Having the biggest and best home on the block sounds great – but not if it is at the expense of your life and monthly finances! Be smart about your budget and avoid buying a home at the very top of your pre-approval value, which might lead to cash flow issues and being “house poor” […]

Are you waiting to purchase your first home? There is good news on the horizon. There is a new type of tax-free savings account for first-time home buyers (FTHB) launching in 2023!FTHB’s will be able to contribute $8000 per year to the account and receive a tax deduction for the contributions (much like an RRSP account). The […]

The Bank of Canada slowed the pace of monetary tightening The Governing Council of the Bank of Canada raised its target for the overnight policy rate by 50 basis points today to 3.75% and signalled that the policy rate would rise further. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening (QT), reducing its holdings […]

The Bank of Canada announced its 6th rate hike of the year this morning in an attempt to reach its target inflation rate of 2%. Prime rate now sits at 5.95% for most banks. In September, the inflation rate was recorded as 6.9%, causing prices of food and other necessary costs to increase. The Bank […]

Bank of Canada Will Not Be Happy With This Inflation Report Canada’s headline inflation rate ticked down slightly last month to 6.9%, but measures of core inflation remain stubbornly high, and food prices hit a 41-year high. Lower gasoline prices were primarily responsible for the decline in inflation in the past three months. Bond markets […]

Orderly Housing Correction Continues There are many unusual aspects to the current housing correction, but fundamentally the most noteworthy is how orderly and non-chaotic it has been. Home sales have slowed, but so have new listings, so the price declines are more muted than we might have expected. This is not a housing collapse. It […]

When it comes to making your home more eco-friendly, the best place to start is the kitchen! With all of the hustle and bustle that goes on in this space (as well as the multitude of appliances), this is the ideal area to transform first for maximum effect. Invest in Long-Lasting Cookware: Switch your Teflon […]

Forty-Three Years Ago, I Was Fed Chair Paul Volcker’s Special Assistant Inflation appears to be book-ending my career. I started my work as an economist in the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C., in the late 1970s. Inflation had been trending higher for years. Neither Arthur Burns nor G. William Miller, […]

With record-high inflation, Canadian shoppers are well aware that the cost of just about everything is going up. But they can soon expect to see a new demand for their dollars when they shop, because starting Thursday, retailers and other businesses will be allowed to charge them a fee every time they swipe their credit […]

When it comes to your mortgage application, there are a few things that you should avoid doing while you’re waiting for approval – such as making large purchases (i.e. a new car), applying for new credit, pulling additional credit reports, etc. Another issue that can come up is the loss of your job… What you […]