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otham City has Batâ€" Gman; Metropolis has Superman, and Waterloo has... the Geek Squad. Citizens of Waterloo now have a crew of computerâ€" whiz superheroes to go to battle for them against techâ€" nological evils, such as viruses, drive crashes and spyware. Most computer owners have dealt with the annoyâ€" ances of computer probâ€" lems, and while a few may have the knowâ€"how to find and fix the problem, many don‘t. Most people call their computer store or manufacâ€" turer. Often these calls for help lead to being put on hold for long periods of time or their computer being sent far away for repairs. For a community that relies heavily on computers for work and play, these delays can be economically and emotionally costly. Enter the Geek Squad, a group of computer geeks dedicated to quickly and personally helping people and their computers. Director of Geek Squad, Bill Huskey, added, "Our By Cartuin CaRPENTER For The Chronicle Reviewing your retirement savings plan omputer repair workers give Waterloo its own Geek Squad life‘s work is to repair hardâ€" drive crashes, contain viruâ€" lent outbreaks, obliterate spy ware surveillance, resurâ€" rect dead laptops â€" basicalâ€" ly protect the world, and now Waterloo from evil technology â€" that â€" lurks around us." The squad was founded in 1994 in Minneapolis, Minn. by Geek Squad chief inspector Robert Stephens, with the mission "to help citizens embrace technology and to relieve the world of technological troubles â€" one computer at a time." After expanding into Canada in late 2004, the Geek Squad intends to operâ€" ate in 10 cities across the country. Recently, the comâ€" pany announced that an additional "special agent" geek is operating in Waterâ€" 100. The Geek Squad‘s sucâ€" cess can be partly attributâ€" able to the fact that 64 per cent of Canadian homes have a computer. Waterloo, specifically, is an ideal locaâ€" tion for the Geek Squad due to the city‘s burgeoning highâ€"tech industry. Waterloo‘s newest agent, Vischal Dhiman said, since coming to Waterloo he‘s gotâ€" ten "a good response. In the last two weeks, I‘ve gotten or some of us, summer Fholidays can occasion thoughts of retirement. We‘re spending time at the beach or the family cottage; we‘re camping and enjoying the outdoors; we‘re hiking, biking and barbecuing. However you choose to spend your summer holiday, there‘s a good chance it closely resembles the way in which you want to spend your retirement years. Thus, with images of retirement fresh in your mind, you can utilize this week‘s column to review The geeks are here BUSINESS four to five calls already." He said customers like the fact that "we go to cusâ€" tomers at their house or business and it doesn‘t matâ€" ter where you bought it or which model it is. We also fix things connected to the computer like a printer or scanner." * The Geek Squad charges a flat rate for their services, and customers know how much their problem will cost to fix before work begins. If the customer is not satisfied within 30 days of the Geek Squad visit, the problem will be fixed for free. "For anyone who has experienced those cataâ€" strophic computer moments we can help. For most people, the blue screen of death makes their blood run cold â€" but we live for that stuff. We don‘t get out much." Huskey says. Geek Squad agents travel in their famous VW bug, black and white Geekmoâ€" biles, and dress in black and white to match their rides. The Geek Squad can be found at Best Buy or Future Shop locations during store hours, any time of the day or night by calling 1â€"800â€"GEEK SQUAD, or by going to www.geeksquad.com. your investment plan, ensuring that it‘s still capaâ€" bie of helping you achieve your afterâ€"work goals and dreams. Although several other products exist, the RSP is still the most widely used investment vehicle for retirement savings. By maximizing your RSP contributions, you can capiâ€" talize on taxâ€"deferred growth within the plan. In other words, you dan‘t pay tax on the funds within your RSP until you begin withdrawing the money to HRONICLI Waterloo‘s newest Geek Squad agent, Vischal Dhiman, stands with his organization‘s trusty vehicle that he uses to make computer repair calls around the city. fund your retirement, at which time you‘ll most likely be in a lower tax bracket. This means more money for If you {or your spouse) have unused RSP contribuâ€" tion room, you might want to consider an RSP loan, which will top up your plan. Interestingly, you can use the tax refund from the conâ€" tribution to decrease the iniâ€" tial loan amount significantâ€" ly. _ in addition, low interest rates make RSP loans even more appealing. If you‘re not sure how much you should be conâ€" tributing to your RSP in order to meet your retireâ€" ment goals, seek professionâ€" al advice from a financial representative. You need to know where you‘re going in order to get there. In terms of how and where your money should be invested, you‘ll want to create and maintain a portâ€" folio that is well balanced. Fortunately, people are livâ€" ing longer now than at any point in history. On _ average, _ life expectancy for women in Canada is approximately 83, and, for men, it‘s 75. As a result, portfolios comprised entirely of safe and lowâ€"growth investments â€" like bonds and GICs â€" might not provide enough growth to support you durâ€" ing retirement. On the other hand, a wellâ€"balanced portfolio, which also consists of equiâ€" ties like growthâ€"oriented mutual funds, might be a more appropriate course for Continued on page 19 CATUIN CaRpeNTER PuOTO