For anyone involved in Alberta’s energy sector, it’s a pretty scary time.

 

As oil continues to languish below $50 per barrel, there’s little doubt Alberta’s economy will take it on the chin. Layoffs are already starting in the oil patch, with household names like Suncor and Shell cutting thousands of workers from their oil sands operations. According to most energy analysts, those layoffs are just the beginning of a bigger trend, especially if oil doesn’t recover right away.

 

But what does it all mean for Alberta’s housing market? Let’s take a closer look.

You’ve heard all about it, but you had your doubts. How is it possible? How can you live like that?

 

Haters beware: it’s true. You can live without cable TV. Or a home phone, a gym subscription, and a slew of other pricey household expenses.

 

Chances are, at some point in your life it’ll happen. For whatever reason you’ll be looking to sell your house and be forced to break the mortgage early.

 

We’ve all heard the horror stories about how that can cost tens of thousands in fees. How exactly is that legal? And more importantly, how do you make sure that you get enough flexibility to ensure you’re not paying those huge penalties?

The next time someone tells you that “TV will rot your brain!” it may be worth showing them this list.

 

Sure, it’s probably not a good idea to binge-watch Netflix until your eyes hurt, but every so often the small screen serves up some serious nuggets of financial wisdom.

On the surface, it makes no sense at all.

 

One borrower goes to get a mortgage, barely scraping together the minimum required down payment of 5%. Meanwhile, somebody else works their tail off and manages to save up enough to put 30% down. Not only are these two borrowers likely paying the same rate, but sometimes the borrower with 5% down will actually be paying a lower rate!

 

Let’s take a closer look at exactly why this happens.

The Bank of Canada stunned markets today with a surprise quarter point rate cut, lowering the benchmark interest rate from 1% to .75%. And yes, it really was a surprise: of the 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News prior to the announcement, fully zero predicted the Bank would take rates lower.

 

Back in 2008, I had an auto insurance problem. Specifically, I thought I was paying too darn much for it.