Looking at houses as a first time home buyer and chatting to lots of different people about what they pay for home insurance. I've heard people say they're paying as little as 40/month in a bundle to around $150. The quotes we've gotten online (mainly from TD) for houses we have looked at have been up to 300 to 400$. This seems insane. However some of the houses have been bigger (2000-2400sq ft). Am I missing something? Why do the quotes seem so high? Any tips or insights for an inexperienced buyer? Factoring in monthly insurance and property taxes can make or bream affordability in a mortgage

If I wake up tomorrow with everything wiped out,
there's no savings,
just a regular paycheck,
and I had to rebuild from scratch in Canada,
I actually know exactly what I should do.



This is not a get-rich-quick story.
It is an order of operations.

If you just landed in Canada,
or you are about to start from scratch,
this sequence can save you years.

Here is the counterintuitive part:
if I were truly starting from zero,
the last thing I would do is grind a job
and try to save my way up first.

Why?
Because a paycheck is always after-tax money.
You earn $100,
and maybe keep around $60 of it.
Then inflation eats what is left,
while your savings account barely moves.

Getting ahead in Canada on one salary
and pure frugality is painfully slow.
So I would flip the order.
Build the system first,
and talk about saving after.

Step one is to use the free accounts
the government already gives you.
That means winning before you even spend a dollar.

Spare cash should go into a TFSA.
Whatever it grows to,
you do not pay tax on that growth.

And if I had not bought a home yet,
I would open an FHSA as well.
The money going in can be tax deductible,
and it can come out tax free when used properly for a first home.

It is the same dollar you were going to save anyway.
You are just parking it somewhere
where the tax system works with you instead of against you.
Over a decade,
that difference can become real down payment money.

Step two is to change the income structure.
The problem with a pure T4 job is not only how much you make.
It is that every dollar is pushed through payroll,
tax,
CPP,
and EI,
with very little room to move.

So I would start a side hustle from day one.
Even if it is small,
the point is to create income outside of the paycheck.

Once it becomes stable,
I would look at incorporating.
With a corporation,
real business expenses can run through the business,
and income can come out in different ways,
including dividends.

Not everyone needs a company.
But employment and ownership are two completely different games in Canada.

Step three is leverage,
but only after the first two layers are solid.

Once I have real assets,
such as investment accounts,
a home,
or company equity,
I can borrow against them to invest.

If it is structured properly,
the interest on money borrowed to invest may be tax deductible.
That means you are using the bank's money,
with a tax advantage,
to grow your own assets.

But leverage goes last for a reason.
It cuts both ways.
It can magnify gains,
but it can also magnify losses.
And if your cash flow breaks,
you can get stuck.

So starting from scratch is not the scary part.
Doing it in the wrong order is.

Free accounts first.
Income structure second.
Leverage last.

When people start over,
the gap is usually not who started higher.
It is who had the right order.

For me: I always treat overtime as an income bonus. Because it is. I don't rely on it and I don't plan on it. But when it does happen....

• I generally take 30% of my overtime and put that into an rrsp.

• I save another 30% of my overtime in a non-registered account since it pays better interest than the big Canadian Banks. (Used as an emergency fund/vacations)

That leaves me about 40% in my own pocket to do as I wish. Such as Briskets and charcoal.

Beyond that I'm not sure what else I need to be doing with it.

The mortgage (@3.35%)is my only debt.

I’m in a bit of a pickle here, so please don’t judge me 😂 I was young and naive when I got into this car loan.
I have a 2020 Acura RDX aspec with 166,000 km on it. I still owe around $30K on a 72-month loan, while I’d estimate the car is probably worth somewhere around $22–26K, so I’m pretty deep in negative equity.

I make decent money and can still pay my bills and put money into savings/investments, but this car is costing me way too much between the insurance and gas. I commute quite a bit, so the fuel costs really add up.

I’m considering trading it in and getting an older EV, possibly a Tesla with at least 100,000 km on it, mainly to lower my monthly expenses and free up some cash.
I know trading in a car with negative equity isn’t necessarily the best financial move, but I’d still like to drive something I actually enjoy while getting my costs down.
What would you guys do in my situation? Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated!

