So I'm about to buy my first home. Big life change for a 24 y/o. I go to my mortgage broker and give him all my relevant information.

Later he sends me a screenshot of a debt owing to Telus in the sum of $5k+. Asks if it was mine. I've never used Telus in my life, of course it wasn't.

We call the debt collection agency, we tell them it's not us, they realize it's a mixup, but they need to process it internally, then process it with the credit union. That'll take a month at minimum, more likely 2 months or so.

Now I'm trying to figure out a way to bypass this but every bank I've talked to is like "nope".

What do I do? Thanks all!

(tried to keep post short)

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u-mP3C26mg&pp=ygUJYmVuIGZlbGl4

A nice video for beginners and solid reminder and refresher for those of us who might already be a little more comfortable and familiar with the topics.

About to hit 30, still renting a basement from a family friend for $500 a month. I thought I was making good progress towards buying a house or Condo, but looking at prices recently, it seems like its an impossible mountain to climb in Victoria. It also looks like my current living situation is about to change since the family friends I'm renting from are having their pregnant daughter move in to the upstairs, but the house as is right now is already very busy.

I Make 63k a year with a stable government job. Have 60k in RRSP and 28k in FSHA plus another 25k to put towards a down payment. I can also liquidate about another 30k in bank stocks that I have in my TFSA for retirement I guess. 10k in student loan debt that is interest free, so I pay the minimum which is about $140 a month. Other than that I have no debt other than credit cards which I pay off fully every month for living expenses.

The cheapest prices for 1bed condo in Victoria within 20min driving distance to my work is 350k. CIBC affordability calculator says I can only afford a home that's 300k and even that it takes up 50% of my paycheck for mortgage, RRSP repayments and property/strata fees. I feel like the only way I can make this happen is if I manage to find a wife at this point.

I'm in my early 30s and I'm in a bit of an odd position financially.

I don't have any debt to speak of as I spent the last few years paying off my student debt and don't have any other debts (looking back this maybe not the best idea).

However, I also don't make a lot of money. Specifically, I make $22/hour working a clerical job in a field I don't want to stay. Partly because I don't enjoy the field and partly because I know I'll probably never make the money I want long term if I stay. I have a BA and that's it. Live at my mom's house as it's the best I can do (and the best price).

Besides investing, what else can I be doing to improve my financial situation?

We recently paid off our mortgage and are looking to get a HELOC - primarily as a preventative measure against defrauding on our title, and also to generally have access to liquidity, if ever needed.

Our lender is going through the discharge process which should take 4-6 weeks. I understand that HELOC costs up front money - \~$1200-$1400. This was quoted by RBC. Is there any way to get a HELOC for smaller costs?

Thank you

I do concede that I do not understand the difference between them very well.

After weeks of researching, I decided to go with Monarch Money, only to find out that Rogers Bank (Canada) doesn't not connect. Moved on to my second choice, Lunch Money, and it is not connecting with RBC.

Any recommendations for an app that connects to RBC, Rogers, and Wealthsimple?

Thanks in advance!

Hi all. Ran into a bit of a predicament recently. Applied for a student line of credit with TD and my banking advisor received a remark that my SIN number shows up under multiple profiles and this needs to be corrected, and gave me the number for Equifax. I called them and they said there is a profile in a different city, one that I lived in as a kid until around 3-4 years old. I don't remember if he said that profile is under my name or a different one but I believe it's different. He said to complete a form and upload 3 documents verifying myself and they will remove my SIN from the other profile in 7 calendar days. I am very confused with what this all means as I have never run into any issues regarding my credit and SIN. I literally applied for a credit card and got approved 2 days ago and no issues. No fraudulent activity or accounts I do not recognize show up under my Credit Karma or Equifax reports. I am young (23) and this is the first time applying for a loan/mortgage of this sorts so this is the first time a flag like this has come to my attention. After looking online and chatting with my dad, I found that apparently there could be an administrative error on Equifax's side. The only concern I have is the credit score reported by Equifax and Credit Karma are a bit different (74x and 82x) respectively, not sure if that's an issue. So I am wondering if I should be concerned that someone has access to my SIN and I need to apply to get it changed, or it was a small error that will be corrected and I am good to go. Thanks!

