It may seem like months away but yet it always seems to sneak up so quickly, settle in like a tornado and then depart leaving us a little heavier in body and lighter in the wallet. Here’s how to get a jump on the holiday season to make for less of a dénouement in the […]

It gets back to the old question of needs versus wants. Layer on the ease of obtaining credit and the complexity of today’s world, and we collide with this simple question. We are often able to buy the things we want such as cars, homes and furniture on credit without saving for them first. Which […]

For many of us back to school marks a fresh start milestone – similar to the New Year. There’s a flurry of organization in terms of new routines, registrations and shopping. I feel a bit like a squirrel with all the effort going into restocking our cupboards, fridge and freezer after a summer of coming […]

It’s a year away and going to be a big one so best we start saving our money now. How much to save? And how to save?    We are planning a trip to the UK to visit family and see the sights over 3 to 4 weeks. The biggest expenses will be transportation and […]

Ok – here we go. Let’s look at the numbers.     $2,800 Flights $245 Hotel $344 Rental Vehicle + Gas $360 Gifts $100 Tourist Stuff $325 Amusement Park $500 Food, Drinks, Miscellaneous   A Grand Total of $4,674!   Ironically, my ball park estimate was the closest at $5,000 and funds saved and set […]

Both of our girls are summer babies which means summer birthdays. I was always envious of my brother’s birthday in the summer because it meant fun presents like dingy boats, flippers and masks. Compared to a November birthday (mine) which is an ‘in between seasons’ birthday.   Some moms seem to plan their childrens’ birthdays […]

You may ask ‘What’s the point? I never go into my bank because I do everything online’. It would take a very long time to save enough cash to buy a car or a home and so when we do want to make a big purchase, most of us go to the bank and ask […]

No one said it’s going to be easy peasy lemon squeezy but if getting rid of your mortgage is number one priority for you, then it can be done.   There are 2 strong motivating factors to pay off your mortgage as soon as possible:     No more mortgage payments = more of your […]

Whether you rent or own…we pay a premium to live in Vancouver. The question is – what can you afford to pay? The recommendation is that you do not pay more than 32% of your gross (before taxes) monthly household income towards housing. This calculation includes the housing payment (principle and interest or rent) plus […]

The bad news is … there is no easy way to do this. The saying ‘buy now, pay later’ rings true no matter how hard you try to ignore it. The good news is … there are steps you can take to reduce the interest you’re paying, reduce your debt and ultimately be rid of […]