retirement planning

Some financial decisions get made without enough thought given to the long term consequences. Here are some financial mistakes you can avoid:

With lenders offering 30 year amortization periods, it may look attractive to go with a smaller monthly payment to get into a larger house, but the extra interest charges only benefit the lender.

Recent surveys* reveal that a large majority of so-called Baby Boomers are uncertain about their preparation for retirement. Arguably, the “have it my way” generation did not all follow in their parents' footsteps when it came to saving for the future. As well, some major bumps along the way (a housing crisis, a stock market crash and a global financial crisis) have reduced many retirement "nest eggs."

Statistics Canada recently reported the ratio of household credit market debt to disposable income reached the highest level since the agency began tracking this figure. In 1990 it was 50%, rose to 110% in 2000 and jumped to 149% in the second quarter of 2011. This can cause some angst for those with children reaching post-secondary school age.