R.E.S.P. For Your Child’s Future

A college/university education is expensive and tuitions will only go up with time. An R.E.S.P. (registered education savings plan) is an excellent way to start planning for your child's future. Consult several institutions before choosing the one right for you. Families have 18 years after your child is born to generate as much of an educational nest egg as possible. The Government will contribute 20%tax free to your contribution. By properly researching this option, your family can start to get an action plan together. With the new year approaching, it would be wise to start a plan if you haven't already. Know all of your facts before starting your R.E.S.P. One place to start is by Googling the Canadian Government’s R.E.S.P. web site. http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/learning/education_savings/public/resp.shtml...

Clean up Your Debt by Consolidating it all For the New Year!

Consolidating all of your current debt will make a difference to you and your family in saving and planning for the future. Since the Bank of Canada has decided not to increase prime interest rates, now is a great time to take advantage of low lending rates. This means the lending rates will remain the same for the foreseeable future. The average family owes $150.00 dollars for every $100.00 they earn. How badly are you relying on credit to keep you going? Here are a few reasons why debt consolidation may be one solution for you. Why should I consolidate my debt? By paying off all of your higher interest...

It's OK to wish folks 'Merry Christmas'

"CHRISTMAS EVE was a night of song that warmed itself around you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart. Filling it, too, with a melody that would last forever," wrote author Bess Streeter Aldrich of the loveliest night of them all.In previous years, I've written about the true meaning of Christmas and how, just as Manhattan is everybody's town, this is truly everybody's holiday. In those columns, I found myself quoting Blake Gopnik, who unabashedly declares, "Merry Christmas," and follows up with these words: "I know those Christian-sounding words ought to feel odd coming from my lips. I am a third-generation atheist...

The Pro’s and Con’s of Taking a Cash Advance on Your Credit Card

The holiday season is already upon us! We as consumers are left making difficult choices in how we choose to spend our hard earned money. When making decisions always way the pro’s and con’s before deciding to go ahead. Taking a cash advance on your credit card is an easy solution that can later have drastic consequences if not fully thought out. Here are just a few things to keep in mind when making the decision to take that advance. The Pro’s in Cash advances off your Credit Card·      Cash advances enable you to obtain the cash you desire at your convenience. It’s a very easy solution and you can use it as you see fit.·      Cash is usually untraceable so that there isn’t any paper trail tying you to where and what...

Creating a Budget for the Holiday Season and Beyond!

Normal 0 0 1 463 2642 22 5 3244 11.1539 0 0 0 The holiday season, with its gift-giving spree, can be an expensive time of the year. So, if you don’t already have a budget, it would be timely to start one. A budget is a financial plan for monitoring how money flows into and out of your life. It shows how much you’re earning and how much—and on what—you’re spending. It may reveal buying habits you're unaware of; it can certainly help you plan more effective ways to spend and save for what really matters to you. And it will prevent you from going into a dangerous bad-credit zone, which will imperil your credit score. Use a budget worksheet Track your income First, use a budget worksheet (see link below). Here you will record...

Say no to Minimum Payments on Credit Cards

Normal 0 0 1 380 2169 18 4 2663 11.1539 0 0 0 For years, the low monthly minimum payments required on credit card balances allowed consumers to spend far more than they could really afford—causing many to have serious financial difficulties and a bad credit score! Lately, however, some credit-card issuers have started to raise the level of the minimum monthly payment. Let’s be clear: an increase in the monthly minimum is actually good for consumers, as they will be paying off their credit card debt sooner. But that can still cause some real hardship in the short-run. Holders of MBNA MasterCard, for example, have seen their monthly minimums rise as much as seven-fold, causing a severe financial squeeze. Many of those cardholders...

Prudent's Gift of Giving photo contest.

Normal 0 0 1 63 364 3 1 447 11.1539 0 0 0 Enter Prudent's Gift of Giving photo contest on Facebook.Each day a $50 gift certificate is given away.Every dollar will be matched in your name by Prudent to Sick Children's Hospital. Click on the Photo Contest tab to the left to upload your favorite holiday photo, with a brief description.Your name will then go into a draw. Daily winners announced Mon-Fri for the next four weeks. If you want to watch a video on how to load your picture copy and paste this link in your browser http://vimeo.com/32646390 Normal 0 0 1 9 56 1 1 68 11.1539 0 0 0 Good lu...

