Tax Freedom Day

With Tax Freedom day just having been passed - it's interesting to see that the average Canadian will be paying 37.7k in taxes this year.

If you're not familiar with the term - here's the link in wikipedia Tax Freedom Day
Canada's Tax Freedom day is calculated by the Fraser Institute.

It's a shame that many of the Canadians that don't know the rules of the money game are still overspending in taxes that they can be mitigating, reducing, or avoiding (not evading). Simple tax savings strategies can be implemented by just taking a closer look at your mortgage practices, or consulting with your accountant on the benefits of having a small home based business with legitimate expenses.

When it comes to dealing with the tax man, it's what you know, or what you don't know that makes the difference between being able to be a success. Some of you might remember when Tax Shelters were a major portion of my business (they're not anymore) but proper utilization of a Tax shelter would still allow you to come out ahead if you're smart with your money.

If you're really interested in taking the first step here are the basics:
1) Take a look at your current mortgage - is it tax deductible? If not, talk to a trusted financial planner or adviser on methods how to make it such. Be sure to get some different opinions as not all tax deductible mortgage strategies are equal.

2) Talk to your accountant as to what types of expenses are allowed or disallowed and calculate what your average savings would be if you were to open your own home based business. In terms of the home based business, make sure it's something that you actually do enjoy and would like to work on to build the business as it's not just for the tax savings, but a vehicle to produce more income for you over the long term.

Those two steps alone will save the average Canadian 3 to 5 thousand dollars a year. It's not all 37k, but it's a start.

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata

Lois Holmlund - It's Never Too Late

Life is funny. It’s almost like one minute you’re out partying, going to university, starting out in a career, getting married, and the next you find you are over 50 and alone. My husband died suddenly ten years ago, leaving me nothing but thousands of dollars of debt, and I worked hard to pay it all off. So now I’m 52, debt free, with a small pension waiting for me when I turn 65, but that’s it. No savings, no real estate or investments, and a big question mark as to what’s ahead.

I’ve always been very careful with my money. “Cash Flow” for me meant going on-line to make sure my paycheque went in, then anxiously watch the balance dwindle all month as I struggled to keep enough there to pay my rent. One unexpected bill would knock over my carefully stacked house of cards. “Investing” was making the decision whether or not to get a good winter coat, or try to get the current one to last another year. “Stocks” were what you put in soup.

When you’re alone in the world, as are 47% of women over fifty, and you have no husband or children to “take care of you”, you also have no one to share expenses with, and no one to help tide you over if that pension isn’t going to be there for you. You watch your rent go up and up each month, while your paycheque stays much the same, and you wonder what you’re going to do in ten years when you retire and your income is cut in half.

I read on the Internet that “the average female born between 1948 and 1964 may likely remain in the work force until at least 74 years of age due to inadequate financial savings and pension coverage.” And that 58% of female baby boomers have less than $10,000 in retirement. With my sum total of $1,500 in RRSPs, I fit right in.

But I don’t want to work until I’m 74! I don’t even want to work until I’m 64. Or 55.

Sound bleak?

I thought so. That is, until I went to a group called Infiniti Point, whose mandate it is “To Educate, To Serve, To Profit Together.” With their encouragement, I tackled my first financial book: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. While I expected to be overwhelmed with a lot of words I didn’t know and concepts I didn’t understand, instead everything was clearly laid out and I found myself for the first time in a long time thinking . . . hey, maybe I can do this.

EDUCATE YOURSELF
Going with the idea that it is fundamentally untrue that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks, I began to show up at weekly meetings in an attempt to teach this old dog something about investing, stocks, taxes, and lots of words I had never heard before. Even words that I thought I already knew, suddenly had different meanings, giving me a whole new set of ABC’s : Assets and Liabilities. Break Even Point. Cash Flow. Due diligence. Evaluation. Fundamentals. What at first was mind boggling, though, gradually began to sort itself out as I came to understand each individual concept. Maybe not baby steps, but one arthritic step after the other still gets you there!

SATURDAY MORNING GAMER
And I get to play games! Whodda thought? I’m not talking about bridge, either. There’s an amazing game played at Infiniti Point once a month called “Cash Flow 101” that teaches you financial literacy and freedom. Cost to play? Nothing. Value? Priceless. It challenges you to think outside the box, to balance your income and your expenses, and then create a cash flow out of passive income that you build to get yourself out of the Rat Race. I’ve always hated accounting and working with numbers, but this was different. It was exciting. Motivating! And best of all – I could do it!

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE
I admit, I think I’m the oldest one there at the meetings. I was expecting to feel like the odd one out – after all, instead of expensive hair highlights, I have grey-haired roots – but instead I’ve felt included, encouraged, and challenged. I’ve even started bringing my friends—women, like me, who are ready to take those first steps in bringing about financial freedom. To be honest, we’re not looking to become billionaires or start multi-national business franchises. We have no one to pass on our potential vast fortunes.

We are at the end of working careers and all we want is to be able to retire and not worry about our finances. And the good news is: It’s not too late!