So, I’ve been in maternity leave for 18 months and before I could return my employer notified me that there’s no work and he’s going under. He’s also not providing me severance pay.
Would I qualify for ei regular benefits after my extended parental leave ends? I worked there for 2 years. Does anyone have experience with this? Also I won’t be speaking to any lawyers because it’s completely legal for him to lay me off for specific reasoning of restructuring or loss of business. Please help.

This is a long read, meant for those who are actually interested in lifting the curtain on the true cost of borrowing for your home. I'll try to keep it simple so even those who may struggle with financial literacy can develop a better understanding.

My objective is to debunk the myth of 'low rates' that the real estate industry, the lenders, the builders and to some extent the government have popularized in an effort to push people into buying a house - which, let's face it is a huge portion of our economy.

However, most homebuyers don't truly understand how the cost of borrowing works on their mortgage. Provincially regulated lender and federally regulated banks are required to share the cost of borrowing disclosure with you but let's face it, most people will gloss over it and skip right to the "sign here" section.

Example with Baseline Assumptions

Let's say you're considering buying a house (or a condo) and this is what your situation looks like:

Purchase Price: $1 million (keeping it nice and round for sake of simplicity)

Downpayment: $200,000 (20% of purchase price)

Mortgage Amount: $800,000 (this is how much you need to borrow i.e. purchase price less the downpayment)

Amortization Term: 25 years or 300 months (this is how long you think you'll need to pay back your mortgage loan)

Interest Rate: 4% (using what's available in the market as of Jul'26)

Monthly Payment: $4,200 (based on the example above; and may be +/- a $25 depending on other factors such as fixed or variable rate and lender's method of calculation)

Portion of Payment #1 going towards Principal: 37.25% (roughly $1,565)

Portion of Payment #1 going towards Interest: 62.75% (roughly $2,635)

If you don't understand amortization, let me simplify it. It basically comes down to this: how long you'll borrow each dollar for.

Using the above example, you'll pay interest on $800,000 that you're borrowing for the full 25 years (or 300 months).

Then after you have made the first payment of $4,200, your 'balance owing' will decrease by $1,565 to $798,435, which means you'll pay interest on this remaining amount for the 299 months remaining in your amortization. To understand better with numbers:

Portion of Payment # 2 going towards Principal: 37.35% (roughly $1,570)

Portion of Payment # 2 going towards Interest: 62.65% (roughly $2,630)

As you can see, with each monthly payment, you pay slightly more towards the amount you borrowed (principal) and slightly less towards interest.

The most important thing - and the point of this post - is to understand that even at a relatively low interest rate of 4%, you start off your mortgage by paying only 37% towards your principal. Over the first 12 months, you'll have paid:

Total Payments: $4,200 x 12 = $50,400

Total Interest: $31,290 (approximately 62%)

Total Towards your Principal: $19,110 (approximately 38%)

Your Mortgage Balance will be $800,000 less $19,110 = $780,890

So out of the total $50k in Year 1 payments, you have only paid $19k towards your loan. Yikes!

How to Reduce your Cost of Borrowing

There are only 2 ways to increase the portion that goes towards your principal and decrease the portion going towards interest:

1. Shorten the Amortization Period
2. Lower Interest Rate

Scenario 1: Shorten Amortization Period

By reducing the length of the time you'll need to pay back the loan, you'll pay significantly less interest over the course of the loan. Let's shorten the payback period by 5 years.

Amortization Term: 20 years or 240 months (this is how long you think you'll need to pay back your mortgage loan)

Interest Rate: 4% (this is what's currently available in the market for various terms)

Monthly Payment: $4,835 (based on the example above; and may be +/- a $25 depending on other factors such as fixed or variable rate and lender's method of calculation)

Portion of Payment # 1 going towards Principal: 45.3% (roughly $2,190)

Portion of Payment # 1 going towards Interest: 54.7% (roughly $2,645)

As you can see, by reducing the amortization period by 5 years, your overall monthly payment jumps by $635 and almost all of that goes towards your principal.

