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In the last video, Gretchen talked about how to buy happiness. This week? Gretchen talks about the “Expensive Gym Membership Effect”!

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It’s May and that means another new theme for the Happiness Project. Last month was all about work, and this month is all about money. Want to buy happiness? Listen to what Gretchen has to say about that.

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The final resolution in the theme of work is to be aware of drift. What’s drift? Take a listen and find out!

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The theme for this month is work. In the last video, Gretchen talked about how the fun of failure. This week she talks about the importance of asking for help.

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This month’s theme is ‘Work’ and the focus of this week’s video is all about enjoying the fun of failure. Yes, really! Listen to what Gretchen says about how failure can actually be fun!

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The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra is putting on a family show titled: How the Gimquat Found Her Song on Saturday, February 19 at 1:30 and 3:30 pm at the Rotary Centre for the Arts and in Vernon on Sunday, February 20th at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre at 1:30 pm.

What is a bird if she has no song? It’s a cold winter day when Griffle the Great – the magical musical wizard – meets the sad and songless Gimquat bird.
Soon the two are off on a tumble through time in search of the missing music: an adventure that takes them from monasteries to Mozart and from rap to Ravel.
After more than 200 performances around the world, this heart-warming tale told in Dr. Seuss-like verse continues to garner rave reviews and keep audiences of all ages spellbound.

Join the Platypus Theatre and symphony musicians in an entertaining romp!

The program music:

Bizet ~”Prelude”: Fate Theme Carmen Suite No.1
Vivaldi ~ “Spring” from The Four Seasons, 1st mov’t
M. Duschenes ~ Sad Dance, Jiminy Cricket
M. Duschenes ~ Awakening, Gregorian Chant
Anon ~ Tordion
J.S.Bach ~ Bist Du Bei Mir
Mozart ~ Overture to the Marriage of Figaro
Berlioz ~ Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath
Brahms ~ Wiegenlied
Offenbach ~ Can Can from Orpheus in the Underworld
M. Duschenes ~ Smokey Jazz
P. Duschenes ~ I Don’t Know Rap
Ravel ~ Le Jardin Feerique, Pavane de la Belle, Mother Goose Suite

Tickets for the Kelowna performance are available at Ticketmaster.ca and for Vernon performance contact Select Your Tickets.

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When the big ball dropped at midnight New Year’s Eve, the calendar changed, but will you?

After two years of recession and recovery that is moving slower than molasses going uphill in January, Certified Financial Planner Louis Scatigna, author of The Financial Physician (www.thefinancialphysician.com), believes that 2011 is the time for people to make some solid resolutions to change those old habits.

“Most people think that their financial problems revolve around not earning enough money to make ends meet,” said Scatigna, whose Financial Physician radio show is heard nationwide. “The truth is, everyone can improve their financial health by using the following five tips, and they don’t have to make a dime more than they are making today in order to feel more financially healthy.”

Scatigna’s tips include the following:

Calculate Your Net Worth

If you want to get healthy, you need a check up. Your net worth tells you how financially healthy you are right now, so you know where you’re starting. Here’s how you do it: Take a piece of paper and make two columns. On the left side of the paper list the value of all your assets and on the right side the balances of all your loans, using the totals from the end of 2009. Now, subtract your total debts from the total value of your assets and you arrive at your net worth, the exact amount of money you would have if you liquidated all your assets and paid off all your debts. The goal is to grow your net worth each and every year.

Prepare a Budget

Take another piece of paper, and make two columns, one for monthly expenses and one for annual expenses. On top of the page list all your sources of income (wages, interest, dividends, odd jobs, etc.). Total up all your income. Now list every expense in your life as accurately as you can. Make sure you keep track of your cash expenditures, like those Starbucks coffees and lunches at work. Spend one month writing down every penny you spend. Now, total up all your expenses, and then subtract your expenses from your income. If you’re in the hole, it’s time to reduce your spending. If you’re ahead, now you have an idea of how much you might be able to put away and save every month. The truth is that most families can cut 5 to 10 percent of their monthly expenses without too much trouble.

Manage the Money Together

If you’re married, it’s imperative that you manage the money as a couple. In most families either the husband or the wife handle the monthly bills, but that often leads to miscommunication and overspending. Sit down together and pay the bills and discuss with each other how you can reduce the household expenses. Review bills for accuracy and resolve to pay down the balances as fast as possible. Review each investment account statement for performance and risk. Doing it together ensures fewer crises and more savings.

Learn More About Money

The majority of Americans have little knowledge about finances, so they make costly mistakes. There are many books and websites that you can read to learn the basics about investing, buying cars and homes, insurance, the different types of mortgages, and credit cards. Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to your money.

Be Financially Responsible

What do you really need? What do you really want? These days, it’s difficult to have both, so we each need to evaluate our lives to determine what we can do without. Do you need to buy lunch at work every day, or does your break room have a kitchen where you could keep a loaf of bread and lunchmeat? Do we need 20 HBO channels, when there’s never anything good on, anyway? We now live in frugal times and must adjust our behavior in order to survive and become financially healthy.

Calculate Your Net Worth

If you want to get healthy, you need a check up. Your net worth tells you how financially healthy you are right now, so you know where you’re starting. Here’s how you do it: Take a piece of paper and make two columns. On the left side of the paper list the value of all your assets and on the right side the balances of all your loans, using the totals from the end of 2009. Now, subtract your total debts from the total value of your assets and you arrive at your net worth, the exact amount of money you would have if you liquidated all your assets and paid off all your debts. The goal is to grow your net worth each and every year.

About Lou Scatigna
Louis Scatigna is a Certified Financial Planner, national radio talk show host and author of The Financial Physician: How To Cure Your Money Problems and Boost Your Financial Health (www.thefinancialphysician.com). Lou is a regular guest on both national and local television programs and has been quoted in hundreds of publications and Web sites.

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