Canadians love talking – and reading – about their finances, whether it's how to erase debt or when to buy a home. With that in mind, here are The Globe's most clicked-on personal finance stories of 2013.
Canada's housing hangover: Real estate boom, meet dot-com crash
Housing market, meet the stock market. You two have a lot in common, though plenty of people believe you’re worlds apart. They think the housing market is a very smart place to invest, while stocks are treacherous. They’re half right. Stocks do have a nasty side, but so does residential real estate. Read the full story here.
Five reasons not to buy a Toronto condo
It appears that 2013 may prove to be a pivotal year for the condo market as a number of factors seem to be lining up against it. Read the full story here.
Twelve pieces of financial wisdom, from a retiree to his adult children
A father’s advice to his daughters about debt, saving and investing may just be the best financial literacy lesson you’ll read this year. Read the full story here.
How to become an RRSP millionaire
So what does it take to become an RRSP millionaire? Diligent saving, of course. But also flexibility – and a healthy dose of luck. Read the full story here.
Young adults really do have it tougher
An overlooked story in today’s economy is the stunted income growth experienced by much of the population. But no group has been affected like young adults. People aged 20 to 24 years are 41-per-cent worse off financially than their counterparts were in 1976, Statistics Canada data show. Read the full story here.
This 27-year-old repaid $28,115 in debt – in under two years
Cait Flanders’s story of financial turmoil is not unique. But what is exceptional is the discipline and focus she applied to regaining control of her finances – and how that process has changed her life. Read the full story here.
A rare breed: Home buyer balks at a $500,000 mortgage
Canada needs more Franks – people who take a skeptical to paranoid view of debt. We’d have a more affordable housing market, lower household debt levels and less vulnerability to rising interest rates. We’d be both healthier as a country, and quite possibly wealthier. Read the full story here.
Why some university students are doomed to below-average earnings
It’s time to add another money question to our thinking about education. When attending university, what kind of payoff is there on the cost of earning a degree? Read the full story here.
Canadians can still buy a house without saving their pennies
Purchasing a home without your own down payment is often risky. One exception is when a borrower is well-qualified (apart from the down payment), has enough potential resources to withstand a loss of income and falling home prices, and is better off owning than renting. But exceptions are just that, and not the rule. Read the full story here.
Lease or buy a car: What's the better option?
It's one of those perennial questions, and everyone seems to have an opinion. The big dangling carrot of leasing is clear: cash flow. The problem, of course, is that if you always lease, you will always have a monthly payment. Read the full story here.