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Volume 1, Issue 2 October 2006 |
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| Shari's Opener | ||||||||||||
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Well here it is my second issue. Thanks to all of you who gave me such wonderful feedback on the first issue of the newsletter. I really appreciate it! Keep the suggestions coming. Once we get momentum in our lives, it enables us to be confident and realize our potential for unlimited possibilities! I offer my clients a personalized service that is custom designed to reach your financial goals and to help you understand your options. It is my mission to help people build and cover their assets. Each of us has dreams and aspirations. With even a small commitment these can be realized. This commitment is a plan or "road map", so to speak. The combination of the two will create an energy and force of its own. This is your momentum . The ‘Diva Club”, will be starting back up on Wednesday October 11, at The Lighthouse Pub at 6:45 pm! I am really excited to get going, and apparently my fellow Diva's are too! I will be speaking about covering your biggest asset – You! Kim from Lioness for Lovers will also be there to give us some ideas and advice. Click here for more details. Momentum thought, "When you are clear, what you want will show up in your life, and only to the extent you are clear." Enjoy and live life, “On purpose!” |
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| Health and Wealth | ||||||||||||
by Shari Molchan  Do you feel like you are behind in your retirement planning? There is help. More and more people are taking advantage of a simple yet powerful wealth creation strategy – investment leverage. What is investment leverage? Simply put, it is using someone else's money to achieve your investment goals. Leverage is simply borrowing money to purchase investments, with the goal of achieving greater wealth. You actually may have already taken advantage of this strategy, whether you know it or not. Do you have or have you had a mortgage, a student loan or an RRSP loan? If so, you have used someone else's money to achieve your goal of home ownership, higher education or a more comfortable retirement. With leveraged investing, you take out a loan and make a single large investment purchase on day one. Then you make interest payments on the loan. This may be the same amount that you would normally contribute to a traditional investment plan. But the leveraged investing has the potential to generate far greater returns. Here's why: Compound returns. The key to successful compounding is having the largest possible amount growing for the longest possible time. If we assume that you have 10 years to invest and plan to make regular contributions each year, only the contribution that you make today will grow for 10 years. The contribution you make next year will only have 9 years to grow – and so on. Therefore the effect of compound returns is much stronger with leverage, which can result in better investment results over the long term. Tax deductibility. Since the interest you pay on a loan reduces your investment return, it is important you pay as little interest as possible. Luckily the interest you pay on an investment loan is tax deductible – which reduces the cost of this strategy. The keys to success with leverage investing are: Invest for the long term. The amount of risk involved in leveraging decreases as your investment horizon increases. This is because the return of stock based investment funds (mutual and segregated funds) varies widely from year to year. But these fluctuations tend to even out over the longer term. Plan to leverage for 10 years or more to reduce the impact of short term market movements. Commit to the strategy. Emotional decision making can de-rail your investment strategy before it has time to work. Keeping your eyes on the long term results will reduce the risk that you will get cold feet and lock in short term losses. Borrow less than you can afford. Start by borrowing less than you can afford so that you can comfortably absorb the bumps that life may throw your way and force you to cash out early due to an unseen change in your ability to make the interest payments. Choose a no-margin call loan. In this case if your investment falls below the original amount of the loan – you will not be asked to make an additional deposit to the account. Diversify your portfolio. You do not want to increase your risk by investing in a single investment or by investing in high risk investments. The goal of leverage is to accelerate investment growth, it works best with a diversified portfolio of long term investments. Investment leverage can be a powerful strategy for accelerating your investment growth and helping you achieve your financial goals sooner. While this strategy involves an increased level of risk, much of the risk can be reduced with careful planning. Leverage is not a fit for everyone. Some things to consider are; • Do you have a specific financial goal in mind? • How long are planning to invest? Ideal is 10 years or more. • How much other debt are you caring? • How stable is your income? • What is your tolerance for risk? Are you comfortable with fluctuations in the market and seeing your investment move up and down? Call me for more details to see if this strategy is for you! PRIVATE HEALTH SERVICES PLAN
