Introducing EnRICHed Academy

Dominion Lending Centres is proud to announce the launch of EnRICHed Academy’s “Smart Start for Financial Genius”! This program has been designed to educate young adults (13-23) and their families on the fundamentals that build wealth in an entertaining, funny and entirely interactive way. No program like this currently exists, and the need and demand across North America is at an all-time high. This is our way of giving back to communities across Canada, ensuring our youth embrace financial literacy. Click here to view the EnRICHed Academy trailer on YouTube. Why we created EnRICHed Statistically, 6 out of 10 Canadians live paycheque to paycheque, which means if their income stopped for only one pay period they’d have to rely on a Line of Credit or Credit Card to make ends meet  From 1989 to 2006, total credit card charges rose from $69 Billion to $1.8 Trillion; a 2,600% increase  Today the average household credit card debt is $16,007 The yearly savings rate of an average Canadian has gone from over 12% of income in the early 90s to under 2% today Household debt in Canada has more than doubled over the past 10 years 84% percent of college graduates in North America indicated they needed more education on financial management topics. Parents expect the schools to teach financial literacy and schools expect parents to. The fact is, most parents and teachers are ill equipped to teach students and kids on this subject and, therefore, don’t

The average college graduate is $23,186 in debt What EnRICHed looks likeThe program comes in a box and contains 5 DVDs of entertaining but highly educational video on creating a foundation for building wealth. There is a 100-page workbook that the family will work through that includes activities and exercises as well as other materials that correspond with the topics covered in the program. 15 key topics covered by EnRICHed Understanding money 101 Why some people don’t save money… no matter how much they make How much we actually spend at an early age Saving money vs Making money Why starting to save at an early age is critical The magic behind compound interest and how it works How to buy your first investment property by the age of 23 How to get into the stock market How credit cards work Good debt vs Bad debt How taxes work on a paycheque Why goals are critical to building wealth The difference between a dream and a goal How to write down goals and take action The importance of building your personal brand Feel free to give me a call or send me an email if you’d like to learn more about EnRICHed Academy.

It Can Pay to Break Your Mortgage

With mortgage rates still hovering near historic lows, chances are you’ve considered breaking your current mortgage and renewing now before rates rise any further. Perhaps you want to free up cash for such things as renovations, travel or putting towards your children’s education? Or maybe you want to pay down debt or pay your mortgage off faster? If you’ve thought about breaking your mortgage and taking advantage of these historically low rates, feel free to give me a call to discuss your options. In some cases, the penalty can be quite substantial if you aren’t very far into your mortgage term, but we can determine if breaking your mortgage now will benefit you long term. People often assume the penalty for breaking a mortgage amounts to three months’ interest payments so, when they crunch the numbers, it doesn’t seem so bad. In most cases, however, the penalty is the greater of three months’ interest or the interest rate differential (IRD).

The IRD is the difference between the interest rate on your mortgage contract and today’s rate, which is the rate at which the lender can relend the money. And with rates so low these days, the IRD tends to be greater than three months’ interest. Because this is a way for banks to recuperate any losses, for some people, breaking and renegotiating at a lower rate without careful planning can mean they come out no further ahead. Keep in mind, however, that penalties vary from lender to lender and there are different penalties for different types of mortgages. In addition, the size of your down payment and whether you opted for a “cash back” mortgage can influence penalties. While breaking a mortgage and paying penalties based on the IRD can result in a break-even proposition in the short term, if you look at the big picture, you’ll see that the true savings are long term – as we know that rates will be higher in the years to come. Your current goal is to secure a long-term rate commitment before it’s too late, and here lies the significant future savings. As always, if you have questions about breaking your mortgage to secure a lower rate, or general mortgage questions, I’m here to help!