. B12 ‘Terrace Review — Wednesday, February 13, 1991

Don’t neglect ex
to your children

By JIMCAMPBELL,C.A.

Learning how to handle mon-
- ey is an important part of any
‘ child's education. But despite

'‘ its importance all through life

it's often aneglected part of the
education process.

Teaching your children about
money should start at an early
age, preferably with setting the
amounts of their allowances.
Sit down together and deter-
mine how much Is appropriate.
Ask your child to outline how
much money he or she needs
each week and what they'd
spend It on. Then, bearing in
mind this isn’t a wish list but
an attempt to come to an objec-
tive, realistic figure. make the
decision.

As a general guideline, here
are appropriate weekly allow-
ance levels depending on what
you can afford and regardless
of peer pressure: Up to age 7, a
quarter to a dollar: age 8 and

9, $1 to $3; age 10 to 13, $2 to
$7. You should give out the
cash each week at the same
time and don't tie it to house-
hold chores. Chores are some-
thing children should do as
part of the family unit. On the
other hand, allowance recog-
nizes kids need cash to spend

on personal pleasures and as a

tool to learn proper money
management.

It's important to discuss the
need to put some of the al-

lowance away as savings [or

some purchase or event in the

t

future. And il's equally impor-
tant not to be too strict as they
make their spending decisions
— let them learn [rom their
mistakes. But do let them
know you expect them to
benefit from the experience.
You'll find quite a few finan-
cial institutions have programs
to help you show the way to
financial responsibility. Many

have special young people's ac- .

counts that offer good interest
rates and reduced limits for
buying investment vehicles
such as GICs. ,

In addition, these accounts
provide basic information and
financial definitions such as
why you should have a savings
account, what interest is, why
you need a passbook, what a
chequeis, and so on, all impor-
tant elements in your child's
financial education.

When the youngsters get
older — say high school age —
you should selectively involve
them in your financial affairs.
Take them to meet your lawyer,
accountant, banker or stock-
broker to learn about the busi-
ness of each of these profes-
sionals and the kinds of help
and advice they can provide.

At this age too, it's wise to
watch out for the enjoy now,
pay later syndrome when
thoughts of paying for some-
thing are put aside for immedi-
ate enjoyment. Don’t en-
courage advances! ;

It's human nature to want the .
best for our children but they

I's never too late
for marriage coniract

‘By ROZANNE RESZEL, C.A. .

If you're like most people, you
probably think of a marriage
contract as a precursor to di-
vorce. Stipulating what hap-
pens to assets if a marriage
dissolves is certainly one pur-
pose of a marriage contract,
and a highly publicized one
too. But it doesn't have to be
the only purpgse. -_

For many couples who are al-
ready married or are con-
templating tying the knot, a
marriage contract is, in fact, a
framework for their marriage;
not a blueprint for divorce.
Generally, that framework is a

_ financial one — and with good
reason. Disagreements over
money are a major factor in
divorce.

While signing a marriage con-
tract is not for everyone, the
process of drawing up a mar-
lage contract gives you and

_ your partner the chance to talk
about money, to identify com-
mon ground and to pinpoint

~ areas of potential conflict.

, Ifyou can't work out arrange-

ments that are fair and
mutually agreeable before the

_ceremony, what are your chan-

ces of doing so afterwards?

- The contents ofyour marriage

-. gontract can be whatever you
and your partner think ap-
propriate.

_... For example, it might specily
whether you will both pay an
. equal share towards

‘household expenses. Or, It
might deal with investments —
if one partner is conservative
and the other a risk-taker, will
you have joint or separate sav-
ings and Investments? Would
each be willing to support an
aging parent?

When one spouse, generally
the wife, takes time out from
paid employment to raise
children, what will happen to
her ability to accumulate as-

. sets? What would happen to

business assets if the marriage
fails?

If you're already married, but
don’t have a contract, you still
may want to consider getting
one. Circumstances change
throughout the course of any
marriage. You may decide you
want to go back to school, for
example. If your spouse agrees
to support you during that
period, what obligation, if any.
do you have to’pay him or her
back? Or, what about inherl-
tances? Do you both agree
such money should become
communal property?

Since a marriage contract is a
legal document, it's important
to consult a lawyer. He or she
will be able to advise you on
provincial laws regarding com-
munal property and may also
be able to point out factors you
and your partner hadn't con-
sidered. You may find existing
legislation already provides for
the property arrangements you
and your spouse might wish.

