Welcome to My Online Home
My philosophy is simple:
“Your credit rating is not a reflection of your personal worth, it is merely a credit industry tool”.
I am an Insolvency Counsellor in Canada who helps those worried about debt and credit regain their financial independence.
Find out more about me here…
Latest Thoughts
Budgeting
Written by Margaret Johnson Wednesday, 18 January 2012 07:53
Shelter
The shelter expense for family budgets is one of the most misunderstood categories of all. Why? Because we are told we have total control over the choices available.
The first and second issues are inseparably linked: availability and affordability.
Availability
Where do you live? Actually, the questions is, “What geographical location do you reside? Are you in a remote community, a large urban centre, a rural setting? These situations dictate price and availability.
In larger urban centres there may be appear to be more choices but vacancy rates determine availability as market conditions (supply and demand) affect house prices.
In other words, urban centres tend to be more complicated. Where you live may depend upon the need for schools, access to public transit or the worksite.
Now that we are finished this short summary of issues we do not fully control, we move on to affordability.
The 5 Year Lock-In is Back
Written by Margaret Johnson Wednesday, 18 January 2012 07:19
The Bank of Montreal’s January 12th 2012 media-attracting announcement of 2.9% interest for a 5 year mortgage sent a few shivers up and down my central nervous system. Why? Because I remember all of those locked in mortgages in the early 1980s – where people rushed to get locked in at extremely high rate mortgages at 18% or more because of fear.
Fear is a great motivator. Especially when it is disguised as a great opportunity to protect yourself from something bad like interest rate hikes – just lock-in now for 5 years.
Merry Christmas
Written by Margaret Johnson Wednesday, 21 December 2011 12:28
It’s that time again. I’ve already wished the Canadian banks a Merry Christmas. I’ve also been ringing the warning bells about Christmas spending. Let me now wish everyone else the very best for this wonderful season. Merry Christmas. Thanks for listening.
Let me leave you with a special letter written by a friend who reaches out to his adult daughters.
Dear ___________, ______________
When I was young we used to sit down and write long letters at Christmas, especially to our families. It might be to our mother or father, a sister or brother, a cousin, aunt or uncle. Many of these letters took many days to construct because to write something was much more difficult than to say it, and we would dig deep into our hearts to say what we really wanted to at Christmas.
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