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Business

HAIKU, Hawaii - How much
money is enough?

For Kris Dixon, it’s just enough
money to put a roof over her head,
food on her table, clothes on her
body and gas in the car so she can
get to her job as an officer in the
Maui police department.

She needs a car because she had
to find land that provided a place
for her pets: two elderly horses,
four one-legged ducks (injured at
birth or in a subsequent mishap),
two two-legged ducks and two
dogs.

Every now and again we all ask
that question: “How much money
is enough?” How much must we
earn to save to buy a home, live
well, retire securely?

Sometimes it’s easier to find the
answer by looking at somebody
else’s life, by visiting somebody
like Dixon, 44, and her friend Rick
Harmel, 41.

Dixon lives on four-fifths of a
hectare (two acres) three kilome-
tres along a dirt road near Haiku, a
post office and not much more in
the upcountry, non-tourist part of
Maui.

She and Harmel have been —
and still are — building a 2
1/2-storey house. The main floor
(five by seven metres) is upstairs
and includes the kitchen and living
ToOM in One space, a curtained-off
bathroom, and a sleeping area in
the loft. There’s alSo a large deck.
At the ground level is a utility and
work area.

“It’s always been my goal to
have my own place,” said Dixon.
However, that goal seemed far
away after Dixon had to cope with
a difficult divorce, which left her
with a $14,000 settlement after a
seven-year relationship. (All fig-
ures shown here are in Canadian
funds.)

“T will never trust another per-
son to look after me again,” said
Dixon in an aside. “I’d given up
my Career as a nurse when I got
married and was completely
devastated — financially as well
as emotionally — when the rela-
tionship ended in 1982.”

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Dixon’s advice to all married
women not working outside the
home: “If you can’t or don’t want
to go to school, do volunteer work.
That way, you practise existing
skills or develop new ones, make
confacts and build up a support
network — all while doing some-
thing beneficial for the commun- -
ity.”

Dixon moved to Hawaii from
California in 1967 “to seek my
fortune.” She travelled and worked
at various jobs until she met her
future husband. “He already had
property on which he was building
a home so my dream of having a
place came true.”

The dream ended when the
matriage did. “It was a rough
period but my friends helped me
through,” Dixon said.

She joined the Maui police
department in 1986 but with take-
home pay of $1,800 a month
didn’t have much hope of buying
or building a home.

“T called my parents, who are
both retired civil servants, and
asked them if they could possibly
lend me enough to help me buy
some land,” Dixon said. “It was
the first time I had ever asked
them for money.

“They said yes and we drew up
everything legally so their loan is
fully protect

After buying the land, Dixon
paid $500 for two sheet metal
garden storage sheds. She cut two

CONGRATULATIONS

S. (Paddy) Paddison, CD

President, 800 (Pacific) Wing
Royal Canadian

Air Force Association

Ron Kubek, C.C.I.M., President,
NRS Peninsula Properties Ltd. ex-
tends congratulations to Paddy on
assuming the position of President
of 800 (Pacilfic) Wing, Royal Cana-
dian Air Force Association. 800
Wing sponsors two Air Cadet
squadrons. Paddy also serves on
the Education committee of the
Victoria Real Estate Board, is a
member of the Central Saanich
Business Association, and works
with the Department of Veterans
Affairs and the Allied War Graves
Commission to locate WWII crash
sites to erect memorial cairns. Ac-
tively serving the community with
dedication and hard work, Paddy
continues to uphold the NRS tradi-
tion of having the finest people to
serve the community’s real estate
needs.

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fea SAR VTS I SSUES SS RNS

windows in one of the sheds and
lived in the three-metre-square
Structure for eight months until
she could move into her house.

Dixon had hired Harmel as a
carpenter to help her build the
home.

~ We got along well so when the
main structure was up and I had
Tun out of my initial funds, Rick

‘Know what you
want and be
prepared to work
hard to achieve
your goal. If’s
important to have
a direction, to set a
goal. But be
realistic: you can’t
have everything.’

moved in and now is continuing to
help me finish the place,” Dixon
said.

TReview Wednesday, April 4, 1990 — ee

Building equity is hard work, but smart — |

She said it costs all her take-
home pay — now about $2,700 a

month — to keep building, pay off ~

her debts and cover normal living
expenses. “Without the loan pay-
ments and building, I could proba-
bly manage on $900 to $1,000 a
month,” she said, adding: “I’ve
always been a basic person.”

What does Dixon feel is the
secret of living successfully on
what you earn and save/invest?

“Know what you want and be
prepared to work hard to achieve
your goal. It’s important to have a
direction, to set a goal. But be
realistic: you can’t have every-
thing.”

As far as the future, Dixon said
she*ll have a reasonable pension if
she stays with her police job. She
has taken out extra disability
insurance in case she gets hurt and
cannot work as a police officer.

“Tn the meantime, I’m building
up equity in my home,” she said.
“If I do change jobs, I could
always go into something in a
related field like counselling, for
example.”

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