By now you should have completed your taxes and are most likely eagerly awaiting your return. While some will get just a couple hundred dollars back, some of you could be in for a fairly sizable cheque. It’s easy to get excited about unexpected money, and hard not to want to spend it all at once. Before it arrives, though, take some time to think about how you can best use that money. Here are 8 suggestions for ways you can spend your tax refund wisely:

1.    Pay off any outstanding bills

If you have outstanding bills, using your tax refund to pay them off is probably the best option for you. There’s nothing worse than the stress of being behind. Take this opportunity to get ahead of the game for once.

2.    Pay down your credit card debt

Credit card debt can build quickly, but it’s hard to whittle down once it mounts. If you have outstanding debt on your credit cards – debt that keeps you up at night – the responsible thing to do would be to put your tax return towards that debt. Of all the debt you have, credit card debt is most likely to have the highest interest rate running from 9 – 23 per cent. By paying that debt down first, you’ll actually be saving money in interest later.

3.    Put some of it towards your mortgage

If you have a mortgage that allows you to make additional payments without penalty (and most mortgages will allow you to make an annual lump sum payment of 5 – 25 per cent of the mortgage value), this might be the perfect opportunity to use that to your advantage. The more you pay now, the less you pay in interest later.  Check out how much money lump sum payments can save you with this Mortgage Calculator.

4.    Invest in your future

If you haven’t started an RRSP, maybe it’s time. Your return might not amount to much now, but over the years your investment will grow. This is a particularly good idea if you are feeling no other financial pressures at the moment.

5.    Start an emergency fund

Doesn’t it sometimes seem like bad things happen either when you’re least prepared or when you’re least able to cope? You just paid a huge vet bill and your washing machine suddenly dies. You finally paid off your credit card debt and your car breaks down. These situations happen all the time, and sometimes it feels like you’ll never get ahead. Without an emergency fund, situations like these can be stressful. Why not take this extra cash and set it aside for those little emergencies? When the time comes – and it will – you’ll be glad you did. 

6.    Upgrade your job skills

Have you recently found yourself wanting to return to school? Have you dreamt of taking courses to upgrade your skills? Will doing so help increase your salary? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you might want to consider using your return to invest in yourself. This is an especially good idea if it will help to boost your income in the long run.

7.    Treat yourself to something nice

Sometimes being responsible is all we do. If you’re one of those people who seems to always be doing the right thing – saving money, paying down bills, saying no when you really want to say yes – then maybe you need to do something nice for you. Buy yourself a new outfit. Go get your hair done. Take yourself out for a nice lunch. Go golfing. Spoiling yourself is sometimes the best course of action – especially if it’s something you don’t often do.

Alternatively, you could also treat someone else to something nice.  It might not be top on your list of things to do with your tax refund, but using some or all of that extra money to make a charitable donation could be more rewarding than a new pair of shoes.

8.    Go on vacation

Many Canadians use their returns to book their yearly vacation. Without their return, some wouldn’t even get a vacation. You don’t have to spend every waking hour worrying about your debt, retirement savings or credit card bills. You are allowed to let loose and have a little fun. Go ahead; use your return and treat yourself to some time away. You deserve it! 

I’d like to be able to give you a magic formula for how to best spend your tax return. Unfortunately, there isn’t one. Everybody deals with money differently. If you’re a person who pinches pennies all year round, then maybe this is the time to treat yourself to something nice. If you spend too much money and have a mountain of debt that stresses you out, maybe your return should be used to pay that debt down. You know yourself best. Make a list similar to the one above and prioritize. My personal advice is to put 50 per cent towards debt, 30 per cent towards savings and the rest towards a treat for yourself. But be honest and make the best decision for you.

When I’m at the checkout, I often open my wallet and pause for a moment, pondering how to pay. Cash? Nope, too hard to get that stuff, I’m saving it unless I’m buying a pack of gum.

So it’s often the debate between debit and credit card. The final tally, in many ways, is the same. I buy something, I have to pay for it, either now (debit) or later (credit).

But the decision is much more complex if you look at the bigger picture.

When Debit is Best

A debit card is the best way to pay for the majority of your purchases if you struggle with debt. If you’re one of these people, you should flat-out leave your credit card at home in a safe place and go debit. Or,  if money is a major issue, withdraw a set amount each month and pay for everything with cash to truly keep yourself in line.

