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Home My WebLink AboutThe Brussels Post, 1981-02-18, Page 6McKillop Insurance plans to expand coverage slowly The McKillop Mutual Fire Insurance Company announced plans Friday to expand the areas of coverage the company now offers. The decision, made at the company's ,.annual meeting, could mean by the end . of 1981 the firm will offer commercial insurance, and then add automobile in- surance in 1982. "We want to offer a package policy," explained the Seaforth Company's newly elected president, John McEwing of R.R. 1, Blyth. "People prefer a package from an agent." Mr. McEwing, who has been involved with McKillop since 1947, will be serving his third term as president. Joining Mr. N/cEwing on the new executive are Laverne Godkin, R.R. 1, Walton, vice-president; and Donald McKercher, R.R. 1, Dublin, past president. Margaret Sharp, Seaforth, is the company's secretary- treasurer. Remaining directors are Ken Carnochan, R.R. 4, Seaforth; Ross Leon- hardt, R.R. 1, Bornholm; Stanley McIlwain, R.R. 2, Goderich; John Taylor, R.R. 1, Brucefield; J.N. Trewartha, Clinton and Stuart Wilson, R.R. 1, Brucefield. In his reprot, outgoing president Don McKercher outlined what was a successful year for the firm, highlighted by a move into new headquarters on Main St. in Seaforth. The official change took place November 18. Included in the new home are a board room, two offices and a reception area. Work on the building began the final week of July. The McKillop Company has been a Main St. feature in Seaforth since 1932, and was housed next to the Huron Expositor since 1959. buying limit every month -- the amount you can pay easily, before interest charges will apply -- and, promise never to exceed it. • If you plan to make a major purchase for which you must use credit over an extended period, borrow from the bank. The discip- line of having to arrange a loan will check your spend- ing impulses, and you'll pay much less in interest. Sticking to those rules will make the credit card work for you, not against you. But if you feel you cannot do that, then cut up your cards into little pieces and be done with them. You'll be happier, and better off financially, if you do. USE Post WANT -ADS Phone-. 887-6641 DON'T g LET CUSTOMERS PASS BY YOUR BUSINESS! Stop them...right away...with attention compelling newspaper advertising. Get- ting attention is the first rule of advertising, because without the read- er's attention, the best bargains in town will go unnoticed. The second rule is to use sustained, repeated advertising. The buying public is being bombarded today as never before with advertising and promotional materials. The business who can offer a simplified but saturated message is most likely to be the one who is remembered when it's time to buy. Call 887-6641 Eitabilshed 1872 4,B . russels Post Brussels octane• 6 THE BRUSSELS POST, FEBRUARY 18, 1981 1 Farm business management How am I doing is what a farmer needs to ask BY JACK HAGARTY AREA COORDINATOR AND FARM MANAGE- MENT SPECIALIST How well am I doing? That's a question we all ask ourselves. Evaluation is much more than just data or observations. We still need to judge the worth. What criteria do we use? The question "how's your wife?" might appropriately be fol- lowed by the response "com- pared to what?" This will identify the criteria or stan- dards that might permit various observers to make similar judgements. Criteria are measures against which something can be judged. You need to know "what's good...what other people in the same business are doing Captial turnover has tradi- tionally been used as a measure of business volume. Capital turnover is defined as the number of years required for gross farm income to equal total farm investment. To compare one enterprise with another it is wise to :,';duce gross in come by the kJ ‘IVeStOCk purchased.' he beef feedlot By Lyman Maclunis, CA In these days of lay-offs, plant closings and un- employment, it's no won- der personal bankruptcies continue to run at record levels. What is surprising, how- ever, is that financial coun- sellors and trustees-in- bankruptcy continue to attribute much of the ) problem to misuse of per- sonal credit. They're right - but we should all know better. Plastic money — the ubiquitous credit cards -- Dollar Sense offers general financial advice by members of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. have been part of our daily lives for many years. In the 50's and early 60's, it was the department store and service station charge cards. By the mid-60's, the general purpose charge cards began to appear -- and people were carrying, potentially, a large part of their total worth in their pockets and purses at all times. Each card, and of course anyone could have several; farmer would be taking cred- it for the calves produced in Western Canada. What's a good capital turnover? In the past we've said a benchmark of 2 was good. It would take 2 years for gross income to equal total value of farm assets. We've said 3 was average and 4 was fair. I'm starting to question these figures. It's taking longer now to turn- over capital. Inflation in real estate has out-paced farm income. Let's look at our 1979 Ontario Farm Management Analysis Project summary of farm statements. On the average, dairy farms had a captial turnover of 3.5. The top net income farms had a ratio of 3.2. The average beef feedlot farms had a turnover of 4. The average swine farrow-to-finish farms had a turnover of 3.6. The high net income beef and swine farm- ers had similar ratios to the average. We must remember though that 1979 was not a good net income year for either beef or swine produc- ers. If we go back to 1977 records (a much better year), allowed the holder to run up debts of $1,000 or even more. No cash changed hands and a single shopp- ing spree could create new debt of $5,000 or more. Many people got into financial trouble then, when the card idea was relatively new, but by now most of us should be using our cards purely for their convenience -- a substi- tute for cash not an alterna- tive and easy way of borrowing. You may not be on the brink of bankruptcy be- cause of your credit cards -- but they're probably caus- ing you to spend more than you'd like. If you'd like to prevent that, here are a few simple rules: • Carry as few cards as you can possibly get away with - say one general purpose card and, if you must, one from the department store you shop at most. • Never, ever, throw away a credit card receipt. Keep them, record them & know,, at any given moment just how much is owing on each of your credit accounts. • Set yourself a credit- beef--ratio was 3.1; a very good year for swine-- ratio was 2. It looks as though we should revise our standards-- by at least 0.5. Now capital turnover ratios would be: good--2.5; average--3.5; fair 4.5. The retail stores are trying to turn over their , capital in these slow months. They're taking a lower profit margin by offering specials. They realize the need for capital turnover. The other benchmark to consider is profit margin--the amount left over to pay hired wages, debt and for family living. It's one way to compare different farm en- terprises. A good profit margin is 35% - 40%; average is 25% - 30%; fair is 15% - 20%. if you have sales of $100,000 and expenses of $60,000 (excluding hired la- bour and interest), leaving $40,000--you have a good profit margin. But, remem-: ber that's compared to other farmers in Ontario. And it's not profit in normal business terms. You have to pay labour, interest and live from this margin. DOttAft UNE Casual credit card use creates unneeded debts