f > Business She’s a single woman in her 30s who owns her home, has no debts and has $110,000 in RRSP and non-RRSP savings. “TJ feel I have missed much of life because I’ve been a worka- holic and would like to move to a smaller community and slower paced lifestyle,” she said. “Should I invest in a small, home-based business, revenue property or what?” They are in their 40s with one son and family income of $61,000 — he works full-time and she part-time. “We ate very conservative, not big spenders. We’re not very well organized, however, and don’t budget at all. We need investment advice.” : She’s a widow who adopted her grandson and is putting him through school “I'm a bit of a gambler — lost $75,000 six years ago when my investment went bankrupt,” she said. “All my income is fully taxable. B. Should I borrow $30,000 against my home to fix it up and use $10,000 of the loan to invest in mutual funds to provide money for . education for two small grand- He's in his 50s, just separate © 2 isle confused about where good exercise and | Complete Investors Service and hoping to re-train for a less Ree ae eres they hard work, lofs of Pe Including RRSP’S, RRIF’S ae Poor could get help if their cases were soul-searching Educational & Monthly $5,000. He has $10,000 in RRSPs, "1, CROSeR. and digging for Savings Plans a $32,000 mortgage, $1,500 on Visa and a $3,500 loan taken out for new cupboards. “Set me on a blissful road to financial security,” he said. Those were just four of the 454 people who responded to this col- umn’s “free financial plan” offer made earlier this year in conjunc- tion with The Canadian Associa- tion of Financial Planners, Pacific Chapter. The five winners have now been notified and will receive their financial plans within a few weeks. I will report in future columns on these winners (with names changed) to outline their situa- tions, problems and the recom- mended solutions — ideas that In the months ahead, I will also write about several of the 449 non-winning cases to provide further financial planning strate- gies, both basic and more com- plex. “We were overwhelmed by the response,” said Peter Baigent, who was in charge of the CAFP plan- ning school. Added Larry Jacobson, presi- dent of the CAFP chapter, ““We Teceived submissions from people in all walks of life — most of them ordinary people who feel they are paying too much income tax and For a free CAFP list of local members (with their services and background, and whether they charge fees and/or have licences to sell products) plus a leaflet explaining more about financial planning and how to choose an appropriate adviser, contact the CAFP’s Pacific Chapter at 1250 Homer Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 2Y5; phone 682-7573. Veteran financial planner Don Pooley, who reviewed all the sub- missions and has been active in both provincial and national CAFP affairs, noted that 81 per cent of those who wrote in picked retire- Ment income as one of their three major financial concerns. “That applied across the ple were already retired and wor- nied about outliving their savings. Others were nearing retirement age and wondered if they could afford to retire. Still others were in their 30s or 40s and wanted to know if they were saving enough toward a comfortable retirement.” The second major concern was investing successfully and wealth accumulation. Third was debt reduction, followed by education funding and housing. Those who applied for the free financial planning submitted answers to 12 personal and finan- cial questions. Some did the job on a scrap of paper, others sent in several typed pages. “Simply answering the 12 ques- tions was a revealing and helpful experience,” said one reader. Said another: “This has shown up my lack of awareness of what’s hap- pening to my money and the areas I need to clarify.” And from a 48-year-old divor- cee: “It has been a good exercise and hard work, lots of soul- searching and digging for papers: that weren’t read for years.” ‘lf has been a papers that weren't read for years.’ If you missed the original col- umn with the questionnaire and would like a copy to use as a do-it-yourself financial planning tool, send a stamped self- addressed envelope to Don Pooley, 1849 West 35th Avenue, Van- couver, B.C. V6M 1H5. Mike Grenby is a Vancouver- based columnist and independent personal financial adviser; he will answer your questions as space allows in his column — write to him clo The Review, Box TheReview B.C.’s organ donor registry topped the 300,000 figure last week, according to Health Minis- ter John Jansen. The registry was set up in 1988 by the provincial government at the request of the British Columbia Transplant Wednesday; May 9,1990 — , ES EE SS Where the investments should g B9 © Organ donor registry grows Society. Donor registration forms are available at provincial all motor licence offices, Autoplan insur- ance agencies, public health units, hospitals and government agent offices. STRAIGHT TALK | ABOUT | YOUR MONEY. [ii PEE CTT T iat i aE {q==——=== TT Jan |Feb)|Ma jen}} 13.1 25% ONE YEAR RATE Getting the most for your investment dollar is as easy as talking to the right people. For secunty, and straight talk call Gurney Smith & Asssociates today. a higher rate of return GURNEY SMITH & ASSOCIATES LTD. FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS ¢ LIFE UNDERWRITERS SUITE 6 - 9843 2nd St., SIDNEY (In Marina Court) 656-2411 1205 C Verdier Ave, (Brentwood Bay Shopping Centre) 652-1482 CAPITAL CONSULTANTS LTD. 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