Even if debt is not a serious monkey on your back, using your debit card for most of your purchases keeps you in a clean financial situation. You can check your bank accounts regularly online to be sure you don’t go into overdraft. When your account gets low, you stop spending and turn down that offer for a nice dinner out or resist hitting your favourite store until after the next payday.

Credit Card Perks

However, the modern world of credit cards has serious appeal. Now on the market are a slew of cards that allow you to build up points for travel, groceries, gas and more.

Cash-back cards are probably the most directly beneficial to those who want to leverage their credit card use for benefits. Almost all the major Canadian banks offer cash back Visas or MasterCards, many with no annual fee. The MBNA Smart Cash Credit Card offers up to 5% cash back on gas and groceries for the first 10 months, and then a very competitive 3% after that (all other purchases will get you 1% cash back). The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite is another great cash back card, offering 4% cash back on gas and groceries, 2% cash back on recurring payments and drug store purchases, plus 1% on everything else.

As with all credit cards, read the fine print. Make sure redeeming your cash points is easy, and that some of the great offers (low interest, a higher percentage cash back) don’t expire after just a few months. And since most cards offer big points or cash for your first purchase, activate the thing at a good time, such as when you’re paying for a vacation or a big electronics buy.

Better Security

For me, since I have no rewards on my card, a credit card is ideally suited for those big purchases when I want a team at my back.

Many cards offer some insurance for your purchases (read the fine print of course). But even if your card does not, if you do buy say a large TV and it never works and the retailer gives you a hard time, you can go through your credit card company to get your money back. Remember, these retailers have accounts with your credit card company too, and they can be refused money or lose the account.

But cards with more features offer specific kinds of insurance for travel, purchases and more. Keep this in mind whenever you buy and don’t be afraid to call on your credit card company when things go wrong.

Another huge benefit is if you are the victim of a financial crime, you’re better off having that crime take place with your credit card. Card companies are amazing at not making you pay when there are iffy purchases from a card that’s physically stolen or your info is stolen.

Build Your Credit Rating

The best way to build your credit score, bar none, is to regularly use a credit card and pay it off every month. If you’re coming out of a bad credit situation, or you just don’t have any credit history, a credit card is where you want to put more purchases.

If you struggle to get approved for a card, you can build credit by applying for a store credit card or a secured credit card. Store credit cards can be easier to get and while they charge large interest rates, having such a card will allow you to build up your rating and eventually get accepted for a more traditional card (if you pay it off on time!).

As well, banks and credit card companies offer so-called secured credit cards. They allow you to put money down (say $500) and borrow off that deposit. Clearly, these aren’t as great to have as a regular card, but this type of card is a more popular and prudent way of building your credit worthiness.  They also allow you to do things like buy online or purchase airline tickets; two things that are somewhat impossible without a credit card. Check out products like the No-Fee Scotiabank Value Visa Card or the Capital One Low Rate Guaranteed Secured MasterCard.

The Debt Card versus Credit Card Debate is a Personal One

Wherever you go, it makes sense to have both your debit and credit cards on hand. But what you choose to use should be more about the reality of your money situation than the rewards behind the card.

We thought we’d go one step further in analyzing the poll results and have pulled together an infographic showing just how bad our credit card debt denial has become and exactly which provinces are ignoring the truth.

We hope you enjoy!

As much as we all like seeing the balance in our savings accounts grow, aside from having enough cash on hand to pay your bills and daily expenses, it almost always makes more sense to pay off your debts first. Here’s why – and a couple exceptions to that rule.

Pay off your costliest debt first

No matter what kind of debt you’re carrying, it’s always going to be substantially more expensive to borrow than what your bank offers you in savings account interest. Figuring out the order in which you should pay off your debts first is easy: pay them off in order of highest to lowest interest rates charged.

Typically, your credit cards are going to be your most expensive form of debt. Outside of short-term, introductory rates, most cards charge 20 to 30 percent interest. Of course you can find much better rates with a low interest credit card – but regardless of the percentage, interest charges on any unpaid balance are retroactive to the time of purchase.

Next up are car and student loans. Financial institutions are keen to extend these long-term, profitable loans to customers – and, with the latter, the hope that they become your home for future financial business – they generally offer them at rates a few points above prime. Once all your credit cards are fully paid up, pay down that student or car loan, again, focusing on the most-expensive one first.

In the clear so far? Great, now you can take a look at your line of credit. An unsecured line a of credit is going to be charged at a slightly higher rate than one that’s secured against collateral like you home.

