Debt & Frugality

As Didi says in the novel (Findependence Day), “There’s no point climbing the Tower of Wealth when you’re still mired in the basement of debt.” If you owe credit-card debt still charging an usurous 20% per annum, forget about building wealth: focus on eliminating that debt. And once done, focus on paying off your mortgage. As Theo says in the novel, “The foundation of financial independence is a paid-for house.”

Does downsizing to a secondary housing market really save money?

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By Penelope Graham, Zoocasa.com

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Despite the efforts of new rules and regulations, real estate prices continue their upward trajectory across the nation; according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the HPI Index rose in nine of 13 markets in January by an average of 7.7 per cent, while the average home price increased 2.3 per cent, to $481,500.

However, CREA noted that excluding Canada’s largest housing markets – Toronto and Vancouver – would strip a whopping $107,500 out of the national sale price, with the remaining markets contributing to an average of $374,000.

While it has always been more expensive to live in a main city centre than in a rural market, excessively hot price growth over the last few years has increasingly prompted buyers to explore their options in secondary real estate markets, fuelling the migration to further-flung communities with comparatively affordable housing. And, as new stress-testing mortgage rules designed to squeeze affordability are now in place, this big-city exodus won’t slow any time soon.

Savings offered by secondary Real Estate markets

This trend is perhaps most evident in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe region, home to the City of Toronto and surrounding markets that stretch as far as Niagara, Peterborough and Windsor. Prices have ballooned in Toronto over the last two years and – while slightly softer following the implementation of the Fair Housing Plan last year – remain firmly out of reach for many prospective home buyers. For perspective, the average sale price in the Greater Toronto Area fell 4.1 per cent to $736,783 in January, yet a buyer earning the city’s median household income of $78,280 would qualify only for a maximum mortgage of about $545,692.

One of the most popular real estate destinations for these displaced buyers is the City of Hamilton, located to the west along the shores of Lake Ontario. At a roughly one-hour’s drive from Toronto’s downtown core, and boasting beautiful natural features in addition to a rapidly-gentrifying downtown, home seekers have been drawn to the Hammer in droves.

However, affordability is clearly their main motivation, as freehold Hamilton real estate can be had for a relative bargain compared to its Toronto counterparts, with the average home costing $549,546 in January. That’s a whopping $734,435 less than the average Toronto detached price of $1,283,981.

Is It worth moving to another city?

Such savings are tempting – but there are considerations all buyers should mull over before booking a long-haul moving truck. Continue Reading…

Canadians miss out on $1,000 a year from Credit Card rewards, RateHub says

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By Alyssa Furtado, RateHub.ca

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

A whopping 86 per cent of Canadians say one of their top reasons when choosing a new credit card is earning rewards points or cash back, this according to a recent survey done by Ratehub.ca. 42% of those surveyed said they’ve never searched or compared credit cards to ensure they’re getting the maximum return.

Based on spending averages from Statistics Canada, that means Canadians could be giving up almost $1,000 rewards by not using one of the best credit cards available.

How is that possible? Well, when you look at some of the best credit cards in Canada, they offer up to 5% in cash back or rewards for certain categories. In addition, many cards offer a big sign-up bonus that could be worth anywhere from $250 to $500, so it’s not hard to see how some people are missing out.

Choosing a new credit card

With 29 per cent of those surveyed saying that the card they use most has been in their wallet for more than 10 years and another 50 per cent saying they would never pay an annual fee, perhaps it’s psychology that’s holding them back from making a change?

Continue Reading…

Federal budget 2018: Just what you’d expect from a Liberal government well into its mandate

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The Liberals’ 2018 federal budget that descended on us on Tuesday afternoon is pretty much what you’d expect from the Justin Trudeau administration at this slightly-past-the-midway point of its mandate: lots of spending on things like gender pay equity, parental leave, native rights. Another stab at sin taxes, with a carton of 200 cigarettes going up by $1 and a proposal for excise duties on cannabis if and when marijuana becomes legal in July. A bit of business tax reform scaled down from the measures that so incensed small business last fall. As for balancing Ottawa’s books? Not so much.

The CBC’s web site provides this overview: Liberals spend billions to close gaps for working women, indigenous families. If you want to do straight to the source, click on the Finance Canada site here.

Here’s the Globe & Mail’s overview that went up soon after 4 pm:  Federal budget highlights: 12 things you need to know. In case you’ve met the paywall limit on free views, it reports that the budget is in line with previous estimates from Finance Canada, which means deficits for the “foreseeable future.”  Pay equity legislation is proposed for federal government employees and federal regulated sectors. And $447 million will be spent over 5 years to create a new indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program (replacing the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy).  And another $1.4 billion or more over 6 years is proposed for First Nations child and family services.

A National Pharmacare program is being “consulted” on. More detail on passive income and private corporations: companies with more than $150,000 in passive income will no longer be eligible for the small business tax rate, while those with under $50,000 oil passive income will not be affected. In between is a formula. Also more than half a billion will go to Cybersecurity, and $3.8 billion over 5 years will go to “support science.”  And journalism has not been forgotten: the budget proposes $50 million over 5 years to support journalism in “underserved communities.”

At the National Post, this piece looks at 5 ways average Canadians could be impacted by the federal budget. MoneySense‘s Julie Cazzin totes up 15 ways Budget 2015 will impact your wallet. There’s something for everyone, Cazzin writes, but no real showstoppers. Julie also looks at 5 measures that directly impact Canadian families. Another MoneySense writer looks at the implications for small business owners.

