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Mortgage insurance (also known as Credit Insurance) is not the same as Life Insurance but I fear that too many consumers don't know the difference. A lot of Mortgage or Credit Insurance is sold by lenders when consumers purchase a home or take out a line of credit. Lenders know how to lend but I question lenders being the right ones to sell consumers insurance. Could it be that one of the reasons that consumers don't know the difference between Mortgage or Credit insurance and Life Insurance is BECAUSE they have purchased it from their lender? I believe that's a good possibility.

Good news this week for middle and low income families who receive the Canada Child Benefit or perhaps those who plan on receiving it soon !

The Liberals used this week's Fall economic update to introduce an improvement to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) which is a benefit introduced to help with the high cost of raising children. Starting in July 2018, CCB benefits will be increased annually to keep up with the (always increasing) cost of living/inflation. This is similar to what happens with the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security plans each year.

A rainy day fund is another name for an emergency fund which helps you plan ahead and deal with unforeseen emergencies. Unforeseen emergencies will invariably come your way at some point. An emergency is a major and sudden need that's not part of your current budget and that's unplanned like a job loss, illness, an unexpected medical or dental bill or an auto or home repair. An emergency fund will help reduce stress and additional expense when an emergency arises by helping you avoid funding it by accessing longer-term savings or a high interest rate credit card. 

Last year a friend who manages a property with 100 or so residential units told me a story that should be a lesson to the estimated 56% of Canadians who do not have a signed will. The superintendent of his property called him to tell him that he had entered the apartment of an elderly tenant who had lived in the building for some 20+ years to find that the tenant had passed away while he was taking a bath.

Both TFSAs and RRSPs are excellent savings vehicles for Canadians. The TFSA is a Tax Free Savings Account that has only been around since 2009. TFSAs are often referred to as the "Totally Fantastic Savings account" yet some are not aware of the differences between a TFSA and a regular savings account. By contrast, RRSPs are Registered Retirement Savings Plans which have been around much longer. RRSPs were first introduced in 1957. RRSPs started out slowly given the maximum contribution was $2,500 each year.