Debt

How The New Mortgage Rules Affect Canadians

Although the rules for mortgages in Canada changed effective July 9th, I wanted to highlight some of the changes for you in case you missed them when they were first introduced.

What’s changed?

Under the rules that went into effect, borrowers are allowed to use up to 80% of their property’s value as collateral for home-equity loans, down from 85%.  This means that Canadians can’t borrow as much as before from their home’ s equity.

In addition, the maximum amortization period dropped to 25 years from 30 years for government insured mortgages.  Note that the 30 year amortization is still available for mortgages as long as the buyers make at least a 20% down payment.  It is only the government insured mortgages that are affected.

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September 19, 2012
Business

Developing An Internet Marketing Strategy For Your Business

Managing a successful business in today’s modern society requires an understanding of the internet and how to go about marketing products, services, and websites with the use of it. When you are thinking of using the internet as part of your own marketing strategy, it is important to develop a plan prior to launching your online campaign to help with gaining knowledge of when to post, where, and how to track the effectiveness of your overall plan. Utilizing the internet to help with marketing has many advantages, including the ability to drastically reduce your advertising and marketing budget.

Market Research Essentials

Before you start working on launching your promotions online, understanding your market of consumers is necessary to get ahead with the use of the internet. Researching the market you want to appeal to can help to determine any specific age groups, genders, or even various states and countries that you should target more often when your internet marketing campaign goes live. Utilizing focus groups may also be appropriate if you already have a large business with a sizable audience. By using focus groups, you can find the best route for advertising and even launching your own website or online presence from opinions and advice of loyal fans and current consumers.

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September 17, 2012
Debt

Pros And Cons Of Payday Loans

Keeping a budget can be a challenging thing for a lot of people, especially when expenses pop up that you didn’t expect, such as a blown tire, a medical expense, or a new PC to replace your crashed computer. Some expenses just can’t wait, and for those who don’t have credit cards or don’t want to use them, payday loans may be the answer.

There are many different companies that provide payday loans. These lenders look at what your typical paychecks provide and lend you enough money to make sure you can make it through until payday, while assuring you’ll have enough money in your check to pay them back. They are the ultimate short term loan, a version of asking your mom, brother, or buddy to spot you till you get your check– only without the personal connection and most likely with more interest. This can be good or bad. Here are some pros and cons of payday loans.

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September 14, 2012
Investing

A Quick Personal Finance Reference Guide For Newlyweds

Friends of ours do premarital counseling, and due to the lack of financial education in Canada, I thought I would create a simple personal finance reference guide that our friends could use for the next couple they counsel.  Although it is meant for couples who are first starting a new life together, some of the information might be helpful to people in other stages of life as well.  So I thought I would share it on my blog as well.

RESPs

-Children need to have a SIN number, so apply for one as soon as your child is born.

-Government gives you 20% grant on up to $2500.00 of contributions per year for your child.

-Can be set up at any financial institution in Canada.

-Choose investments that are meant for long term growth such as mutual funds. Stay away from term deposits as your money won’t grow.

-Depending on your income, your child may also receive free money from the government in the form of Bonds so even if you can’t afford to put a lot into an RESP, set one up as soon as you have your child’s SIN, and when grandparents, etc. give your child money for birthdays, etc. just pop that money into the RESP.

-Note that it is wise to open a family plan RESP if you have more than one child.

-Select a financial institution that doesn’t charge any fees to have an RESP or to set it up.

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September 12, 2012
Earn Extra Money

Tips On Making Money With YouTube

I am sure everyone reading this has heard about YouTube.  YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world and the largest video sharing website. YouTube gets millions of video views each day and you can take advantage of that and cash in on it. Most people think they can’t make money with videos because they don’t know how. Trust me; if you have time to create a short video and post it on the site, then you can make money.

The trick to making money with YouTube is to get as many videos published as you can. I am not talking about long drawn out videos, even a 2-3 minute long video will work just fine. The reason you need to keep your videos short is so that you can produce more of them and target a larger audience. Also, don’t worry about your camera; as long as it is good enough to see what you are doing, then it will be fine.

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September 10, 2012