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HomeHow to Use Back to School Shopping as a Lesson in Financial Literacy for Your Kids
Teaching financial literacy to your kids can be hard when they have few or no financial responsibilities of their own. But like us, children learn best by doing – especially when doing something they care about. Chances are your kids care a lot about what they’ll bring with them when they go back to school. This is a golden opportunity to teach financial literacy lessons to your children. Here’s how to do that for younger as well as older kids. Keep reading . . .
How to Plan for Homeownership During Difficult Times
The landscape for Canadian homeowners and buyers has shifted over the past few years. More Canadians than ever are motivated to become first time buyers due to the rising costs of renting suitable homes. However, rising property values and new stress test conditions imposed by the federal government for mortgage financing have made it more difficult to enter the real estate market. Read more . . .
What Your Teenager Should Know Before Buying a First Car at 17
Have a teen who is looking at buying their first car at 17 or 16 years old? A driver’s license is a major milestone for any teenager. It’s no wonder that having a vehicle of their own becomes their next big goal! Maybe they want more freedom and independence, convenience, or just want to impress their friends. Financially speaking, however, there’s a lot to consider in making such an important decision. Before hitting the open road, your teen needs to find the best route to get this new car. Here are some things to consider as you talk to them about their goal. Read more . . .
3 Tips to Save Money when Shopping Online
Count yourself among the online shopping crowd? Clicking cart icons instead of wheeling real ones around has its perks. The internet also gives us more ways to hunt down deals in our eternal search for maximum discounts. You can definitely save money while online shopping, even if those savings just come from not driving to the store. However, scrolling for items on your favourite digital marketplace carries its own risks as well. Here are 3 tips to help you really save money when shopping online.
Is a Balance Transfer Promotion with Convenience Cheques Worth It?
Have you ever received some “convenience” cheques from your credit card company, with a balance transfer promotion if you use them to pay off other cards? Maybe you got an offer for a new credit card which allows you to transfer other debt over to it at a low, introductory rate. These are both balance transfer offers and all they mean is using one credit card to pay another. You might even call it “robbing Peter to pay Paul” because you’re simply moving your debt around. Read more . . .
Does It Make Sense to Accept a Limit Increase for Your Credit Card?
Have you received an offer to raise the limit on your credit card? You know the ones, about how a lender wants to recognize your excellent credit history by giving you access to more credit. Are you wondering if it’s good to increase your credit card limit when offered? It used to be that credit card companies could raise your limit without asking you, but the rules in Canada changed a while back for federally regulated financial institutions. Now, they need to get your permission first. In the past, I got a letter offering to raise my limit by more than double. While I was temporarily tempted to accept this credit limit increase, let me share a few details with you about why I quickly pushed all the paperwork through my shredder. Read more . . .
How Do Part-Time Jobs Teach Teens to Budget?
Teaching teens to budget helps improve their money management skills when they grow up. But it’s not something that can be learned in the classroom. Learning money skills requires practice in real life settings. Teenagers who earn their own coin can better understand financial concepts like saving and spending. As long as it doesn’t interfere with school, working a part-time job can be a great educational experience. More . . .
Got an Unexpected Windfall? What to Do with the Extra Money
After getting an unexpected windfall like an inheritance, are you wondering what to do with the extra money? Before touching any of it, review your overall financial situation and aim to strike a balance between what works for you right now and your plans for the future. With all the possibilities this windfall opens, you may soon find yourself with more plans than money. Here are some tips to help stay on the right track. Read more . . .
How to Prevent Financial Problems: Organize Your Finances
Financial problems can arise for a variety of reasons, and although overspending or a job loss may seem to be the cause of someone's financial challenges, for some people the root problem lies with not knowing how to organize your finances. If you can't find your credit card bills, you won't know when your payments are due, and if you have debts you've long forgotten about, your credit score will take a turn for the worse. If you've often asked yourself, "How can I organize my finances?", here are five simple things you can do to get your financial house in order.
9 Practical Steps to Solve Your Financial Problems Without an Ivy League Education
Worried about your debts and trying to decide on the best way to solve your financial problems? Many people start to wonder if they missed something as they went through school. As adults, we’re expected to know how to manage our money properly. However, either a lot of people skipped that class, or maybe it was never offered. The good news is that you don’t need a degree from an ivy-league university to help you solve financial problems. Here are 9 steps and 8 self-study assignments, a little catch-up homework if you will, from the school of common cents that you can challenge yourself with if you want to solve your money and debt problems. Read more . . .