Well it is that time of year again. I have to admit having mixed feelings about the annual ritual of making New Year’s resolutions. I love the infinite possibility of starting with a clean slate and getting another chance at ‘doing it right’ whatever that might mean.
On the other hand I would have a hard time digging myself out from under my pile of failed resolutions.
In order to avoid the whole resolution thing I have started setting goals…this is really just business lingo for resolutions but for some reason having a goal seems more obtainable.
One of my ‘goals’ for 2014 is to write a basic financial advice column for our local paper. This has been something that I have been thinking about for some time.
Having worked in the financial industry for over 18 years now I often hear comments like: ‘”I wish I had known that when I was starting out” and “we need more financial literacy training.” The goal of this column is to provide basic financial advice and information with a local flavor.
What you do with your money, or for the sake of this column your “moola,” does matter. It turns out that planning to win the lottery is not a sound financial plan, that reading a credit report can be complicated, and that zero per cent interest doesn’t always mean that you are not paying any interest (although you could be forgiven for thinking that it does).
Our goal here will be to talk about any and all financial matters as they relate to you and your moola.
I will have help with this column calling on financial planners, insurance underwriters, commercial bankers and others with more knowledge than I.
We welcome any questions or requests that you may have for future columns; you can send them to jburdeniuk@integriscu.ca or post them on Facebook at Integris Credit Union.
Joan Burdeniuk is the Fort St. James Integris Credit Union branch manager and has nearly two decades of financial management experience