Eastern Canada is still recovering from the powerful ice storm last weekend that left hundreds of thousands without power.

Christmas Day has arrived, and families are preparing for their morning rituals surrounding the tree.  Thoughts of holiday credit card bills and committing to sound New Year's resolutions are pushed aside this morning as the spirit of the season takes hold across Canada.

The following is a guest post by Eric Tippelt, a professor at Loyalist College who also goes by Uncle E.

With much of the country in an early deep-freeze, it’s time to get to work on winterizing your home if you haven’t already done so. The Farmer’s Almanac says this winter will be extra-frigid, so you shouldn’t delay any longer! Winter-proofing prevents damage to your home, lowers your heating bill, and above all, keeps family and visitors warm and safe.  

It’s that time of year when most Canadians are focused on holiday shopping.  The malls are filled with people, products are being pulled from the shelves, and online sales help others avoid the frenzy at the malls.

Are you ready for winter?  Have you attached winter tires to your car?  If you live west of Quebec, odds are a majority of your fellow drivers either delay or choose not to attach winter tires at all throughout the season.

There are rumblings in the mortgage insurance sector about raising premiums, which inevitably will increase the cost of buying a home.  The talk is strictly rumours at this stage, but if the rumours are followed up by concrete actions, they will undoubtedly affect anyone interested in buying a home in the short to medium term.

The thought of insuring a teen driver is enough to make some parents clutch their wallets in terror – teens and auto insurance can be an expensive combination!

Insurance is a very complicated concept for many of us.  Questions of how much insurance do we need, what are the most affordable rates, how long should insurance plans remain in effect – all important questions with answers that will be unique to each one of us.