Category: Wealth

Whether you want to consolidate debt or even finance home improvements, accessing your home equity can provide the funds you need. In your search, you may have come across the term “VA loan home equity.” While servicemembers can still access their home equity through other means, it’s important to note that the Department of Veterans…

Finances & Money Image Source: 123rf.com While you may not realize it, the Midwestern part of the United States experiences some extremes in terms of weather. In the winter, it gets pretty cold and as the weather warms up, temperatures can get pretty hot too. So, as spring approaches, it is important to ensure that…

To each of these, we awarded three scores based on publicly available data:  The yield score reflects both the current dividend yield and the growth of the dividend over the past five years.  The stability score takes into account the companies’ debt-to-equity ratio, return on equity, five-year earnings growth, and ratio of earnings per share…

Dear Dave, Our son is in high school, and he has a car and a part-time job nights and weekends. We’ve worked with him on saving, spending and giving, but should a teenager have an emergency fund, too? If so, how much do you recommended them setting aside? Dominic Dear Dominic, This is a great…

Automotive Image Source: 123rf.com You don’t have to own a vehicle in today’s society, especially if you live close to a metropolitan area. There are plenty of transportation alternatives that can help you get around. In addition to helping you save money, these other methods of transit can help you reduce your carbon footprint and…

Canadians love travel and shopping, but when using their credit cards outside of Canada, many pay foreign transaction (forex) fees—as much as 2.5%—on every purchase. That’s on top of the exchange rate. The credit cards you’ll find here either come with no foreign transaction fee or reward foreign-currency purchases enough to cover it. Best no…

Image Source: 123rf.com How financially literate are you? According to a report from the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, the average American scored just 48% on a financial literacy test. Some groups scored as low as 37% in certain areas. When it comes to financial management, knowledge is wealth. A financial literacy course may be…

Family or Marriage Image Source: 123rf.com I’m happily married. My wife and I will celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary this year and nine years together. I’ve had a number of my friends ask what the secret is. Honestly, there is no “secret,” but there are some things that happy couples know that others don’t. Here’s…

Take 2024, for example. Our A team of the 10 top Dividend All-Stars collectively posted an equal-weighted total return of 32.49% for the year to November 30, our cutoff date. That trounced the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite’s 26.75% return for the same period.  Ironically, the best performer of the bunch was First Quantum Minerals, which didn’t…

Image Source: Pexels When you move into a retirement home, you may expect upfront costs like a deposit or other application fees. But what about hidden monthly costs that you weren’t expecting? When you’re looking for a retirement home, it’s important to read the contract and ask questions about hidden fees because these can quickly…