The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, June 6, 2013 | 18 Senate scandal highlights importance of auditing personal nances C anada's embarrassing mess in the Senate can prove to be a good learning experience on how we manage our own personal nances. The single most important word to focus on is "audit." The Senate needs an audit and in the broader sense many of us need one as well. That should be our lesson when watching as this political asco unfolds. Canadians have debated the usefulness of the Senate for years. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's rst prime minister, said the Senate was to be a place of sober second thought so that legislation would receive proper, careful consideration before nally becoming law. The Senate appears to have become an unruly and unmanaged group with some individual senators doing whatever they want. The current problem revolves around three individuals who have allegedly made living expense claims to their bene t based on where they stated they lived instead of where they actually lived. Senator Mike Duffy voluntarily repaid the $90,000 of unwarranted expenses he claimed and was paid to him. The Prime Minister's Chief of Staff apparently gave Duffy the $90,000 and after it was publicized, the Chief of Staff resigned. Now, Duffy's expense issues have been turned over to the RCMP for an investigation and his Dollars & Sense Peter Watson Guest Contributor B.O.G.O. buy one, get one 50% off PLUS, NO PAYMENTS, SAME AS CASH FOR 90 DAYS* $ YOU SAVE expense claims are being audited. An audit is an of cial inspection of an individual's or organization's accounts; typically by an independent body. The purpose is to con rm truth or identify non-truth. Sometimes where there is smoke there is re. There appears to be much wrong with the management and control of the Senate. My preference is to audit every member. The Senate and all parts of the government work for us and we have a right to see how effectively our tax dollars are being spent. The value of an audit is to identify past mistakes and take corrective action. This valuable process is something we all should consider. We should examine what we are doing with our personal nances and depending on the ndings, take our own corrective action. Examine your investment performance, diversi cation, tax-planning strategies and investment fees. Perhaps you should also include your previous year's income tax ling to see what could be done differently to lower your taxes. Maybe an insurance audit is needed to see if your existing insurance still is appropriate. Avoiding negative feedback is a typical characteristic in human nature. If we audit ourselves there will be moments when our mistakes make us uncomfortable. That may be painful although in the overall context it is better to have a little emotional discomfort now as opposed to the greater physical and emotional effects of a catastrophe later in life. Outliving your capital is by far the most signi cant fear for baby boomers and older generations. Complete a personal audit of your retirement cash ow to forecast if this will happen to you. Assuming your capital is gone during your 70's and you anticipate living a long life; you will live your next 10-20 years nancially dependent upon others. This audit will cause you grief, concern, worries and many sleepless nights. Now compare that discomfort in your 70's to the later years in life when you realize you are broke but with plenty of life to live. There is less short-term pain with the bene t of anticipating your nancial predicament now. You can correct your situation and hopefully avoid the mistake of outliving your capital. Maybe it is as simple as saving a little more, spending a little less or improving your investment returns. If you want to avoid nancial problems, identify those problems now. Complete your personal audit on all aspects of your nancial life and take whatever corrective measures necessary. -- Submitted by Peter Watson, MBA, CFP , R.F .P ., CIM, FCSI., Certi ed Financial Planner 98999 BUY A SOFA GET THE LOVESEAT 50 % Off $ YOU SAVE 81499 $ YOU SAVE 62999 BUY THE 5 PIECE DINING ROOM GET SERVER OR BUFFET BUY THE DRESSER & MIRROR GET THE BED SELECTED ACCESSORIES UP TO 50% OFF Mississauga 4561 Hurontario St, Unit #2 South East Corner of Hwy #10 & Eglinton (905) 755-9030 · (877) 784-4404 Monday to Friday 10am to 9pm Saturday 10am to 6pm Sunday Noon to 5pm 410 Lewis Road and the South Service Rd 7979 Weston Rd Located in Stoney Creek Decor Centre Located North of Hwy 7 next to Stoney Creek Furniture (647) 427-3900 · (877) 341-9260 (905) 643-4646 · (866) 693-4646 Monday to Friday 10am to 9pm Monday to Friday 10am to 9pm Saturday 10am to 6pm Saturday 10am to 5:30pm Sunday Noon to 5pm Sunday Noon to 5pm *On approved credit. A $21 annual membership fee may be charged to your Account subject to certain conditions. $99.99 processing fee. Financing provided by CitiFinancial Canada, Inc. and is subject to all the terms and conditions in your cardholder agreement and the credit promotional plan disclosure statement (collectively the "Account Agreement"). Finance Charges will accrue on the purchase from the beginning of the credit promotional period of 3 months, but no minimum payments will be due during the credit promotional period. However, if you pay the purchase price in full by the expiration date of the credit promotional period, all of the accrued Finance Charges will be waived and no Finance Charges will be assessed on the purchase. Otherwise, all of the accrued Finance Charges will be assessed. On termination or expiry of the credit promotional plan (or for purchases that are not part of the credit promotional plan), the standard APR of 29.99% and the terms of the regular credit plan will apply to all outstanding balances owing. Certain terms and conditions apply. See store and Account Agreement for further information. Previous purchases excluded. Cannot be combined with any other promotion or discount. Discount offers exclude Stearns & Foster®, Embody by Sealy, Serta and Ashley Sleep mattresses, floor models or clearance items, sales tax, furniture protection plans, warranty, delivery or service charge. SEE STORE FOR DETAILS. Although every precaution is taken, errors in price and/or specification may occur in print. We reserve the right to correct any such errors. Prices valid for a limited time only. HomeStores are independently owned and operated. ©2013 Ashley HomeStores, Ltd. Expires 06/12/2013 50 % Off 50 % Off Stoney Creek Woodbridge