Dear readers,

Welcome to the first edition of our Bermuda Living series for 2006! Traditionally, we kick off the year with a Healthy Living feature, but we thought it would be more fitting to write about an issue that concerns all residents in one way or another, financial prosperity.

While researching for this supplement, the question often popped into my head, “What makes one rich?”

Is it the amount of money one has in their savings account today or the amount they will be able to live off once they reach their golden years? What if you cannot afford to buy yourself a piece of the rock, yet you diligently sock away funds for your children’s college education? Does that make you poor or wise (for sacrificing for the sake of your offspring?)? In my opinion, there are no incorrect answers, only the ones that work for you!

In this Financial Prosperity supplement, we have covered an array of subjects. On page three, two small business owners, tell of their struggles and determination to make it in today’s challenging times.

Learn about how to understand your pension on pages four and five, as features writer Melissa Fox <$>sits down with Maximum Pension Services’ CEO Lisa Jackson. Not sure what career path you want to embark on? Consider temping. Ms Fox also speaks with two of Bermuda’s well known agencies, Bermuda Executive Services and SOS Ltd (see story on page six).

Do you know someone having trouble deciding what degree to obtain in college? Check out page seven and see what Derrick Smith of the Bermuda Careers Centre has to say about ensuring that you have studied the local job market to heighten your chances of being viably employed upon graduation.

How many of you believe that you will never be able to afford your own home with the average cost being $1.2 million? Veteran realtor C Phillip Smith says that it IS possible. Want to know how? See his story on page seven.

Will you have at least $200,000 saved in 15 years? For what, you may be wondering. Not for a down payment for a house (is that even enough these days?), or a luxury car, but for your child’s college education.

As staggering as it may seem, that is the estimated cost for the year 2019 and the prices jump as time progresses. I spoke with Charles Jeffers of the Heritage International Scholarship Trust Plan, who encourages all parents to start saving as soon as they can. On page eight he explains how the plan works and how parents cannot afford not to invest in their child’s future.

I hope that you learn something in this edition of Financial Prosperity. I did. Now excuse me while I go and try to understand how my pension really works!