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Hi everyone, Deryk here!

I strongly believe that knowing HOW to use your money is better than knowing how to MAKE your money.
These days even an exceptional paying job won't buy you a home in 10-15 years with your average living expenses right now.
This is why it is important to know how to spend your money, because it can both save you money and increase your cash flow.
Today, I will discuss school loans, car loans, and mortgages. They are definitely worth taking advantage of!
We will also briefly discuss how interest affects you, and also how credit score works.

Enjoy!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg--qw16X2A
This video demonstrates how to set up OSAP and when it's important to start paying it. She also illustrates how simple the entire process really is. You just sign up (which can be complex), and wait until 6 months after you finish school to start making payments on the interest. It's the only loan I know of where you do not have to make payments for 1 or more years depending on your length of program. Regardless, you do not want to have a huge amount of money over your head when you finish school, so work on making payments wherever possible while you are in school!
Lifehack: Put this devoted money in a savings account generating interest, and leave it until 6 months after your program!

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Here are some tips from my personal experience with the OSAP loan process. Enjoy!

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https://www.ontario.ca/page/osap-ontario-student-assistance-program?gclid=Cj0KEQjwwoLHBRDD0beVheu3lt0BEiQAvU4CKkmu_RF9vijxIdjNEgmGgYvFd7zIV-1HDda6Haw05R8aAmYI8P8HAQ
OSAP has changed drastically this year. From one of the inside pages:

Ontario’s student aid transformation will make average tuition free for students with financial need from families with incomes of $50,000 or lower

This is a major change for anyone with lesser income. This will also bring more people the opportunity to go to post-secondary schools.
If you are planning on enrolling in post-secondary, before you pay anything make sure you inform yourself of any way to save money, or possible earn free tuition. The website posted above has a basic calculator to estimate your student loan and what you will have to pay back.

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OSAP

Total

Grants (you keep)

Loan (you repay)

School costs

Total

Tuition

Fees, supplies

Living costs
Apply to OSAP
This tool is for illustrative purposes only, and includes estimates based on common scenarios and average costs for tuition, fees, and supplies.

The amount of money you get may vary, depending on your unique situation and financial resources. Some students may be eligible for additional support.

If you don't want a loan, you can decline it.

If you're interested in - or already attending - a particular school or program, you may be eligible for more financial help:

Most students - and some families - will be expected to contribute to costs, such as living expenses, while in school.

OSAP is a mix of grants and loans provided by both the Ontario and federal governments.

Take another look

The calculator is the quickest way for you to find out roughly how much you could get in OSAP grants and loans. With a few more minutes, a bit more detail, you can expand on what the calculator shows you using OSAP Aid Estimator.

How to qualify.

How and when to apply.

How to get the money and more.

When, how and what help's available.

Resources

Special circumstances

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OSAP: Ontario Student Assistance Program

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OSAP Total Grants (you keep) Loan (you repay) School costs Total Tuition Fees, supplies Living costs Apply to OSAP This tool is for illustrative purposes only, and includes estimates based on common scenarios and average costs for tuition, fees, and supplies. The amount of money you get may vary, depending on your unique situation and financial resources.

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As you can see, only 20% of children from households who earn 10k or less yearly attend post-secondary. Try thinking this way, 80% of those children do not attend post-secondary. Ugh.
We needed to make a change and allow more less-fortunate children have the opportunity to go to post-secondary.

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In Canada, we commonly use 2 different formats for calculating credit score: Trans-union and Equifax. The number for your credit score is just a rough idea of how you are handling credit. The higher, the better. The lower, the more banks will look at you as a risk and won't offer you credit and loans.
Large corporations and banks don't have a number to look at, as again this is just for you to have an idea. What they look at is your history. Your history is how the number is developed in the first place.
Confusing? Lets make it simple.
Your credit score is generally based on how well you make payments on debt. Another factor is how much debt you have accumulated. Keep in mind, loans/credit was designed for you to get something before you come up with the funds to pay for it. If you use credit this way, the way it was designed, your credit will be fine.

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So we racked up a small amount of $597 worth of credit card debt. Starting in Jan 2017, and then making minimum payments (paying the interest) from here on out. By March 2036, 19 years later, we end up paying over 3 times the original amount borrowed just in interest. Now this isn't very realistic for a small debt. Think of student debt! Imagine you owed $12,000 now, and decided to pay it over 30 years. Do you know how much in interest you would have paid?

