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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Th ur sd ay , Ja nu ar y 6, 2 01 1 6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council.The council is located at 80 Gould St.,Suite 206,Toronto,Ont.,M5B 2M7.Phone (416) 340-1981.Advertising is accepted on the condition that,in the event of a typographical error,that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item,together with a reasonable allowance for signature,will not be charged for,but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.Editorial and adv rtising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. United Way of Oakville Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com MICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER FAMILY TRADITION: Finn Nicholson, 7, and his brother Ryan, 10, continued a long-standing family Boxing Day tradition of feeding the ducks at Oakvilles Gairloch Gardens.The Nicholson boys mom, Cathy Logan, has been feeding the ducks at this location since she was two years old. The boys, Cathy, Ella and James Nicholson were at the park Dec. 26 to continue the tradition. ATHENAAward The Oakville Beaver is a division of You would think that after the Christmas holidays and the respite from the rigors of life that this time offis supposed to provide that I would be rested, reju- venated and attacking the new year like I attacked the Christmas cookies over the holidays. But, youd be wrong. Im exhausted. I feel like Ive been hit by a bus and dragged from about mid-December clear on into January. I think I over-celebrated the season. We had too many house- guests, too many dinner guests, too much food, too much drink, not enough exercise and not near enough sleep. We did indeed vigorously celebrate Christmas. Four times. With different divisions of family. And while these gatherings made me thankful for my own fab family, and the wonderful clan into which I married, they also left me dead on my feet, waving the white flag and pleading for a little time off from this, ah, time off. By the end of the holiday, the only thing more exhausted than me was our dishwasher, which seemingly ran non-stop the entire holiday. Christmas can be crazy. But, of course, it wouldnt be Christmas without someone getting sick. This year it was my wife who valiantly battled some sort of super bug through Christmas Day, but was flattened soon thereafter. Before New Years she could be found in bed, aching and coughing, sniffing and snorting and throwing things at anyone stupid enough to suggest that she probably should have gotten a flu shot. Just to escape my wifes horrible hacking, I spent an entire afternoon in a tattoo parlor, listening to the intimi- dating hum of the tattooing instruments and watching with fascination the clientele whod come to get inked. Relax, dear friends, I was not getting my Pink Power Ranger tattoo (see: Andys Bucket List, #33). No, I was there with our 15-year-old daughter who was bent on getting a bolt shot through her head, or what is called an industrial piercing that is, a double piercing of the vulnerable ear cartilage, ceremonious- ly connected by a bolt of jewelry. Now, Im not saying she was freaking out over the pend- ing procedure, but she was pacing and pale, and when the piercing artist advised that ear cartilage tends to bleed pro- fusely, well, she advised that she felt like she was going to hurl. Naturally I reminded her with fatherly patience which she may well have mistaken for sarcasm that the three-hour wait and subsequent procedure would all be worthwhile once she got that nice bolt shot through her head. Speaking of shot: how about the hounds figure. The hol- idays are hell on everyones waistline, but the hound really seemed to pack on the pounds over Christmas. To the point where weve taken to calling him Abe Froman, Sausage King of Moffat (in obvious homage to Ferris Buellers Day Off, which brought us Abe Froman, Sausage King of Chicago). But Abe aint alone as the only Sausage King in our household. Personally, Im afraid to step on the scales. Too much food, too much drink and not enough exercise. Im setting my sights on getting back in shape, pronto. Alas, there remains one more tempting box of Christmas cookies standing between me and my goal. Andy Juniper can be visited at www.strangledeggs.com, con- tacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters. Post holidays: he needs some time off from all of his time off Andy Juniper Guest Columnist Have you made your New Years resolution yet? Hereare seven suggestions. One Determine your objectives. That could include paying down debt, saving for your childrens edu- cation or planning for retirement. Two It is absolutely critical to have a written plan. Just winging it never really works that well. If you are serious about financial success you will have a written financial plan. Three Seriously consider the various risks you are taking. The risk thought process should ultimately be broken down into two time frames. During the next year, the main risk to consider is stock market volatility. In future decades the risk is running out of money during retirement. This leads to a difficult decision you have to balance these conflicting short and long-term risks. Can you handle the short-term risk of volatility that comes with investing in equities? What about the risk of investing in safe fixed income assets that will not produce enough growth to carry you through retirement? Running out of funds during retirement is what most people over age 50 con- sider to be their biggest danger. Four After you have considered both short and long-term risks, you can make the asset allocation decision. The two main components are stocks and fixed income investments like bonds. Stocks will be your best choice for long-term growth. Remember that stocks are volatile so you will have to manage your expectations. Most investors will include both stocks and fixed-income investments in their portfolio. Future investment returns are more influenced by asset allocation than the actual investments you own. Getting the appropriate percentage you allocate to certain assets is the most important investment decision you will make. Five After you have made your asset allocation decision, be really careful with diversification. Diversification is your way of combating losses and it is 100 per cent within your control. For example, your equity dollars should be spread between different compa- nies within several industries. Many thought owning a large position in Nortel was a good idea. Woops. You do not control investment outcomes and that is a risk you are forced to take because you are an investor. However, you do control diversification and if you ignore this important topic, then that is your mistake. Do not put too many dollars into one area. We often see a conservative investor having too much money in one or several stocks. That is just plain wrong. Peter Watson, Dollars & Sense Peter Watson Build your net worth See Keep page 7