Andrea Stockton, staff writer (from The Weather Network)

July 15, 2011 — Recent encounters with bears in B.C. have officials warning people to take precaution around the grizzly animals.

Encounters with bears in B.C are not uncommon. Especially in the summer months when more people are out camping or vacationing at a cottage.

Bears can become an immediate threat to humans when they’re on the prowl for something to eat. Their heightened sense of smell can draw them dangerously close to people in the area.

There have been a few encounters with bears in North Vancouver recently including a jogger who was chased in Mount Seymour Provincial Park. Another bear raided the kitchen of a home near Cleveland Dam and snagged a jar of peanut butter to enjoy in the backyard.

Officials warn that if a bear is hungry, they’ll go out of their way to satisfy that craving.

“So people need to keep the odorous foods that attract bears into their yard locked up,” said Christine Miller with North Shore Bear Aware Program. “Now, the biggest one is garbage. Eighty one percent of the calls about bears doing something in someone’s yard or in their neighbour’s yard last year were to do with garbage that was stored outside.”

Miller suggests freezing foods like fish, chicken and red meat until it is ready for garbage collection.

“So, if you’ve been preparing food in your kitchen then you slip it into a container and freeze it until the morning of pick up.”

And if a bear does indeed make its way onto your property, authorities suggest you let it finish its meal.

“Eating is their number one priority. So, you need to be safely stowed in your house with your children and pets and you have to let him finish eating,” explains Miller.

She adds that when the bear is done, you can then claim your territory by banging pots and pans or try throwing objects like plastic pop bottles or juice boxes.

“But, you have to do it from a safe place like a deck or an open window.”

Here are some things to keep in mind about encounters with bears:

• Bears have excellent eyesight, good hearing and a great sense of smell.
• Black bears are agile tree-climbers; mature grizzlies are poor climbers — but can reach up to four metres.
• When bears are standing up, they are usually trying to identify you.
• Talk slowly so it knows who you are, move away and keep the bear in view at all times.
• Do not make direct eye contact with a bear.
• Do not run unless you’re very close to a secure place.
• Consider dropping your pack to distract it.Source: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/storm_watch_stories3&stormfile=beware_of_bc_bears_150711?ref=ccbox_weather_topstories

Consider cash
Some vendors will provide discounts for cash purchases of goods or services using cash can make it easier to stick to your budget. But watch how you access your cash. Use an ABM owned by your financial institution–withdrawing from a different institution’s ABM could cost more than $8 per transaction. Avoid taking cash advance on your credit card since interest will be charged on those funds right away.

Debit cards can carry costs
Debit can be a good option, as long as you are not paying extra fees per transaction. Check how many free debit transactions are included with your bank account package.

 Make your credit card work for you
Credit cards can be a easy & safe way to pay for purchases and services. Some also offer benefits and rewards. But they can encourage “buy now, pay later” spending habits that may lead to financial trouble. “Carrying a balance on a credit card increases the cost of everything you purchase with the card due to the amount of interest you pay,” says Ursula Menke, commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Pay off your balance in full every month to avoid interest charges that mean you actually pay more than the price tag.

Do you eat from the vending machine each day, go to the same place for lunch with your co-workers, and fall into bed at the same time each night?

Maybe you’ve made a habit out of spending on impulse, avoiding a budget, and staying up as late as possible.

Someone famously said:

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. ”

And Aristotle noticed that, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.“

It’s pretty clear that the habits you adopt will shape who you are.

When it comes to your finances, the two habits that define your financial health are your income/savings and spending habits. In fact, everyone that you know who is in great financial shape has dialed in these two important habits.

If you aren’t happy with your finances, then simply adjust your income/savings and spending habits habits. Here’s how to adopt a habit:

Making a habit
Use these seven steps to create a life-improving habit.
1)  Decide on the ONE financial habit that you would like to develop. It’s tempting to pick up 3 or 4 habits, but choosing just one new habit is realistic and doable.

Here are some healthy habit ideas:
Set aside $5- $25 into savings.
Bring your lunch to work instead of eating out.
Leave your money at home when shopping and give yourself 24 hours to think about it.
Bring a list for shopping and put back anything not on your list.
Set up a retirement fund/401k.
Work with a budget for 30 days.

2) Write your new habit down on paper. Also include your 3 main motivators for developing this new habit, the obstacles you’ll face, and your strategies for overcoming these obstacles.