~~

written by Lois Holmlund

Earl Flormata - Too Safe is a pain in the ass.

Sometimes I miss the traveling all over the world part of my business in the past prior to my son Erik being born. Sometimes I don't. Take a look at this link for the original article.

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Photos taken in airplane leads to interrogation

By Catharine Hamm
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 09, 2008

Question: Last fall, three friends and I flew from Lisbon to Los Angeles by way of Philadelphia. On the flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, I was showing them my new camera and took a few pictures of our surroundings. A flight attendant came to me and told me to show her the pictures, which I did. On our arrival, armed officers escorted us off the plane, separated us and made us wait for the authorities. They asked ridiculous questions ("What's your eye color?"), and in the end they let us go with no apologies. Why would this happen? Did we do anything wrong?

-- Jose Silva, Lisbon

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Discuss

Weigh in on the treatment Joe Silva received. Warranted or unnecessary?

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Answer: In taking photos, Silva and his friends didn't violate any Federal Aviation Administration or Transportation Security Administration rules, their spokesmen told me.

If the use of electronic devices was permitted at that point in the flight, they were in the clear.

In fact, if you look at the photos you'll see that the only thing they apparently did wrong was to use a camera without studying the manual. Ansel Adams he's not.

In a later conversation, Silva said his group complied with flight attendants and wasn't causing a ruckus.

Because the airline would not go back and research the details, we don't have its side of the story.

But assuming that Silva is correct, what could prompt such a reaction?

He said the authorities later told him that these are "sensitive times."

Indeed. But those pictures are hardly a threat to national security and are no different from the images you can find all over the Internet.

Just to see the spectrum, Google "767 interior" and click "Images," and you'll find about six dozen photos.

Silva said the authorities also told him to be careful. One has to wonder how careful he would have needed to be if he didn't, in his words, look Moroccan or Egyptian.

Richard Derk, the photo editor for the Los Angeles Times Travel section, has shot many photos on airplanes, some of which have ended up in these pages.

I asked him whether he had experienced any problems on commercial flights.

"No, never," he said. "I shoot quickly and try not to get in anyone's way, but no one has ever stopped me."

Derk, we should note, does not look Middle Eastern.

Mickey H. Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Assn., also expressed surprise.

"It's hard to believe that somebody didn't call a timeout in the process and say, 'What exactly did this man do?' " Osterreicher said.

"At a certain point, somebody has to use some common sense."

Picture that.

Have a travel dilemma?

Write to travel@latimes.com

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Honestly, at what point in time does it get a little too safe? Harmless pictures (even horrible pictures) that mean nothing on a plane. I'm glad the people didn't get arrested for having water bottles, or were even taken aback due to nail clippers. Seriously, if someone tried to threaten me with nail clippers, I'd be in more danger of laughing to death.

Sometimes people take it to an extreme level of safety when it comes to all things including investing. These are the same people that stand in line to buy the savings bonds and GIC's without prior thought to alternative solutions in which they could be more tax efficient, or perhaps say take into consideration the fact that it's not even keeping pace with inflation?

There's even an article out there that talks about how RRSP's could be detrimental to certain income levels of people - however people always want to do what is "comfortable" instead of what makes sense.

Be it a lack of education - or perhaps just plain ignorance, I hope to build Infiniti Point Strategies Inc. into the company that changes the education system for the better and start to show people about different options that exist as an alternative route. Join us on meetup.com to find out more about safety vs. comfort.

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata


P.S. Here's a great comedic skit on my take of the paranoia at the airports.
WARNING - gratuitous usage of course language in the video link.

Earl Flormata - Event: Vancouver Board of Trade - Investing With Heart

As a member of the Company of Young Professionals, I received a free ticket to a Vancouver Board of Trade event in regards to investing with heart.

It was a high spirited luncheon event where the speakers were full of hope and inspiration to tell their story of the goal to create a place and an atmosphere where families could attend sporting events together.

The Nat Bailey Stadium - home to the Vancouver Canadians has gone through some changes through the years, alongside providing quite the learning curve to their new found owners in the realm of making a business sustainable.

From my notes during the event: (interesting facts)

Vancouver Canadians – founded in 2000
Single “A” professional affiliated baseball team in Canada
60 Major League players began career with Canadians
76 games in a short season

Typical Game attendance 3200 and rising
Stadium holds 5000 fans
Ticket Pricing: $50 for family of four

Goal: Be the premier summer family entertainment experience in Vancouver

So all in all - what did I learn?

1 - With a baby on the way, ticket prices being $50 for a family of four sounds like a GREAT idea when it comes to providing entertainment for my family later on if the kids end up being baseball fans.

2 - Just because the new owners had previous business experience, it didn't assure guaranteed success. In fact, a friend of mine told me that the 3 most dangerous words in the English language pertaining to business are: "I Already Know". It's inspiring to see successful people acknowledge that it's not as easy as it looks and helps me to put things into perspective as I re-grow the Infiniti Point Group.

