HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-07-29, Page 4m
PAGE 4—.GODERICHSICNAI -STAB. WEDNE.SDAY,JULY 29,1981
dove
sykes
1
*CNA
BLUE
RIBBON
AWARD
1979
Second class
mail registration
number -0716
• 6,
A recent national study conducted by a
Canadian university suggests that it takes
more' than vibrant youth and an ample
supply of cash to guarantee a bit of hap-
piness.
Obviously people are somewhat idealistic'
about happiness, but youthful good looks
and a sizeable amount of handy cash would
go a long way in my books. Well, really all I
need now is the sizeable amount of cash.
Just a joke friends.
York University in Toronto is conducting
a million dollar study, that will be com-
pleted later this Year, ,on the view that
Canadians have of their lives.
The study is one of the largest com-
missioned to a university and over five
years it has indicated that people are
generally satisfied with the state of affairs.
However, there was some serious problems
incomes.
When
and people with high
■ comes.
When people contacted through the survey
suggest the quality of their . livesis
satisfactory, it refers to their job, income,
neighbours, home, health and marital
status. But people between the ages of 18
and 34 had the lowest level of satisfaction
from life.
That's interesting in that that age group
has so much to look forward to while older
People responding to the questionnaire
probably base their satisfaction on life
during that same period.
And income apparently has no great effect
on the level Of satisfaction. High income
earners show a lower level of satisfaction in
1979 than compared to the same group in
1969.
But there appears to be many more
pressures today that have a direct bearing
on the happiness and satisfaction scale.
There is more competition and perhaps
uncertainty about employment and the
chances for advancement. The family bas
also taken a beating and now there is
definite pressures as breakups and divorces
increase.
The Canadian survery, When compared to
others, shows that Canadians ranked fourth
when compared with eight other nations,
and yet Canada has a higher standard of
living.
But then again, happiness and satisfaction
means different things to different people. I
have been known to be quite content when
simply doing nothing, which prompted
management here to suggest that I must,
indeed, be a very happy fellow. '
The world is full of critics, you know.
I would suspect that if most people
examine their lives they would not admit to
being unhappy or miserable. The majority
accepts their present situation and learn to
live within those confines with some degree
of enjoyment.
Those unhappy with their sit tion take
steps to rectify it. I am more of the plodder
mold, content with the simple things and
happy with what I've got.
However, if I was younger, or even rich, I
wouldn't admit that my satisfaction level
had dropped. To my, way of inking, there is
certain happiness to being young and rich.
Others, apparently, disagree.
If. I was old and rich, a hint of resentinent
at not being young and rich would be un-
derstandable. But then there is no ac-
counting for some people's tastes, quirks
and idiosyncrasies.:
Even at the very moment this piece is
being dutifully prepared for mass con-
sumption,.I am achieving a certain level of
gratification and satisfaction. Don't get the
idea that my notion of happiness exists
among these grey bits.
Not so. Simply they fact it is complete is
nirvana. ,
SINCE 1848
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Students should learn finance
High school and university students taking jobs for the
summer can learn some basic elements of financial plann-
ing and responsibility. ,Parents can help and guide them
without infringing on the student's right to a little summer
fun and self-indulgence.
First, students working through the summer should be
encouraged to keep simple financial records — including
records of wages earned and bills paid and to retain
receipts. •
He or she should have a personal bank account, perhaps
even an interest bearing savings-chequing account. This
helps to form the habit of paying bills promptly by mail
and to record transactions:
Regular saving is an important element, even if it's only
a few dollarsper week. Parents might provide encourage-
ment and incentive by matching the savings, perhaps on a
so -much -per -dollar basis.
The student might also be -encountering income taxes
for the first • time, and should remember to keep
employers informed of address changes so that T4 slips
can be forwarded at the end of the year. Students often
don't bother to file a tax return for summer earnings; but
there are circumstances where they should.
The first, of course, is when there is tax to pay. The se-
cond is when there will likely be a rebate of tax withheld.
Some employers withhold tax at a rate that assumes a full
year's employment, and in this case the rebate could be
substantial.
Further, if a university student files a return for a low=
earnings year, then -graduates into -a well-paid job, he or
she can benefit through .the early working yearsfrom the
general income averaging provisions of the Income Tax
Act.
Finally, parents should remember that if a student's
earnings exceed specific levels of net income (calculated
on the T1 tax return), the parent's deduction for the
dependent child can be reduced. For 1981 the dependents'
net income thresholds are $2,090 for under- 18's and'$2,180
for over- 18's, with the maximum . deductions $590 and
$1,080 respectively.
This means that you should prepare your child's tax
return and calculate his or her net income before com-
pleting your own return.
