Recent Articles

Mortgage Rules Tightened

In an effort to crack down on speculators and to discourage people from taking on too much debt, Ottawa is tightening mortgage rules again. These new rules are expected to take effect April 19, 2010.   There …

Tax-Free Savings Plans

When Sophia first heard the term Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), the first thing that came to her mind was a low- or no-interest account at a bank. She soon learned that just about every investment option available …

Can You Spot a Ponzi Scheme?

On June 29, 2009, Bernard Lawrence ‘Bernie’ Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for perpetrating what has been called ‘the largest investment fraud in Wall Street history.’ Actual losses have been estimated at $64.8 billion …

On May 25, 2009 Finance Canada announced some proposed changes to how Canada Pension Plan will work.   If approved, the changes will take effect over a period of time from 2011 to 2016, so they will …

Ralph and Louise have seen the TV commercials featuring Gordon Pape, the financial author, as the spokesman for Canadian Home Income Plan Corp. (CHIP) reverse mortgages. They were wondering if it would be a good way to …

Cooler heads will prevail

The newspaper headlines read: ‘Roller coaster stock markets have investors feeling queasy’ (The Globe and Mail; ‘The stock market crash: History repeating itself?’ (The Calgary Herald); ‘Uncertainty continues to pummel stock markets’ (Sudbury Star); ‘The next market …