That said, there are alternatives for an investor who really wants to have real estate investment exposure as part of their retirement savings. And holding your mortgage in your RRSP may not be as good as it sounds after all.
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Marriage or mortgage: Which is the better investment?
Weddings can be expensive, but so can many of the things that come after a wedding—like a home purchase, starting a family and saving for retirement. And, so, money is an important relationship issue even before a couple ties the knot.
Arguably, young Canadians may be making their marriages more difficult by setting their wedding budgets too high. Are they trading in a home down payment for a half-day party with their friends and family?
We address this and other pre-wedding considerations beyond budgeting for a wedding that an engaged couple should be talking about with each other. Find out which is a better use of money: a wedding or a downpayment for a mortgage.
Renting versus home ownership: Can you be financially secure without buying?
If you are wondering if you’re “paying down someone else’s mortgage” when you rent, you’re not alone in questioning the viability of long-term renting. The decision to buy or rent a home is a big one and the first step in making any big financial decision, including home ownership, is evaluating your own situation on its own merits—that is, based on the facts, rather than opinions and emotions.
We’ve got some input that can help you uncover the emotions that might lie underneath your thinking about renting versus buying, even if you’re not consciously aware of them. We also provide some perspective on the long-term financial implications of being a long-term renter and investing your savings, compared to taking on a mortgage and becoming a homeowner.
Here is a guide that can help you compare the long-term impacts on savings from renting versus owning a home.
How to invest down payment funds
Investing a down payment fund is difficult at the best of times. Canadian, U.S., and international stock markets have all had annual losses of 30% or more in the past, so going all-in on stocks with money you might need in a year or so could see your down payment fund reduced by one-third. Even a balanced fund or a bond fund can lose money in a given year.