Dollar Sense offers general financial advice by
members of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of
Ontario.
Give thought to debt aportions
Seldom has the topic of farm bankruptcies beenso wide-
ly discussed since the "dirty 30's", and even the fanner
who thinks he has a good handle on his debt and costs
should be wary.
Although he may be successfully managing a. debt load
reaching into six figures, he should give some thought to
how this debt is being aportioned. Farming is, unfor-
tunately, a highly capital intensive type of activity but one
in which capital is scarce. Debt is thus ahnost inevitable.
In most non-farm households, there are three kinds of
debt; long term, such as a mortgage; medium-term, such
as a -bank loan financing a car; and short-term,' plastic
credit card debt. Each of these forms of , debt are ap-
propriate to'the value of the things they buy. Houses last a
long time, cars wear out in three years, and the pleasures
of credit card purchases are usually fleeting.
On farms, however, debt is usually either short-term or
long-term, with little being paid off in the intermediate
term.
Typically, a farm might have $100,000 borrowed from
Farm Credit Corp. on a long-term basis, and another
$60,000 from the bank payable in a few months.
Yet the farm's assets very likely include some in-,
terenediate term assets as well, such as a dairy herd, a
cow -calf operation, or mechanical equipment. The money
I
each asset yields comes in at a rate commensurate witn
their lifetime, • so the money borrowed to finance. them
should go out at the same time.
The problem of loading up on short-term loans with no
regularly scheduled repayment rate is that the banks
don't like' it. Theyare not going to press a viable farm
operation for in rnediate repayment, but the next time the
farmer wants such a loan, he may not get as much as he
would like. .
Spending the capital appropriately once the farmer has
it in his hands is another area that tests,.his skills. The
tobacco grower might face the alternative of spending his
money fixing up the old kilns, or tearing them down and
replacing them with more expensive kilns that will save
labor in the long run.
The dairy farmer and the breeder may have identical
looking oeprations, but their spending decisions should be
quite different. The milker should be putting his money in-
to enhancing his production facilities, and the breeder,
improving his stock.
Only -One-third of farmers who use outside financial ad-
vice do so on all of their financial decisions. Yetit is readi-
ly available in such areas as the financial structure of the
farm, the utilization of assets, the planning of capital
spending, and tax and estate planning.
I'm just sitting here waiting for the
telephone to ring. I have been told by a
newsroom cohort that someone told him that
I have a sexy telephone voice.
Now I am not one'to break out in a swelled
head every time I receive a compliment, so I
just kind of swivelled around in my chair
real smooth like and said, "Oh, really?"
At that moment, the newsroom phone
rang. "I'll get it!! !" your calm
correspondent shouted as she lunged for the
blower. "Hhhhello," I breathed. "Cath
Wooden hhhere, may I hhhhelp you?"
It turned out to be a she -reporter from the
Clinton newsroom. I asked her if she con-
sidered my telephone voice to be of a sexy
nature "Well, you sounded kind of funny,"
she answered. A lot she knows. What women
think of my telephone voice does not matter
anyway.
There ensued an interruption of pulsating
newsroom news -gathering in order to
conduct a plant wide poll via the intercom
system. The question was, of course, `De
you think I have a sexy telephone voice?'
A random sampling of answers goes
something like this: `Whb told you that?
How drunk was he?', `Yes, definitely hubba
hubba hubba', `HAH HAH HAN', `It has
interesting intonations', 'Do you peddle
fish?' And stuff like that there.
I refuse to heed their derogatory com-
ments. Who asked 'em anyway.
I only "needed to be told once and that has
turned my whole attitude towards the
telephone around. Before today folks, I was
one of those loyal enemies of Alexander
Graham Bell's invention.
Everytime I turned around, one of those
basic black, space age plastic horrors was
invading my space. There are four
telephones in the pulsating newsroom which
Tough butterfly.
Photo by Cath Wooden
D
EAR READERS
BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER
By the time you read this column on Wed-
nesday, July 29, some of you will have been up
since 5 a.m. Today's royal wedding should be
over by now and Prince Charles and his new wife
Diana will be off on their honeymoon.
I admit it. I'm a monarchist. And I love the
pomp and ceremony that is part of a royal event.
Oh I know some of the protocol seems a little
ridiculous to those of us who live in Goderich. We
don't really care whether the Queen falls one
step behind Prince Phillip (why isn't that King
Phillip? ► while appearing in public. And we'd
have no concern about the Queen leaving the
wedding BEHIND her son and new daughter-in-
law when it is proper for the Queen to leave
every function AHEAD of everyone else.
Those stuffy details seem a little silly to most
of us.
