There are certain lending rules that banks are expected to follow when they approve someone for a mortgage. In Canada, the lending rules are… 1) No more than 32% of our gross income can go towards housing related expenses like mortgage, heating, property tax, etc.. 2) No more than 40% of our gross income can to towards making… Read More »
Last month I tried to go for 25 days without spending any money. And it worked. I passed my April no spend days challenge. Here is a break down of all my expenses. April 2nd: Paid mortgage, strata, and some other reoccurring expenses. April 1st was a weekend. April 3rd: Paid $58.24 for internet bill using my… Read More »
Last month a reader asked for my take on RRSPs (401K plan equivalent.) This topic is long so I’ve broken it up. The truth is, I like the RRSP, but probably not for the same reasons as other people. The basics of how RRSPs work is they defer our taxable income to another year when we’ll hopefully be in… Read More »
It’s Better to Invest than to pay down Mortgage debt Many financial gurus will advise home owners to make lump sum payments on their mortgages and pay them down sooner rather than later. However I worry people may be under estimating the power of opportunity cost. Let’s work through the numbers and look at some facts instead of… Read More »