The “Big Five” Canadian banks offer credit cards and include Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Dominion Bank (TD Canada Trust), Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Did you know that there are many other options?
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With its $699 annual fee the most expensive publicly available card in the Canadian market is The Platinum Card® from American Express. Right away that number seems to turn many people away but in reality, if you do any travel, and it doesn't have to be a lot of travel - paying.... More »
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Earn 4x Aeroplan Miles for stays at the Chelsea Hotel Toronto + MORE Oct 24th
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RC23 Spotlight: Air Canada Aeroplan (Prizes: 3 x 23,000 Aeroplan points) + MORE Sep 13th
Air Canad Aeroplan is the next RC23 RWRDS Canada’s 23rd Anniversary Contest sponsor that we are giving the spotlight to! As one of the oldest and largest programs in Canada, Air Canada Aeroplan is well known to Canadians! The program has received a lot of the spotlight since being revamped nearly .... More »
What to pay off first: mortgage or line of credit?
– moneysense.ca
Q: We are currently in position to either pay down our lines of credit or pay down our mortgage. We recently sold one property and renovated and moved into another. The lines of credit were used to help renovate the property we just moved into. We now find ourselves in a debt vs debt standoff. Do we use the money to pay off the mortgage, leaving us with about $70,000 owing and about $150,000 on a line of credit, or do we tackle the line of credit, which would leave us with $15,000 in the bank and a $290,000 remaining mortgage? — Debt vs. Debt, Aurora, Ont.
Answer 1: As with any debt, pay off the one with the highest interest first. Mortgages tend to have unfavourable interest and compounding structure, making them the better bet to pay down first. Lines of credit have more simple interest calculations, making them easier to pay down over time. I have clients who have taken out lines of credit to pay off their mortgages, once they got low enough. If you create a spreadsheet and calculate the total interest paid on the mortgage and the lines of credit, the answer will be obvious…
