Home Economics: Canadian home sales rise again; Save for holidays now, skip regret later

As summer vacations came to an end and Canada’s economy began to steadily improve, the country’s tight housing market posted its first increase in six months.

Canadian home sales rise for first time in six months   As summer vacations came to an end and Canada’s economy began to steadily improve, the country’s tight housing market posted its first increase in six months. National home sales rose 0.9 per cent in September compared to the month prior, marking the first monthly increase since March, according to data released this week by the Canadian Real Estate Association.  Here’s how budgeting apps can help   Budgeting apps can help automate the tracking of your spending, as well as offer a big picture view of how you are doing when it comes to your financial goals. In this article, Leah Golob, a reporter with The Canadian Press, details personal experiences from several millennials on how these online tools helped them pay down their debt while staying on track of their monthly budget.  Save for holidays now, skip regret later   Factoring holiday expenses into your budget all year long is effective for avoiding debt, but not always realistic. And lacking a strategy ahead of the holiday season can leave you vulnerable to debt and overspending, which could delay your financial goals. Here, Melissa Lambarena, of Nerdwallet, offers five helpful tips that can help you make money moves that will help prevent a holiday debt hangover.  Buy now, pay later isn’t bad – but be careful   The idea of paying in installments has been around for a long time and remains popular today thanks to a booming marketplace of buy now, pay later services. While there are limitations and this type of payment process is still a form of debt, Sara Rathner, of Nerdwallet, says debt is not necessarily evil. It’s merely a financial tool that can make major purchases more manageable, she writes, while detailing some ways to use this payment strategy thoughtfully.  Taking the leap from investing to wealth management   If things go right, there comes a point in the life of a retirement investor when a strategy to accumulate wealth shifts to a strategy to preserve it, Personal Finance Columnist Dale Jackson writes. He says that shift should happen over a period of time and notes that it is different for everyone depending on how much money they have accumulated and how much they will need to live out their lives. 

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"Start with how much money you're willing to spend -- and able to spend -- on gift giving and then work your list into that. Don't put the cart before the horse and end up overspending because you've, you know, put dozens of people on your gift list.” – Jason Speciner, certified financial planner at the firm Financial Planning Fort Collins