Category: money

Let’s Shift the Focus

Dear Dave, I graduated from college six years ago with a business degree. Currently, I’m in data analytics making about $40,000 a year and have $155,000 in student loan debt. Do you have any recommendations as far as refinancing my student loans and getting the interest rates and monthly payments down? —Austin Dear Austin, I’m…


IN-DEPTH: How Canadians Can Survive Tough Times Amid Rising Interest Rates

Although this week’s announced interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada (BoC) will make things even tougher for Canadians amid rising mortgage rates and tight budgets, there are a number of ways people can ride out this period and manage their finances. “One thing Canadians can do is make a budget plan. Do not…


A Corporate Con Game

Dear Dave, I know you recommend using cash or debit cards instead of credit cards. But can you explain why my husband and I shouldn’t take advantage of credit card points for travel expenses that are required for work but will be reimbursed by the employer? —Cathy Dear Cathy, So, your employer is so poor…


What Will You Use as Money If the Dollar Dies?

Commentary The U.S. dollar could someday go the way of all paper-currencies past and be consumed in a hyperinflationary fire. It seems unlikely but it is possible. In some ways, given the reckless policies of the past three years, we should be perhaps surprised that it hasn’t happened yet. If the dollar loses its status…


Pull From Stocks and Put Toward Mortgage?

Dear Dave, I bought a house about a year ago. Currently, I have $45,000 sitting in an account with a money manager. I’ve had this account for a little over three years, and the investment hasn’t grown much, if at all. Under the circumstances, and being single, too, would it be better to pull the…


Opposing Foreign Agent Registry: Hundreds Offered Money, Bus Ride to Join Parliament Hill Protest

Hundreds in Toronto’s Chinese community are being offered money and a free bus ride to Ottawa to join a protest on Parliament Hill “to protect our legal rights and interests.” While the event is advertised as marking the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act, some organizers have talked about the issue as part of…


Your Financial Life Depends on It

Dear Dave, I’ve been struggling for about a year, ever since I made a stupid new-college-graduate decision to finance a car. It’s a 2018 Jeep Compass, and I owe $21,000 on it. The trade-in value is about $11,000, so I really got stung on the sticker price and everything else. I also have $85,000 in…


Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Dear Dave, My employer offers an employee stock purchase plan at a 15 percent discount. I’m usually the kind of guy who buys stocks and holds on to them forever. But when it comes to an opportunity like this, should I buy it and wait for a year to sell it, or should I buy…


IRS Sends out Urgent Notice to Millions of Americans | Facts Matter

Four days ago, the IRS issued an official notice, warning over a million Americans across the country that time is running out for them to claim their 2019 refunds. And a lot of money is on the line here: there is currently $1.5 billion of these refund checks that have yet to be claimed. If…


It’s Not a Joint Venture, It’s a Marriage

Dear Dave, When my wife and I got married, she had about $70,000 in savings and I had a lot of debt. We bought some property from her parents to build a home on, and she made a 20 percent down payment on the land from her savings. We’ve paid off some debt, and she…