Finally, if you’re fortunate enough to have all your other debts paid in full, then you should focus on making overpayments to your mortgage. Just make sure you don’t exceed the amount you’re entitled to – typically 20 percent of the principal per calendar year – but check your documents to make sure and to avoid any penalties.

The exception to the rule

When it comes time to apply for a mortgage, all your debt is going to count against you. (The banks will even add up all the credit limits on your cards to figure out how much potential debt you could accumulate.) But they’re also going to want to see some evidence that you have money available to make a down payment. First-time homebuyers can withdraw up to $25,000 from their RSPs (so $50K for a couple) through the federal Home Buyers’ Plan.

Otherwise, a mortgage lender is going to want to see bank statements or other investments showing that you have enough money available to make at least a minimal (five percent) down payment.

Also worth keeping in mind is that for every point below 25 percent your down payment you’ll pay an escalating rate of mortgage insurance. For more on that, see “The (Additional) Costs of Buying A Home.”

Emergency Preparedness

While only a crazy person would squirrel away their life savings in the proverbial mattress, it is wise to have some cash on hand for emergencies. Many people in Ontario were caught off-guard during the Great Blackout of 2003 when they discovered that none of the ATMs they relied on to access their bank accounts were working. At the same time, credit card systems were also down, so they found themselves in a temporary cash-only society. For a single person, $100 to $200 should be enough to tide you over for a couple days of crisis. If you have a family, consider how much money you’d need to feed and provide for everyone for 48 hours.

Long before every retailer, it seems, began offering points for purchases, there was AirMiles. This versatile rewards program was launched in 1992 and lets you rack up points when you buy stuff at a wide array of places — both in person and online — and redeem them for kitchen gadgets, event tickets and vacations. AirMiles points work on a points card, or as part of an AirMiles credit card program.

The system has worked for years for many people, but now the program has some new offerings. Here’s what’s up.

Cash Rewards

Under the new system, AirMiles lets you rack up points as a so-called cash balance. You can redeem your points and get money at retailers that collect AirMiles.

This is not that different from some of the points cards offered at retailers. For instance, at my grocery store, I’m often asked if I want to cash in my points and get $5 off my groceries. I almost always say yes: I’m too lazy to keep track of my points and redeem them myself.

Under this new program, you have to take an active role, however. You need to go online and let AirMiles know you’re interested in moving your points into cash.

The “Dream” Option

AirMiles still lets you collect points that you can redeem for travel and other things. They’re calling this the dream account now. When you go online to change your preferences, you’re telling AirMiles how many of your points you want to go into cash, and how many into dream. If you’re lazy like me, you might go for 100% cash. Or if you’ve had some good free purchases in the past you might want to keep everything in dream, or find a 50/50 balance. Totally up to you.

Take Action

What’s really different about this card now is you must take action to set up your preferences. (You can change them anytime if you change your mind, which is good news.) If you do nothing, all your points will go into the dream side, and you can keep redeeming your points for purchases.

As the points credit cards pile up in your wallet, best thing to do is make sure you’re getting the most out of the ones you have. (After all, these companies are collecting consumer data on you.) So take a moment to ditch the cards that do nothing for you and customize those, like AirMiles, that can give you perks that suit your spending habits.

March is fraud prevention month. It’s an annual initiative to bring attention to what is a growing problem in Canada according to agencies like the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC).

The FCAC warns fraudsters are aggressively hunting for victims online thanks to the growing popularity of social media sites, unsecured public Internet access points and online activities like shopping, buying and selling, dating and gaming. There is a chance, if you don’t take the proper precautions, that if you enter your personal information on a public page a fraudster can use it to build a false identity that has the likeness of you.

Identity theft and fraud can be anything from someone taking out a credit card bearing your name to a more sophisticated thief walking into a bank and asking for a line of credit secured by your home!

The Most Vulnerable Groups

Most at risk in Canada of becoming a victim of identity fraud are young people under 30 and seniors over 66. Both for very different reasons.

According to Visa Canada 32 per cent of those aged 18-30 are most likely to share personal information online.  This younger group is also most likely to share sensitive details like their pin number with friends and lend their credit cards to their peers.

Meanwhile seniors are at risk because they are most likely to keep their experiences with fraud secret from friends and family. Although less likely to share personal information online, seniors are often the primary target of fraud scams – particularly fraudulent phone calls and emails designed to solicit personal and financial information.

