On Tuesday, June 13th, I have the privilege of speaking on the “Millennials and Home Ownership” panel at the 2017 Ontario Housing Summit. The affordability of real estate is surely a topic that will be heavily focused on. To address this, the Ontario Liberals recently introduced the Fair Housing Market Plan. Although it was a […]

I’m a big fan of the “Your Money” section of the Business Insider. I especially enjoy reading articles from millionaires sharing the secrets of their success. I may not always agree with everything that the “one per cent” says, but at least it gets us to reconsider our spending habits. Some opinions are controversial, but […]

Last week the Ontario Liberals released a 16-point plan ahead of this week’s provincial budget aimed to cool the red-hot real estate market in Toronto. With the premier’s approval rating at a woeful 12 percent and a provincial election set for June 2018, it became too politically costly not to do something. When the government […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau caught a lot of flak last year when they told younger workers to get used to “job churn” and “precarious work.” While their warning may have seemed harsh, unfortunately, this is the new reality of the current labour market. Growing up many baby boomers enjoyed jobs […]

Last Friday morning I woke up to a loud noise in the laundry room from my furnace. I didn’t think much of it until I noticed the heat didn’t come on an hour later. The temperature was quickly plummeting in the house. It was supposed to be 21 °C, but it was only 16 °C. […]

Your mortgage may seem like a life sentence, but it doesn’t have to be. Through “side hustle,” you can achieve your  financial goals sooner like saving the down payment for your future home and paying down your mortgage in 10 years or less. I’m living proof of the power of side hustle. With side hustle, […]

Shopping for a mortgage is a lot more than simply finding the mortgage with the lowest rate. You wouldn’t shop for a condo by lowest list price only, ignoring other factors like maintenance fees, amenities and location. So don’t do it with your mortgage. The lowest mortgage rate may be the best mortgage, but there’s […]

The single biggest hurdle that keeps many renters from becoming homeowners is the down payment. With the average price of a detached home over $1 million in Toronto and Vancouver, it’s more important than ever to set yourself realistic home-buying expectations to avoid disappointment. You may not be able to afford a similar home as […]

Does it make better financial sense to rent or own your home? The high cost of real estate has many Canadians second guessing the dream of homeownership (I address the never-ending renting versus owning debate in my book, Burn Your Mortgage). You may be surprised to hear this coming from me, but for some people […]

Congrats, you’ve made the wise decision of buying a home. Purchasing real estate offers many benefits – forced savings, a tax-sheltered long-term investment and the ability to turn your home into an income source by renting it out, to name a few. With almost 70 percent of Canadians choosing to own their homes instead of […]