Vaughan Animal Shelter – Paw Print on Your Heart

Since it opened its doors last year, the Vaughan Animal Shelter has provided a safe haven for homeless dogs and cats. They have been given a place to run, play and meet their human soul mates. “When we’ve done everything possible to raise and protect these animals and then they get into a good home, that’s a success story,” says Tony Thompson, director of enforcement at City of Vaughan. With a gymnasium where animals can exercise and many dedicated volunteers, the shelter is taking good care of your next family pet.
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High Roller

It’s too high for me; look at it! It hurts my neck,” says Vaughan resident Jimmy Leone as he sizes up Canada’s Wonderland’s towering new ride from a coffee shop at the corner of Jane Street and Major Mackenzie Drive. A young man a few seats away has a different point of view. “I’ll go this summer. Why not? It’s fun, it’s exciting.” Suddenly, all that’s heard is a group of people echoing the back-and-forth dialogue that began when news broke last August that a 306-foot roller coaster was coming to town. Stretching far beyond the city, thrill-seekers and evaders are dogmatic about whether or not they will strap themselves into the prodigious seafoam green Leviathan, set to debut this May.
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You Should Have Asked

Human beings are fascinating. It’s too bad that most of the general population doesn’t agree. I know this because over the past 15 years I’ve spoken to over one million people. During that time, I’ve noticed that we’ve become a species that has literally stopped asking each other good questions. I have observed this at networking functions, fundraisers, parties, and even in line at Tim Hortons.

I’m not trying to brag, but I have a pretty cool job. I produce musicals, write books, host radio shows, shoot videos, get interviewed on TV and help big Canadian companies reach new levels of success. When someone asks what I do for a living, I obviously don’t give them the entire list, and instead default to one thing by saying, “I’m a professional speaker.” Quite often, the person will not dig deeper and will say something like, “Wow, that sounds like fun. And do you live in Toronto?” I kid you not when I say that at least 99 per cent Read more

The Bits and Pieces of a Hoarder

At a Second Cup on the corner of King West and John streets, Carol* sits across from me at a back table in a black blazer and white blouse, her dark jeans pulling the look together in a smart-casual sort of way. She’s somewhat tentative, looking down before making eye contact, sipping on the chilled green tea before her while carefully revealing pieces of a story that many are too ashamed to tell. She flips her cellphone intermittingly, taking a call, checking the time, not wanting to be away too long from the design firm where she works as an interior designer with a penchant for simple spaces. And yet herein lies the disparity: this shipshape woman – blond hair bordering flushed cheeks and an emerald gaze, lined precisely with eyeliner, framed with dainty eyeglasses – can’t do for herself what she does for others. Her home instead is a blueprint for an underground psychopathological design: Read more

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Speaking at two We Day events in Montreal, flying across the continent for a speaking engagement in Seattle the following morning and readying for another in San Francisco that same afternoon, Spencer West’s campaigning for his Redefine Possible initiative has been quite the journey. But it’s nothing compared to the challenge that awaits him at the end: climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
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Yellow Brick House’s Second Shelter from the Storm

“It was way overdue,” says Vivian Risi, president and broker of record of Royal LePage – Your Community Reality, and chair of YBH’s Second Shelter – Second Chances Capital Campaign. She explains how the original site – which has served the community for over 30 years – was performing admirably, considering its modest resources. Despite its welcoming nature, the shelter had no choice but to turn away over 500 women and children every year because of its limited capacity. “They couldn’t house them, they couldn’t help them, because they were always full.”
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The Bottomless Cookie Jar

A credit card is like a bottomless cookie jar. With easy access to credit, there’s no reason to wonder when the treats will run out, and you are never disappointed. Want a new outfit? Just stick it on a credit card. Want to have dinner with a bunch of friends? Desperately in need of a sunny vacation to beat the winter blues? There’s room on the card and that’s just what it’s for, right?

When credit became a commodity, lenders started hiking limits and offering incentives to take on more cards. People started behaving like greedy children, gobbling cookies without a thought to the tummy ache that would eventually follow. Now Canadians are spending almost 1.5 times what they make every year. Talk about lack of self-control.
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Master the Cards

According to recent data released by Moneris Solutions, Canada’s largest debit and credit card processor, spending through its debit and credit card machines in last year’s fourth quarter rose 5.8 per cent compared to 2010’s. It seems Canadians loosened up a bit for the holidays. It’s ok to splurge from time to time, but with the uncertain economic times, living within your means is not only wise, but essential. That means finding the right credit card for your lifestyle. Depending on your qualifications, you may have a beefy buffet of plastic to pick through, or, your selection may be as lean as a vegan menu. So how do you decide? We’ve asked three credit card connoisseurs to track down the perfect pieces of plastic to help you live within your means.
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Life on the Rise

From the heart of the city to the soul of Vaughan, these luxurious developments are sure to make your pulse beat faster.

1. Parkside at Atria
Tridel and Dorsay Development Corporation introduces its newest masterpiece to the condominium market: Parkside at Atria. Adjacent from the prestigious Alto at Atria, Parkside at Atria is a combination of modern architecture and unique beauty, sharing a private courtyard while remaining steps away from the community.
www.tridel.com

2. Expo City
All roads lead to Vaughan’s Metropolitan Centre, where an iconic 37-story development deemed Expo City lies in the heart of a community. In an area surrounded by luxury stores, Read more

Raise the $teaks of Personal Finance

Years ago, the late Paul Newman, he of the stunning blue eyes and insouciant stare, was asked if he’d ever been tempted to stray from his wife, actress Joanne Woodward. Newman simply smiled and said, “Why would I go out for hamburger when I have steak at home?” With apologies to Newman, I’m borrowing his comment and applying it to the investment universe: If you can have investment steak at home, why would you bother going out for ground beef?

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are prime meat for your portfolio, while actively managed mutual funds are, for the most part, ground beef. ETFs give you a lot less fat for the money. Not only are they cheaper – the management fees (MERs) start as low as 0.07 per cent and most are under 0.5 per cent compared to the MERs of Canadian mutual funds which average 2.5 per cent annually – but they also produce a better result. Read more

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