“Canadians of all ages have bad habits that impede their ability to protect themselves against financial fraud,” said Gord Jamieson, Head of Payment System Risk, Visa Canada. “Young adults need to better understand the risks associated with over sharing personal and financial data.” Jamieson also points out the other most vulnerable group is seniors, those aged 66 and older. They need to better understand that talking about fraud with someone they trust can help protect them from becoming a victim, he says.

How to Spot a Fraudster

If its too good to be true, it probably is! Fraudsters are constantly trying new ways to get at your personal information remember, a legitimate lottery and sweepstakes administrators never charge fees to deliver a prize. Also keep in mind advertisements running on a social networking site are not necessarily credible or reliable.

When surfing online, have you visited a site offering a product or service and were impressed by the list of happy customers. Often testimonials can appear quite believable by using so-called “satisfied customers”, “celebrities”, or “experts”, but don’t always believe them.  As well, if its a “free” trial offer then you should not be required to provide a credit card number. Always remember, keep your ABM pin code secret, don’t tell anyone and don’t write it down. In many cases,  protecting yourself comes down to trusting your so called “spidey-sense” and using common sense as well. If it feels wrong, it probably is.

Recommendations to Protect Yourself Against Fraud

The Government has provided the following recommendations to protect yourself against fraud.

Be vigilant when evaluating ads, whether for a job, a product or service offered online, over the phone or in print.

Before sending money or giving credit card or account details, be sure you understand what you are agreeing to. Do not feel pressured into paying for a product or service because of threats that your credit score will be damaged.

Know who you are dealing with. Be wary of any unsolicited phone calls, emails, text messages or letters from unknown sources.

Search for the company, the individuals, the product or the offer on the Internet, and verify any contact and company details.

Read the fine print to understand what you are agreeing to, particularly in emails or online messages.

Remember that trustworthy businesses will rarely contact you by email, phone or text message to ask for personal details, banking or financial information.

Keep in mind that wiring money is like sending cash—you have no protection against loss.

Beware of offers that promise “too much”!

The FCAC says if you become a victim

• Don’t be embarrassed to report it. Fraud can happen to anyone.
• Start a written log: write down when you noticed the fraud and the actions you took, including names of people you spoke to and dates of communications.
• File a report with your local police.
• Contact your financial institutions and any other companies (for example, your phone company, cable provider, etc.) where your accounts were tampered with, or are at risk of being tampered with.
• Advise Canada’s two credit rating agencies, TransUnion and Equifax. Ask them to put a fraud alert on your file.
• Contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s national anti-fraud call centre at 1-888-495-8501 or by email at: info@antifraudcentre.ca.

We’re all about credit cards this week on Ratesupermarket.ca and it’s time to feature the Sony MasterCard from MBNA. Why? Because there’s a great new offer available for a limited time that’s worth talking about (like getting a FREE Reader Wi-Fi – a value of $169.99!).  Plus, it’s a credit product with some really unique features.

Feature 1: Exclusive Online Card Promotion – Valid until March 15th

Right now, signing up for a new Sony Card comes with a whole lot of perks. First of all, you get a free Reader Wi-Fi after making your first qualifying five purchases on the card.  You just need to apply for the credit card before March 15th and make those purchases by May 31, but there is no minimum dollar value stipulated on the purchases that you need to make – which is a bonus.

This super-light 6 inch reader sells for $169.99.

As well, you get 2,000 bonus points after making one qualifying purchase on the card – which is roughly worth $20-40, depending on what you redeem the points for.  Not bad for doing nothing though.

This offer is exclusive to online partners of MBNA.

Feature 2: Great Rewards with Flexible Redemption

Every time you buy something on your Sony MasterCard, you build up points you can use at the online Sony store. Every dollar you spend translates into one Sony point, which is a pretty simple conversion. Unlike other points programs, if you don’t have enough to buy what you want — there are TVs, cameras, computers, e-readers and stereos — you can pay for the difference by using the card itself.

As an added bonus you get 2 points per dollar you spend at the online store.

Feature 3: Great Introductory Terms

This no-fee card offers some rock-bottom rates, particularly for new customers. That includes just 1.99% annual interest rates on balance transfers, access cheques and deposits for the first six months.

The annual interest rate on the card is your standard 19.99 per cent.  Which is also what the balance transfer rate increases to after the first six months.