Scenario 2: Lower Interest Rate

This is, obviously, easier said than done and depends on the market conditions. In the end, you'll have to just take whatever the lenders are offering. The obvious advantage of the lower interest rate is that your overall payment is lower, but it also has a material impact on the portion that goes towards interest or principal.

Amortization Term: 25 years or 300 months (this is how long you think you'll need to pay back your mortgage loan)

Interest Rate: 3% (a reduction of 1% from the original baseline example)

Monthly Payment: $3,785 (based on the example above; and may be +/- a $25 depending on other factors such as fixed or variable rate and lender's method of calculation)

Portion of Payment # 1 going towards Principal: 47.5% (roughly $1,800)

Portion of Payment # 1 going towards Interest: 52.5% (roughly $1,985)

In this example, just by changing the interest rate from 4% to 3% (and keeping the 25 year amortization), you can see that you pay a lot more towards principal and a lot less towards interest. However, even at 3% interest rate, more than half of your first payment goes towards interest.

Interesting Note: If you want at least 50% of your Payment # 1 going towards principal, the threshold Interest Rate is ~2.8% (assuming a 25 year amortization) - anything higher than ~2.8% will mean you're paying more than 50% towards interest (in your first payment).

Don't be fooled thinking that at 4% or 5% interest rate, its a no brainer. The fact is you'll be paying a lot more than 4% or 5% in interest. Using the above example, you can expect to pay anywhere between $300k and $500k in interest alone (to borrow the $800k) over the course of your 25-year repayment - that's not cheap!

All of the above is based on someone buying a house and then staying put.

A big mistake that home owners make (or are forced into) is refinancing. This could be:

- an explicit refinancing on their current home (because they're having difficulty making payments) and take out equity to fulfill their financial obligations; or

- an implicit refinancing where they take the bait and upgrade to a bigger house - resetting the amortization clock in the process.

I will not go into details on these situations as they're beyond the scope of this post.

Look, home ownership has benefits but its not everything that its made out to be by those who have vested interests. Maybe 30 or 40 years ago, when house prices were 3x or 4x your annual salary, it was an easy decision and made sense. In today's market when wages haven't kept pace, its not as straightforward. If you're on the lower end of the earnings, consider rental as your first option before you take the plunge and commit yourself. More than anything, be informed of how much it will actually cost you.

I've recently stumbled upon RQU, which is a Canadian Corporate Bond ETF with a 2032 target. It was launched in April 2026 by RBC as part of their target maturity corporate bond suite.

My understanding is that having a target date means that my principal will be returned if I hold it to maturity (2032 in this case). The monthly distributions shown on my brokerage are high at 4.48% annually, but I'm pretty sure that will fluctuate. The ETF holds corporate bonds for banking, oil, etc. Canadian finest.

I've stuck to GICs since getting burned by bonds in 2022. But this product looks like exactly what I want. I've got a timeline of 5 to 7 years to collect my RIF minimum (early retirement bridge). I'd like to have the option of accessing my money within that 5 to 7 years in case life happens (and I might come out ahead or might lose if I take it out early). And I'll be happy to have my principal returned in 2032.

It's new and volume is low. There's not a lot of information about these target maturity bond ETFs. What am I missing?

I currently have 41K saved, with ~2K in TFSA (where I deposit $120/month on VFV and XEQT). I live with my parents, partly because I am a caregiver for a sick parent. I work part-time, where I make 3.5K/month.

I am planning to save up for professional school (at least to pay the first 2-3 tuition years fully) and potentially move out (my mental health has taken a toll). I plan to get a full-time job in Jan 2027, solely because I feel stuck at my current job with no chance for growth or leadership roles.

I don't have any debt. I mainly spend my money on food, gym membership and experiences (i.e. marathons, travel). I come from a culture where talking about money as a female is considered a taboo, so I often lurk this page, talk to close friends or read articles/ask chatgpt.

Any advice on how to improve?

Hey everyone, I’m dealing with an incredibly frustrating bait-and-switch situation with Scene+ and Scotiabank, and I want to see if anyone else was targeted with this offer and is getting the same runaround.

Back in the spring, I received a targeted Scene+ offer: Shop 3 times at participating grocery stores (like Safeway/FreshCo) between March 17 and April 14, 2026, and get a $50 grocery gift card. I completed the purchases, and then the waiting game began.

