Using your mortgage prepayment options can drastically reduce the total amount you spend on your mortgage and shorten the time it takes to pay it down. If you follow these three steps, you can be mortgage free sooner than ever! 1. Know your prepayment privileges Most mortgages have allowances for you to prepay down your mortgage faster. The standard prepayment amount allowed per payment can vary depending on your mortgage provider. We can work together on your goals to ensure you have the flexibility you require to pay your mortgage faster. Your mortgage provider may be able to increase and decrease your prepayment privilege at any time throughout the life of your mortgage.   This means that if any life event occurs and you need to reduce your payment to the minimum, you can with ease. Most mortgage providers allow this free of charge, but with some providers you can only change your payments a set number of times throughout the year.   2. Increase your payments Anytime you increase your payments, the excess that you pay per payment goes directly onto the principal portion of your mortgage. This is a great way to drastically reduce the interest you will have to pay over the term of your mortgage.   Typical prepayments allow you to add between 10% to 20% of your payment amount to each payment, depending on your lender. Some lenders also allow the use of “double up payments” which let you double each payment!   Here’s an example of prepayments being used on a typical mortgage: All calculations are based off of a $400,000 mortgage with a 5 year term and 25 year amortization at a rate of 2.59% with monthly payments.   No Prepayments: Monthly payments: $1,809.84 Principal paid over 5 year term: $60,836.51 Interest paid over 5 year term: $47,753.89 Mortgage amount remaining: $339,163.49 Years remaining on mortgage after 5 years: 20 Years Adding a 15% Prepayment: Monthly payments: $2,081.32 Principal paid over 5 year term: $78,201.00 Interest paid over 5 year term: $46,678.20 Mortgage amount remaining: $321,799.00 Years remaining on mortgage after 5 years: 15 years & 9 months As you can see, the mortgage was reduced by $17,364.49 and saved $1,075.69 in interest! The mortgage term was reduced by 9 years and 3 months in only 5 years!   3. Make a lump sum prepayment Making a large payment can be a great option for paying down your mortgage, but may not be ideal for everyone. Lump sum payments help you reduce the amount of interest you will be required to pay on your mortgage. They can also be used to reduce your mortgage amount before selling your home and will reduce the penalty you will be required to pay. Lump sum payments are usually between 10% – 25% of the mortgage total. Typically, you can make a lump sum payment onto your mortgage once a year. Every mortgage provider has their own specific guidelines for how you can make a lump sum payment in a calendar year. Your provider may require you put down a minimum amount for a lump sum prepayment, or you may only be eligible for one on the anniversary date of your mortgage. If you decide that prepayments are for you, you can achieve mortgage freedom sooner than ever! Contact me today and lets set your goals into motion.

The Little Valley Jamboree is an annual musical festival that is held to raise awareness, support and fund for special needs children in the area and throughout Manitoba.  The two day event is held the third weekend in June in Erickson, MB. The Jamboree is completely volunteer based and is family orientated. Monies raised at the festival goes to special needs children to assist families with medical treatments, special needs devices, travelling expenses and any unforeseen expenses. Two families and their children are selected each year to benefit from this fundraising. Monies are raised through donations, either cash or merchandise for our Auctions, Chinese, Silent and Live Auction. Raffle tickets are sold leading up to the event. (see more in the FAQ). Bring your family and friends out for a weekend of fun for a great cause - there are camping areas right on site, or day parking if you would like to drive up for the day. Entertainment Line-Up Saturday- 2pm -11pm **The Cookshank Shakers **The Country Connection Revival **Michael Campbell and Friends **Live Auction  **Better Than Sunday 12noon - 8pm **Lazy Creek Express **Along for the Ride **Laurie and the Kids **Crossfyre **Kristen Nerbas **Smith & Wesson Tweeners: Laurie Larsen, Kristen Nerbas  

