Thornhill Wealth Forum 
 
This blog has been contributed by Courtney Carroll from Financial Fitness

During the past several weeks I have shared with you my thoughts regarding 4 key strategies for setting you on a path to Financial Fitness.  Today I would like to share with you the 5th strategy for living a more purposeful life.  The 5th strategy to be explored and incorporated in your plan is Charity.

Charity begins at home, we have often heard that.  This strategy is often overlooked by those who are living pay check to pay check because they fear that giving will leave them with very little for themselves.  Unfortunately they do not understand the universal law that there is more than enough to go around and that those who give shall receive.  Even in the good book (the bible) it is written that it is better to give than receive and that when you give your rewards will be multiplied ten fold.

Imagine the following scenario, a man has within his grasp $20.00 and he could share a portion of this $20.00 with others who are also in need but instead he clutches to that $20.00.  The unfortunate reality is that unless he is willing to open his hands and share what he has no more will come to that closed fist.  And so it is with charity, in order to receive you must open your hands and give willing to others.  By doing so, you set the stage for more to be returned to your hands.

The wealthy in society have been doing this for years.  In fact many of them give 10% if not more to worthy charities all over the world.  They understand the universal law and give willingly, knowing that by giving they will be blessed and rewarded accordingly.

Now giving doesn’t always mean giving your money.  Money is only one aspect of what is meant by charity.  For many of us our most precious resource is our time, so giving back to your community by volunteering in a senior’s home, working with children in a group home or giving back to your school community are all aspects of giving and it is your time.

What is your time worth?  Maybe you have a dollar value of $50.00 an hour for your time.  Well if you multiply that dollar value by the number of hours you volunteer per week that is the monetary equivalent of what you are contributing.  So giving does not have to be physical dollars, it can be time.  One of the blessings that come from giving is that you never know whose life will benefit from your charity.  You get the opportunity to touch countless lives through your selfless acts of kindness.  In order for you to be truly blessed and live a Financially Fit life you must become a willing giver to those in need.
 
 
According to the CD Howe Institute,  Canada is unlikely to see a “massive wave of defaults” in the housing market as the market cools.

The report comes day after the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a report saying six Canadian cities – Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal – were due for a correction because prices have increased beyond what’s justified by the broader economy.

“A comparison of housing market policies in Canada versus the U.S., however, suggests that there is little likelihood of a U.S.-style surge in foreclosures or a collapse of house prices in Canada.”

He said a decline in underwriting standards was key to the dramatic bust in the United States, which saw prices plummet up to 50 per cent in the last three years in some markets. Although both countries have kept interest rates at historic lows, regulations regarding who could get in on the market differed significantly.

“During the U.S. housing boom, both private insurers and government-sponsored enterprises facilitated looser underwriting standards by increasing their exposure to high-risk mortgage products such as low-documentation, interest-only and adjustable rate mortgages,” he said.

“This buildup was a key factor in the U.S. housing market crash, since when house price appreciation slowed (and then reversed) many borrowers found themselves unable to meet their monthly mortgage bills or to rely on higher prices to refinance. The resulting rapid rise in foreclosures, in turn, seems to have played a role in driving the large decline in U.S. house prices since 2006.”

Canadian officials didn’t give in to the temptation to ease qualification criteria, he said, which means fewer homeowners should find themselves in a position where they can’t pay to keep their homes. Indeed, after a short period of looser standards from 2003-2006, the government clamped down and forbade zero-per-cent-down mortgages with amortization periods longer than 35 years.

It further tightened standards this year, insisting buyers qualify for mortgages at the five-year rate instead of the lower variable rate, and insisting on higher down payments for investment properties.

“Canadian housing policies, which avoided the sharp decline in underwriting standards seen in the U.S., worked well in reducing the possibility of a housing bust in Canada during 2008-2009, and continue to mitigate the risk of a massive wave of defaults in the future,” he wrote.

“To the extent that current policies impose on taxpayers a significant exposure to mortgage insurance guarantees and, therefore, some of the aggregate risk of a decline in housing prices, it will be in the interest of all Canadians if policy makers recall the lessons of the 2008-2009 experience should pressures to relax underwriting standards reoccur in the future.”
 
 
A retreat is simply a block of time set aside to focus solely on you. The goal of a retreat is to get your life as on track as you can possibly get it.

Usually, this means focusing in on a particular area of your life that feels out of whack, determining what exactly you can do in your own life to fix it, and coming up with a specific plan for achieving that. It also means refreshing and renewing yourself so that you can actually attack that specific plan that you’ve developed.

