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The majority of Canadian teens find parents and guardians to be the most inspiring when it comes to learning about finances but with household debt on the rise, parents may need to brush up on their own financial literacy to prep their teens for the road ahead.

Six-in-ten Canadians between 12 and 17 say they prefer to learn about money at home, according to a recent survey of 6,000 by the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education. Meanwhile, 54 per cent say they’d like to learn about finances in school and about 42 per cent say their preference is to get financial advice from guest speakers and experts at school.

“Young people are learning from their parents predominantly,” explains Adam Fair, director of programs at Prosper Canada, a charity focused on alleviating poverty through financial empowerment. “So it’s a great opportunity for parents to think about how they are more actively building these skills.”

Read More »from Family values still hold sway when it comes to money lessons for teens

An estimated 350,000 Canadian ex-pats are living and working in California, some of whom are likely employed in the region’s thriving tech hubs such as Silicon Valley, San Diego and Los Angeles.

But Canadian employers are hoping to strike back against the so-called “brain drain” that many believe is plaguing the nation’s tech industry and capitalize on the many Americans who fear the consequences of an impending Donald Trump presidency.

Go North Canada, a website that helps connect job seekers with opportunities in the sector north of the border, has placed billboards on Route 101 in Silicon Valley.

Heather Galt, the vice-president of Communitech a Kitchener, Ont.-based non-profit that focuses on growing the tech industry in Canada, told CTV News that their website has recently experienced a spike in traffic.

Read More »from Canada’s tech industry hopes Trump effect could counteract ‘brain drain’

It’s not unusual these days to be asked to sign a non-compete clause when taking on a new job. Employers use them to protect themselves from losing clients to employees who decide to leave the firm. For instance, a consultancy or law firm might use one to stop a star from walking out the door, taking her clients with her and setting up shop across the street.

But non-competes can also pop up where you wouldn’t expect them. In 2014, for instance, U.S. sandwich shop chain Jimmy John’s asked counter staff to sign a clause preventing them from working at a competitor’s for two years after leaving the chain.

Now if signing a non-compete is the difference between getting and not getting a job, there’s a good chance you’re going to do it even if you’d rather not. But doing so can impact your ability to move on after leaving a job, particularly if leaving the job wasn’t your idea. So it’s fair to wonder whether these clauses are

Read More »from That non-compete clause you signed may not be binding after all

New mortgage “stress test” rules coming into play at the end of November may raise the bar on loan eligibility but unfortunately it isn’t stopping Canadians from turning to the unregulated, private mortgage lending market to top up the buying power.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say everybody is doing it but I’ve definitely seen an uptick,” says Michael Sugar, a mortgage broker who started focusing on the private lending sphere more than a decade ago. “Prior to 2008, there wasn’t a lot of (private mortgages) required because the banks were funding everything, so the only people that needed it were people with really bad credit… it really is considered to be a last resort type thing.”

But the tightening of rules and guidelines combined with the growing number of self-employed and contract-based workforce is shifting borrowers who would typically be considered “A” clients into the “B” category, says Sugar. The broker says

Read More »from New mortgage rules a boost for private lenders — but be careful

An increasing number of U.S. employers are offering to help employees pay off their student loans as part of the benefit packages but as the trend gains momentum, don’t be surprised if Canadian companies slate it into their own benefit packages.

Earlier this week publisher Penguin Random House announced a new student loan repayment perk, which gives employees $1,200 a year throughout their employment, for up to seven and a half years. The benefit, which amounts to $9,000 when maxed out, will kick in January 2017 for any regular full-time employee who’s been with the company for a year.

“We have always believed in doing our part to tackle broader societal challenges by starting within our own communities,” Markus Dohle, CEO of Penguin Random House, said in a release touting the news. “With this new benefit for our employees, we have another opportunity to live up to our mission and help our employees invest in their futures while also making

Read More »from The next job benefit could be student loan repayments

The best jobs in Canada are forestry or mining manager according to Canadian Business Magazine.

These jobs were also the top job in 2015. They have a median wage of $104,000 with wage growth of 19 per cent and five-year employee growth of 44 per cent. They also have an estimated demand of more than one job per seeker by 2021.

But what is it like to actually be a forestry or mining manager and what makes these jobs so great beyond their prospects and median salary?

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

At its core, being a forestry manager is about seeing the bigger picture of a logging operation by balancing various competing interests and trying to satisfy all parties. Mauro Calabrese has worked in forestry for 20 years and as the planning superintendent for West Fraser Timber in Williams Lake, B.C., he does this juggling act every day.

“My job is to find areas we’re going to harvest for timber in consideration of other values

Read More »from Why are these the best jobs in Canada?

A petition in the UK calling on policymakers to shutter shops on Boxing Day is gaining momentum with over 210,000 signatures.

