How to keep business and family expenses separate + MORE Oct 1st

(Photograph by Gemma Robillard)
The current situation
Lana, 42, works in Toronto’s financial sector and is the mother of two children aged 8 and 10. “I have been working for 15 years and now I’m ready to step away from the corporate ladder and be a full-time mom,” she says. However, her husband Jeremy, 43, is nervous they won’t make ends meet even on his take-home pay of $7,500 a month. The couple currently owns $1.1 million in real estate, but owe $350,000 in mortgages and an auto loan. They plan to pay $20,000 annually to eliminate their mortgages, until Jeremy retires in 11 years. But despite the plan, doubts remain. “I don’t want to jeopardize a comfortable retirement since we won’t be able to save much when we switch to living on just one salary,” says Lana.
The verdict
According to Janet Gray, a certified financial planner with Money Coaches Canada in Ottawa, Lana’s on track to leave her job now with enough in her RRSP to last until she’s 100, provided Jeremy doesn’t retire before age 54 and remains a member of his employer’s defined-benefit pension plan…

Q. As a solo entrepreneur, I always seem to be using my personal credit card and/or line of credit to meet my business obligations. I don’t know what my income will be from one month to the next. My spouse is nervous about the creeping up of our joint line of credit. What do you suggest to keep my business money separate from my personal and family money?
A: Congratulations on your entrepreneur spirit! And your question is a very common area of concern to sole business owners like you. The key to success comes down to great planning and record keeping.
Start by reviewing your family expenses. What are the essential costs like shelter, food and transportation? What are the nice-to-have goals like travel, entertainment and dining out? Once you know your expenses and goals, you can determine what income you need. For instance, if your spouse/partner brings home net pay of $3,000 month and your family costs are $5,000 a month, then you need a net monthly income of $2,000 month from your business to make it all work…

Company: Magenta Capital Corporation Position: Regional Sales Manager Location: Kanata, ON Apply to: jobs@magentainvestment.ca Regional Sales Manager Magenta Capital Corporation (MCC) was first formed in 1994. It has one of Canada’s longest records of providing oversight to Mortgage Investment Corporations (MICs). It also oversees one of the largest private MIC portfolios with current mortgage assets under administration exceeding $217M. MCC has a 20-year track record generating superior returns for the shareholders of Magenta Group MICs. Reporting to the Vice President, Mortgage Operations, the role of the Regional Sales Manager will serve as the face of Magenta to all current and READ MORE

Canada’s banking chiefs gathered recently in Toronto for the 17th Annual Scotiabank Financials Summit. There, they shared their take on topics ranging from mortgage growth to regulation to advancements in mortgage technology. Some of it will put you to sleep, but there are lines below that are a must-read. We’ve plucked out some of the most relevant mortgage tidbits and sorted them by category. Key quotes are in blue and our comments are in italics.  On advancements in technology: Brian Porter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Scotiabank “In terms of technology–look, we are dead serious about this, we have recruited some very READ MORE

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Yields on municipal and Treasury bonds sagged this week on concerns about the health of Germany’s largest bank, before retracing their steps on Friday.
The 10-year yield on the AP Municipal Bond index was 1.883 per cent as of 5 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, after falling as low as 1.840 per cent earlier in the week. Yields on 30-year munis, which have stayed in a tight band of 2.421 per cent to 2.461 per cent since mid-September, were at the high end of that range on Friday. U.S Treasury yields also rebounded from a three-week low earlier in the week.
Most of the action in the U.S. bond market was caused by concerns about the financial health of Germany’s Deutsche Bank. U.S. regulators are reportedly trying to extract a potentially crippling settlement payment from the bank over claims about mortgage securities. The worries led investors to buy Treasury bonds early in the week, causing prices to rise and yields, which move inversely to prices, to fall. Municipal bond yields generally follow the pattern of Treasury yields…