Here’s an example:
My new habit is to work with a budget, tweaking it each Saturday night.
My 3 main motivators are:

•  To feel confident about where my money is going
•  To have more money at the end of the week
•  To set money aside for my vacation

The obstacles I will face are :

• Getting distracted by tv on Saturday night
• Finding other items I want to buy, not in my budget
• Not having my spouse’s support.

I will overcome these obstacles by:

• Setting an alarm for 6pm saturday night as a reminder to shut off the tv
• Giving myself 24-48 hours to decide if I really need the impulse buy
•  Asking my spouse to join me so we can get in financial shape together.

3) Commit fully to your new habit, in a public way. This could mean posting it on Facebook, setting up an online journal or simply announcing it at the dinner table. Put yourself in a position where you’ll be embarrassed to give up on your new habit.

4) Keep track of your progress. You could keep a detailed journal or simply make a check mark on each calendar day that you successfully completed your new habit.

5) Keep yourself publicly accountable. This means either status updates on facebook or verbal status updates at the dinner table. Your friends and family are able to offer you support, so don’t shy away from those close to you.

6) When you fail, figure out what went wrong so that you can work it into your plan in the future.

7) Reward yourself for your success.

Once your new habit becomes second nature, feel free to add a second habit by going through the same 7 steps.

Habit forming depends on the person, for some it kicks in quickly after 3-4 weeks and for others it takes a few times of falling down and getting back up to realize how much we want it.

If you are setting aside 2% of your salary for retirement, then the habit to live on less may take less time than the habit to make your lunch at night for work the next day. It will depend.

Source posted by Dawn | 3/21/2011 | http://frugalforlife.blogspot.com/2011/03/7-steps-to-forming-financial-habits.html?sf1747305=1

1. Tighten
Up Your Credit

The terms of your
loan are based on your credit score. If you have perfect credit, you receive
the lowest possible interest rate. If you don’t, you have to pay more because
of your questionable repayment history. If you have problems with your credit
and you don’t need to purchase a car right now, consider waiting until your
score increases. Just a small increase in your interest rate can save you a lot
of money over the life of your loan. (Learn more in Can
You Hit A Perfect Credit Score?)

2. Don’t
Borrow Too Little

If you only need a
few thousand dollars, don’t apply for an auto loan. Instead, save your money
(if your car purchase can be put off). Small loans are paid off much more
quickly than larger loans. Since the interest on the loan is how banks make
money, they don’t want your loan paid off quickly. Because of this, smaller
loans often have much higher interest rates than loans of higher amounts. This
allows the bank to make a more acceptable amount of money off of you. Of
course, some car purchases are emergencies, and the only option may be the fast
one. Set your loan limit at $5,000; anything below that amount should come from
your savings account.

3.
Refinance

Anybody who owns a
home knows that mortgage rates have dropped significantly and because of that,
refinancing their home makes a lot of sense. What many consumers don’t know is
that they can also refinance their car. Not only does it lower the monthly
payment, it reduces the amount of interest you’re paying which allows you to
pay off our car sooner. Cars depreciate rapidly, making it imperative that you
pay off your loan quickly.

How much money
does it save? Let’s assume you received a 60 month loan for $16,500 at a 21 per
cent interest rate because you had less than optimum credit. This loan would
cost you $446 each month and you would pay approximately $10,300 in interest
over the life of the loan. If you were to refinance and get a 7 per cent
interest rate, that payment would drop to $330 per month and you would only pay
just over $3,300 in interest. What could you do with an extra $116 per month?
Hint: add it to your existing car payment to get it paid off faster. (If car
costs are dragging you down, find out how to free yourself of some of the extra
weight. Check out 12
Car Insurance Cost-Cutters.)

4. Don’t
Stop at the Dealership

Just as your car
dealer is a middle man when selling you a car, they are also a middle man when
they want to set you up with a loan or a lease. Middle men always get paid for
their trouble, and the person paying is probably you. Of course, you should get
a financing quote from the dealer but if you stop there, you may very well end
up paying too much for your loan. You probably did some shopping around for
your car. Do the same for your loan.

5. Lease
it

Leasing a car is
generally considered to be a bad idea, largely because you’re paying a monthly
payment and in the end, you will not own the car. Is leasing really as bad as
people say? If you’re somebody who wants a new car every few years and don’t
want to pay the repair costs that come with owning a car for an extended period
of time, leasing may be right for you. Not only is the payment lower but in
most states you only pay sales tax on your monthly payment instead of the total
value of the car. Since a lease is designed to charge you for your use of the
car instead of the purchase of it, you also don’t incur the full cost of
depreciation on the vehicle.