How to Build Credit for New Immigrants or If You Have to For Yourself

Normal 0 0 1 370 2113 17 4 2594 11.1539 0 0 0 It’s very difficult to know where to start to build credit when you don’t have any. Financial institutions and creditor’s see new immigrants and people born here who have no credit at all as a high risk since they often don’t have any history to support their request for credit. If you search Google for www.canada.creditcards.com you will find more helpful information to help you along. Here are a few simple ways to get your credit started and to improve your credit so that lending Institutions and Creditor’s will start to give you a chance and approve you for credit. Understand how credit works. Get a credit report through Equifax or Trans Union to see what you have associated with...

Rebuilding your Life after Losing a Job or Bankruptcy

Normal 0 0 1 345 1968 16 3 2416 11.1539 0 0 0 While plenty of reports today have talked about the recent upswings in our economy, there are still some issues and people have undeniably suffered as a result. If you've lost a job or gone through a bankruptcy, there are plenty of effects that it may have on your family and your life. Keep in mind that it certainly isn't the end of the world, but you may need to take a moment to prepare yourself and your family for the changes on the horizon. From seeking a loan after bankruptcy or a loan after a proposal to changing some of your daily routines, there are numerous considerations to make. If you've lost a job, the first thing you'll be focused on is finding a new one. And if you've...

Should You Get a Payday Loan? - The Dangers of Payday Loans

  You've probably seen them, whether on your morning commute or through an online ad – the ads offering you a fast cash advance in the form of a payday loan. They hype themselves up as bad credit loans that can help you get a quick influx of money when you really need it, often using nothing but a couple of recent pay stubs as the only requirement. But while getting a few hundred dollars may seem tantalizing, the truth is that whether you apply online or visit a brick and mortar location, payday loans are bad news for pretty much anyone who takes one out. Payday loans are looked at with such a negative light by most financial experts that the government is actually in the process of cracking down on them.There are plenty of reasons, but the chief ones lie in their predatory...

Conserve on Household Energy and put Money in your Pocket

Have you tried cutting down on your Tim Horton’s coffee every day to see how much money you save? Often it’s the little things that can save a lot of money year round. When energy prices are rising, you may ask yourself, “How can I reduce my costs and save money on energy?” The federal government is bringing back the popular eco ENERGY Retrofit for Homes Grants Program, which assists eligible homeowners to receive grants up to $5000.00. It is important to have an energy evaluation completed before any work begins. On average, the program saves 20 percent on the energy bill. Apart from applying for the Retrofit Program, here are a few helpful tips below that you could consider implementing to start saving immediately: Install dimmer switches to use less electricity. Keep your fridge...

Why is it so Important to Have a Better Credit Score?

As you go through life, you'll quickly learn the various aspects of it that have serious impacts on you. Health is a good example, and another is your credit score. Simply put, bad credit can have detrimental impacts on your life in a number of ways. From trying to purchase a new car to insurance rates, your credit score will affect nearly everything related to your finances. You'll save money with a better credit score and have more opportunities, which is why understanding the basics of credit and how to improve it are vital for your financial future as well as your future as a whole.A better credit score will help you save money in numerous...

Money Management 101 how to Take Control of Your Finances

Every penny counts in today's economy, whether you're struggling to make the rent on a lower salary than you're used to or whether you're still marching forward through these rough economic times. Everywhere you look you'll see articles or reports on how to save money, rebuild credit, or just put groceries on the table. There's one basic principal that can help you tremendously, however, and it applies to those dealing with financial difficulties just as much as it does to those who are still doing fine financially. That principal is basic money management, and if you lack it then you'll never be able to keep your head above water. 1) Basic money management. Design a budget that fits your needs. It can take time to plan out your budget, but it's an investment in time and energy you can't...

The Danger of Credit Cards and their Impact on your Homeowner's Insurance

It seems like every store you set foot in today offers you credit cards. With the opportunity to be able to apply right at the checkout counter and get a new credit card instead of having to buy out of pocket for your purchase, and with promises of easy approval, these cards are certainly tantalizing. But they also carry dangers with them – dangers that can impact areas of your life that you're unlikely to be considering while filling out the simple application for them. In short, retail credit cards can carry some very serious threats behind them. The Pro’s and Con’s of Credit Cards: In most cases, credit cards don't have quite the flexibility or the better terms that some of the best credit cards have. Some may have great interest rates, but many have higher than average...

Money Management for Kids

Enabling your child to work with money will build a foundation for managing money through their teens and into adulthood. When your child asks for something, they will choose to put some thought into it if they are using their own money. They will start to understand the value of money, and the fact that it does not grow on trees. It is never too late to start an allowance concept with your child, but it is recommended that the concept is taught during Kinder Garden years. If you want the “I wanna have” to stop; this system will work and it does make shopping less stressful for both you and your children.Starting an allowance for the start of the School Year is a great idea. Starting an allowance is often a difficult thing to create when you have to figure out what is acceptable for both...