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Seeing is Believing! Wednesday, January 12, 2011 from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. and 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Oakville Elementary Campus, 2050 Neyagawa Blvd. what school should be Please join us for an Open House at our Oakville Elementary Campus (905) 681-7484Contact us today for a free, no-obligation, in-home estimate: www.mollymaid.ca Thorough, consistent and reliable home cleaning 100% satisfaction guaranteed Regular and occasional service Spring Cleaning Gift Certifi cates e-mail: anderson@mollymaid.ca 7 Thursday , January 6, 2011 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m Keep track of progress Look at the safe and well- respected financial institutions in the U.S. that failed during the last several years. Diversification geographically is important as well. A common mis- take we see is investors having most of their investments in Canada. That is risky because Canada only represents approximately four per cent of the worlds economy. Do you think people just like you who live in Greece or Ireland wished they had diversified out of their countries before their recent finan- cial meltdown? Six Be proactive and take charge. This is your life and these are your financial objectives. Yes, it is a good idea to have a financial advisor, but remember they work for you. You are the boss. You set the objectives. Explain your objectives to your financial advisor and ask for a writ- ten investment/savings strategy that will allow you to achieve those objectives. Until this conversation is concluded it is premature to con- sider purchasing any specific investments. Make sure your proactive approach is directed at things with- in your control like setting your own financial objectives. You do not control the market so you have to be patient. Try to resist the temptation to buy high and then sell after a normal stock mar- ket decline. Expect the peaks and valleys and remember that they are a normal part of a market cycle. Seven Prepare a year-end statement of net worth. List all your assets and debts and calculate your net worth. Consider this your annual report card that can be used to measure your financial progress. Increasing your net worth can come from increasing your assets. This will include growing the existing assets as well as additional savings. You can also increase your net worth by reducing the debt. We hope these suggestions will help you significantly increase your investment results this coming year. Submitted by Peter Watson, MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI. In 1991 Peter founded Peter Watson Investments in Oakville. Peter can be reached at 905-842-2100 or visit the website at www.peterwatsonin- vestments.com. Continued from page 6 KAREN NEWMAN / OAKVILLE BEAVER CHAIN GANG: Alex Jones (right) helps (r-l) four-year-old Campbell Jones, five-year-old Coopers Jones and five- year-old Simone McGarry during the free Tim Hortons family skating session at the Glen Abbey Community Centre Arena, last week.