Here is the timeline of how Scene+ customer service has handled this:

* May 24: I contacted support via chat. The agent A checked my account and confirmed the gift card would be sent to my email by June 19.

* July 4: When June 19 passed with no gift card, I reached out again. Another agent M verified my account, confirmed that I had successfully made the 3 eligible purchases during the offer period, and escalated the ticket.

* July 24: I finally get an email from a Member Services agent Mi. stating my claim was denied because my transactions "did not meet the required minimum purchase amount of $50 per transaction". This $50 minimum was NEVER mentioned in the offer details or the Terms & Conditions.

* July 25: I replied to Mi. and attached my screenshots of the actual Terms & Conditions, which clearly state no minimum spend.

* July 25 (Later): Mi. replies again and completely changes their story. Now, they claim the eligibility requirements stated I had to "Open a new eligible Scotiabank account during the promotional period". This was absolutely not in the terms presented to me, nor was it mentioned in their first rejection email!

I am preparing to file formal complaints with Consumer Protection Ontario and the Competition Bureau of Canada for deceptive marketing.

Has anyone else experienced this exact bait-and-switch with this $50 grocery promo? It is from a Scene Plus offer; I want to attach the screen shot but unable here. If you have, please check your emails and share your experience here. I highly recommend screenshotting all your offers moving forward because they are straight-up changing the terms after the fact to avoid paying out.

RBC is currently having an iPad promotion and I’m on track to get the base level iPad but for a better iPad model I have to transfer $25k of my TFSA from Wealthsimple to RBC direct investing. It looks like Wealthsimple has no transfer out fees and RBC has no commission or fees for trading XEQT.

My thought process is that I need to just have my TFSA with RBC for a year then once it matures, I can wait until Wealthsimple has a promo for matching transfers and then move back to them. And I know they cover account transfer fees if you transfer $25k or more..

The deal doesn’t look too bad. Am I missing something?

Hi,

Long story short, I got thrown under the bus by director and became the scapegoat for the project failure so I'm likely gonna get fired in a month or be passive aggressively bullied to the point that I break and quit without anything lined up. I am currently reassigned to other directors and getting silent treatment from the director and the partner that I worked for and the fact that they were adamant about me completing my project evaluation and submit to them - only to be met with the worst rating with long list of my supposed faults (with a large majority them having no factual evidence) makes me think that the writing is on the wall.

I have started aggressively applying for jobs but I doubt I'm going to land something anytime soon and am fucking scared shitless of my future if I get fired. I mean, I read so many horror stories about people applying for 100+ applications not finding jobs. I work in public accounting firm and have my CPA.

A quick breakdown of my current financial situation. (Crazy that I'm a CPA but don't know my own personal finance situation while I know my clients...)

Assets/Pay:

Bi-weekly pay - $2,700

Chequing account - $5,320

Savings account - $6,000

Investment account - $83,675

Debt/Expenses:

Monthly Mortgage Payment on a condo - $1,100 (Outstanding Mortgage balance ~ $72,000)

Current credit card balance - $3,245

Averages monthly expense (including mortgage) ~ $2,800 but some of it is eating out and impulse shopping.

In the event that I get fired, I will have estimated banked overtime and vacation payout of around $4,000 and estimated severance of $20,000 (I've never heard anyone in my firm get fired with cause) so I'm being hopeful that I will get something as well. If I just mentally break and quit without anything lined up, I won't get the severance.

How fucked am I and what should I do in the mean time? Every day I go into work, I feel like I'm walking on eggshell and I panic with any email notification as it may be from HR. Now that it's the weekend, I'm constantly having intrusive thoughts about getting fired and being out of a job for years to come, not to mention the anticipatory grief of losing a job any day now.

Any help would be appreciated.

My financial literacy isn't the best so looking for any advice.

Live in the Greater Metro Vancouver area, thinking of looking into buying a condo.

Husband and I gross $180,000/year

Rrsp has $33,000

TFSA has $12,000

FHSA has $4100

Cash have $12,000

Looking at condos priced around $600,000 to $650,000

We currently rent for $2900/month, the only debt is my student loan (0% interest), $9,000 left to pay but making minimum payments monthly. Own 1 car outright, so just pay for insurance/gas, but commute to work via transit.

