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Looking into Green Living

By Cassandra_BHM | July 29, 2011

Green living in Canada is one of the major trends of today and this is seen not only in health and fitness but in homes and offices as well. Fluorescent lights are now being replaced with CFL and LED bulbs. Organic fruits and vegetables can now be harvested from home gardens. People are more educated on their purchases and are choosing wisely. Anything natural is definitely better than processed or synthetic ingredients and materials.

Financial institutions in Canada such as banks and loaning companies have seen the change in lifestyle of their customers. Just like any wise businessman, company owners have adjusted their services to accommodate the new tastes and preferences of their clients. To respond to this, banks now offer green mortgages where customers are encouraged to choose environment-friendly products and upgrade their homes to accommodate more green living.

Surveys showed that Canadians are truly interested in minimizing their carbon footprint and all that but buying or upgrading to a green home also means saving money. This is not a surprise since utilities expense are one of the biggest costs that families incur every day. Spending on replacement of doors, windows and the furnace can also help in reducing energy consumption, thus, lowering the electric bill.

A very visible participation of the federal government also contributed to this shift in purchasing and lifestyle. The ecoENERGY Retrofit Program offers grants up to a value of $5000 to aid homeowners in transforming their homes into an energy-efficient place to live in. Not only that, this program also supports commercial and institutional buildings and industrial facilities in their energy-saving projects. The government wants to unite its citizens in achieving the goal of a cleaner environment for Canada.

Homebuyers are now willing to spend up to $10,000 for a greener home, one that is Energy Star Certified. Owners are now more educated and aware of the changes they have to do in their home. They coordinate with banks to see what promotions and incentives they can avail of to aid in their green upgrades.

Most of Canada’s big banks are now offering green mortgages and along with these are some features like a rate discount. Clients can get 1% off the posted interest rate for a five-year fixed rate mortgage. Amortization up to 35 years is also provided by some banks. If homeowners buy Energy Star qualified products, a 1% rebate will be given on the amount of mortgage.

When it comes to loans, there are qualifications that first have to be met by buyers before getting approved by the bank. Their homes must meet green energy standards or at least they have a clear presented plan of upgrading some of their homes’ features for greener living.

The benefits mentioned above are just a few that homeowners can enjoy. More than anything, the important thing is that anyone can do small changes to contribute to a cleaner and greener environment. The secondary benefit of this social responsibility is more savings for the whole family.

Posted in Business, In the News, Investing, PR

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What are the ways by which you can consolidate your debts?

By Cassandra_BHM | July 21, 2011

There are some situations that can rob you off your peace of mind and a sound sleep at night. Incurring multiple on your credit cards is such a situation, where you are unable to pay back your debts. It becomes very difficult for you to control such circumstances where you have to keep a record of the multiple credit card bills that have different billing cycles, make payments on all of them and also get creditor calls at odd times. You can therefore choose debt consolidation as your way out of such debt problems. Let us see the ways by which you can consolidate your debt.1. Taking out a second mortgage – This is the most advisable method of paying back your debts. Taking out a second mortgage means you take out a loan by keeping your house as collateral. Second mortgages come in two forms; home equity loans (HEL) and home equity lines of credit (HELOC). The advantage of second mortgage is that since you are taking your loan with collateral against it, the lenders are more willing to grant you the loan as they know that they would get something in return if you default on the loan. The interest rate they charge is also lower. Also, most of the times second mortgage loans are tax deductible, hence you can save money through tax deduction by transferring your multiple unsecured credit card debts into a secured debt of second mortgage. Thus you can consolidate your debts by taking out a second mortgage. 2. Zero-percent credit card – If you are not a home owner then it is not possible for you to take the advantages of second mortgage. Zero-percent credit cards are credit cards which are offered by credit card agencies that have zero percent interest rate. You can transfer all your balances in your multiple credit cards to this zero-percent credit card and pay off your credit card debts. The advantage of this is that the interest rate payment is completely done away with. However, there is a catch to the story. The zero-percent interest rate is only available for a limited period of time after which the rate becomes very high. Hence you should take care to make the payment till the offer lasts. 3. Taking out a consolidation loan – This is the most common method of debt consolidation. You have to take out larger loan that equals or is slightly more that all your debts put together and pay off your debts through this. Then you can pay back this single loan. The interest rate on this loan is lower as the amount of money borrowed is higher. Thus you can consolidate your multiple credit card debts through this method. You can opt for any of the above three methods, as per the most suitable option for you for consolidating your debts.