Learn the rules
Canadian money guides
Every calculator on this site rests on a rule written by the CRA, OSFI or a provincial ministry. These guides explain those rules in plain language so the numbers you get mean something.
Housing · 8 min read
How much mortgage can you actually afford in Canada?
A plain-English walkthrough of Canadian mortgage affordability: GDS and TDS ratios, the mortgage stress test, minimum down payments, CMHC insurance and the costs lenders ignore.
Read the guideHousing · 7 min read
FHSA vs. the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan for your first home
How the First Home Savings Account and the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan compare, how to use both together, and the deadlines that quietly cost first-time buyers money.
Read the guideInvesting · 6 min read
TFSA or RRSP: which one first?
A decision framework for choosing between a TFSA and an RRSP based on your marginal tax rate today versus in retirement, plus how each account affects OAS, GIS and the Canada Child Benefit.
Read the guideDebt · 6 min read
Getting out of credit card debt in Canada
Why minimum payments never end, how avalanche and snowball ordering compare, and when a line of credit, balance transfer or consolidation loan is genuinely cheaper.
Read the guideRetirement · 9 min read
Where your retirement income will actually come from
How CPP, OAS, workplace pensions, RRSP/RRIF withdrawals and TFSA savings fit together, when to start each, and how the OAS clawback and GIS shape the order you draw them.
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