How much you need to earn to afford a home in Vancouver and the GVA + MORE Jan 28th

Each week, Cut the Crap Investing founder Dale Roberts shares financial headlines and offers context for Canadian investors. 

U.S. earnings season, with tech biggies to the rescue

Earnings have been very strong thanks to continued economic recovery as we move through, and out, of the pandemic. And earnings season is in full stride in the U.S. The tech giants are releasing their reports, including Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL). And we’re getting a read on other sectors thanks to earnings from Visa (V), McDonalds (MCD), Mastercard (MA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Chevron (CVX), General Electric (GE), Boeing (BA) and Tesla (TSLA). 

Here are some highlights. All figures are courtesy of Seeking Alpha.

Microsoft surged on Wednesday, after beating estimates for earnings and revenue. It said it earned $2.48 a share on $51.7 billion in revenue, up 20% year-over-year. The consensus from Wall Street analysts was for Microsoft to earn $2.32 per share on $50.78 billion in revenue, up 17…

“The market has gotten hotter since then. It’s a similar-sized home with all the sort of same features. What can be the problem?” said real estate agent Othneil Litchmore.

The Canadian real estate market has been red-hot since the pandemic started in March 2020. Home prices have risen across the board, but they are especially high in Vancouver, Canada’s most expensive housing market.

If you’re looking to purchase a home in the Greater Vancouver Area (GVA), you may be wondering how much you can afford or how much you need to earn to make that happen. Given that the average price of a detached home is nearing $2 million, you will need to have a high household income. It will also help to have a game plan and to know where to look.

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To help make things easier for you, we’ve gone ahead and calculated the household income you’ll need in order to purchase a home across different parts of the GVA, based on the average prices in December 2021…

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are one of Canada’s fastest-growing investment categories. In 2021, Canadians invested a record-breaking $53 billion in ETFs. Whether you’re already part of this trend or new to ETFs, the number of choices can make your head spin. Last year, over 200 new ETFs were launched, bringing the total to more than 1,100.

Like mutual funds, ETFs provide managed portfolios of stocks, bonds or other securities. Unlike mutual funds, ETFs are, like their name says, “exchange-traded”—you can buy or sell them just like stocks—and they often charge much lower management fees than mutual funds. Most mutual funds employ teams of expensive experts to hand-pick investments, while ETFs are often passively managed, designed to simply replicate a specific index, keeping costs low. (Some mutual fund companies offer passive “index” funds, however, while some ETFs follow complex active strategies. In general, you should expect to pay less for a passive strategy, regardless of the type of fund…

For many Canadians, the first few months of the year signal a time to reset—and that often includes making financial resolutions. In 2022, however, that could be harder to do. Inflation and the rising cost of living are now among Canadians’ top concerns, surpassing even COVID restrictions and personal well-being.

While you can’t control those economic circumstances, one of the most effective ways to improve your financial health is to reduce or pay off your credit card balances. And thankfully, there are strategies you can put to work. Read on to discover how you can pay off your credit card debt faster to improve your financial health.

Be mindful with money

Mindfulness, or the practice of being present and aware, is not going to reduce any debt on its own, but it can change your relationship with spending and help you to build smart money habits.

Before you make a purchase, take a moment to consider whether you really need that item, and whether you’re getting a good value…