I do not spend enough per year to warrant the monthly cost of a traditional health & dental plan. There is only myself and Wayne now – kids are all gone – so our medical expenses are limited. As we baby boomers get older – it seems there are more trips to the massage therapist and chiropractor – these receipts are eligible under this plan. Traditionally, you would deduct any excess medical receipts on your income tax. The medical tax credit offered by CCRA is only available after you've spent the lesser of $1,844 per year or 3% of net income. The tax credit available in BC is 22% of expenditures – regardless of your tax bracket. I do not reach that amount – so it is to not a viable tax break for me. However being able to get back a receipt for $50 - $1000 to deduct from my taxes, is a real benefit to me. Here is an example of how the CCRA tax credit works: • Net Income: $80,000 • Medical Expense: $3,000 Tax Rate 39.7% Medical Tax Credit Available • The lesser of $1,844 or 3% of $80,000 $1,844 • Amount of Health Expenditure: $3,000 • Less the exempt amount: $1,844 • Eligible amount for tax credit: $1,156 • Amount of tax credit (22% of $1,156) $255 The private health services plan from Olympia Trust may be a prescription for savings for you. This plan reduces your company's taxable income by converting all out of pocket medical and dental expenses (including premiums paid to your firm's group health & dental plan) into a tax deduction for the company. Private health services plan will allow coverage for services that traditional insurance programs may consider ineligible. Eligible Expenses include:
For a full list of eligible expenses visit http://www.olympiatrust.com/pdfs/AppendixB-Listofeligibleexpenses.pdf ) Here is how it works: Pay your medical and dental expense personally (eg. $500.00) Send the trust company the receipt along with a cheque for the full amount of the expense plus a 10% administration fee ($550.00) Olympia Trust will immediately send you back a personal cheque for the original amount ($500.00) as a non-taxable employee benefit and your company can deduct the full $550.00 as a business expense. In Canada , health and dental plans provided by an employer for the benefit of an employee are tax free. Therefore to qualify there must be an employer/employee relationship. The size of the business is not a factor. With a private health services they can administer a plan for one person companies to corporations with hundreds. Your choices, your plan, your savings. There are no hassles, no monthly premiums, no interference from insurance companies. There is a one time sign up charge. Call me for more details! |
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| Mind and Body | ||||||||||||
With Vulnerability Comes Success
While he was climbing to the highest point, I started to become very concerned for his safety. Through his determination and dedication he reached the apple, picked it, and then ate it with a pleased look of satisfaction. From the look on his face I realized the apple tasted good, but the climb to the highest point of the tree was even more rewarding. In order to be successful and achieve what you want in life, a person must be prepared to step outside their comfort zone by making themselves vulnerable. People who succeed in the world of business, sport or any other endeavor find the courage to allow themselves to become vulnerable by venturing into uncharted territory without any promise of obtaining the results they desire by trusting the Universe will take care of them.
Article by Michael Bortolotto |
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| Wine and Dine | ||||||||||||
Questions And Answers About Cooking With Wine: QUESTION: Will recipes taste better if I use a premium or expensive wine? ANSWER: A good-quality wine will give the same flavor to a dish as a premium wine or expensive wine. Save the premium wine to serve with the meal. Remember - only use wines in cooking that you would enjoy drinking. QUESTION: What is "cooking sherry?" ANSWER: Cooking sherry usually has salt or chemicals added to make it unpalatable as a sipping wine. Sold in small bottles, it is generally more expensive than regular sherry. I do not recommend using anything labeled "cooking wine." QUESTION: Will wine in food make me tipsy? ANSWER: No. The alcohol in wine begins to evaporate at 172 degrees - well short of the boiling point of water. Even people who avoid drinking wine for religious or personal reasons can cook with wine. QUESTION: Can I use leftover wine for cooking? ANSWER: Yes. To save leftover wine for cooking, pour into smaller bottles, cork tightly and store in the refrigerator. QUESTION: How much wine should I use in a recipe when cooking? ANSWER: This question depends upon the flavor intensity of the wine and the foods you are cooking. Proceed slowly in adding additional wine than the recipe calls for. Wine needs time to impart its flavor. If you're not sure whether to add more wine to a dish, let the dish cook at least ten minutes before tasting again. Adding more wine than the recipe calls for won't necessarily make it better. Wine does not automatically turn an ordinary dish into a gourmet dish. Use it with discretion. Suggested amounts to add: Soups - 2 tablespoons per cup Save time and money by making your own wine at The Olde Nanaimo Brewery Co. and “bottle” it in a vacuum wine bag to ensure the wine is perfect for every dish. Cheers! by Carolyn Scott (Owner)
Wheat allergy or wheat intolerance? Our guess is because you are feeling unwell most (or all) of the time, and you think there may be a link between this and what you eat. So you've now taken the first step and tried to find out some information about food allergies and intolerances Another question. What are your symptoms?
