1. Make a list of the things your child needs prior to heading out. Prioritize between needs and wants, and when the item is required. For example, if gym isn’t until 2nd semester then maybe the runners can wait until then.

2. Scan your child’s closet for clothes that can still be worn and clothes they have grown out of. Maybe a swap with another family, or a trip to the local 2nd hand store to sell on consignment is required. By the way, 2nd hand stores have great clothes, even name brand clothes, at fantastic prices.

3. A great wardrobe consists of a few core pieces that cost a little bit more than the others, but matched with some great bargains, the entire outfit can look and feel like a million bucks.

4. Your child most likely came home with a list of school supplies that are needed for the year, kindly supplied by their local school board. Review the list with your child to see if maybe instead of buying 6 glue sticks now you can buy 3 and then 3 again after Christmas (what a great stocking stuffer!!). A quick e-mail to their teacher may help to determine what is needed in September vs November.

5. Before venturing out for the school supplies, check at home first. How many of us have a “junk drawer” that is filled with pencils, pens, glue sticks, maybe even a couple of calculators, from last year that weren’t used. No need to buy more, sharpen them up and pop them in a new pencil case and you’ve eliminated part of your shopping list.

6. And of course, before doing anything, check the flyers, clip coupons, watch for stores that do price matching and shop all year round for back to school clothes to make August shopping less of a strain on your wallet. Don’t forget to check on-line for those larger items like college text books, laptops, desks and chairs.  Have a budget in mind before going out and stick to it.

7. Don’t forget to show any student ID cards, CAA memberships, store points cards, etc. to get the best deal as there is always money to be saved.

My name is Wendy Young and I work in our Hamilton office. If you’re one that not only struggles with your finances in August but all year round, maybe it’s time to come up with a plan for you too!!! If you find you are stretched beyond your means each month and you are considering your options or need guidance with your financial situation, feel free to give at us a call at 310-PLAN (7526) or 905-777-0770 or e-mail us for a free confidential consultation to come up with a PLAN for you.

First, my name is Douglas Hoyes; I’m a chartered accountant, and co-founder of Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc., one of Ontario’s largest personal insolvency firms. I deal with personal bankruptcy matters every day, so even though the Phoenix Coyotes are a hockey team, not a person, their situation is very familiar to that faced by numerous residents of Hamilton, and Ontario, and Canada today.

They have too much debt, and not enough income to service that debt. They have filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which is a way to restructure. In Canada we call that a proposal; people do consumer proposals all the time. In a consumer proposal we contact your creditors and work out a plan where you repay some of your debt, over a period of time.

The Phoenix Coyotes are attempting to do the same: reduce their debt. The difference between a Hamilton resident filing a consumer proposal and what the hockey team is doing is that in the United States, a judge is involved. The judge has the power to sell assets, and that’s where it gets interesting.

Apparently Jim Balsillie, co-founder of RIM, the Blackberry makers, wants to buy the team and move it to Hamilton, or somewhere else in Ontario. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman doesn’t want the team moved, because that would be an admission that hockey isn’t viable in the desert. Mr. Balsillie has been trying to buy an NHL team for a while, but he’s been blocked by Bettman. Now, if the court approves the sale, there may not be anything Bettman can do about it.

In Canada, the bankruptcy process is designed to give people a fresh start. The Phoenix Coyotes obviously need a fresh start, so I applaud Mr. Balsillie for using the bankruptcy process to accomplish that objective. Whether or not he succeeds, it will be interesting to watch.

And if you are reading this and feeling like a Coyote, with more debt than you can handle, give us a call at 310-PLAN, or in Hamilton at 905-777-0770, or e-mail us, and one of our associates would be pleased to walk you through your options.