by Pam on February 25, 2011
Many folks work really hard in order to pay off their debt, including credit card debt, car loans, student loans, and their mortgage. This is an excellent idea, although, sometimes once our debt has been paid off, we get careless with our money. We suddenly have all this extra money at our disposal and it can be tempting to splurge.
Instead of blowing money that you no longer need to use to pay off debt, consider saving that money instead. For example, if you were making $350 payments towards your car loan and then you finally paid it off, why not allocate the $350 towards contributing to your retirement savings and other investment accounts to save for your short and long term goals?
[click to read…]
by Pam on February 13, 2011
Sometimes it may be hard to know if you are in over your head, but if you can relate to some or all of the statements below, it is likely that you have taken on too much debt.
1. You have no savings at all.
2. You only make the minimum payments on your credit cards.
3. Your bank account is always overdrawn and you often have nonsufficient fund (NSF) fees charged to your account.
[click to read…]
by Pam on January 2, 2011
Many folks find themselves overspending during the holiday season and then they feel overwhelmed at their financial situation in the New Year. It is easy to get carried away when you keep on finding another great gift for your kids or for your spouse, but you need to know when to stop.
Since the past is now behind us, if you are in a position right now where you have overspent, do not panic. Instead, create a practical plan and put it into action ASAP in order to pay off that holiday debt.
[click to read…]
by Pam on December 15, 2010
Did you know that 6 out of 10 Canadians live from paycheck to paycheck? What’s worse is that almost 60% of Canadians would be in serious financial trouble if their pay were delayed by one week.
These are disturbing statistics, so what are we going to do about it? It is obvious that more and more of us are taking on more debt than we can manage. Is it due to greed or trying to keep up with the Joneses? What compels us to sink into so much debt?
[click to read…]
by Pam on December 13, 2010
If your mortgage is up for renewal soon, or you are looking to buy a new home, you will want to do some research in order to find the best possible mortgage rate. For Canadians, I would recommend that you check out the Ratesupermarket website. It is very easy to use and once you fill in some basic information, it will find the results in your local area quickly.
The results will include the approximate amount of your monthly payments, how much interest you would expect to pay throughout the mortgage term assuming the rate remains the same, and more.
[click to read…]
by Pam on September 20, 2010
As most of you know, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates again on September 8th and as a result, my husband and I decided it would be a good idea for us to put another $5000 towards our open variable mortgage. Although our interest rate is only at 3%, we know that we can get less than half of that in interest if we keep it in a savings account.
If our plan was to stay in our existing house for another 5 years or more, it would be really tempting to just fix our mortgage as the fixed interest rates are still really reasonable right now, and it is certain that the interest rate on our variable mortgage will continue to rise, albeit more gradually for the next little while.
[click to read…]
by Guest on September 16, 2010
Sometimes we may need a small amount of cash to solve our financial problems. We might be sinking deep into the debt whirlpool. This is when we need money and we should go for a loan if we don’t find any other sources. Loans are good to take when we need them, but if we do not act wisely, we may end up paying five to ten times more money than what we had actually borrowed. But you need not get scared about it. Payday loans can turn out to be a blessing, but only if you understand how to use them.
Everyone likes to have money, and to have the opportunity to get a loan instantly. But it is exactly during such moments of urgency that most of us tend to overlook the terms and conditions and the details and straight away apply for a payday loan to the first payday loan company that we can find. We don’t even think about the company’s standards, and we don’t research it or even compare other available options. And this is where the problems begin. There is no doubt that a payday loan can serve you better when it is really needed. Like everything, payday loans also have their pros and cons. So the trick is in knowing about payday loans and making appropriate and sensible use of them.
[click to read…]
