You want to shop within your means, but don't think you can't have a creepy great time for Halloween just because you have to budget! There is no reason to go overboard or break the bank at all. From pumpkin carving parties to costume themed get togethers and on to taking the kids trick or treating: a budget isn't going to spoil the fun, but it will help …

Is retirement edging ever so closer for you? The facts are rather simple here. Researched case studies and surveys across Canada are finding that there are more Canadians who are ill prepared for retirement and who are on the fence about retiring versus un-retiring. There are some Canadians who would prefer to work as long as they can, which is quite acceptable. More to the point, there is …

On Tuesday April 21st, Finance Minister Joe Oliver tabled the federal budget for 2015. Election year budgets are typically more generous than usual, and despite a projected $1.4 billion budget surplus for the fiscal year, this one nevertheless contains a spread of handouts to Canadian families: a mixture of tax cuts, tax credits, and extra spending. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few of …

We have already covered how to secure a pay rise here, but what if you don’t even have a job yet? For many Canadians, particularly those just about to leave education, getting a job is the single biggest factor in improving their financial outlook. After all, the bigger the income column, the easier it is to build a successful budget …

A filing cabinet is one of the most important tools that any financially-literate person can have. While electronic records are getting more and more common, we are still a long way indeed from a paperless society. Your tax receipts and utility bills need to be kept safe and accessible, and a filing cabinet is the perfect place to organise them. But it’s also possible …

When you go shopping, it can be difficult to know how much more than the sticker price you will be made to pay. Like other taxes, figuring out the Canadian sales tax system can be very complicated. How much do you have to pay? What do you have to pay for? Where does that extra five to fifteen percent of your bill go? This guide will answer those …

Credit card debt casts a long shadow over Canada. According to a 2013 report by RBC Economics, Canadians owe a total of $73.7 billion to their credit card companies. For reference, that is more than a quarter of what the Canadian federal government spent that year. So, how can you avoid becoming a statistic? How can you prevent yourself from sinking deeper into debt ? For some Canadians, …

Imagine a world without coins or banknotes; a world where every transaction you make is carried out using your credit card, or even your smartphone. Around the world, cash is being used less and less compared to electronic transactions, and Canadians are among the leaders in this shift in the global economy. According to a 2013 study by MasterCard Canada , Canada is moving towards a cashless economy, …