Do you want that sweater, or are you sad?
 
Laura Mcmullen of Nerdwallet asks when was the last time you made a sound decision while wiping away tears? She notes that your judgement was likely off during those moments of intense emotions and you may have later regretted that pricey sweater you bought through a targeted Instagram advertisement. Here are some tips to help stop emotional spending.
 
Canadian food inflation higher than reported: Study
 
According to Statistics Canada, food prices are up 2.7 per cent over the past 12 months. This is mostly due to climate change and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But, new research from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Labs shows the food inflation rate in Canada is closer to five per cent. The Dalhousie lab surveyed 10,000 Canadians over the summer to determine how consumers are responding to rising grocery bills.
 
Financial and emotional risks of co-signing a loan
 
While co-signing a loan can assist someone you care about access credit they may not otherwise be eligible to obtain, experts warn it can bring risk to your credit rating, as well as your personal relationship with the person you are trying to help. RBC Financial Adviser Niroch Kanapathypillai urges anyone co-signing a loan to think about their long-term financial plans, obtain your own copies of all the statements and make a payment if necessary.
 
Investors gobble up homes in Canada
 
Data from Equifax Canada Inc. shows that the people piling into Canada’s red-hot housing market the fastest are those who already own a home – or in some cases three or four. According to the data, in the 12 months through June, the number of people adding a fourth mortgage or more surged by 7.7 per cent. That number is more than double the increase for first-time borrowers. “There is a population that is taking advantage of the current housing market situation to use it as an investment for their retirement instead of traditional routes,” Rebecca Oakes, assistant vice-president of advanced analytics at Equifax, said.
 
How REITs can take the hassle out of being a landlord
 
A growing number of Canadians are becoming landlords, Personal Finance Columnist Dale Jackson writes. He says rising home prices and low mortgage rates have made it easier for homeowners to leverage the equity in their existing properties to generate income from rents and reap capital gains when it’s sold. But, Jackson adds, many might not fully grasp the risks and hassles of being a landlord and could find a safer, more convenient alternative in real estate investment trusts.
 

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"It's very, very risky when you sign as a guarantor or you sign a joint loan with someone, you might as well tell yourself it's my loan, because that's really what it is.” – Financial literacy and credit counsellor Pamela George