How Canadian homes became debt traps + MORE Nov 13th

Rumours have been swirling around for a few weeks that there are changes coming to the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard and the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard. If you follow our twitter account it’s this news that is considered the possible bad news we tweeted about for today:While we don’t have concrete details we did receive an update from BMO to make the following changes to the wording for the cards on our site. Based on this update today and the rumours we have heard we can only speculate that those rumours will come true and this is bad news for current and/or future cardholders.The changes made today: BMO® World Elite™* MasterCard®* Previous: Get 20,000 welcome bonus points* worth $200 in travel rewardsNow: Get 20,000 welcome bonus points*Previous: Earn 2 BMO Reward points for every $1 you spend on the card – that’s 2% back on travel!*Now: Earn 2 BMO Reward points for every $1 you spend on the card*As you can see the terminology around what the points worth both on the sign up bonus and your everyday return are being removed – this could mean one of two things – the points are increasing in value or decreasing in value…

(Photo illustration by Stephen Gregory and Heshmat Saberi)
In 1998, Ann bought a one-bedroom condo in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver. Gainfully employed at a printing company, she found the monthly mortgage payments were within her budget (Ann and others quoted in this story asked that Maclean’s not use their full names). The building was on the older side, and eventually she got the itch to update the decor. She intended to replace only her bathroom sink; she ended up renovating the entire bathroom. “I remember thinking, ‘Well, now that I’ve started…’ ” The kitchen came next, then the living room and finally the bedroom. Ann thought the renos, funded partly on credit and spaced out over a few months, would boost her condo’s value. She also wanted to keep up with her neighbours. “Everyone was doing something,” she says.
Finances became tight afterwards, and she only paid the minimum on her credit card each month. Every year, her condo fees rose while her salary at the printing company (where she still works) stagnated…

(Photo illustration by Stephen Gregory and Heshmat Saberi)
In 1998, Ann bought a one-bedroom condo in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver. Gainfully employed at a printing company, she found the monthly mortgage payments were within her budget (Ann and others quoted in this story asked that Maclean’s not use their full names). The building was on the older side, and eventually she got the itch to update the decor. She intended to replace only her bathroom sink; she ended up renovating the entire bathroom. “I remember thinking, ‘Well, now that I’ve started…’ ” The kitchen came next, then the living room and finally the bedroom. Ann thought the renos, funded partly on credit and spaced out over a few months, would boost her condo’s value. She also wanted to keep up with her neighbours. “Everyone was doing something,” she says.
Finances became tight afterwards, and she only paid the minimum on her credit card each month. Every year, her condo fees rose while her salary at the printing company (where she still works) stagnated…

Decide whether it’s time, then help your teens use cards wisely, and put checks in place if they don’t