A weekend works really well for this. The time spent between Friday afternoon and Monday morning includes two full days and three full nights of sleep, which provides plenty of time to think about goals, refresh yourself, and move on from there. A three day weekend is a great time for this because the third day of the weekend is perfectly left for the first steps towards implementing your new goals.

 
Why Windsor? 08/22/2010
 
 Many Real Estate Investors have been flocking to Windsor for some amazing real estate investment deals that provide good cash flow. Here are some reasons why investors should consider Windsor. 
  • Windsor was rated number 1 best overall small city in North America to invest by the Financial Times of London. 
  • Windsor- built Ford engines power the best selling truck in North America - the Ford F Series. 
  • The Chrysler plant has been moving full speed ahead with 3 shifts, 6 days per week
  • "Birth of an industry". A major solar panel plant is being built on a 300-acre site.
  • $500 million investment to upgrade Caesars Windsor.
  • Ford engine plant in Windsor has been awarded the future "green engines" status which should keep many people employed for a long time.
  • $133 million approved for infrastructure projects
  • $230 million approved for education infrastructure
  • New medical school to be built at a cost of $28 million.
  • New border crossing and highway expansion investment of $5 billion will create 25,000 jobs.
Windsor no longer depends on the auto industry. New infrastructure investments mean that there is going to be a building boom and the price of real estate will rise! 
 Here are some examples of investment properties currently for sale: 
  1. 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garag, finished basement - $82,900
  2. Bungalow, 2 bedrooms, full basement, close to university - $52,500
  3. Large duplex, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, close to university - $149,000
  4. 2 bedroom bungalow, 2 bathrooms, deep garage, $650 per month rental - $75,000

 
 
If you measure the success of your life by what other people think of you, you will never get ahead and never be happy. There will always be someone else to impress or some other tool to win their fleeting awe. It all passes. 

When you realize that the fleeting awe that others give you really doesn’t matter much at all and that what really matters is you and becoming the best possible person you can be, personal finance often snaps right in place in this kind of complete life.

Take control of your life. Figure out what you want, set your own goals, and use your money as a tool to put you where you want to be. Stop wasting time and money on what other people think.

 
 
The things you’re passionate about are the things that you can dump tons of time into while still deeply enjoying yourself.  If you can channel that into earning income in some way, you’re far ahead of the career game.
 
 
Deceiving yourself is one of the most dangerous things you can do. Almost every time you see someone under a mountain of debt, some sort of self-deception is at the root. Here are some warning signs:
  • Do you often feel like you have to “justify” purchases because your brain tells you you can’t afford them?
  • Do you avoid looking at bills and financial statements?
  • Are you often “surprised” by your credit card bills, but you don’t even think about the bills when you bust out the plastic?
  • Do you tend to believe you’re more well off than you are when you’re out in public buying stuff than when you’re looking at your bills?
If any number of those are true, you’re either directly or indirectly misleading yourself when it comes to your financial state, and that directly leads to financial trouble.
The first step is to simply realize you’re doing it – and to realize that it’s not helping you with financial success.
 
Frugality 08/02/2010
 
Frugality is not about giving up the things that bring you joy in life. It’s about figuring out what actually does bring you joy in life and accentuating that, then cutting back sharply on the things that don’t matter as much to you.

For example, if you don’t watch much television, a frugal decision would be to get rid of your cable box and just use the over-the-air signals – or, perhaps, selling your television off entirely.

A key part of that statement – perhaps the key part – is the if you don’t watch much television part. If you do enjoy television and you watch it multiple hours per day, then you shouldn’t cut back on it. You might, however, find that you don’t watch your premium channels much, so you might get a cheaper package – or you might not.

 
 
 What is your attitude towards having wealth? Do you believe it is possible to have anything that you want? Or do you believe that wealth and prosperity are reserved only for those other "lucky" people in this world?
 
Kill Bills 06/09/2010
 
The key to financial freedom is building wealth. The key to building wealth is eliminating all your extra bills so you have money to save. The average consumer's credit report carries quite a burden from these bills as well. Let's start with what hurts the most. Eliminate any habits you currently have. Most habits cost money and if it's a habit it can't be healthy for you in the long run anyway. Smoking, drinking, candy, coffee, collecting junk, etc. You will be surprised how much cash you pocket if you just quit 1 or 2 of the above. By giving up a habit you are not only saving money and maybe even your health, but you are also gaining self-discipline helping you mature financially.