Leasing is not
right for anybody who wants to own the car once all payments are made, but if
you would rather not own a car, leasing may be a good choice for you.

6. Buy a
Cheaper Car

It seems like an
obvious and not so profound piece of advice, doesn’t it? Sadly, it isn’t as
obvious as most would think. The facts are clear in that America has an awful
habit of purchasing what they can’t afford. They have an overreliance on credit
and that could be financial disaster if a life-changing event happened. What’s
worse, our country’s belief when it comes to financial matters is that it’s ok
to be drowning in debt for most if not all of our adult lives.

Do you have to
purchase a new car or could a pre-owned model from a few years ago meet your
practical needs for a car? Do you really need a luxury car and have you really
“earned the right” to purchase an expensive car that will put you
deeper in debt? It may seem like obvious advice, but it’s worth considering
seriously. (Accident, theft, vandalism – make sure your coverage will protect
you when you need it most. See Top Tips For
Cheaper, Better Car Insurance.)

The Bottom
Line

There are numerous
ways to save money on your car payments. The final word of advice is to not
rush the process of buying a car. From the very beginning, weigh all of your
options carefully and you’ll make the choice that’s right for you.

source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/mortgages/six-ways-to-cut-the-cost-of-your-car-loan/article2050127/page2/

Here are their Jersey’s designed by VERICO ZANDERS & Associates Mortgage Brokers Inc.’s very own mortgage broker Alicia Zanders!

Please check stay tuned or check us out on facebook at www.facebook.com/VERICOZANDERSmortgages for more updates and team pictures!

For getting the best mortgage, the one’ that’s right for you, give us a call 604.461.8063 or toll free for outside of the lower mainland 1.877.638.3688!

Don’t blame mother: study says male black bears more likely to kill

CALGARY – Mother black bears may be getting a bad rap.

Research suggests that the traditional perception of female bears fatally attacking humans to protect cubs is wrong. In reality, the vast majority of deadly encounters are with male black bears on the hunt.

“One of the surprises was that the females that can act so aggressively when they feel threatened are really not the ones that follow through with the serious stuff,” said Stephen Herrero, an expert in bear behaviour and ecology at the University of Calgary. “The male bears are the ones that follow through with the serious stuff.”

Herrero worked with graduate student Andrew Higgins, Brigham Young University in Utah and colleagues from the Massachusetts division of Fisheries and Wildlife to analyze recorded deaths caused by non-captive black bears in North America between 1900 and 2009.

Fatal maulings are actually quite rare. Only 63 people were killed in Canada and the United States during that time. In Canada, there have been a handful of fatal attacks in the last five years.

The research, which is published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, concluded that the majority of fatal encounters involved bears exhibiting predatory behaviour and 92 per cent of those bears were males.

Herrero said there are two distinct kinds of behaviour that bears exhibit and there’s a reason that females with cubs tend to get the blame.

“It’s because of the way they act. They blow. They snort. They swat the ground. They run at you. They make it look like they’re going to eat you alive and that’s exactly what they want (you to think),” he said.

“They want to get their way without really mixing it up and where they might get injured.”

But the male’s approach is different.

“The predatory male bear is like any predatory animal. It’s silent. It’s stalking and then makes a rush at a person,” Herrero explained.

“Male bears simply take more risks in order to get the resources that they need to be able to breed with females. They’re more willing to prey on potentially dangerous animals like elk or moose.

“The males simply are pushed a little bit more than the females by their evolutionary mandate to be big and strong.”

There are about 900,000 black bears in North America.

Herrero said the black bear may not be as physically intimidating as the much-larger grizzly but is usually strong enough to overpower most people.

He advises that the last thing anyone should do if being stalked by a bear is to run for it.

“If you see that bear constantly following you, that’s the time for you and your friends to stop and act aggressively to the bear. You shout. You throw things at it. You take runs at it.”

Herrero is the author of “Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance,” which has sold over 125,000 copies worldwide.

His past research on bear attacks has helped develop new policies on bear safety and shifted focus to bear conservation.

source: http://home.mytelus.com/telusen/portal/NewsChannel.aspx?ArticleID=news/capfeed/national/EG669.xml&CatID=National

“I don’t anticipate that the overnight interest rate is going to rise such that it prevents most homebuyers from entering the market,” Kim Luxton, national director for broker sales at ING Direct, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca, just ahead of Tuesday’s announcement. “But there’s no way to go but up. In our commitment letters we spell out a couple of interest rate calculations to let the client know what to expect if the rates go up.”

