Do you have a burning financial question that keeps you up at night? Or how about a simple money matter that you are confused about? Fill out the simple form below and hit submit. We will post your question with the answer below.
What is the average rate of foreclosers for banks versus credit unions?
Sorry, we don’t have statistics on foreclosure rates for banks versus credit unions. Historically, we have only had approximately 1 of every 400 mortgage holders go into arrears or become behind in their payments. Of that small number, only a fraction of those ever end up in foreclosure.
Do community charter credit unions operate like all other financial institutions?
Canadian credit unions are provincially legislated, local financial institutions, which by definition makes us different from the large national banks. Furthermore, credit unions are either closed bond or open bond.
Closed bond means that the credit union was created to serve a specific group of people. For example, there are credit unions that serve only Edmonton City employees.
Open bond credit unions serve all types of people from specific geographical areas. In both cases, credit unions are more closely connected to communities or employee groups and therefore can be more responsive to meeting their specific needs. Finally, credit unions share a portion of their profits with both their members and the communities they serve.
What are my options for investing my savings so I can guarantee the money is used to develop cooperatives?
There are not any specific investments where the money is guaranteed to fund cooperatives. Common Wealth does promote the creation of other cooperatives by sharing some of our profits with both the World Council of Credit Unions and Cooperative Development Foundation of Canada. By choosing to invest your money with a Credit Union, you can contribute to building and developing other cooperatives worldwide through these programs! Check out all the great work that each of them does all over the world!
At what age is it most crucial to begin investing money?
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. When you start your first job you should immediately start to save a portion of your monthly income. If you start an automatic savings plan of 10% of your income and start right away you will not miss the money and in time your funds will grow and you will be disciplined to keep saving. If you get a raise at work then you should in turn raise your monthly contribution, your savings will increase and you will not miss the extra funds being saved. The longer you put this off the harder it is to start saving. But no time is too late!
I would like to start saving for a winter trip. Is it better to put my monthly "trip contribution" into a savings account or a term deposit?
A term deposit will typically earn more interest, but may require a minimum deposit or be locked in for a certain period (i.e. one-year term). A savings account will usually pay less interest, but is more flexible for deposits. You would want to check out the interest rate and restrictions on term deposits vs. a savings account to see which one would suit your savings habits. The most important thing to do is to start saving!
You need to be 18 to apply for a loan on your own. If you are under 18, you need a co-signer to back you up. Normally, a parent or older sibling would agree to co-sign for you. This person takes on the responsibility to ensure the loan payments are made. By federal government law, a document signed by a minor (person under the age of 18) does not hold up in court.
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