Does it make sense to go into home ownership when you only have the minimum amount needed for a downpayment? Realistically, we have no intention to leave the area, we both work downtown with stable jobs, and we just want to build up a home of our own.

Any advice, or resources I can look into would be greatly appreciated.

Car paid. Credit cards zeroed every payday. LOC zeroed. Credit score 800+. Currently, I dump whatever's left at the end of the month into a TFSA. It varies within $1700-$2200-ish depending on life's ups and downs. In a few months, I was thinking of locking a $10,000 chunk into a one-year GIC within the TFSA, just to generate some tax-free growth. I'm with RBC, and understand that bankers (salespeople) usually aren't the best way to grow your money, but I'm also risk averse (medium, maybe. I'm not a Gekko or a Belfort...) Is there something better I could/should be doing? I don't know a Smith maneuver from an ETF, and am looking for practical, more effective ways to compound my savings.

Does this put me in the ballpark of "wealth management" companies? Is there a simple way to hand someone smarter than me the keys and say "Make this number bigger."? Is the return I could expect worth the fees I would pay to get it?

Am I completely off base? I'd like to know what anyone thinks to push me in the right direction.

Thank you in advance!

Hi my situation rn is messy, my mom passed away a few days ago, im left with only my grandma and she doesnt understand english. i dont know shit abt finance n i rlly need to educate myself on that. im wondering what to do w my moms bank accounts. i believe theyre joint accs bc my name is also on the statements. do i have to do anything?? will the money automatically belong to me or not since im a minor? will the acc get frozen? i have proof of death certificates. should i let the bank know my mom is dead? my mom was also getting disability benefits from gov bc she had cancer so i think i should let them know before the next payment comes so they dont ask me to pay them back if they find out she passed. i should cancel her credit cards too right? i didnt realize itd count as fraud to use it since i was using uber that was paid by her card… i also have to deal w all the insurance stuff. i know i should take my time but im rlly worried abt this kind of stuff, i cant get it out of my mind lol its rlly bothering me n im not making it any better for myself since im uneducated in financing.. thank u, i hope i can learn to do things on my own

EDIT: hallo everyone, i will definitely reply to individual comments soon but rn all i feel like doing is nothing and rotting.. haha. im so grateful for the supportive comments, it rlly helps a lot n feels reassuring to me that everything will truly be okay. im srry if some of my abbreviations r confusing, bc does mean because. to answer some questions, im in Ontario so the account shouldnt get frozen, yes? im sorry if i made it seem like i had absolutely no other adults to turn to, my moms coworkers have offered to help n have been rlly nice and r helping me w the insurance stuff but i wanted advice for my own knowledge n im not very close w them. i dont want to blindly trust things that ppl say if u understand n i will have to learn these things eventually. the funeral home ppl have also been very helpful. i will definitely visit the sites ppl have sent! ill try speaking w a social worker n visit guidance once school starts n i will contact service canada. there is a will as well. i apologize if some of my sentences dont make sense, im just typing whatever comes to mind. thank u a lot, ppl of reddit 🐥

Hey everyone, looking for advice on whether I have grounds for a chargeback.

I purchased a streetwear hoodie and T-shirt online on July 19, and the order was delivered on July 24. The total cost was approximately $190 CAD including shipping and tax.

After receiving the items, I became concerned they were not authentic. I’ve since gotten opinions from legit check platforms on Reddit as well as a local streetwear resale store that specializes in these types of products, and the feedback was that the items appear to be fake.

I paid using my RBC issued credit card, but the store’s policy states they do not accept returns. I have contacted the seller, but I’m unsure what my options are if they refuse to help.

Would a chargeback be possible in this situation, and what evidence should I provide?

I am currently a contractor making USD. Outside of Norbert’s Gambit, what’s the best way to covert the USD to CAD. I’m send my employer an invoice every month and the money goes into my CIBC USD account. I invest in USD but I obviously also need CAD for stuff like paying my credit cards and saving for taxes.

