be divided:

1. If you own a home, your spouse will have the right to use it for life. This is called a “life interest” and can tie up the estate for a long time. Your spouse also gets the first $65,000 of your estate and then, if you have children, the balance of the estate is divided equally between your spouse and each of your children.
    
2. If you don’t have a spouse, or your spouse is dead, the estate goes to your children. If any of your children died before you leaving their own children, then their children would take equally the share of your dead children.
    
3. If you have no children or grandchildren, then your parents (or the survivor of them) get the estate. (which is how Al’s widowed mother inherited Al and Barb’s estate).
    
4. If your parents are dead, then the estate goes to your siblings, but if one of them has died before you and left any children living when you died, those children get your dead sibling’s share.
    
5. If you have no siblings, or they are all dead, the Estate Administration Act distributes your estate based on a table of family connections that shows how they are related to you.

If you die without a will, The Public Guardian and Trustee hold your child’s shares in trust for them until they are 19 years of age. The child’s parent or guardian then has to apply to the Public Guardian and Trustee for any money needed for things like living expenses or education.

Many people feel that theirs will be a “simple will”. Unfortunately, many of these people fail to consider what should happen in the event of a common disaster:

• who will be the guardian of the children if both they and their spouse die in a common accident?
   
• who will be the executor of their estate? who will be the executor of the estate if the original executor dies before they do?
   
• who is to inherit in the event of a common accident where they, their spouse and their children perish together?

Before meeting with your Notary Public or lawyer in order to prepare your will, these items, among others, should be considered.

(I have attached an easy to follow Will Instruction Sheet to get you started)

Interest and Useful Links:

• About Wills and Estates http://www.ag.gov.bc.ca/courts/civil/info/wills_estates.htm
• Making a Will and Estate Planning http://www.cba.org/BC/public_media/wills/176.aspx
• Your Duties as Executor http://www.cba.org/BC/public_media/wills/178.aspx
• What Happens When You Die Without a Will http://www.cba.org/BC/public_media/wills/177.aspx
• Wills Variation Act & disinherited.com http://www.disinherited.com/articles_variation.htm

The preceding provides general information only. It is not a legal document and does not contain legal advice. It has been prepared solely for informational purposes. Relevant statutes and regulations should be consulted for all purposes of interpreting and applying the law.