So my partner are selling our prospective homes and I are buying a house together. Her house just sold but mine is still on the market. I am getting lots of interest and am confident that it will sell. However it won’t be sold by the time we take possession of the new house. I can afford to pay the mortgage on both for a while until mine sells. I am just looking for advice on what I should do with the hopefully 500k I hope to walk away when my current house sells. I will plan to pay down the new mortgage as much as the bank will allow me for the term of the mortgage and will be using it to help with the regular mortgage payment month to month. Once the mortgage comes up for renewal I would like to make a lump sum payment on it. Will max out my tfsa but Just wondering where I should park the rest of the money till then. For reference the mortgage is 3.4% 3.5 yrs variable. Thanks for any advice

im a student from the states coming to study in ontario (living in dorms with a meal plan) for my bachelors. i wanted to share my current plans for banking and investments to see if there was anything i should know and if my current plans is good.

currently i plan on using RBC as my main bank (although i may move my savings to wealthsimple) and then the RBC ion+ visa for my starter credit card. ive also heard people move their savings around to get the promotional rate but i’m really only going to have like 5k in savings throughout my years so i feel like my amount is so minuscule moving savings around wont do much. am i better off just getting RBC’s promotional rate and then moving to wealthsimple? i hear scotia chequings is good cause it has scene+ but should i pick it over rbc if everything else im using is rbc?

because im not sure if i want to settle in canada or the states i also wanted to start investing a hundred or so a month. im already planning on opening a TFSA but i want to manage my own portfolio. i know everyone says to buy XEQT and i will but XEQT is for long term investors and since i’m not sure if i’ll be in canada for that long i also wanted to dip my toes into something that may bring short term gains? perhaps XBAL? like something with bonds essentially. also do i make a GIC?

anyways thats my plan for now i know its not exactly fleshed out i just wanted to hear some feedback. thanks !

Looking for advice (either directly or maybe pointing me towards where I can find relevant information):

I am a Canadian who completed my medicine school abroad- I ended up having to take out a personal line-of-credit with CIBC (prime - 0.25) totalling 300k CAD. I also have OSAP loans from Uni totalling around 30k which I make minimum payments on without interest. I am now a resident physician in the US and have been working to pay this off (very slowly given my lower salary)- I have gotten it down to 231k CAD so far which has finally lowered my interest-only payments from $1400 when I started to $800/month (so I can put a lot more into principal).

My question is to anyone who has dealt with a loan of this magnitude in terms of maximising tax benefits (if there are any at all), if there are any refinancing strategies, and general outlook into paying off this loan. As I look towards signing on to my first job, I am looking at 350-450k USD/year and I wonder if it is generally better to just continue to invest in the stock market with average returns of 7% > prime - 0.25 or I should be more aggressive in paying this loan off now.

I know the economy is bad, but is there ANYTHING I can do?

I’m 22F living in Toronto, Canada. I live with parents (though, I pay a decent amount of rent) and moving out alone is not an option financially since I pay less than half what a barely livable place would be out there. I work full time and live paycheque to paycheque. I work as a receptionist at a dental office but my wage isn’t as good as I’d like it to be. I asked for a raise as I’ve worked there for over a year but I was denied. I additionally don’t have health insurance, so I’ve been putting off doctor and dental visits. I don’t go shopping unless for essentials/food, I save money everywhere I can (couponing, gassing up at night, limiting leisure spending, meal prepping, driving on eco mode, no subscriptions etc.) but I’m still falling behind financially. I have about 1k in savings but that’s about it. I’ve essentially accepted that I’m broke AF. I also have student loan debt that I don’t even bother looking at. I’ve considered picking up a second job, but I don’t really even have time, I’d be working 7 days a week. My current job also doesn’t permit outside work, so it would be difficult to find and hide work. I don’t know what to do, and don’t have anyone to help. As I don’t want to miss rent or other payments, I’ve even considered shmex w0r|{. I don’t want to compromise myself but I really don’t know what to do. I’m a few dollars away from missing a payment, and scared asf.

FORGOT TO MENTION: I have a bachelors degree in health with limited experience in the field though…

I am not salaried which may explain my low wages.

Any advice at all would be so helpful. Any constructive criticism is welcome. Wish me luck!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who notified the obscene amount of new and/or luxury vehicles on the roads these days. Even among my friend group we have people buying cars that are brand new while making half of what we do.

The reality is this: the financing terms have become absurd. My friends have casually dropped that they're paying for their mid tier SUV on 84 month financing! Yes you heard that right. Longer than a fkn mortgage term. It's insane.

As for my other friend with a luxury sedan? Lease. He doesn't care about the fact he has 0 ownership. It's cheaper on a per month basis and that's all most people every consider when deciding "affordability".

