Family Accounts vs Individual, Contribution Amounts, Best Bank – RESP Reader Questions

by Mike Holman

Anne writes: Looking for advice… We have three children ages 7, 5 and 3. We have a family account RESP setup through Nesbitt Burns but need to switch advisors. We have no other affiliation with Nesbitt Burns and therefore are looking into transferring our account to one of the major banks. I have 3 questions: [...]

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LinkStuff – Good Samaritan Edition

by Mike Holman

Every once in a while I like to highlight something positive that someone has done.  Last year I wrote about the nice guy who didn’t get mad when my son ran a shopping cart into his car at Canadian Tire and now I have another story. This week, I tried out a new pannier (bike bag) [...]

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House Buyers – Is 20% Down Payment Always Better?

by Mike Holman

In Canada, if you buy a house and have less than a 20% down payment, you have to pay a CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) fee to insure the mortgage.  It should be the goal of all home buyers to have a larger down payment, but it’s not always possible. One scenario is where someone [...]

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RESP Question – How To Distribute Contributions And EAPs In Family RESP Account

by Mike Holman

Reader Lloyd had an RESP withdrawal question about how contribution money and non-contribution money can be distributed to different beneficiaries: Hello Mike, I’m trying to find information about how RESP withdrawals work. Can a family plan pay all contributions to one beneficiary and all the EAP to another beneficiary? I’ve tried searching all over different [...]

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Why The Facebook IPO Was A Success

by Mike Holman

Last weeks much anticipated Facebook IPO ( Initial Public Offering – otherwise known as the day Facebook sold part of the company to the public) ended up being a crushing disappointment.  Or so it would seem to anyone reading the negative business media.  I’m of the opinion however, that the IPO was a huge success. [...]

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Should You Sell Your House And Avoid The Market Crash?

by Mike Holman

Rob Carrick wrote about a Vancouver couple who sold their house recently with the idea that they would rent for a while and then buy back into the real estate market after the coming crash. I know a couple who did this same move in Toronto.  They might make out like bandits in the end, [...]

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How To Win A House Bidding War

by Mike Holman

There are some hot real estate markets in Canada, namely Toronto and Vancouver.  One of the results of a hot market is a tendency for sellers to underprice their houses in order to create a bidding war.  This benefits the seller because it speeds up the selling process and they might get an above-market sale [...]

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LinkStuff – Model Train Show Edition

by Mike Holman

Recently, I took my family to the Model Railroad Club of Toronto show.  If you ever get a chance to attend this show or something similar in your city, I strongly urge you to do so. I’m not really into model trains myself, but the club has been working on their display since 1938 and it [...]

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