But there are some complaints that I've heard
about the royal wedding that just don't wash with
me.
For instance, Canada's wedding gift to the
royal couple is antique furniture. How much and
what cost I don't really know - and to be frank, I
don't really care. I'm delighted that my country
is sending a substanial bit of Canadianna to
Charles and Diana. I think it's a perfect gift no
matter if it does get stashed at the rear of the
maid's q uarters.
And I know the bridal pair was suitably
touched by the gift of some Canadian Indians
who sent wild rice wrapped in a deer skin. I don't
know' exactly what will happen to that present,
but that doesn't worry me. The fact is, it's a
thoughtful gift from a native people expressing
have buttons for different lines, a red hold
button, and an intercom button.
My limited apptitude for such things made
it nearly impossible for me to relay or take a
simple message. Invariably, while I was on
one line, I would be wanted on another one
which required putting the first party on
hold and pressing another line. Too much.
At home, I regarded the ringing of the
telephone as somewhat of a nuisance. My
phone never rang while I was within arm's
reach of it. I heard it ring while I was down
two flights of stairs taking out the garbage.
Or it rang while I was in the tub or
somewhere else in the bathroom, or while I
was in deep slumber, or while my mouth
was full of sandwich.
A favorite retaliation of mine was to
answer the telephone in this manner:
"Hello. I am not here right now. This is a
recording. If you care to leave your name
its deepest respect for the monarchy. And that's'
• enough. .
There's too much fuss I think, about the cost of
the royal wedding. Certainly it's costing a for-
tune- but the royal family has a fortune to spend.
Probably in relation to the income of the
a vera ge Canadian bride who plans for and
finances a large wedding, the cost for the nup-
tials of Charles and Diana was as modest as
many. •
Some citizens are disputing everything from
the length of the guest list to the number of
wedding gowns sown for Diana.
Not I. Charles is the future King of England
and the Commonwealth. There's always been -
and forever should be - a distinction between
royalty and commoners. And anything less
would reduce The Queen and her household to
the ordinary.
Would the world bow to the everyday image
some would foist on the royal family?
I suppose some people would say the question
more properly is, "Should the world bow to
royalty?
I would deem it an honor tcYbow before Queen
Elizabeth, but then, I'm only one individual. My
opinion is just that - one opinion. And each person
must decide for himself how he feels about this
issu e.
But accepting the fact we live in a monarchy,
and agreeing that unless things change, Prince
Charles will one day be our King, is .does seem
fitting that he should be wed amid color and
splendor - pull all the stops, full throttle ahead.
And what a show it was. (I can say that in
confidence even though this column was written
a full 48 hours prior to the wedding.) A once-in-a-
lifetime spectacle perhaps. A real life storybook
and message at the sound of the beep, I will
try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Beep. You have four seconds." WOO
n
But all this was before I knew I had a sexy
telephone voice.
I have decided that the reason I have
always had such a hard time on the phone is
any negative attitude towards it. I must treat _(
the telephone as my friend. After all, it has'
the ability to transform me into a luscious
thing, steaming with sensuality. Them's hot
potatoes folks.
Newsroom cohorts need never worry
about picking up the phone again. I'll be
right on it before the first inviting ring has a
chance to escape.
And at home, I'm considering taking out
the basic black box and installing something
more appropriate for one with a sexy voice.
Perhaps something in hot red. I may even
get several phones put in....
princess and her prince.
Now we must wait. Wait.fortheQueen to select
,. just the right moment for her son to take the
throne.
If I were a betting type, I'd say the Queen will
relinquish her' throne to Prince Charles after he
and Diana have settled into their marriage -
maybe five or sial years hence. .
I doubt that Queen Elizabeth will reign until
her death. I'm almost certain she wants to take
over the comfortable, less . pressured but still
dignified role of the Queen "Mum" from her
mother before too many years roll by.
We'll be waiting for a Coronation. If you think
the wedding was planned to the enth degree, wait.
until the Coronation of our new King.
We'll be waiting too, for news that Charles and
Diana will become parents. We'll be anxious for
news of who will, succeed Charles when that time
comes.
Many people tittered over stories that before
Charles and Diana could get the royal nodfor
their union, Diana had to have a medical
examination to indicate that the way was clear
for her to give birth to strong, healthy royal heirs
to the throne. Some people will be waiting to see
of the doctors who examined Diana knew their
stuff.'
But most of all, we'll be waiting for Prince
Charles and his new wife to be a popular and well
loved royal couple.
Certainly, they are well qualified for the dif-
ficult task ahead of them. Monarchists like me
pray that God will be with them in the months
and years to come r and that peace and
prosperity will prevail throughout the Com-
monwealth during their lifetime.
cath
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