Archive | Personal Finance Insights

Many investors are looking for a decent yield beyond the sub 1% available in the government or the 2-3% in the corporate bond market. After some research they usually stumble upon MICs. Wow, they say, some yield 6% or even 9%. Let’s buy some. Not so fast I’d say. How do you evaluate a Mortgage […]

The government of Canada over the last week announced a number of changes, incl. reporting requirements for SFH (single family homes) and tighter mortgage lending requirements. Because the Bank of Canada will very likely not raise interest rates – as it will make the currency artificially high, negatively impact stock market values and curb investment […]

  Real estate is like a three course meal. The appetizer is the positive cash flow, always appreciated but not required (because breaking even is okay too). The dessert is the equity appreciation; like an appetizer it is always appreciated but not required for a meal or wealth creation. The main course is the mortgage pay down, month after month. […]

Feeble returns for baby boomers seeking income are extremely low on the safest investments such as bank deposits and fixed-income securities. The current low interest rate environment represents a “financial repression” transferring money from savers to borrowers, such as real estate investors. Unlike these “classic investments”, did you know real estate is a great alternative […]

As cities get denser and denser, people movement in and around cities is becoming increasingly difficult. Three solutions exist: mass public transit, car sharing and smaller, individual vehicles. If one looks at Canada’s major urban areas, you may have noticed that more and more condo towers spring up, and the urban real estate that sells […]

I received my credit card statement today. Here is what it said, in fine print: If you make only the Minimum Payment each month, we estimate it will take 81 year(s) and 5 month(s) to fully repay the outstanding balance. Our estimate is based on the New Balance shown on this statement and your current […]