When mortgage rates are falling, banks will vie for your business. But in times like these when rates are rising, you have to shop around and negotiate to get the best rate. This was the situation I faced in 1994 when we bought our first home. This strategy saved us tens of thousands of dollars […]

The Bank of Canada is sticking to its ultra-low interest rate policy to help the recovery, despite mounting evidence the economy is performing better. And economists said the central bank’s surprisingly “dovish” statement suggests Canadians will be able to borrow at historically low interest rates for months to come. The bank’s decision Tuesday keeps its […]

Canada’s economy ended the year with a bang in 2010, setting the stage to a strong start this year that likely bodes well for jobs, corporate profits and government finances. Statistics Canada said Monday the economy expanded a surprisingly sprightly 3.3 per cent in the last three months last year, a full point more than […]

The average Canadian who files for bankruptcy owes $59,800 not counting his mortgage and is a 41-year-old married man with four credit cards, according to a report by a Kitchener-based bankruptcy trustee. The information, released Monday by Hoyes Michalos & Associates, says this amount owed by the average bankruptcy filer is about three-and-a-half times more […]

Canadian housing became more affordable in the last quarter of 2010 with the help of lower mortgage rates and slight appreciation in home prices, according to a Royal Bank of Canada study. This is the second consecutive quarter where housing became easier to afford.   The information is tracked by RBC’s quarterly Housing Trends and […]

Research released by the Bank of Canada Thursday, not surprisingly suggests that Canada’s largest banks are slow to pass on cuts in the Bank of Canada’s policy interest rate.   “Canadian lenders appear to be extremely slow to pass on changes in the Bank Rate to their customers,” author Jason Allen wrote in the report […]

That’s Taco Bell’s slogan. It’s meant to remind us that fast food doesn’t end with hamburgers. Tacos are pretty tasty in their own right. In the lending world, the closest equivalent to “the bun” is the five-year fixed mortgage. Like hamburgers are to fast food, the five-year fixed is to mortgages. It’s been the most […]

That’s why it’s disappointing to see banks, advice firms, investment dealers and mutual fund companies treated solely like part of the solution to the lack of financial literacy in Canada, and not part of the problem as well.    Better disclosure from the financial industry of fees, rates, terms and conditions is an important way […]

TORONTO – There was a surprising drop in the amount borrowed on credit cards by Canadians during the holiday-laden fourth quarter, but overall non-mortgage debt went up substantially across the country, a credit analysis firm reported Wednesday. TransUnion said average total debt per Canadian consumer, excluding mortgages, was $25,709 in the fourth quarter of 2010 […]

OTTAWA – A new report suggests the average family debt in Canada has now hit the $100,000 mark. In addition, says the Vanier Institute of the Family, the debt-to-income ratio measuring household debt against income, is a record 150 per cent. This means that for every $1,000 in after-tax income, Canadian families owe $1,500. The […]