Just a few of the symptoms that you might suspect are caused by a food allergy or intolerance, and in your case possibly wheat. Restaurants are more aware of this wheat intolerance and are finding solutions to accommodate those by adding more rice products to their menus. Often there will be wheat free icons placed beside the wheat free items on the menu for easy identification. If not, ask your server if you are able to substitute wheat pasta with rice pasta. You may be surprised how many can accommodate your request. Check out the 3 new menus at The Lighthouse Bistro & Pub for ‘wheat friendly' menu items! by Susan Newman (Owner/General Manager) |
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| Fall Home “Insurance” | ||||||||||||
With the coming of the fall, you should prepare for the cold and damp weather. It is better to be pro-active rather than re-active. Here are some ideas: Having your wood burning appliances and chimney cleaned and inspected before using by a WET Certified (Wood Energy Technologies) sweep will help eliminate the possibilities of a chimney fire and let you know if there are any deficiencies in the stove, flue and chimney systems. Things that should be checked before using the appliance for the season are rain cap, flue liner, factory built metal chimney, vent connector, baffles, fire bricks, door seal, ceramic glass in door, and make up air vent for mobile homes is clean and connected. The roof should be checked for missing or broken shingles or tiles, and necessary repairs made. The flashings around the chimney, waste vent, skylights and other protrusions in the roof should be checked to be sure they are in good shape. If the roof has a history of moss there are a few things you can do to help control the growth. Before the rains start you can spread Tide soap over the ridge cap and a light sprinkle over the moss, or you can use one of the commercial moss/algae controllers. There is also a zinc strip that can be installed. Gutters should be cleaned of any needles or leaves or other objects that may have accumulated in them over the summer. Down spout strainers should be replaced if they are missing, this will prevent this material from going into the underground drains and plugging them up causing other problems. The seams in the gutters should be checked to be sure they don't need to be re-caulked. If the down spout doesn't go into the ground drain, you should add down spout leaders on it to direct the water away from foundation of the home. This will help eliminate the possibility of a wet basement or crawlspace. During the course of the wet season you should periodically check your gutters for a build up of leaves and needles. Before doing any of this you should make sure you are comfortable with climbing up the ladder and going up on the roof. You should never go up onto a ladder or roof without someone else there to help you. Make safety for yourself and others your number one priority. Before you put your ladder up, LOOK UP. If you don't feel you have the knowledge to perform a fall maintenance inspection, then call a home inspector and enquire as to whether they have a fall maintenance inspection they offer. Many certified home inspectors offer this service. Remember, it is always prudent to be pro-active rather than re-active!
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Are you a small company? Are traditional health and dental plans
not viable for you? Would like more tax deductions? A private health
services plan from Olympia Trust may be a fit for you and your
business. 
During a hot August summers’ day while preparing for an upcoming
speech, I happened to notice the little boy next door climbing his
parent’s apple tree. At first I thought he was going to pick one of
the apples which was closest to him, but after watching him pull
himself up into the tree it become very apparent he had his eye on a
specific apple at the top of the tree. 
The Olde Nanaimo Brewery
Lighthouse Bistro
& Pub
Are you and your home prepared for the upcoming
West Coast winter?
by Jim Clark, Axios Home Inspections