The holiday season is upon us! It’s a time for festivities and feasting and family – and financial stress (well, it can be if you’re not careful). This year, as you eat, drink, and make merry, be sure to include a modicum of financial planning so you can start the new year debt free. Be […]

Renewing your mortgage can be a good decision, but do it wisely. Even if you have a good relationship with your current lender, shopping around might protect you from overpaying. Figures from the Bank of Canada in June of 1990 put bank rates on five-year fixed mortgages at an average of 14.25 per cent. They […]

Are you the kind of person who starts panicking every year  in the weeks leading up to Christmas because you haven’t started your Christmas shopping? Let me suggest a  fantastic last-minute holiday gift that will hold enormous value – and even increase in value – over time. Which each passing year, the great Christmas shop […]

Real estate in Canada has been hot over the past six months, with many people looking ahead to potentially unstable times and wondering if they should get out. But the thing is, real estate in Canada never had the same housing bubble the US did in 2008. Things here have been consistently more stable over […]

Last month we wrote about the impacts of a poor credit score and how to improve it, but how do you even know where to begin? In this blog post I will address how to read and understand your credit report, so you can then address areas of improvement. What Credit Reports Should You Be […]

With lending rates at an all time low, and people running to remortgage or refinance during the pandemic, getting a handle on your credit score has never been more critical. Your credit score is a test you don’t want to fail. A great credit score means you can access cheap money for your home, business […]

Stay Away From Fear Based Market Decisions Until Real Data Has Come In. It’s hard not to panic in these trying times. With the news constantly throwing out alarm bells about a depression, and the economy on pause, it would be easy to give in to the desire to dump your investments, sell your properties, […]

Jobs that include a payout with pension are becoming increasingly rare in Canada. Gone are the days of slowly working your way to the top of a company and retiring with a secure pension. Most Canadians will change their careers at 5-7 times in their lifetimes, and the mega trends of technology and economics means […]

The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive (FTHBI) just rolled out on Sept 2 2019, and already Trudeau is promising to expand it if he gets re-elected. But while the FTHBI is promising to make home buying more affordable for young – or first time home owner – Canadians, just what is it exactly? What is the […]

Things just got a little easier in Canada with new changes to our mortgage stress tests. The Bank Of Canada lowered the rates for Canadian mortgage stress tests in July, the first drop since 2016. The mortgage qualifying rate dropped to 5.19 per cent from 5.34 per cent, where it had been locked since May […]