Keep a few basic principles in mind At times, the world of money, money management, and investing can seem a mysterious, possibly perilous, place. Do you really need to know about the yield curve and central bank policy before making an investment? Will your...
U.S., European bank failures raise anxiety level Are your bank deposits safe? Will deposit insurance protect you if a Canadian bank runs into trouble? It’s a question many people are asking, given the recent run of high-profile bank failures in the U.S. and...
Blocking investment, phishing, and service scams March is fraud prevention month in Canada. That may elicit big yawns in most people – except when you yourself become a victim of a con. Fraud is a major criminal enterprise in Canada, and has only become more...
Getting serious? Get serious about money too Couples getting seriously romantic on Valentine’s Day often take that first step to tying the knot. Congratulations! But before things get too far advanced, it might be an idea to have another kind of heart to heart –...
Home Buyer’s Plan, mortgages, new home savings plan Every first-time home buyer is faced with the challenge of financing their purchase. This comes with two elements: the down payment; and the mortgage. How can you scrape together a down payment? Saving like...
How much you can contribute, what investments you can hold For most Canadians, a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is still the single best way to grow a retirement nest-egg while deferring taxes. In fact, it is such a powerful retirement savings vehicle...
This 5-point annual review can reveal weak spots Your investment portfolio is the cornerstone of your wealth accumulation plan over the long term. Whether your investments are in non-registered trading accounts or in tax-sheltered plans like RRSPs and TFSAs, you...
Give your personal finances a workout Will there be a recession? Will inflation keep eroding our purchasing power? Will stock markets recover? Will rates keep climbing. We can make educated guesses, but the reality is that no one knows for sure. As individual...
Your attitude to money may be holding you back Let’s face it. Money is stressful, and especially so at the beginning of the New Year, right after the holiday spending binge. Spending, saving, investing, statements, bills, budgets – for many, maybe most, people, it...
The variable or fixed-rate choice, and stress test stress With interest rates climbing, homeowners with variable-rate mortgages may be wondering whether now is the time to convert to a fixed-rate mortgage. The answer is not as cut-and-dried as it might seem....
Stop the bad guys in their tracks with these tips Investment frauds and scams have ballooned during the pandemic as do-it-yourself investors, staying at home, had more time on their hands to get into trouble. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) reports that...
Additional financial pressure due to the lack of job opportunities and increasing debt load have piled on the financial stress for both parents in students coming into the 2021 fall semester. In this BNN Bloomberg article, Robyn Thompson offers some advice on the...