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By Michael Kane
Southam Newspapers
Excerpt from the Regina Leader-Post
January 02, 2001
VANCOUVER -- 'Tis the
season of new beginnings, a great time to figure
out where you want to go and how you are going
to get there.
That, in a nutshell, is the purpose of financial
planning; to make money work for you, not the
other way around.
As an old year closes, count your blessings instead
of bills -- they'll come soon enough -- and consider
what you want to achieve in the years to come.
Where do you want to go?
Life is never static. Couples marry, some divorce,
kids move, careers change, people retire, a handful
win the lottery, and children inherit. Amid all
this flux, it is sometimes difficult to focus
on the future. Financial planning can sound like
a chore.
How will you get there?
When it comes to investing, the most important
calculation is the rate of return you have to
achieve to reach your financial destination, financial
planner Adrian Mastracci says.
Individuals with a written financial plan are
more likely to focus on long-term goals and less
likely to be blown off course by turbulent markets
experienced in 2000 and expected again in 2001.
Mastracci, of Vancouver's KCM Wealth Management,
anticipates a "sale" sign on many investments
as the U.S. economy slows and global markets lose
steam.
"No one has the insight to consistently pick
market bottoms." he says. "However, investors
with the foresight to venture into turbulence
and buy their chosen investments on weakness will
likely be rewarded with handsome long-term profits."
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