My husband is proposing radical budget cuts and I do mean radical! He read an article about a couple that didn’t spend any money for 1 year other than rent, utilities and food. Their estimated spend avoidance was $36,000. A very tidy sum. You’d think being a financial blogger that I would happily jump on […]

I realize that I don’t always follow my own advice! What I budgeted for summer holidays and what we’ll spend are two different things…let’s see what the difference is. I budget $250 * 12 months = $3,000 which is a reasonable amount of money but it’s theoretically intended to cover the whole year. I think […]

Summer is here! The July long weekend is fast approaching and summer plans are well underway. Summer is loads of fun but the reality is that I don’t really look at our budget while we’re in busy enjoying ourselves. I make sure the bills get paid but that’s about it. Now that we have most […]

Organizing childcare is a challenge whether you’re returning to work or it’s school break. It’s one of the most important support systems if you’re a working parent but also one of the most difficult to get! Do you know how much childcare costs your family each year? I think we’d all be surprised when we […]

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 […]

I worked for one of Canada’s Chartered Banks for seven years and not once did I hand a client their mortgage discharge papers. That may not seem significant but I’ve heard stories from those in our parents’ generation who worked hard to pay off their mortgages as soon as possible, in 15, 10 or even […]

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 […]

Shopping for a new home is fun! But take a look past the sticker price to learn what other costs to include in your budget. Some are one-time or transaction expenses, some are an investment or upgrade and others are incremental to your existing bills. It’s a good idea to do a little research to […]

Between you and the bank, you’ll know how much you can afford for a monthly housing payment. The last post explained some of the guidelines that banks use to determine this. For you to be comfortable though, take the amount you want to spend each month and deduct any related costs such as property taxes […]

A New Home – What Can I Afford? Whether you are buying your first home or your third home, the big question is usually – What can I afford? This is a big question that is made up of two parts: How much do you have for a down payment and what will someone lend […]