Brokers and most non-bank lenders are now taking the same proactive steps as ING, readying homebuyers for the inevitable hike in the Central Bank’s overnight interest rate. While Luxton and most other industry insiders don’t expect that upward thrust with this week’s announcement, almost all predict the key rate will get bumped up by as much as 50 to 100 basis points within the next year.

Depending on the speed of economic recovery both here and globally, the overnight rate could climb as much as 2.5 percentage points by the close of 2012, argue some economists. They point to continuing gains in full-time employment in Canada and the U.S. as well as the possibility of a quick return to stability for Libya and Japan.

Still, most brokers are pinning their hopes on a less-dramatic climb, while warning clients most vulnerable to rate shock.

“The prime rate is not going to go up very quickly,” said Enna Cui, a Vancouver broker with TMG The Mortgage Group. “But I am letting those with limited income know that it can be very risky if the rates go up.”

Cui, like many brokers, is actively illustrating for clients the potential payment increases they face with even a 25-basis-point increase. She’s also seeing a number of clients opt for hybrid products that split mortgage between fixed and variable rates.  It’s one way of preventing the kind of default increases that crept their way into several Western markets in 2008.

Edmonton was one, as employment slipped and the housing industry sustained a significant correction.

The fundamentals of the Alberta economy have improved, said Lester Shore, a manager with Optimum Mortgage in the province’s capital city. “The economy is in better shape than it was in 2008, and our borrowers can sustain a 50 basis-point rise easily.”

That’s likely reflected in the growing activity this spring, said Shore, pegging the start of the upswing to late March.

Brokers are laying out fixed and combination options for clients looking to get into the market before prime climbs up. Still, variable-rate products continue to attract the lion’s share of interest, said Luxton.

“People just getting into the market need to be very concerned about what they can afford,” she told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

source: MortgageBrokerNews.ca

The rising loonie and inflation remaining steady at 1.5% both suggest that now is not the time for a rate hike. In fact, many analysts are now predicting that it will be summer before we see a rise in rates.

Also, we find ourselves right in the middle of a Federal Election campaign. If history is any guide, rates will remain unchanged, as the country technically is in a state of political instability- and the BOC has traditionally stepped into a less active role when Canadians are preparing to head to the polls.

On the other hand, last week, many of the major banks raised some mortgage rates marginally- which is typically done in advance of an anticipated rate hike.

It’s about striking a balance- but the question is, in this push and pull of fine tuning the economy  as it makes its way back to solid ground , how much is too much—and what does sitting still again suggest?.

On Tuesday morning, all eyes will turn to Mark Carney to see in which direction we will be heading. There are a few things that are different in the Canadian landscape as we await this particular announcement: Since the last announcement, Jim Flaherty’s proposed mortgage changes intended to tighten policy were introduced on March 18.  There has been concern raised by many that the combination of these new restrictions with the eventual rise in interest rates will have a significant impact on affordability- and that some might get squeezed out of the market.

Propertywire.ca has talked to a group of Mortgage and Real Estate Professionals to gauge what the word is on the street.

Edmonton area Realtor Tara Kennedy, All Banners Realty, is hopeful that status quo will be held because of the possible impact on business:” My hope is that interest rates remain as they are.  It would spark a few people to stop sitting on the fence regarding their purchase if it is announced that interest rates will be going up.  Because, I believe if the rates rise, we may see a drop off in activity,  but I do hope they remain as is for now to ensure there is continued momentum on home purchases.“

Larry Matthews, AMP DAC, and President/Broker with Halifax area Hants Realty Limited believes that a slight rate hike is on the table tomorrow:  “I believe most of the major banks have raised their 5 year mortgage rates a bit which is probably a forerunner or good indication of what the Bank of Canada will do. Most of Canada’s economic indicators are looking pretty good so I can see a rate hike but a modest one”

“There are many sectors of the economy still struggling especially in those industries that export. With the Canadian dollar being so high, their ability to compete has been undermined. I’m sure the Bank of Canada is sensitive to that and any rate hike will be modest at best. In relation to the real estate market higher rates will prompt those buyers pre-approved at a lower rate to get out and buy a house so a modest rate increase will probably increase demand for housing over the next few months.”

