Variable mortgage rates regaining traction as Bank of Canada cuts rates + MORE Sep 5th

Alexandre Crupi has a lot of expenses. The 31-year-old investment specialist at Steadyhand Investment Funds, along with his fiancee, are paying for a September wedding. Then there’s the cost of their forthcoming honeymoon. They hope some day to buy a house. On top of all that, Crupi doesn’t currently have a workplace pension plan.

Yet Crupi isn’t neglecting retirement. He’s maxing out his tax-free savings account (TFSA) and registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) contribution room to save for all of his long-term financial goals, including life in his golden years. In fact, Crupi’s been putting away money since he started working, and let it slowly accumulate across his various accounts. “There’s nothing better than the power of compounding,” he says. “The more you put away in your 20s and 30s, the more it can build and build and build for you.” 

That said, saving for retirement in your 30s can be tricky. The average couple ties the knot for the first time at 35 years old, and pays anywhere from $22,000 to $30,000 for a wedding…

Inheritance planning is one of those topics we often push to the back burner, somewhere between scheduling that long-overdue vacation and finally getting around to reading last summer’s bestseller. But let’s be honest, the stakes are a bit higher. Without proper planning, the wealth you’ve worked so hard to accumulate could end up more tangled than a ball of yarn in a kitten’s paws. 

The essential guide to inheritance planning

Neglecting to plan your inheritance is a bit like leaving your garden unattended for a few seasons. What starts as a minor oversight can quickly turn into a jungle of complications. Shockingly, two-thirds of Canadians haven’t put their estate plans in writing, according to a 2024 survey by IG Wealth Management, despite an expected $1 trillion in assets set to be transferred via inheritances in the next decade.

When a significant sum of money lands in the lap of someone who didn’t earn it during their lifetime, it can lead to a host of challenges…

The decision by the Bank of Canada to cut its key interest rate target this week was good news for borrowers with variable-rate mortgages, bringing back some of the shine for the once popular loans.

The rate cut prompted big commercial banks to lower their prime rates, which are used to set the rates charged for variable-rate mortgages.

Toma Sojonky, a mortgage broker at Verico Paragon Mortgage Group in West Vancouver, B.C., says variable-rate mortgages are beginning to regain some traction with clients after falling out of favour when the rate-hiking cycle began.

“I think there are folks who understand that the pendulum is swinging the other way,” he said. 

Those with a variable-rate mortgage have had a wild ride since the start of the pandemic.

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