Together, with your lawyer
you can also discuss when it
would be appropriate to review
and perhaps revise the con-
tract.

Remember, any financial or
legal advice you seek should be
independent — that ts, the ad-
viser shouldn't have one
partner's interest at heart over
the other’s. After all, a. good
marriage contract, like a good
marriage, should benefit both
pariners.

-Rozanne Reszel ts with Nes-
bilt Thomson Deacon inc.

plaining money

my

have to be taught to enjoy their
money fully. They*have to
develop an understanding of
the value of a dollar and the
relationship between work and
money. Those are lessons that
will stand them in good stead
throughout their lives.

Jim Campbell is with National

Trust.

Tax retur

- jg our 1.75-cent penny: ~

At least one bank is ex-
perimenting with getting rid of
ithe one-cent coin, the pesky
penny that’s more trouble than
itis worth to most ofus in these
inflated days. oa

The Canadian Imperial Bank
of Commerce ‘started the ex-
periment in Halifax late in the
fall, deciding to avoid handing
out pennies by giving cus-
tomers an extra few cents.

“Instead of giving pennies, we
round the amount to the next

way oul? >
nickel,” a spokesman sald, He
added it was.a 30-
ment“tosave timeand hassle”,
but was confident it was likely
to become permanent, atleast .

- at the Halifax branch.

As it stands, few would dis-
agree the penny has already
outlived its uselulness, but at
last report, the Mint reportedly
still planned to produce 750
million brand new shiny pen-
nies in }991 — atacost of 1.75
cents a shot.

ns are processed

in seven regional centres

Finally! It's complete! Every
last attachment is properly at-
tached. You've remembered to
sign it and, fingers crossed,
you send your 1990 tax return
on its way — let's hope on or
before the April 30 deadline.

What happens next? Well,
your return and those of 18
million-plus other taxpayers
goes to one of the seven taxa-
tion centres in St. John’s,
Nfid.; Jonqlere or Shawinigan,
Que.; Ottawa,; Sudbury, Ont.;
Winnipeg, Man.; or Surrey,
B.C.

Between them, during the
filing season from February to
the end of April, the centres
receive between 200,000 and

350,000 returns a day. Then

processing begins. It can be

summiarized in five main steps:
Returns are opened automat-
ically. Those with payments at-

tached go to the cash section
which records the amounts.
Cheques are endorsed me-
chanically, microfilmed and
credited to each taxpayer's ac-
count.

Assessment begins. Asses-
sors examine returns to make
sure all supporting documents
are enclosed and amounts on
information slips agree with
those on the return.

Operators use video screens
to enter the information on
each return. The computer
spots any errors — yours, the
assessor's or the operator's.
These are then displayed on
the screen or the machine re-
jects the data completely. This
ensures doubtful items are re-
examined and corrected. Ifit is
your error, an explanation Is
printed on your notice of as-
sessment and mailed. If addi-

tional information, receipts or
slips are needed, you get a let-
ter to ask for them — and this
causes delay.

When processing is complete,
assessment notices, and, we
can hope, refund cheques are
mailed. If you've got money
coming back, the cheque Is is-
sued and mailed by the Supply
and Services Department.

Finally, returns are sorted in
the taxroll division and stored
for any further reference. If all
goes well, your file won't be
needed again until next year,
when the whole process starts
again.

Any questions? Revenue
Canada says written requests
should go to your respective
taxation centre. Or if you want
to discuss your return by
telephone or in person, contact
the district taxation office.

wt
ag

AE

McAlpine &Co.

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

7 4634 LAZELLE AVENUE
TERRACE, B.C. —
V8G 187 Be
PHONE: (604) 635-4925
FAX: (604) 635-4975

Providing the Following Services: -
— *AUDITING & ACCOUNTING
~ INCOME TAX CONSULTING —
«MANAGEMENT CONSULTING ~
‘COMPUTER CONSULTING
‘DATA PROCESSING .

Alan McAlpine, C.A., Res. (604) 638-0429
Howard Pruner, C.A., Res. (604) 635-7987
J.B. Riding, C.A., Res. (604) 635-6862
Craig Mills, C.A., Res. (604) 635-3078

day experi- a