Merix Rolls Out NPX + MORE Feb 6th

Priority planning
Kori and Tyler Wachniak are dealing with a lot of financial changes these days—including the cost of raising little Carter. Should they focus on their mortgage or RRSPs?
Financial planning is complicated enough as it is, but it may be the most confusing for people in their 30s. This is the age where life brings about a lot of rapid changes—marriage, home ownership, children—and it’s hard enough to pay for all these sizable expenses, let alone save money for retirement. Take Kori and Tyler Wachniak, 30 and 32, respectively, who are just entering this new phase of their lives and are already feeling overwhelmed.
Last February, the Winnipeg-based couple had their first child, Carter, shortly after purchasing their first home the year before. Up until recently, the Wachniaks had fancied themselves fairly good savers. Kori, a pharmacist, has about $43,000 put away—$12,000 in RRSPs and the rest split between two work-related pension accounts. Meanwhile, Tyler, a pilot, has about $60,000 in an RRSP and $60,000 in a TFSA…

OTTAWA – It’s an option for many people buying their first home, but when deciding whether to tap into RRSPs, investment advisers urge caution.
“Whether or not it is a good idea to use the homebuyers withdrawal plan, I would say the answer is maybe,” says Kelly Gares, an adviser with BlueShore Financial in West Vancouver, B.C.
“It does depend on your particular circumstances.”
Under the homebuyers’ plan, people can withdraw up to $25,000 from an RRSP to help buy or build a first home. They need to repay the amount to their RRSP and generally have up to 15 years to put the money back in their account.
In essence, people are borrowing money from themselves. And while they don’t have to pay themselves any interest on the money they take out, they are giving up any gains they might have made on the money had it remained invested in an RRSP.
The RRSP guide for savvy investors »
Mortgage payments aren’t the only cost to buying a new home. There are maintenance costs, property taxes and utility bills…

Company: Welbanks Mortgage Group Position: Mortgage Underwriter Location: Toronto, ON Apply to: lee@welbanks.com Mortgage Underwriter The Mortgage Underwriter will oversee the origination, file management, communication, and revenue of the Welbanks Mortgage Group. This position will be in direct communication with Clients, Realtors, and Business Partners. This position requires time management, precise verbal and written communication and have working knowledge of all major lendors and their guidelines. Every hour you work should save the Principal Broker one hour of time.   Top 3 responsibilities and how you will be measured: Enter all applications and maintain client database. Manage 80% of pipeline READ MORE

Remember when McDonald’s was only open for lunch and dinner? Neither do I, but prior to the seventies it didn’t serve breakfast. Then a guy named Herb Peterson decided to utilize the golden arches’ existing infrastructure, come up with a passable product (Egg McMuffin) and leverage the chain’s loyal customer base. The rest is history and now breakfast is 15% of Mickie-D’s revenue. A similar evolution has been occurring in the mortgage business. Lenders like Merix Financial have primarily sold only prime mortgages for the longest time. Why wouldn’t you want to take that infrastructure, loyal broker base and funding capability and sell another product? READ MORE