Back in prehistoric times (i.e. before the advent of online banking), it made sense to do all your banking with one financial institution. After all, if everyone from the friendly teller to the branch manager knew you on a first-name basis, odds are you’d be entitled to a few perks, like getting the odd fee waived or a better rate when it came time to renew your mortgage.

But in today’s world where the Big Five Banks have been joined by a host of online-only financial institutions, co-operative banks, credit unions, and mortgage brokers eager to shop around for the best rate for you, does it make sense to have all your financial eggs in one basket? Or should you multi-bank? The answer is, it depends. Here are some examples of each case from my own experiences.

The All-In-One Advantage

There are still times when it pays to have your various financial products with one institution. My wife and I, for example, used to have a joint credit card and joint bank account with one bank. The advantage there was that if I was waiting on a cheque (freelance writers are often waiting on a cheque), I knew that I could hold off until the very last minute to pay our credit card bill. As long as I transferred the money out of our checking account to make the credit card payment within banking hours on the due date, the bank would recognize the payment as being made on time.

We later switched the chequing account to another institution (to take advantage of no-fee banking) so, now, I always make sure my credit card bill payment is made at least three business days before it’s due (as the credit card companies all recommend) to ensure my payment is processed in time and I don’t get dinged for a late payment.

Th Advantage of Multi-Banking

All that said, many of us do most (or even all) our banking via computer, with only the odd telephone call to a help line to clarify the procedure for certain unusual transactions (like, say, what happens if you deposit a cheque that’s make out in foreign currency). Given that you truly are just a faceless, numbered account in this case, there’s no possibility to build up any favours from personal connections. Which is fine, because if you shop around for the best rates and fee levels for your needs, you’ll probably come out ahead in the long-run anyway.

I once came into a fairly substantial amount of money through an inheritance. The timing was perfect since my wife and I had just started shopping for our first home. The money would come in handy for our down payment, but we didn’t know exactly when we would need it. Rather than locking it into a secure, interest-bearing product like bonds or a GIC that would have restricted when we would be able to access the funds, we decided to simply park it in a savings account that offered the highest interest rate we could find.

At the time we still had separate accounts – at two different banks – but neither offered anything even close to what online bank ING Direct was offering at the time. So we opened a free ING account, deposited the cheque, and collected a few extra dollars interest every month more than we would have if we’d used one of our existing accounts.

Same goes for RSPs and other long-term investments. We ended up switching our RSPs from one bank to another – directly across the road from the first – simply because the latter offered us more convenient hours during RSP season.

Today, we’re still not entirely happy with the investment advice we’ve been getting from the bank’s employees (who really only pay attention to markets and mutual funds for a couple a months at the beginning of the year), so we’re shopping around for an independent financial advisor who can help us better determine the best investment strategy for us, year-round.

As the saying goes, the only sure things in life are death and taxes. And, unfortunately, the former won’t allow you to escape the latter. If you’re self-employed, for example, and die still owing outstanding installment payments, the Canada Revenue Agency will come to collect from your estate if your family doesn’t take care of it first. But what happens to your other debts, like your mortgage and credit cards, when you die? Here’s an overview.

Note that various credit card companies and lending institutions may have unique policies in place so you should consult with your specific debt-holders to verify details. The best advice for planning for your eventual death – yes, we’ll all die sooner or (hopefully) later – is to have a legally registered will. Dying without a will can be a costly hassle for your surviving family members to sort out. See also “Protect Your Family” below for information on insurance policies.

Credit Card Debt

First, the good news: any debt you have on credit cards solely in your name will typically be written off as a loss by the lending company should you die. They’re considered unsecured creditors and would be at the back of the line of debt-holders trying to collect from your estate.

If, on the other hand, your credit cards are joint accounts with your partner or spouse, he or she will be responsible for continuing to make any payments owed. (After your death, one of the many things on your survivor’s to-do list will be updating any accounts to take your name off them to eliminate the risk of fraudulent activity being carried out in your name.)

Mortgage and Car Loan Debt

Mortgages and car loans, however, are considered secured loans and the lenders will come after your estate to ensure they’re paid in full. Odds are, these larger purchases were co-signed by you and your spouse anyway so the surviving person can continue to make the payments as before. But if they wouldn’t be able to do so without your income, you need to read the next section.

Protect Your Family

If you do have a substantial amount of debt that your spouse and family may end up being held accountable for, you should have a plan in place to pay for that. Your best bet is an insurance policy.