Adam Hawryluk Mortgage Consultant, INVIS Mortgages on Vancouver Island agrees with current analyst predictions, citing inflation and the loonie as reasons to stay still, “I would say that Bank of Canada won’t be rising interest rates this coming Tuesday. This is going to be due to lower than targeted inflation rates and a strong Canadian dollar.”

As Hawryluk suggests, it has now come down to case of it, but when: “But they WILL go up, it’s just a matter of time.”

Watch Propertywire.ca tomorrow for full coverage of the Bank of Canada’s interest rate announcement.

source: http://propertywire.ca/features/features/market-intelligence/981-interest-rates-will-they-or-wont-they.html

If you purchased a new home in 2010, don’t forget to claim the relatively new Home Buyers’ Tax Credit. Introduced in 2009, this non-refundable tax credit is based on a $5,000 amount for first-time homebuyers which, at the 15% federal credit rate, is worth $750.

Interestingly, you are considered a first-time homebuyer if neither you nor your spouse or partner owned and lived in another home in the calendar year of purchase or any of the four preceding calendar years. In other words, you could have owned a home previously, but if you sold it and then perhaps rented for four years or so, you still may qualify as a first-time homebuyer for the purpose of claiming the credit if you bought a home in 2010.

Did you use the Home Buyers’ Plan when purchasing your home? Under the HBP, a first-time homebuyer can withdraw up to $25,000 from her RRSP to purchase a home without having to pay tax on that withdrawal. Any funds withdrawn must be repaid over a maximum of 15 years or the amount not repaid in a year is added to the participant’s income for that year.

If you participated in the HBP previously and were required to make a repayment for 2010, be sure to designate a portion of your RRSP contributions as a HBP repayment on Schedule 7 of your personal tax return, under “PART B – Repayments under the HBP…”

You may also be able to get some tax relief from your property taxes, depending on your province of residence. Quebec provides a refund for property tax paid during the year, while both Ontario and Manitoba provide a tax credit for property tax or rent paid during the year.

Still have a mortgage? If so, have you considered whether you could restructure your financial affairs to make your mortgage interest effectively tax deductible?

If you have non-registered investments, consider selling them to pay off your mortgage (non-deductible debt) and then borrowing back the funds for investment purposes (tax-deductible debt). This allows you to effectively write off what otherwise would have been non-deductible personal mortgage interest.

This strategy has often be referred to as the “Singleton Shuffle,” because it was named after Vancouver lawyer John Singleton’s 2001 Supreme Court victory, which upheld the notion that you can rearrange your financial affairs in a tax-efficient manner so as to make your interest on investment loans tax-deductible.

Before doing so, be sure to consider any tax consequences of selling your non-registered investments along with any prepayment fees associated with paying off your mortgage early.

Finally, if you sold your home in 2010, the good news is that the gain is likely tax-free, provided you didn’t also own a second home.

The principal residence exemption (“PRE”), if available, can shelter the gain on a principal residence from capital gains tax. A principal residence can include either your main home or a vacation property, even if it’s not where you primarily live during the year as long as you “ordinarily inhabit” it at some point during the year.

The CRA assumes that if no gain is reported on your return for the year of sale, the PRE has been used to eliminate the gain and therefore, no other property (such as the vacation property) can be designated for the years in which the PRE was presumed to be claimed on the sold property.

As a result, a conscious decision should be made as to whether the gain should be reported, as failure to report jeopardizes claiming the PRE in the future on the sale of your other property for the years in which you owned both properties.

Financial Post

Jamie.Golombek@cibc.com

Jamie Golombek, CA, CPA, CFP, CLU, TEP, is the managing director, Tax & Estate Planning with CIBC Private Wealth Management in Toronto.

VERICO ZANDERS & Associates Mortgage Brokers Inc. can still get you a great mortgage rate if you call before midnight tonight!

We have a 5 yr. fixed rate of 3.99% for live deals and a 4.04%, also 5 yr. fixed rate for rate holds! If you or ANYONE you know is thinking about purchasing, refinancing, taking equity out, consolidating debt (through your/their mortgage), transferring or switching their mortgage… now is the time to do it, or at least get a rate hold done (in case you want to do it in the future).

VERICO ZANDERS & Associates Mortgage Brokers Inc. Lower Mainland/Tri-cities/Greater Vancouver area 604.461.8063 or toll free for the rest of BC and Yukon toll free 1.866.961.3688 or send us an email susan.zanders@verico.ca or alicia.zanders@verico.ca

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