From city stress to lakeside rest: Budget-friendly ways to own a summer home

Another summer weekend: Scrolling through Instagram, watching friends light bonfires by the lake, paddling into sunsets and relaxing by the lake with an ice cold drink sweating in the summer heat. Images like this might make you wish that you had a Muskoka chair and a summer home of your own. So you convince yourself […]

Tariff turmoil: Alberta drivers slammed by soaring insurance costs tied to U.S. trade war

President Donald Trump’s tit-for-tat tariff war has led to innumerable impacts, not all of them obvious. For instance, virtually no one predicted how the on-again-off-again U.S. tariffs would impact Alberta’s insurance market. Sadly, that’s exactly what has happenened. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) recently commissioned Deloitte to undertake an analysis on the impacts of […]

Ontario drivers get long-term break at the pump

As of July 1, 2025, Ontario drivers are paying less at the pump, for good. The province has made its long-running fuel tax cuts permanent, locking in a 5.7 cent per litre discount on gasoline and 4.3 cents per litre on discount propane used in road vehicles. Originally introduced in mid-2022 as a temporary response […]

Learn how to get out of debt

Debt: almost all Canadians have it. In fact, Equifax Canada’s Market Pulse Consumer Credit Trends and Insights Report found that consumer debt levels rose to $2.5 trillion in the second quarter of 2024; this is a 4.2% increase since the second quarter of 2023. Card holders carry over $4,300 in credit card balance on average, […]

‘I have no money now’: This retiree sunk nearly her ‘entire life savings’ into a half-built house in Florida that her bankrupt builder won’t finish — and she’s not alone

Some homebuyers in Citrus Springs, Florida, are in shock after the Van Der Valk Construction company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, leaving many homes unfinished. The Citrus County-based company is leaving many homeowners, mostly retirees, holding the bag financially. Don’t miss I’m 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what […]