What You Might Not Know About Mortgage Insurance

Whenever you sign up for a mortgage, you’ll be offered a “mortgage insurance” policy. Decline it. Mortgage brokers like these policies because they pocket an extra commission, and they do make it sound enticing to have your mortgage instantly wiped out should one partner die. The catch is that while the payments may be fixed, the actual value of the payout declines as you pay off your mortgage. In other words, year after year you’re making the same payment for a continually decreasing amount of money should you need to collect the insurance.

Life Insurance is the Better Option

You’re better off with a standard term life insurance policy. The payout is non-taxable and your surviving spouse is free to use it however they see fit. They could, for example, use the funds to pay off any high-interest debts, and set aside a nest egg to cover the mortgage payments and other ongoing expenses while they adjust to their new life.

Likewise, credit card companies offer insurance plans tied to their cards that cover you in the event death, illness, or unemployment make it difficult for you or your partner to make your payments. Again, this probably isn’t the best path to take. The rates are based on your outstanding balance and if you’re already having a hard time keeping up with your payments, this is just another way to keep the debt spiral swirling. You’re better off contacting an insurance broker about a disability insurance plan that covers all your living expenses – not just a single credit card bill.

As Bob Dylan once said, times they are a changin’. And they are. More and more of us are no longer willing to waste our hard-earned money paying the fees and fines that line the pockets of the rich. We’re looking for ways to cut costs and invest in ourselves. This is why so many of us are choosing to make the switch from one of the 5 major banks to a credit union. In fact, 10-million, or roughly one-third of Canadians have already made the switch.

What is a credit union?

Credit unions are different than banks and other financial institutions. Members aren’t just members. They’re also owners, which means that they are part of a democratic system that invites them to vote on how their money is invested. Votes aren’t based on shares, but on membership; that is, each member gets one vote.

It is said that credit unions serve their customers, or members, not profit. Typically, they use their ‘profits’ as a means to provide their members with a broader range of products and services at better rates. Credit unions provide all of the same services that regular banks do, including online banking, savings and chequing accounts, and credit cards.

What the people are saying?

According to a national survey conducted by FirstOntario Credit Union in November 2011, the average Canadian has been with their bank for more than 15 years. The respondents were polled about their banking practices and preferences, the level of satisfaction they felt with their current financial institution and whether or not they were willing to leave their bank.

Of the more than 2,500 Canadians polled, more than 40% are unhappy with the service fees that their bank charges them. Some 42% said that they are either “unsatisfied completely” or “somewhat satisfied” with their bank. Despite dissatisfaction, nearly 10% said that they were reluctant to switch banks. It was felt that switching banks would be too much trouble, especially since most respondents have been with the same bank for their entire life.

Why aren’t we switching financial institutions?

According to the FirstOntario Credit Union press release, people don’t leave their banks for other financial institutions because of “serious misconceptions.” Staying with a bank that doesn’t offer you the products and services you need is like staying in a bad relationship. Most stay out of convenience, even though they know there are better options out there. For many, “even the thought of switching is daunting.”

It’s true. I know I could be doing most of my banking for free, yet I’m still paying fees and services charges. True to my word (and my New Year’s resolution), I did visit my bank and make sure that I was getting the most for the least – at least, from my institution. But I know I could be getting more for nothing. So why haven’t I switched?

To be honest, the idea IS daunting, and apparently I’m not alone in my thinking. According to the press release, here are some misconceptions about switching financial institutions:

• Switching banks can have a negative impact on your credit rating
• It’s complicated changing to another bank
• The bigger the bank, the better the benefits
• Only chartered banks in Canada are regulated
• Only big banks offer online banking

Sadly, I’ve been a victim of a few of these misconceptions. I have always believed that it’s better to go with a bigger bank, and that because they’re bigger they’re more regulated, making my money safer. I have also believed (falsely) that switching banks would be bad for my credit score and could affect my chances of getting a mortgage or line of credit. I have also always assumed that switching financial institutions would be somewhat complicated. Apparently I have been wrong about this as well.

My mission

The website, www.myownbank.ca, provides personal testimonials written by consumers who have chosen to deal with credit unions, rather than major banks, but I’ve always been a bit wary of testimonials. For this reason, I’ve decided to make looking into this matter my mission. I’m going to have a look at some of the local credit unions, ask a lot of questions and decide whether or not I want to make the switch. I can no longer remain with my current bank just because we’ve been together for as long as I’ve banked. It’s time to choose the institution that’s right for me. And I strongly urge you to do the same.