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This article brings reality to the situation of majority of people financing vehicles. In the past, usually car loans were 5 year terms. Which was "fine" as the majority of people replace their vehicle every 3-4 years. The problem is now people are taking on much longer terms; 8-9 year terms! By the time they replace that vehicle, they are only 4 years into the term and roll over that debt onto the next car.
Lets explain financing a little here.
The idea is you are paying off the car monthly or bi-weekly, usually with a down-payment up front to reduce the APR. However, the APR is sometimes lower if the term is longer. The lower the APR, the better, right? NO, absolutely not. A low APR and short term go hand in hand. You are constantly paying interest every month/bi-weekly on that vehicle! The fact is, throughout your life you should be focusing on increases your cash flow. Any time you EVER pay interest, you are throwing money out the window, reducing your cash flow. Financing sounds good, but it isn't. This post shows just how many Canadians fall for into this situation and it gets worse and worse.
Buy what you can afford, now. Own it, pay no interest!

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Car buyers are increasingly taking out car loans with extended payback periods, a worrisome trend that is putting consumers at risk.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) issued a warning Tuesday, saying in a report that many Canadians now have loans on new cars that won't be paid off for eight or nine years, up from the traditional five-year car loan.

One key problem with this trend, the agency said, is that many car buyers are still getting a new vehicle every four years or so, even when they haven't paid off their current car. They roll what is owed on the earlier vehicle onto the loan for the new one.

In 2015, 30 per cent of consumers had so-called negative equity when they traded their cars - meaning what they owed was more than the value of the vehicle. That's up from 20 per cent in 2010.

More broadly, these longer-term loans, coupled with more frequent payments, have created a "false sense of affordability" in the current low-interest-rate environment, said Lucie Tedesco, the FCAC commissioner. Essentially, the longer-term loans encourage people to spend more on cars than they can afford, because they are focusing on the monthly payments rather than the overall costs. Longer terms mean loans are paid down more slowly, so overall interest costs are higher.

Longer terms boost risks, put some car buyers on a "debt treadmill," and in some cases "jeopardize their ability to keep up with their overall credit obligations," especially given the overall rise in consumer debt levels, Ms. Tedesco said at a press conference in Ottawa.

In 2010, the term of an average new car loan was 65 months; in 2015, that had grown to 72 months, the FCAC said. About 1.9 million new vehicles were sold in 2015.

The federal agency also said long-term loans now make up about 60 per cent of the car loan portfolios of Canada's biggest financial institutions. Car debt has grown faster than any other kind of household credit, including mortgages.

The solution to this problem, the FCAC said, is for consumers to spend more time figuring out how much car they can truly afford, and to get competitive quotes on loans.

"We would like to see consumers take a little bit more of an active role when they finance their vehicles," FCAC deputy commissioner Brigitte Goulard said in an interview. "We see too many consumers walking into dealers, and being a bit of a hostage to the question: 'How much do you want to pay per month?' That's the only thing they look at."

The agency will also ask banks to be more diligent in clarifying for car buyers the total cost of financing, making sure that consumers get a concise upfront summary of those costs.

Any more substantive changes in lending rules would have to be implemented by the federal Department of Finance, Ms. Goulard said.

One further issue raised by the FCAC in its report, is that car dealers often act as the intermediary between a car buyer and the lending institution. Because lenders pay commissions to the dealers on these loans, car buyers may not be presented with competitive loan offers.

Provincial bodies regulate car dealers, so FCAC cannot force changes on this front, Ms. Goulard said.

The FCAC is not the first institution to raise red flags about long-term car loans. More than a year ago, the Bank of Canada expressed concerns about car loan terms becoming too long, and some banks have also said they were worried about the trend.

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Long-term car loans put buyers at risk, consumer agency warns

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Car buyers are increasingly taking out car loans with extended payback periods, a worrisome trend that is putting consumers at risk. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) issued a warning Tuesday, saying in a report that many Canadians now have loans on new cars that won't be paid off for eight or nine years, up from the traditional five-year car loan.

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But wait! There are some important steps to take!
You need to start by determining just how much money you can put down. Keep in mind here, the more you can put down, the better! Why you ask? The more you put down, the better chance you will be approved, and the lower the interest rate can be! In the video, he uses the acronym LTV. The idea here is, you want the amount you borrow against the cost of the home to be as low as possible. You may have $100,000 saved up for a down payment, but finding extra pennies can really make an impact at that time!
Also, there are many risks involved. Be VARY careful before signing any mortgages! Do your homework, pull out the calculator and work out just how much the home will cost in the end! Work out how much it will cost monthly! It is obvious that setting up a mortgage is one of the biggest financial decisions of a persons life. So make sure you take every step to making the right decision.

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Beginners' guide to mortgages - MoneyWeek investment tutorials

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A property mortgage is the biggest debt most of us will ever take on. So choosing the right one is vitally important. Tim Bennett explains the basics of mortgages and highlights the main pitfalls to avoid.