Finance Industry News

In a bid to remove speculation from the red-hot Canadian housing market, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced a series of new rules for first-time home buyers. Suggesting that during the current period of record-low rates, the temptation to take on more debt than would otherwise be prudent must be reigned-in to ensure buyers have sufficient capacity to adapt to higher interest rates.

The new regulations include:

• borrowers will now be required to meet the criteria for a five-year, fixed-rate mortgage rather than the less stringent three-year test
• down payment requirements for borrowers purchasing homes in which they will not be living (i.e.

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Take 10 seconds right now and try to remember the exact moment when you first understood what money was, and why it was important to society as a whole.

• What emotions did you feel?
• What possibilities did you create in your mind?
• What attitudes and/or beliefs overcame you at that very instant?

Now, what about after learning money’s purpose in society and after experiencing the markets and investing world each and every day of your life? H

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This is an awesome piece of music from Chris Botti featuring Lucia Micarelli. The only thing that bugs me about this video is Lucia’s ear sticking out through her hair. M

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There’s an old saying that goes something like this:

Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.

In my experience, it’s true. We seek to fit in with those around us, and that applies every bit as much to money-related decisions as it does to other life choices.

Money-Related Peer Pressure

It’s obvious when our friends and coworkers spend money. We see them going out to eat, going out on weekends, buying shiny new iPods, iPads, and iPhones. As a result, we experience peer pressure to spend–to “keep up with the Joneses.”

But it’s not obvious when our friends and coworkers save and invest money. You don’t see t

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Once you understand that failing leads to positive results, then it’s not a question of whether you will fail, but how fast and often you are able to do so.

Are you afraid of failing? Don’t worry if you are, because I am too. But think hard about everything you are at least semi-good at. Were you this good when you first started?

It Applies to Hobbies

My wife Emma is a great cook. So much so that EVERYONE, without exception, who tasted her homemade food agrees. Yet, I’m pretty sure she didn’t start out knowing which ingredient to put into her dishes. I mean,

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I’m not an advocate for buying new vehicles versus used. However, there is some merit in buying an extremely cheap new car and driving it until it’s time to take it behind the woodshed and put it out of its misery.

That being said, below is a list of the 10 cheapest vehicles of 2010 (from most to least expensive), based on MSRP. If you only buy used, go out and get one of these models in 3 years as their resale values are typically only about half of MSRP.

Foreign Automakers Dominate The List of Cheapest Vehicles

You’ll find that foreign automakers swept the list: Nissan (2), Scion (2), Toyota (1), Hyundai (1), Kia (3), and Honda (1). At th

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