You do not want to get stuck behind Leanne Mathewson in the checkout line at the grocery store. She’s the one with the file folder stuffed with coupons, holding her phone up to ask for... read more
The golden rule of banking when you’re in school or starting a career is to not help the banks get more gold. You do that by paying zero fees to do your day-to-day banking. No... read more
Kerry Taylor still remembers the sticky note that a male colleague and friend left on her desk before leaving for another employer during the dot-com boom of the early 2000s. The chit had his salary... read more
Canada’s inflation rate hit a 31-year-high in April as prices continue to rise from the grocery store to the gas station. But what, exactly, is inflation and how long will it remain at record highs?... read more
During the pandemic, households have saved a lot more cash than usual. Where it’s spent – and how quickly – carries big implications for the economy. Paul Bannister is making up for lost time. He... read more
Federal scholarships intended to support some of Canada’s most accomplished graduate students in science have become so devalued by inflation that those who receive them are effectively earning below the poverty line absent any additional... read more
If houses are investments, then buying is only half the battle. You also need to think about selling, a topic that will generate a lot of conversations this year among baby boomers who have piled... read more
As high as Toronto and Vancouver rents may seem to local tenants, landlords are often losing money on them. In recent years, many mom-and-pop real estate investors in the two cities have been quietly paying... read more
In September, 2018, Natasha Hodgkin drove off the lot of a used-car dealership in Southwestern Ontario with a 2017 Kia Optima valued at less than $16,000 – and an auto-loan balance of nearly $29,000. Her... read more
Personal Finance columnist Rob Carrick highlights how the 2022 federal budget aims to counter inflation. A break for families comes in the form of dental care for those making less than $90,000 a year. And... read more
A great stage of life for getting into the housing market is 30 and older. Soaring prices have created a fear of missing out on home ownership, which in turn creates a sense of urgency... read more
Two years into the pandemic, it’s getting tougher for Canadian households to avoid steep inflation. The annual inflation rate hit a three-decade high of 5.7 per cent in February, and it’s only likely to get... read more
If you’re pondering a vacation, you may want to finalize your bookings soon. Soaring energy costs and the unleashing of pent-up demand for travel amid loosening COVID-19 restrictions are likely to push up the prices... read more
The new normal is rising interest rates. The first step up for rates from the emergency low of the pandemic has been taken by the Bank of Canada and more increases are ahead. Here’s a realist’s take... read more
For more than a decade, the most pointless exercise in personal finance has been questioning the rise of house prices. In that time, we’ve had a global financial crisis and two years of a pandemic.... read more
