What successful businesswomen know about startups A recent survey from Deloitte Global showed that the pandemic has seen an increase in workloads at work and at home for many women. In fact, many are at a breaking point, leaving the workforce in record numbers. For...
A lesson in financial planning for post-secondary education Parents with children going to post-secondary schools this fall might be suffering from a case of sticker shock. Costs are high, sometimes eye-wateringly so. Students can expect to pay about $80,000...
Deep pockets and knowledge a must From time to time, you’ll see (or even be offered by your advisor) an investment available only to “accredited” investors. This doesn’t necessarily mean some sort of real estate syndicate in the Caribbean. In fact, very often it...
Wild market optimism no time to lose your common sense With the S&P/TSX Composite up 66% since the pandemic meltdown lows of last March, there’s definitely a whiff of bull in the air. Almost anything goes as the big U.S. stock indexes keep climbing to fresh...
Tips for managing household debt Canadians have been getting into debt at a red-hot pace. The overheated housing market since the beginning of the year, combined with pandemic-induced credit-card use, lifted the household debt to income ratio to 172.3% in the first...
Financial security starts with financial literacy According to a CIBC study in 2019, Canadian women control $2.2 trillion of assets. But that will almost double to $4 trillion by 2028 and could be a lot more if real estate is included. While that wealth is...
Foundational principles for financial success For many new grads this year, leaving the security of the academic environment for the big wide world can be a slightly scary prospect, especially if you have to make your own way financially and can no longer rely...
Do’s and don’ts for the new investment environment By now, you’ve noticed that the prices of everyday essentials from groceries to gas to lumber have edged up, some quite significantly. No, you’re not dreaming, and it’s not a mistake. Consumer price indexes have...
Navigating stress tests and high-ratio mortgage insurance As if the real estate market weren’t already challenging enough, the government has decided to make it even tougher by tightening the qualification thresholds for certain mortgages. If you’re applying for a...
Managing your cash, from crunch to conservation Over the past year, the pandemic has put many people between a rock and a hard place financially. A recent survey by FP Canada indicated that nearly 60% of respondents said they had at least one negative financial...
Avoid surprises: talk about money before exchanging vows Couples caught up in the details of planning a wedding – especially during the pandemic lockdowns – often neglect to talk about money. That’s not surprising, since the Leger Discomfort Index, a survey of what...
Investing by stock market lore could be a money-losing strategy “Sell in May, go away, and don’t come back ’til Labour Day” is one of those bits of market lore that’s trotted out from time to time. Other instances of such supposed deep wisdom include, “Never try to...