Fewer than one in three working Canadians has a guaranteed pension plan¹. Canadians are living longer than ever before and very few have access to traditional sources of retirement income, such as workplace pension plans. In fact, between 1982 and 2011 participation in defined contribution plans grew by 294.4 per cent while participating in defined benefit plans grew by only 2.7 per cent2. While defined contribution plans will potentially offer employees more choice, and more control for their retirement income by allowing them to invest their funds as they choose, they do not provide employees with a guaranteed income in retirement. This can make it difficult for people to accurately plan for how much they will earn in retirement, creating a significant challenge when it comes to retirement planning. Fortunately, your financial professional can help. According to the Towers Watson 2012 Survey of Pension Risk, 72 per cent of Canadian employees either agreed or strongly agreed that they are more concerned about pensions than they were 24 months ago. As part of your retirement income plan, you may wish to work with your financial professional to look at your guaranteed income from all sources and identify any gaps between the money you’ll have coming in and the income you’ll need. Areas to discuss: • Your level of guaranteed income • How much you plan to spend • Recommended income solutions that will provide income for life, plus the potential for growth Planning for a retirement does not need to be a daunting task, especially if you take time to ensure you are considering as many scenarios as possible. 1 Source: Statistics Canada, Pension Plans in Canada and Labour Force Survey, 2011 2Source: Towers Watson, Survey of Pension Risk, 2012  

June 16, 2016 NEWS RELEASE One of Brandon’s oldest businesses set to close its doors For Immediate Release – Patmore Garden Center and Nursery has announced that they will be closing the business permanently this summer . Marci Bomford, current owner and horticulturalist, said that there were many factors that came into play when the decision was made to shut down the business.  “The costs involved in operating a greenhouse business are exceptionally challenging. Rising costs of things such as inputs, heat, labour and property taxes are all big components. Plus, the buildings and greenhouses are over 40 years old and in need of major repair and renovation,” said Bomford. n addition, Bomford said that things have changed significantly in the business world since Patmore’s originally opened over 133 years ago and that it’s much more challenging in today’s consumer market for small, local businesses to survive. “The increase in garden center presence in large, box stores has been a significant factor. Plants and other products that you used to be able to only find at specialized garden centres are now available everywhere and at loss leader pricing,” said Bomford. Patmore Nursery Sales has been in business in Brandon since 1883. Henry Patmore assisted in greening this part of the world by contributing to the planting of street trees, shelter belts and to the development of the Patmore Green Ash species. Bomford purchased the business in 2012 and has worked hard to ensure that quality products and outstanding service were part of the shopping experience for local gardeners. “I am a professional horticulturist and my dream and passion has always been to run my own garden center and nursery. We all poured our hearts into Patmore’s, but it was also about quality of life and family balance. It is certainly the end of a dream for many of us,” said Bomford. “I am so thankful to all the customers who have supported Patmore's for all these years. They are the reason we’ve stayed in business so long and it has truly been an honour to assist them in all of their gardening needs.” Patmore Garden Center and Nursery is scheduled to close for good on July 9. Customers are encouraged to use outstanding gift certificates prior to that, as they are only are valid while the business remains open. A final Closing Out Sale will start on June 18th. All inventory will be 50-75% off and everything must go. All sales will be final; cash or debit is preferred as there will be a 3% charge for credit card use. The new land owners will take possession of the property at the beginning of September, but they have no intentions of operating a garden center. For more information or to contact regarding an interview: Marci Bomford marci@patmorenursery.com 204.728.1321

The action and excitement of live professional wrestling returns to Brandon with an event for the whole family. The Midget Wrestling Warriors will invade the Keystone Centre’s Manitoba Room on Thursday, July 14 as part of their western Canadian Apocalypse tour. Featuring an international roster from Canada, the United States and Mexico, this event marks the first Brandon appearance of the “Mighty Midgets” of professional wrestling in several years. Get your tickets now! The Midget Wrestling Warriors are group of professional midget wrestlers that tour the globe performing shows at event centers, casino's, clubs, & bars.  Some of the wrestlers on their roster include Short Sleeve Sampson, Rob the Giant, Prince Akeem, Loco and Shovelhead Chuck.  Short Sleeve Samson may be the most recognizable face as he has appeared number times on WWE Raw as well as WWE Smackdown.  His career also reaches into TV and Sitcoms having appeared on shows such as Jerry Springer and NBC’s ‘Here & Now’. Click here for a sneak preview of the action that you can expect on July 14 at the Keystone Centre. Keystone Centre - Manitoba Room Doors Open: 6:00 pm, Bell Time 7:00 pm All ages appropriate Tickets: $22.00 *Note: Tickets subject to Keystone Centre service fee.