Financial Literacy

Your credit score is a big factor when you apply for a mortgage. It can dictate how good your interest rate will be and the type of mortgage you qualify for. Mortgage Professionals are experienced helping clients with a wide range of credit scores so we can find you a mortgage product even if your credit is far from perfect. The good news about your credit score is that it can be improved: Stop looking for more credit. If you’re frequently seeking credit that can affect your score as can the size of the balances you carry. Every time you apply for credit there is a hard credit check. It is particularly important that you not apply for a credit card in the six months leading up to your mortgage application. These credit checks may stay on your file for up to three years. If your credit card is maxed out all the time, that’s going to hurt your credit score. Make some small monthly regular payments to reduce your balance and start using your debit card more. It’s important that you t

The Bank of Canada raised its key lending rate to 1.25 on January 17, 2018. This is the highest the benchmark rate has been since 2009. What does this mean and how will it impact Canadians? Following the BOC rate increase, Canada's biggest 5 Banks - Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust, RBC, BMO and CIBC - all raised their prime lending rate by a quarter percentage. The amount of interest paid on loans including mortgages, a line of credit, or a personal loan will increase. Inversely, the increase in the BOC key lending rate will positively impact savers because the amount earned on savings accounts, including GICs and personal savings accounts, will increase. For additional information on the Bank of Canada key lending rate, see this article from the CBC.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada offers a number of services and information for Canadian consumers. The information provided on their website includes financial literacy programs and some handy tools and calculators. One of our favourite tools is the Financial Goal Calculator . From the dashboard you can select a plan to get out of debt, or, set a savings goal. Both are easy to navigate and definitely worth your time.

Did you know that as of November 13, 2017, iAB Financial was transitioned into FirstMerchants Bank? The merger was initially announced in February 2017. As stated on the website, "Customers of iAB Financial Bank will now have access to over 100 First Merchants Bank locations." For more information visit the welcome announcement on the First Merchants Bank website .

President's Choice Financial, otherwise known as PC Financial, customers are now being serviced by Simplii Financial . An article posted to the MacLean's Magazine website in August 2017 stated, "Loblaw Co. is quitting the banking business in a deal that will see two million President's Choice Financial mortgage and banking accounts automatically move to a new, low-fee banking brand operated by CIBC, called Simplii Financial." For further details and information on how this impacts PC Financial customers, you can read this article from The Financial Post .

Do you have any idea how much information hits you every day? Or the effect constant interruptions really have on your productivity? Email, texts, news sites notifications, never in human history have we had to process as much information as we do now, and more comes every minute. How do we process it all? How do we see it all? Or rather, how do we see only what we need to see? Jonathan Spira is the CEO and Chief Analyst of Basex, a research firm focusing on issues companies face as they navigate the knowledge economy. In his book Overload! How Too Much Information Is Hazardous To Your Organization , published in 2011, Spira estimated that interruptions and information overload were eating up 28 billion wasted hours a year, at a loss of almost $1 trillion to the U.S. economy. I wonder what the estimate is at present, and what the projected growth on this loss is. Clearly, organizations and individuals need to get a handle on information inflows. When I began my career in finance o

The interest rate you pay on loans for every major purchase you make throughout your lifetime depends on various factors, and is dependent on your creditworthiness - everything from the mortgage on your home to your car loan or line of credit And, given today's ever-changing mortgage requirements and rising interest rate environment, your credit score has become even more important. Your first step towards credit awareness and well being is to know where you stand. Request a free copy of your credit report online from the two Canadian credit-reporting agencies - Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada - at least once a year. This will also help verify that your personal information is up to date and ensure you haven’t been the victim of identity fraud. Newly established credit If you're new to credit, you may wonder why your credit score pales in comparison to your friends. Payment history is a key factor for both Equifax and TransUnion. As well, if you don't talk to you