3 - If you invest, people will come. As for the Nat, the new owners have invested time, money, and effort into growing their new "baby" into a full fledged business. As for me, investing the time and energy back into learning and growing my own business will be something I look forward to. The new mantra rings true to my heart and my hopes - To Educate, To Serve, To Profit Together. When iPoint is back up to its usual standards and growth, I'd like to create a foundation in the future to invest with heart and give back to my community when given the opportunity as well.

I'm looking forward to getting a copy of that picture I took with the team mascot, and I'll be sure to post it here when the time comes.

Thanks for reading,

Earl Flormata

Earl Flormata - BBB Lunch and Learn - How to Run a Successful Tradeshow Booth

Today I attended a lunch and learn as I was invited by my friend Jimmy Gray, better known as Jimmy the Trade Show Guy in the networking circles of the lower mainland.

Before launching into the content, I wanted to mention that Jimmy is a very passionate fellow about his business and his art of networking. One of the networking royalty as alluded to in Darcy Rezac’s books. He has a very warm and gracious nature and is a person who is always welcoming to talk to. I first met Jimmy at a Vancouver Board of Trade roundtable event, and keep bumping into him everywhere as he is an avid networker.

On to the content – the 3 most important things I’ve learned from Jimmy from his talk were as follows:

1) Tradeshow statistics and purpose
2) Never sell at a tradeshow
3) A rundown of the Pre / During / and Post show activities

Starting with the statistics on the attendees:

80% are decision makers or influencers
54% plan to purchase within the next 12 months
75% are looking for new suppliers
8.5 hours is avg. time spent on a show
87% of have not been called by and exhibiting company salesperson in the past 12 months

Wait... so people spend all of this money on tradeshows, attendees visit their booths, staff, resources and time are spent on getting exposure, and staggering 87% of people who have expressed interest are not getting sales calls from the exhibitors? What’s going on here? Are people just being dropped through the cracks in the systems? Perhaps the system itself is faulty, or maybe there isn’t even a system implemented in the first place.
The entire purpose of a tradeshow is getting market exposure and generating potential leads to book appointments with. All a lead is in the end is potential. If said potential is never released, then it is wasted.

So what can we do to implement a system so that people are never left falling through the cracks? First we need a timeframe of reference to find out when to call clients back. Jimmy has suggested that we call everyone back within 72 hours. A phone call is so much more personal than an email blast. Even just a quick hello, and asking permission to add them to your email list, send a catalogue, or booking an appointment differentiates you from your competitors, and that’s an important distinction to think about.

Speaking of distinctions, this brings me to the second topic of NEVER sell at a tradeshow. Remembering the purpose of the tradeshow is to create market exposure and generate leads. Granted the end result is increased sales, and you might be thinking that a bird in the hand... but while you’re busy selling, hundreds of leads bypass your booth because you’re too busy to engage with anyone else. Book an appointment with your oh-so-close sale and give them the ability to enjoy the rest o the trade show as well instead of spending their entire time at a single booth.

Lastly – Jimmy handed out some GREAT lists of pre/during/post show activities and checklists,

...but if you want those, you’re going to have to chat with him directly as it’s his content.

Drop me a line at the Infiniti Point Office - 604 638 1612 and I'd be happy to introduce you to him.

I’m looking forward to becoming a member of the BBB and attending more of these lunch and learns, and perhaps even one day being the presenter at one of these events.

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata

Earl - From First to Worst

Competition is a necessity in today's business environment. Without the proverbial wolves nipping at your heels "encouraging" you to move faster people tend to rest on their laurels as they admire their accomplishments and sit back to enjoy the fruits of their previous labors. I am no different - for those of you who know - I thought I had it made with a potential million a year on trailer fees from a particular company that I'm still a little too angry to say out loud at at the moment. Imagine my chagrin at being unceremoniously dropped back to the ground once this source disappeared!

They always say that the first million is the hardest - and I somewhat agree and disagree with that comment. On one hand, I agree because it's the hardest only because it requires the most energy to convert potential energy into kinetic.

Taking a stationary object and making it move is much harder than giving something that's already rolling a good push. With the connections I've made in the past, and the business knowledge I've gained on what to do, and more importantly, what NOT to do, I'm a little wiser (at least I'd like to think so) and a little more cautious in my TRY before TRUST phase.

On the other hand, I disagree because once you understand the patterns of cashflow, it's not difficult to setup an automatic million. It doesn't take as much capital as you'd think.

Back to the topic at hand because it's definitely not all about me ;). Canada needs to think about opening their doors to more businesses. Look at the state of the US cell phone market vs. Canada's. Granted I did write about more choices making things more difficult, but too few choices also means that companies have to try a whole lot less to get your business when you just don't have anywhere else to turn to. If your internet provider sucks, how many places and options do you truly have at the end of the day? This article from BC Business delves into how Canada became the worst from their lofty position of first in terms of internet access, speed, service, communications, etc. I'd like to hear your opinions on what you think should be done. How do we go back to our position at the top, or at least give those other guys a damn good run for their money?

Thanks for reading.
-Earl Flormata