Page 38 - Newcom

by MICHELLE SCHRIVER, a Toronto-based financial editor and writer
BRENNA AND DAMIAN MACINNIS
OCCUPATIONS: Registered dietician
and department manager, Inverness Consolidated Memorial Hospital (Brenna); executive director, Strait Area Chamber of Commerce (Damian)
CITY: Port Hood, N.S.
AGE: 30 (Brenna); 32 (Damian)
WE’VE BEEN INVESTING SINCE: 2009
WE PLAN TO RETIRE: as soon as pos- sible— by 55 (Brenna) and 60 (Damian)
INVESTABLE ASSETS: about $250,000
HOW LONG WE’VE HAD AN ADVISOR: since 2009; 11⁄2 years with our current advisor
EARLY LESSONS We each had a par-
ent who was a saver and a parent who was a spender. So it’s little surprise
that Brenna is a saver, and Damian a spender. But neither of us had financial skills when we were younger, except for knowing how to write cheques.
In our twenties, we worked in Nunavut—Brenna in public health and Damian in economic development— and had enough disposable income to start investing. The advisor at the bank suggested Brenna put her savings in a TFSA, so for a few years she contrib- uted more than the maximum annual amount. But if we’d done some research or sought another opinion, we could’ve better balanced Brenna’s investments between both her TFSA and RRSP.
We’re expecting our first child,
and we’ll help her or him develop the financial skills we never had. Damian’s already getting practice because he teaches a high school course on finan- cial literacy. His business background, along with the investing experience he’s gained, makes him a good candidate
to teach teens. He understands young people have trouble seeing the import- ance of saving. Hopefully, our child can
take advantage of courses like that, in addition to independent learning. We’d like our child to know when to accept a bit of risk. We’ll tie an allowance to household chores so he or she under- stands the value of work.
COMFORT ZONE We’re building a house in our hometown, so we sought an advisor to get our finances on track. The first advisor didn’t show up, but
the second put us at ease. He won us over with his approachability and plain language. He showed us our savings projections and continues to follow up often, which we appreciate. We can ask lots of questions and know he’ll respond thoughtfully, without pressuring us to make immediate decisions. He helped us decide whether Brenna should transfer her pension from her previ-
ous employer to her current one. Now that we have a retirement plan, we’re confident in our future. We keep an eye out for opportunities that can improve our community’s future. For example, Brenna’s invested in Celtic Current, a wind turbine project in Cape Breton. Expected returns are good, and invested funds stay in the community. AE
IN A NUTSHELL, MY INVESTMENT STYLE IS:
undeniably conservative. –brenna
IF MONEY WERE NO OBJECT,
my dream would be to own the Boston Red Sox. –damian
38 AE 05 2015
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