Carrick sees 7 changes affecting personal finances

Here’s Rob Carrick’s piece on 7 changes that could affect your finances. Carrick writes in the Globe that Ottawa will be modernizing deposit insurance, replace the Canada Working Income Tax Benefit with the introduction of a Canada Workers Benefit, which raises benefits by up to  $170 a year in 2019 for single parents and couples, while raising the level at which the benefit is phase out from $32,339 to $36,483. The Sears bankruptcy appears to have stimulated consultation on pension security, while as of June 2018 an extra five weeks of parental benefits will be available when parents share parental leave. (Yes, Justin Trudeau’s government wishes to encourage more men to take pat leave!) There is also an expansion of the medical expense tax credit and a move to strengthen the oversight of bank sales practices by the federal Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.

Coyne: Budget has nothing to do with budgeting; Ivison: Liberals show their cunning

Back at the National Post, you can get useful video insights from columnists Andrew Coyne, John Ivison and William Watson here. Coyne’s column is titled Liberals deliver a federal budget that has nothing to do with budgeting, or the economy.  In it, he wryly observes that the Liberals are pandering “to every conceivable Liberal client group and policy cult: environmentalists, seasonal EI recipients, multiculturalism, official language groups, regional development, all the way to the media … And, of course, feminists.”

John Ivison’s column is headlined “In their third federal budget, Trudeau’s Liberals show their cunning.”

Finally, for a sober look from the tax and accounting pros at KPMG, read this overview.

My take? How about addressing pension inequity between public and private sectors?, not just gender pay inequity?

Continue Reading…

5 small steps to improve your physical health & 5 for your financial health

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Duke University conducted a two-year study of 218 healthy adults of normal weight to determine if a modest, sustained calorie reduction would show appreciable benefits. The plan was to reduce calories consumed by 25 per cent, but participants were unable to achieve that much.

(Author’s note: I sure couldn’t do it! A 25% reduction in my 2,000 daily calories would leave me staggering around at only 1,500 per day.)

Participants were able, however, to cut calories by an average of about 12 per cent.  This smaller change allowed them to stick to the plan without any adverse effect on mood (wherein lies a useful message in itself). The results? Lowered blood pressure; decreased insulin resistance; as well as a drop in several predictors of cardiovascular disease.

But the most appreciable result concerned C-reactive protein, a substance produced by the liver and a marker of inflammation in the body. The participants’ C-reactive levels plunged by almost half: a remarkable 47%!

It’s a no brainer that poor dietary habits would exacerbate internal inflammation. But very often this is an invisible menace (see my article ‘The Truth About Inflammation’, October 2015). Most of us remain blissfully unaware of any chronic inflammation cascading throughout our bodies. Yet this exposes us to chronic health risks as a result of knocking the body out of whack. In my case, I had the aforesaid silent inflammation and observable inflammation, which I felt in my poor old joints. And I am pretty convinced that chronic inflammation was one factor in my developing cancer.

An elevated C-reactive protein level can be a valid identifier of inflammation in the body. So, if just a 12% calorie restriction can reduce this marker by almost 50%, this is as good information as that available to an insider trader.

In the blindness of youth, so many of us can compromise our health in a mad dash for wealth. But from the other end of the lifespan, a good many seniors would gladly sacrifice some wealth for even a smidgen of better health. Those who don’t make time for their health early on in life more often have to make time for illness later.

5 ways to improve your physical health

So, if you are young, young at heart, worried that you are no longer young, here is some insider information. Five smart, little investments you can make, the aggregate interest of which, over time, will have compound into positive health returns. Continue Reading…

9 ways to survive when money’s tight on Maternity Leave (or Pat Leave)

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By Maria Weyman

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Being on maternity ‒ or paternity leave ‒ usually means you’re taking a pay cut, and that can leave you feeling perpetually broke.

Not only are you bringing in a smaller income each month, but you’re also shelling out for baby items you never had to buy before. Despite the crunch, many parents also struggle with the temptation to shop more than usual since they have extra time to spend wandering around the malls or browsing online.

However with some effort, it’s possible to get through maternity leave with your finances ‒ and your sanity! ‒ intact.

Challenge yourself

Saving money can be kind of fun if you make a game out of seeing how much you can save ‒ and then trying to beat your own record.

1.) Get your thrift on

Babies outgrow their clothes very quickly, and secondhand items are usually in nearly-new condition because they’re hardly worn.

So why not plan an outing at the thrift store, meet up with a friend (who’s also on mat leave) and dig through the bins and racks together.

2.) Try couponing

Even if you’ve never clipped a coupon in your life, there’s no better time to learn.

You can save on groceries once you learn how to find grocery coupons online, how to stack coupons, and earn money with cash-back couponing apps.

Pssst. Babies also come with some handy freebies if you know where to look.

3.)  Trim the budget

Sit down and look at where your spending could be tightened, and decide on a goal that’s going to help you spend less each month.

If you’re overspending on groceries ‒ after all, you are home all of the time now ‒ maybe you can set a strict budget and really stick to it.

If you’re visiting the coffee shop a little too often, make the effort to bring a hot drink in a travel mug when you head out the door.

Look for free fun

It might feel like every activity costs money, but there are so many ways to get out that are absolutely free.

4.) Take a walk

Walking is a great way to explore new neighbourhoods, get some exercise, and lower your stress levels by breathing in the fresh air.

Babies also enjoy going for walks, and usually the movement lulls them to sleep. If it’s too cold or rainy to walk outside, look for an indoor track. Often it’s free for people from the community to use, and you can bring the baby in their stroller.

5.) Try something new

Most gyms and fitness centres offer a trial membership, whether it’s a day pass or even a full week. By expressing interest in maybe joining their facility, you can get the chance to try out their equipment, sweat through a cardio class, and take a shower in peace.

Bonus points if you find a place that offers free daycare for your little one!

6.) Join a group Continue Reading…