A new partnership has formed to promote essential skills in the Comox Valley.

Want to make travel more a part of your life? Make sure your travels include a visit to a professional financial planner鈥檚 office to map out the best financial route for you.

Rarely do clients enter the office saying, 鈥淲e need to make more money.鈥� More often it鈥檚, 鈥淗elp us make sure we don鈥檛 run out of money.鈥� Perhaps this is because the majority of my clients are retirees, or perhaps it is because people are naturally more risk adverse when they have recently experienced a market downturn.

The clock is ticking鈥�one month to go. On March 18, the government-imposed changes to mortgage rules will go into effect and will ultimately impact nearly all homeowners with mortgages.

You know what it鈥檚 like. Two weeks ago lunch cost about $9 a day. Last week it was $10 and this week $11. These days, spending generally rises very stealthily and those small price increases can have an increasing effect on your long鈥搕erm savings goals.

Getting a handle on your personal finances may be a priority in 2011, so where do you start? A good first step is turning to a financial adviser, who can help you to create a plan.

You dream about living happily ever after in retirement, but are you taking the right steps to get there?

Insurance is an important consideration for many circumstances. It isn鈥檛 only available to protect your home, vehicle and physical health 鈥� it鈥檚 also available to help protect you financially.

Buying or refinancing a home this spring? Have you bought a home recently? If so, new mortgage rules may affect you.

鈥淪hould I pay my mortgage faster? Should I contribute to a RRSP or a TFSA instead? What should I invest in? Stocks? Bonds? GICs? Isn鈥檛 it better just to buy real estate? Will I be able to afford retirement? Should I save for my children鈥檚 college education or should I let them worry about it? Am I on track? If not, what do I need to do to get back on track. We make good money but live pay cheque to pay cheque鈥︹��