What is a mortgage? A mortgage is a loan made to you by a lender so you can purchase a property. You’ll pay interest on the mortgage and your lender will use your home as security for the loan. This means that your lender may repossess your home if you do not keep up repayments. … Read more
Saving and investing are not the same thing even though people sometimes use those words interchangeably. Knowing the difference can help you reach your financial objectives. When you are saving, you are concerned primarily with securing your hard-earned money, while not losing any of its value. Typically, savings are earmarked for an emergency or a … Read more
Once you have pulled your credit report, reviewed it and requested the necessary information be corrected, the next step is resolving any out-standing debt on your credit report. There are three options to resolving debt on a credit report: Paying off in full Offering a Settlement Debt repayment chart for making payment arrangements: You can … Read more
A credit score is a snapshot of the contents of your credit report. It is a three-digit number, generally between 300 and 850, that allows lenders evaluate your credit worthiness based on how you have managed debt and the repayment of credit in the past. This number often determines what you can borrow and on … Read more
Credit is a person or entity deemed to have the ability to borrow money or value for a period of time whereas the lender believes the individual, or entity, will pay them back, in full at some point in time. Credit is established when a person borrows money and agrees to pay it back. The … Read more
Good loans Good loans are loans that you take out to benefit yourself individually, professionally, or out of necessity. These loans are not used to finance expensive discretionary spending (i.e. fancy cars and vacations). Examples of what we believe are good loans are student loans and mortgages on your primary residence. Let’s explain. Student loan … Read more
Personal finance is the process of planning and managing personal financial activities such as income generation, spending, saving, investing and protection. The process of managing one’s personal finances can be summarized in a budget or financial plan. The main areas of personal finance are income, spending, saving, investing, and protection. Income Income refers to a … Read more
Financial strategy, a strategy is about how organizations translate their long-term goals into the actions they undertake on a day-to-day basis. A financial strategy is therefore the link between the organization’s long-term service objectives and its financial capacity. BMKFA’s long-term service objectives are set out in the Public Safety Plan and Corporate Plan. A financial … Read more
Money drives many decisions that we make day to day. Setting goals can help us take control and feel more confident about those decisions. Financial goals are the most important objectives you set for how you will save and spend money. They can be things you hope to achieve in the short term or long … Read more
A diversified portfolio is a collection of investments in various assets that seeks to earn the highest possible return while reducing likely risks. A typical diversified portfolio has a mixture of stocks, fixed income, and commodities. Diversification works because these assets react differently to the same economic event. Let’s now look at how to calculate … Read more