When your weekend refuge starts looking blah, try some quick techniques for punching things up.   Opening the cottage every spring always reveals a to-do list of projects. Docks that need a hammer and nail. Screens riddled with holes. Outhouses verging on catastrophic. And interior spaces that look drab, cluttered and dated. Many long-time family cottages could use a renovation or serious interior-design overhaul, but that’s not always in...

With today’s low rates, the pay down debt or invest debate isn’t as clear cut as it used to be. Ever since people started borrowing money centuries ago, people also started worrying about being in debt. Nearly 250 years ago philosopher and economist Adam Smith made a comment that still rings true today: “What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?” As Smith suggested all those years...

Worried your kids will blow through your money? Here are five ways to protect your assets.   Over the next several decades, it’s estimated that Baby Boomers will pass down $30 trillion in assets to future generations. If you shudder to think what your beloved kids may do with the money you worked so hard to build, you’re not alone. Research shows that inheritances dwindle significantly in the first few years of someone receiving one, with...

Handing over your company to your kids may sound like a good idea, but in many cases it’s not. Here’s why you may want to consider another option.   After decades of sweat and stress, many business owners would love to pass the family business on to loved ones. But having a spouse or kids take over shouldn’t always be part of the succession plan, says Michael Louie, a partner with D&H Group, a Vancouver-based accounting firm. When one...

Finances can be tough to talk about, but keeping your money issues a secret can be bad for your health.   Growing up, Sanna Guerin learned one thing about money from her family: It causes stress. “My mom spent, and my dad complained about the spending. They didn’t talk about money at all. All I remember is them fighting about it,” says Guerin,‎ now a program officer at the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General in Ottawa. Guerin’s...

Here’s what $470,661, the average home price today, can get you across the country. There’s no question that Canadian housing prices are hot – the average price of a detached home has climbed 33.5 percent since September 2011. Yet not all markets are created equal. In some locales, you can get a lot more house for your buck. Curious to see how big, or how small, a place you can get in different cities? We took the national average price of...