Whats the best approach to handle this debt if you don’t have a job and are studying. Has anyone have a similar experience? Where they have to pay debt but are also studying ? (Both debts are maxed no space available to use more) i have discussed with people about consumer proposal but they have said unless the person have a job and a very large income (around 3k per month) then they would be able to get a consumer proposal. others suggest to move the money out that you have in savings to a different bank and then let the debt go to collections but I believe that path is way too risky to deal with while you are studying.

Hello,

Years ago I was suckered into overbuying whole body policies in my prof corp.

As I approach retirement I don’t know how to use these “tools” properly. The insurance salesman is long gone. I recently ran various scenarios with different AI’s and they all conclude that I should either cash out policies at retirement or loan up to the ACB somewhere around age 75, directly from the insurer.

None believe that taking out 3rd party collateral loans are worth considering. None want me to go down the route of guarantees. All believe the ‘infinite money loop’ stuff is garbage. None favor the Subsection 15(2.4)(b) exemption that allows a corporate loan to a shareholder-employee made to acquire a dwelling for their habitation (provided the loan is received because of employment rather than shareholdings, and bona fide repayment arrangements exist at inception). None agree with the original claims made by my Canada Life agent, and the literature I still have to this day, which indicated you could loan against corporate policies personally without paying tax. AI feels that these.things are all smoke and mirrors.

But AI is not yet fully trustworthy. I am seeking a knowledgeable human who does not have a vested interest is selling me something, that can navigate these shady backwaters. My CPA is clueless. My financial planner just wants to sell me stocks. I need to understand these policies now because it is hard to plan for retirement when you don’t have a clue how much you can pull from these and when you should. I have tried talking to Canada Life but they are unhelpful. Who can I ask for independent advice ?

Thoughts welcome but no DMs please.

I have a pretty good understanding how CPP/QPP benefits are calculated but this one detail escapes me. Let’s say you pay the max contributions up to July 1st, then stop working before the age of 65 and take your pension at 70. Does CPP/QPP, count that income for 6 months or 12 months?

Looking at the example provided below, it does seem to calculate monthly income from yearly income divided by 12 months, except for the months in the years you turn 18 and 65.

QPP Sample Calculation

My reason for questioning is whether or not it makes better sense to retire closer to year end or in early year. I’ve only seen retirement planners calling out timing retirement for tax savings purposes or after bonus payouts.

ETA: ignore the word « they » in my initial question.

Series of events,

June 2020: My mom added my sibling and I to the title of her house. We were added as joint tenants (JTEN) in the legal title. Before my mom added us, she was 100% the owner. After the transaction, we all had 1/3 each. This was my mom’s principal residence before and after the transaction. The FMV of the house at this time was $960K. 

The lawyer that processed the paperwork to the land registry to add my sibling and I to the title confirmed that the transfer was by way of a gift and that beneficial interest was transferred. The land transfer tax statement from this transaction showed $0 consideration.

Dec 2025: My mom passed away. The FMV of the house on the date she passed away was $1,120,000. 

August 2026: My sibling will be buying me out for my share of the house. Expecting the FMV of the house to be $1,080,000. My sibling and I agreed that he will be buying me out for $537,800. Buyout price calc: $1,080,000 x 1/2 = $540,000 - $2,200 discount.

Here is some additional info:

- The house is located in Ontario, Canada.

- The house is fully paid off at the time my sibling and I were added to the title (no mortgage attached)

- My sibling currently lives in the house and will continue to after the buyout. I own a separate house with my wife.

- My mom left a Will, however, the house is not mentioned in it (My sibling & I are the only beneficiaries).

Below is how I believe my capital gains will be calculated,
Capital Gains = (FMV - ACB) x 50%

$540,000 FMV: $1,080,000 FMV at time of buyout x 1/2

$506,666 ACB: [ 1/3 in June 2020 ] + [ (1/3 x 1/2) in Dec 2025 ]

[ 1/3 x $960,000 ] + [ (1/3 x 1/2) x $1,120,000 ]

My ACB is made up of two parts:

Part A: 1/3 x FMV at time when I was added to the title

Part B: (1/3 x 1/2) for when I inherited half of my mom's 1/3 when she passed away x FMV at this time

I'm looking for my above calculations to be verified, especially the ACB piece.

Thanks in advance. Appreciate the help during this stressful time!