One of the biggest benefits of purchasing your own home is the ability to build equity in your property. This equity can come in handy down the line for refinancing, renovations, or taking out additional loans – such as a second mortgage. What is a second mortgage? First things first, a second mortgage refers to […]

TFSA vs RRSP – No Losers in This Battle!. The worst financial mistake you can make is believing that a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is something to look into when you are a little older and more able to set some money aside. The fact is, you don’t use […]

One of the quickest ways to take back control of your finances and understand where your money is going is to create a monthly budget. This will help you get a snapshot of your income compared to your spending, and provides an avenue to review outgoing costs and determine areas for improvement to help you […]

If you are a Canadian living in debt, you are not alone. According to Statistics Canada, household debt grew faster than income last year, with Canadians owing $1.83 for every dollar of household disposable income to debt(1). • Canadian households use almost 13.48% of income for debt re-payment(2). • Rising inflation and interest rates (1). • The cost […]

Financial Advice that Never Gets Old. It’s difficult to find timeless advice in the ever-changing world of personal finance but these five are about as close as you can get. 1. Start small and start early with investing Only around 5% of Canadians under 25 have a TFSA, which means 95% have already missed out […]

Transform your vacation rental into a welcoming oasis, on a budget. Are you dreaming of buying a vacation rental property, have just bought one, or are strongly considering it? If so, your mind is probably abuzz with design ideas and thoughtful touches you could add to the home. In order to make a rental property […]

I can’t even begin to explain how many peoples credit reports are messed up.  Correcting the errors can be time consuming and frustrating.   At Mainstream Mortgages, we alway ensure that our client’s credit bureaus are reporting correctly and if there are any errors we have then corrected at EQUIFAX using their investigation form.  The best […]

The Bank of Canada today increased its target for the overnight rate to 1½%, with the Bank Rate at 1¾% and the deposit rate at 1½%. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening (QT). Inflation globally and in Canada continues to rise, largely driven by higher prices for energy and food. In […]

PENALTIES, PENALTIES, PENALTIES!!!  The terms of your mortgage matter.   You may have received the best rate, but you may have to pay $1000s to break your mortgage or be forced to wait until the end of the term or sell your property to break the mortgage.    The mortgage application process should be collaborative and […]

Did You Know? The average Canadian owes $23,000 in consumer debt and has at least 2 credit cards. Source: CBC.ca If you live paycheque to paycheque, the idea of somehow having enough money to invest and eventually having financial freedom seems about the furthest thing possible. But experts in financial education like to point out, that […]