Oaken Blog

Home Trust Company (“Home Trust”) recently announced the creation of Home Bank, along with some other minor changes for Oaken Financial. In this Oaken Blog post, we asked Benjy Katchen — Executive Vice President of Deposits & Consumer Lending at Home Trust — to tell us more about Home Bank, and the additional enhancements introduced … read more

For those building wealth for retirement, a Registered Savings Plan (RSP) is a tried and true foundation relied upon by many savers. There’s good reason for this, as an RSP provides many advantages. But while most of us already know the merits of contributing to an RSP, fewer know of the other potential ways in which … read more

For those Canadians approaching retirement age, with less than adequate savings in the bank but the good fortune to own a home, temptation has never been greater to consider the much-hyped reverse mortgage. Reverse mortgages are typically portrayed as a no-risk means of accessing the equity in your home, and using that money to help … read more

Perhaps it’s because we live in one of the world’s largest countries with an incredible range of vistas, or maybe it’s simply that Canadians have an inherent wanderlust. But an epic road trip is a rite of passage for many of us. Whether you long to follow the Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver as … read more

If you’re one of the many Canadians who took advantage of the dramatic decline in U.S. property prices in the wake of the debt crisis a few years back, you’re likely now sitting on a sizable return on your investment. Property values have been rebounding south of the border, and with the gains the U.S. … read more

Following our earlier examination of the Canada Pension Plan and the factors that affect how your benefits are calculated, you may be left wondering if there’s a good argument for starting your CPP benefits before you turn 65. To help explore this, we’ll look at a scenario involving two individuals, Bob and Sue. Both are turning … read more

All Canadian workers pay into the Canada Pension Plan, or the Quebec Pension Plan if residents of the province of Quebec. However, few have a clear picture of how much they’ll receive in CPP benefits once they retire, and fewer still understand how the benefit amount is determined. Here we’ll provide details on how your … read more

One of the fastest growing demographics in the motorcycle industry is the over-40 set. With the kids now more or less on their own, and a little more disposable income available, older riders are taking to the roadways in greater numbers. In many cases, former motorcyclists are returning to the sport after a long absence … read more

In discussing its recent decision to hold the benchmark lending rate steady at 0.5 percent, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz did not rule out the possibility of implementing a negative interest rate if the economy doesn’t show increased strength in the coming months. While Canada has never adopted a negative interest rate before, the … read more

The 2016 federal budget released on Tuesday afternoon (March 22) introduced a number of changes, but little that would be considered a shocker. Billed as the “infrastructure” budget, $120 billion over the next ten years was committed to public transit, waste management and social housing. Even the projected deficit coming in at $29.4 billion was … read more