Life Insurance vs. mortgage insurance: Let’s break it down + MORE Mar 20th

Life insurance is essentially buying peace of mind. You’re helping your loved ones deal with the financial impact of your death and hopefully mitigating some of the accompanying stress and emotional turmoil. But what happens after your loved ones receive their inheritance? Is life insurance taxable in Canada? Is the payout you’re leaving behind subject to income tax? The last thing you want to do is leave your loved ones with more confusion—that’s why you purchased the policy in the first place. Here’s what you need to know about life insurance and the tax implications it could have. 

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Is life insurance taxable in Canada?
Most of the money received from a life insurance policy is not subject to income tax. The death benefit paid from a life insurance policy is a tax-free, lump-sum amount for the beneficiary that can be used to finance a number of things. This includes paying off debts, including a mortgage, so your family can remain in the same home and community…

Life insurance can be a necessity for ensuring your loved ones are taken care of after you’re gone. It can help them pay for funeral expenses, the costs of everyday living and much more. But one of life insurance’s main advantages is that it can pay off outstanding debts, including a mortgage. So, life insurance vs. mortgage insurance? Which is better?
How do mortgages work?
First, a mortgage is the debt you owe when you can’t pay the full price of a home or other property—it’s the difference between what you offer as a down payment and the purchase price. Usually, lending institutions advance the difference to the seller, who then receives the full sale price upon closing of the deal. Then you sit down with the lender to work out your repayment terms. 
What is life insurance?
An individually owned life insurance policy provides tax-free money following the death of the insured. It can be used to pay off your mortgage, either in whole or in part. 
“Life insurance may completely pay off this obligation if the borrower passes away while there’s still an outstanding balance,” says Peter Wouters, director of tax, retirement and estate planning services at Empire Life Insurance Company in Burlington, Ont…

It happens to many of us from time to time. Either we need to build our credit, or even rebuild it. Well, the good news is there is a card on the market that can help you do just that. 

With this card, you put a deposit down to secure a line of financing from Visa. This is ideal for those who need to rebuild credit, perhaps to switch to a new mortgage deal or to get a mortgage in the first place. The card works just like a credit card and can help raise your credit rating as long as your monthly payment is made on time. You can see what all this card entails and apply for it here. 

Unlike a prepaid card, this card does not need reloading once the balance is spent. You can use it anywhere Visa is taken as well. It works just like a normal credit card aside from the fact that you can control your spending limit with the amount of your deposit. 

This brings us to another point. How do you build, or rebuild credit if you need to do so?

To answer this question we first need to ask why would you need to rebuild credit if you already have a home loan? It is easy to understand why potential homebuyers would need to build credit, but for those who already have a mortgage, what is the point? 

Well, to put it simply, as you build equity in your home and work to improve your credit rating, you may be eligible for better mortgage deals and can refinance to save money…