Each month countless opportunities for celebration occur in each of our children's lives, yet as parents sometimes we do not recognize them for what they are ... with December being no exception. This month your child received his/her first term report card which may have contained average or even below average results. Does this represent an opportunity for celebration? You may be surprised ... Why should you celebrate? Although often taken for granted, the act of celebration affords our children many important opportunities. Celebration provides time for reflection. It allows you and your child a chance to stop and... More »
Ah...the holiday season. Crisp snow, warm fires, fragrant trees and soft candle light and... TOYS!!! Christmas and Chanukah have come and gone and now we have a million more toys to store. Well, maybe not a million but definitely more than we had two weeks ago. Luckily, as children get older we are finding that the toys get smaller but nevertheless they still need homes. As we have said before, weeding through your children's toys before the influx of new holiday gifts will make finding homes for the new additions much easier. Make it part of your holiday routine... More »
Well the year is coming to an end and I wanted to thank everyone for reading my travel tips this year and I look forward to 2009! It has been a very interesting year on a lot of fronts and travel will continue to be something that we need to make the most of considering the money and effort we put into it. Please let me know if there are particular topics that are of interest to you and I will do my best to research and report back. I want to thank everyone that participated in last month's... More »
I hated Math in school. It just didn't make sense. The teacher stood at the front of the room, drew numbers and diagrams on the board and told us to memorize the facts and formulas. For the kids who were able to intuitively "break the code" and understand what was going on, Math was great. But for the rest of us Math remained a constant struggle. Does this sound like you or your kids? Well, I'm here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be that way. But how do you help a child who struggles in Math? Practising... More »
I recently had David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber, come to Toronto to speak to my clients. His message was very timely because the one main point he makes with his book is that to achieve financial success, you must always spend less than you make. This is the lesson my parents always instilled in me. I received a copy of The Wealthy Barber when I was 13 years old. I’ve read it many times since then and attribute much of my fiscal discipline today to the lessons from that book. Dave Chilton told me that he will... More »
Not sure about you, but I'm not a winter lover, and if I can’t get my family away for a winter vacation, I’ve found that I can survive the season by taking a short trip or two. You don’t have to travel far or break the bank to take advantage of what many local hotels and venues have to offer. Last year, for example, I booked a couple of nights in downtown Toronto at the Delta Chelsea Hotel. My husband, daughter and I checked in on the night of December 25th, so that I could be in the heart... More »
