You’ve saved, invested wisely and built a sizeable nest egg. Retirement is within your grasp, so it is no time to take chances. Here are 10 questions to move you towards a secure, confident retirement. 1. When do you want to retire?  The timing of your retirement is crucial to building your retirement nest egg and assessing how long it needs to last. In retirement, you will experience a fundamental shift – from saving to spending. 2. How much of your current income do you expect to need in retirement? Your goals and challenges are unique to your life situation. The amount of your current income you’ll need in retirement depends on how much you’ve saved and how much you plan to spend during retirement. 3. How do you plan to spend your money? How you spend during your retirement will depend on your choices and could be influenced by factors beyond your control. 4. Have you considered your retirement lifestyle needs? What is your lifestyle vision for your retirement years? How will you spend your time? These choices may impact your spending pattern during retirement. 5. What guaranteed sources of income can you count on in retirement? Taking into account your existing sources of guaranteed income can help determine how much additional money you require to cover basic living costs and preserve the lifestyle you’ve worked hard to achieve. 6. Do you plan to work part-time or full-time in retirement? Perhaps you want to continue using your skills or explore new opportunities. You could also be influenced by debts or helping family members. 7. How do health and wellness factor into your retirement plan? Focusing on your wellness is central to your vitality and enjoyment of life. You may want to consider using retirement to focus on your mental and physical fitness. It’s important to make room in your budget for health and wellness priorities. 8. Are you ready for the unexpected events in life? When considering retirement planning, take into account unpredictable events – both financial and personal – for which you want to be prepared. Check to see if your retirement nest egg is strong enough to support you through a future economic downturn, a rise in the cost of living or a longer lifespan. 9. How will you keep your money working in retirement? In addition to fully protecting the money you need to cover your basic expenses, many retirees want a portion of their nest egg to grow. 10. Do you plan to leave a legacy? You might want to leave an inheritance to your family or favourite charity. Retirement brings many mixed emotions, but your financial professional can help you create a vision for the future so you can plan for retirement with confidence.

Dayna Weselowski is a 25-year-old self taught artist born in Thompson who moved to Brandon, Manitoba in the late '90's.  Always with a strong passion for art, and taking inspiration from everything around her, she has successfully completed and sold art pieces in an array of different mediums. These mediums include pencil and graphite, Prismacolour pencils, acrylic and oil painting, and creating and painting concrete leaf stepping stones. Her artwork style can be described as decorative art, varying from vibrantly coloured landscapes to anime characters to much more.  Dayna has showcased her artwork at several different craft shows around the Manitoba area and pieces can be viewed on her Facebook page - DaynaWeselowskiArt  

Regardless of what you’re saving for – a down payment on a home, a dream vacation, a child’s education or your eventual retirement – developing good saving habits can definitely pay off. Even relatively small but regular contributions can quickly gain momentum thanks to the power of compounding, or making interest on your interest. Most people can rationalize buying new bedroom furniture or a better and more reliable car by using small monthly payments spread over several years. However, you can also use this strategy to build hefty savings. For some, saving is instinctive. Chipmunks know they must save enough nuts and seeds to get them through the winter. They even build storage rooms in their burrows. But it’s important everyone – even humans – realize the importance of saving. Deciding on your goals for the future The first step is determining an investment strategy and that means carefully evaluating your financial goals. After all, saving for a down payment on a house or a new car requires a different approach than long-term retirement planning. So, ask yourself this: what do you want to do with your money? Crunching the numbers Next, set up a spending plan to help you determine how much you can afford to put away each month. There are plenty of online tools and calculators that can help you. Start by going over your chequing and savings accounts and credit card statements, including ATM withdrawals. Make sure to include everything – even those pricey takeout lunches. This exercise can help you trim excessive spending. Once you have a better understanding of your income and expenses, determine your savings “payment.” Be bold, as you can always dial it back a bit later on. Or better yet, keep the amount steady and reduce your overall spending. Then, as your income grows, continue to raise the amount you put away each week. Choosing the right investment solution Your financial professional can help you choose the right mix of investments and help you achieve your unique savings goals. Why it’s is crucial to start saving now Setting up a regular, automatic savings plan is an essential part of anyone’s financial health. The sooner you start, the better off you’ll be and the sooner you’ll achieve your goals.

Sometimes I go for a little drive out in the country, taking pictures.  And tonight's experience is best portrayed in a recap, on a few thoughts from tonight's excursion.  "I should go to the grocery store.....what was I gonna get again?" "I should go for a quick drive first." "Is this actually a road?" "What's that high pitched squealing noise coming from the front end of my car?" "Where'd that moose come from?" A moose.  1 moose.  Moose.  Me.  Beside a shed. In a field.  With a moose.  That came out of a shed. Of all the things I run across....beavers....ducks.....geese.  This has to be the best thrill yet.  When I explore abandoned farmyards and old houses, I watch out for old wells.....barbed wire. Badgers. Zombies.  Axe murderers.  It hadn't occurred to me that I'd turn around and be staring a moose in the face. That just came out of a small shed.  He was having a nap inside a shed. I saw something move as I was walking towards the building and it kind of startled me, I briefly thought it'd be a bird. Nope.  Moose.  Where do you go from there?  Can't top that for a night.  This is a moose, isn't it? Yours truly, Caley

Random and peculiar things I noticed, on a Tuesday night after the grocery store, and a Friday night hockey game.  1). I thoroughly enjoy setting down the huge package of 18 rolls of toilet paper, at the dining room end of my 20 ft hallway, and kicking it to the other end like I'm going in for a field goal.  2). I also enjoy throwing any dirty tea towels/clothes down the same long hallway, like I'm pitching for the Blue Jays. That's the only sports team name I can use, because it's the only one that I actually know what sport they play.  On a side note, this past Friday night I went to my first hockey game. Ever. I think I'm the only person in the northern hemisphere whose never been to one.  The Wheat Kings game was action packed and ridiculously exciting!  I learned that "SOG" is not the score.....which was helpful in my confusion at wondering how I missed 28 goals....especially considering I was in the front row behind the glass. The energy in that crowd was unbelievable!   The other amusing highlight was how the whole crowd chants these sayings, all the humans.....in perfect unison, and then they all stop at the same time.  "They've done this before"......I thought to myself. All 5000 of them.  The outburst of excitement that came from the crowd after each goal, was akin to the sound a 20ft pile of wood makes when somebody pours a few dozen litres of gas on it and then tosses a match. WOOOOF! Explosive!  Yellow flags flapping everywhere!  Horns, cheering, clapping, pounding music, "the gold rush" they call it. And I can see why. What an incredibly amazing bunch of athletes.  I'm sold. So back to grocery shopping.  3). I ate 4 peanut butter square marshmallow things from the bakery for supper. Because I ran out of Toffifee yesterday. Morning.   4).  Whenever I get into an empty grocery store isle, I ride the cart. I push it fast, and then lift my feet up and ride it until something I want catches my eye, (or there's suddenly a witness, unless it's a little kid - they don't care that I'm doing it so I never stop if one's watching) and I put my feet down and slide like I'm a rock on a shuffle board.  5).  I noticed that as I loaded each bag into the trunk of the car, I was counting out loud. This didn't become apparent to me until I was up to about 6. Which makes me think of a few things. First of all, why am I counting. And second, why am I doing it out loud. And ok 3rd, I realized this is not the first time I've done this. Somehow I was unaware of it until now though. Yours truly, Caley