It’s been a busy year for Dan Mass,  a Calgary-based broker with Canada First Mortgage. Besides his usual workload, he’s had to deal with a number of clients who have either had their homes foreclosed or have concerns that they won’t be able to pay their mortgage bills. “We’ve seen defaults rise this year for sure,” he says. While Canada isn’t facing U.S.-style delinquency rates—the... 

As American newspaper columnist Bill Vaughan once said, “A college education adds many thousands of dollars to a man’s lifetime income — which he then spends sending his son to college.” This sentiment is as true today as it was when Vaughn was writing in the ’50 and ’60s, only these days, it’s often two working parents who, combined, can’t afford their kids’ tuition. But don’t... 

Mapping out a pre-nuptial agreement is never particularly romantic. But it can be especially tricky when children from previous relationships are involved. Winnipeg-based engineer John Lang found this out the hard way. When Lang (not his real name) married his second wife 22 years ago, he wanted to guarantee that his sizable estate would be fairly divvied up among his new wife and his three children... 

It’s an understandable thought: if two pretty smart guys like Steven Spielberg and Elie Wiesel could get scammed by a crooked adviser to the tune of millions, surely it could happen to anyone. In fact, although Bernie Madoff’s $50-billion Ponzi scheme was deemed the biggest in U.S. history, the actual number of individuals caught up in the scam was relatively small. Still, the impact on investors’... 

Recession, schmecession — now is the time to become your own boss. Here are six handy tips to get you started. Be original Coming up with a brilliant, money-making idea is the first step on the path to selfemployment. The second: checking to see if that product or service is already available. However, if it has been done, don’t automatically throw in the towel. “There’s nothing wrong with... 

Christine Marshall* is a seasoned investor who has money in Registered Retirement Savings Plans and numerous funds, but it’s her earliest investing adventures that she’s most fond of. “My grandparents bought me shares in Irwin Toy when I was very young,” she says, still excited by the memory. “I went to the shareholder meetings and got free toys.” Eventually, the 35-year-old, who works...