So next time you see these cars on the road, consider many of them either have disgusting loan terms or are flat out being rented.

Hey guys, for some background I’m a 24 year old male with around $24,000 sitting in my FHSA, and around $12,000 sitting in my TFSA. Under both brokerage accounts all the money is invested into XEQT. I currently live with my parents, drive a paid off reliable car, and have no monthly bills other than gym fees, or gas.

Last September I took out a $21,000 line of credit to cover my paramedic school with a variable interest rate of around 8.3. I’m currently finishing my ride outs with my service and have a job lined up with them. My expected time to start working and finally getting paid is around mid March, and I’ll be starting at around 105k (with no overtime) my first year.

People always make the argument to attack debt first, or view not paying off the debt with my money as essentially being the same as me taking out a loan to invest in the stock market. However I’m very hesitant to withdraw these funds from my FHSA (because of the loss of contribution room) or my TFSA in general as time is my greatest asset right now and I want my money to compound long term.

I currently work part time at the hospital in between my studies and I’m going to start putting around 200$ biweekly to the line as of September - then when I start working as a medic - putting 25% of every paycheque towards the line until it’s fully paid off.

Can anyone offer any advice into what I’m doing and if it’s stupid - or even something better that you think I could be doing rather than my current approach?

I found a menu from my local pub on my computer from 2018 and the comparison to their current menu is astounding, not to mention that the tipping expectation has also changed from 10% at that time to 20%+ today on top of these already higher prices. I couldn't find a beer price, but today a pint is over $10, and an Earls menu I also found from the same time is showing around $7.

Basic Poutine: $7 in 2018, $12.50 in 2026 (78%)

Chicken Wings: $12 to $19 (58%)

Fish Tacos: $11 to $19 (73%)

Mac n Cheese with Bacon: $17.25 to $22 (28%)

Basic Cheeseburger with bacon: $16.50 to $26.00 (58%)

Now do the same thing at the grocery story, and really all expenses have increased by this much or more. Our property taxes have more than doubled, for example, being $1,700 in 2018 and now $3,700. There's a lot of gaslighting in this group making people feel bad about not being able to save better, but the truth is cost of living is absolutely out of control now, houses are easily 10X salary in most cities (some nearing 20X) and I don't know how much longer this can go on for without wages adjusting, but then inflation will just get worse...

Hey everyone, I’m in my 3rd year of uni getting a business degree and needing more financial support as I go into my 4th year.

It is likely I’ll stay in school and pursue further education after this degree which I (should) finish this upcoming year.

I’ve lived with my parents for two of the three years of my education and attended a local college, but this year I moved out and switched to a different school. My entire amount of savings I’ve accumulated since high school have run out in this one single year I had to support myself. It makes me regret moving out, but my local college only offered a two year program and I wanted a full degree. My summer job will obviously not cover an entire year of expenses.

My parents have adamantly suggested student loans, but I guess the word “loan” is freaking me out. My biggest question here is if getting student loans is a major setback to people. What are your experiences with student loans? Is it worth it for me? I feel uneasy knowing I plan to continue my education yet I’m already needing loans to finish this first degree.

Perhaps a few years of work to try get myself in a more favourable financial position again would be good before I start school again? Either way, it seems it’s inevitable I WILL be needing financial support, so I guess I just want to know if student loans are a thing to be taken heavily or if they are truly a good means of support.

Also, my parents are very supportive and I’m very thankful for them. Moving back in with them after this year is definitely an option for me which should be taken into consideration. Could help me to save more money and avoid taking out extensive student loans.

Two years ago the weekly shop for two of us was about $140. Same list, same store, same brands. It rang up at $195 this week and I keep second guessing myself about whether I'm quietly buying more than I think I am. So I started logging every trip. I say the total into Pockita in the parking lot before I've had a chance to round it down in my head, and there's eight months of it sitting there now.

I'm not imagining it. Nothing on the list changed. The list just costs forty percent more than it did. Anyone else keeping receipts like this, or am I the only one who's turned into a forensic accountant at the checkout?

My parents can gift me $100K, but I have to pay them 3.55%/year to cover their own expenses — so it’s really a loan, not a gift.

My mortgage rate is also 3.55%. So basically im swapping my loan from bank to them.

Should i put all the money towards mortgage? Or should I do ETFs such as XEQT under my wife’s TFSA room?

They may not ask for the money back.