How to protect your identity + MORE Sep 7th

We’re all on guard to protect our hard-earned money. What you might not notice, though, is when criminals seek something else that’s really valuable: your identity. 

It happens every day. People who would never dream of giving out their credit card number after receiving a random call, text, or email give away personal information on social media for free—including birthdates, home addresses, and details often used to answer website security questions. 

The consequences can be dire. If fraudsters open a credit card, line of credit, or mortgage in your name, for example, you may be held financially liable. Your credit score may be affected, making it very hard for you to get credit—such as a mortgage or car loan—when you need it. 

“Identity theft is not new, but we are seeing more and more of it,” says Octavia Howell, vice-president and chief information security officer at credit bureau Equifax Canada. “We are seeing more and more scams perpetrated that enable identity theft to happen…

A common feature of employee benefit plans in Canada is insurance coverage. The types and amounts of insurance vary, and employees should consider their personal situation to determine if they need additional coverage beyond their group plan—as they often do.  

If you are self-employed, the onus for insurance coverage is squarely on you. If you are considering self-employment or are already self-employed, consider whether the following types of insurance apply to you. 

Life insurance

If you have a spouse and/or children who rely on your income, you should probably have life insurance. It could replace that income if you were to die, protecting your family from financial hardship. 

How much life insurance do you need? 

You need enough life insurance to cover your financial obligations—such as a mortgage and personal debt—and provide sufficient care for your dependents.

Although a family’s expenses could decrease if someone died, most households have lots of fixed expenses like rent, mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, utilities, children’s expenses, and other costs that do not change if there is one less family member…

It’s not uncommon for parents to want to help their adult children enter the housing market. For some, that help comes in the form of co-signing for their child’s mortgage, but experts warn that means taking on financial risks they might not understand and could impact their own debt and retirement plans.

“The most important thing to understand about co-signers is that if there are four people on the mortgage, each of them is not responsible for 25%; each one of them is responsible for 100%,” said Ron Butler, principal broker at Butler Mortgage.

Co-signing a mortgage can be a risky commitment

At several major lenders in Canada, he noted that only one person listed on the mortgage agreement needs to sign for a renewal to take effect. “There could be four people on the mortgage. The bank will accept the sign-off of one single person to process the renewal, and once the renewal is processed, it’s all locked in for another five years,” he said.

Butler said once you co-sign, it’s extremely difficult to remove yourself from the mortgage…

Parents eager to help their children buy a home often consider co-signing a mortgage, but experts warn the risks can be long-lasting, affecting debt capacity, retirement plans and even family relationships.