Blog Posts by Gail Johnson

Los Angeles writer Angela Barton made a big commitment back in 2009: for an entire year, she would not buy anything new. To this day, she's still at it.

"Once you start living this way, there is no incentive or desire to go back to shopping and spending," Barton says.

She decided to blog about her initial experiment with nonconsumerism, which she began after learning about Compact. The online community consists of individuals who promise to not purchase anything new and instead to barter, borrow or buy used during their 12-month "flight from the consumer grid".

Her blog is still going strong too. At My Year Without Spending, Barton shares what it's like to live a nonconsumer lifestyle in a consumer culture — without giving up excitement or style.

Whether it's a pair of jeans or items for the home she shares with her husband, Barton says she can usually always find an alternative to buying new.

There are some exceptions: she buys personal-care products and underwear, for example. Other

Canadians have some serious debt. About 1.7 million households have a total debt-service ratio of 40 percent or more, according to a recent report by the Vanier Institute.

"The Current State of Canadian Family Finances" notes families struggling to balance persistently high debt loads against modest savings and precarious income flow are especially vulnerable to potential adverse events such as rising interest rates or job loss.

Younger and older family members in particular are struggling with the current economic climate. Youth are finding it difficult to get into the job market as people aged 55 and up have garnered half of the net jobs made available since the low point of the recession in 2009.

And despite older people's increased participation in the labour market, there's been a huge increase in the number of seniors declaring bankruptcy — a 1,700-percent rise over the last 20 years.

The statistics are a wake-up call, according to Jeffrey Schwartz, executive director of

If you’re thinking of selling your home or just want to splurge on a new look, a little landscaping can go a long way.

Lanna Dalby can't wait to go back to her family's favourite vacation spot in Whistler, B.C. The stunning three-storey townhouse has everything you could ever want in a recreational property, and then some: nestled slopeside with ski-in/ski-out access, it has an expansive open kitchen with a granite-topped island, a grand river-rock fireplace, a private hot tub on one of its sundecks, plush leather furniture, and gorgeous local artwork.

Dalby and her husband are proud owners of 1/10^th of it.

Instead of buying a property outright, you can share. It's called fractional ownership, and it's a model that's gaining ground in recreational real estate, especially as the price of real estate in many parts of the country continues to skyrocket.

"For the right buyer who can appreciate and take advantage of this usage model, it can be a really good way to go," says North Vancouver realtor Jim Lanctôt, who also consults with national and international developers on fractional real estate through his

With the popularity of home-decorating shows like Trading Places soaring, suddenly everyone's an interior designer. But from a real expert's point of view, where are home-owners' renovation dollars best spent?

"Kitchens and bathrooms are the best place to start," says Toronto's Howie Track, owner of Traxel Construction, which specializes in high-end residential and commercial renovation and construction. "Kitchens and bathrooms are the first places people look, and if a new buyer sees that the kitchens and bathrooms have been done, then there's less for them to do."

Figures from the Appraisal Institute of Canada support Track's claim. According to the Ottawa-based property-valuation association, bathroom and kitchen renovations continue to be the most popular on the list of perennial home improvements, with a recovery rate of between 75 and 100 percent.

The organization defines "recovery rate" as the likely increase in a home's resale value that could be attributed to a renovation. If

Investors often turn to real estate, looking to flip as a way to earn big money fast. Real-estate experts agree, however, that people need to do their research so their flips don’t flop.

To start, potential investors need to be clear on exactly what kind of flip they’re prepared to pursue.  There’s the “quick flip”; buying a place, fixing it up, and selling it within a year; and buying a property, renting it out for a longer period, then getting rid of it.

“All three are totally different animals,” says Vancouver-based Ozzie Jurock, president of the Jurock Real Estate Insider. “People want simple answers. It’s not so straightforward as hoping some other greater fool will pay more the next day than what you paid today.”

The basics
 “The number one requirement to flip has nothing to do with the market but has to do with you: it’s guts,” says Jurock, who’s currently keen on Phoenix and Las Vegas for real-estate investing. “You have to step up to the plate. In our club every month we have

Rebekka Kirk started making monthly contributions to her Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) more than a decade ago. But when she became a mom in 2010, things got a little more complicated during RRSP season.

She'd never even heard of a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) until her financial planner suggested she and her husband put money aside for their daughter's education.

The Vancouver-based fitness-centre manager didn't hesitate, especially after finding out the government matches contributions by 20 percent up to $500 per child through its basic Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG).

"It's like free money; that's the way I look at it," Kirk says. "It's a win-win with the government adding contributions to her future. We want to make sure that she doesn't have to struggle to follow her dreams."

Finding balance is possible

But Kirk wasn't about to forfeit saving for her retirement either, so she and her spouse decided to do both. Now, every month they put $25 into their