“Whilst not everyone may see Christmas as a religious holiday, it should be respected as such, and retail workers – who work so hard on the run up to the big day – given some decent family time to relax and enjoy the festivities like everyone else,” says the petition, created by Ian Lapworth, pointing out that many retail workers finish on Christmas Eve and are back to work on Boxing Day morning. “Forget making money for one day, let’s concentrate on making more memories with the ones we love.”

But despite the petition’s growing call to shut shops in the UK, retail analysts in Canada, where Boxing Day is the biggest day of the year for many retailers, say we’re not likely to see any sort of move to close stores here.

“There’s some very interesting waves of change happening in the UK right now as it relates to the

Read More »from Should Boxing Day shopping become a thing of the past?

Do you believe that holidays are best spent with friends and family, that they’ve become too commercial, and that they shouldn’t be about buying more stuff?

The Internet is perfect for letting you maintain that holier-than-thou stance on Facebook and Twitter while indulging in some retail therapy from your sofa (Or your desk at work. We won’t tell!).

Most of us are feeling optimistic this year, with 86 percent of shoppers saying they’ll increase their holiday budget by about $200 this year to an average of $600.

“But while they may be spending more, our survey indicates that Canadians are also likely getting more for their dollar by utilizing clever shopping strategies,” says Sari Friedman, Marketing Director at ebates.ca in a release, adding that spending is expected to be up across nearly all categories as compared to last year.

According to ebates.ca, a website that offers cash back on purchases through retail

Read More »from What to buy — and what to avoid — on Black Friday

‘Tis the season to buy gadgets, gear and games for loved ones — or, hey, why not yourself, too? — and in 2016 there’s no shortage of amazing tech toys to suit varying tastes and budgets.

Whether you’re shopping for a new smartphone, tablet, headphones, video game console or virtual reality system, the following is a brief look at some of some top picks, and why.

Oh, and in case you missed it, you can watch a repeat of our Facebook Live video of these products:

Hot hybrid

When is a laptop more than a laptop? When it’s also a tablet and a desktop replacement at the same time. Huh? The Dell Inspiron 17 7000 2-in-1 ($1,249) is the world’s first 17-inch 2-in-1, which means it can transform from a laptop to a touchscreen tablet on its 360-degree hinge (along with two other modes), and because of its huge screen and keyboard (with numeric keypad) it’s also great as a desktop replacement. This Intel-powered Windows 10 machine has an impressive battery of nearly ten hours.

Read between the

Read More »from Tech the halls: Great gadget gift ideas

As the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency became more and more likely on the eve of the election, many U.S. citizens were so concerned that they flooded the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website, causing it to crash.

And now that possibility has become reality, the head of a Philadelphia-based tech company is offering his employees the chance to help make their escape to Canada by relocating them to the firm’s Vancouver offices.

Darren Hill, the CEO of WebLinc and a registered Republican, told CBC’s “As it Happens” that workers will be given the opportunity to work at the Canadian offices for stints of less than six months, which he said is a pretty simple process.

Or, if they’re looking to permanently relocate, WebLinc’s immigration attorney will help them.

“We wanted to give the employees a pass if they felt uncomfortable

Read More »from CEO will relocate employees to Vancouver if they’re worried about a Trump presidency

Standing out amongst your colleagues is often the key to workplace success, but how do you separate yourself from the pack without becoming Toby from “The Office”? Because everyone hates Toby.

A new study by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley says that the key may be in finding a balance between the two.

“Most people recognize that, if they fail to differentiate themselves from their peers, they are very unlikely to get ahead,” co-author Sameer Srivastava said in a press release.

“Yet fitting into a company creates a larger, motivating sense of identity for employees and enables them to collaborate with others in the organization.”

The researchers examined email exchanges, which ad been stripped of personal information, between 601 full-time employees at a technology company from 2009 and 2014.

Using an algorithm designed to analyze if workers were expressing themselves using the same linguistic style the researchers said they could

Read More »from Key to workplace success is balance between fitting in and standing out

The singularity may not be far off but many people are still wary of their robot counterparts.

According to a survey by Lippincott, a creative consultancy based out of the U.S., 81 per cent of people are excited about increased automation, but 73 per cent admit to being afraid to trust machines.

John Marshall, the chief strategy and innovation officer at Lippincott, told CNN Money that the survey demonstrated how conflicted people feel about technology. They want the efficiencies and improvements that it provides, but at the same time, they’re also guarded.

“It vividly shows people aren’t even aware in their own consciousness of what they actually want,” said Marshall.

“If you told someone 10 years ago they would make all their baby pictures public for the world to see, they would stay in a stranger’s apartment instead of a hotel or they would trust robots to manger their

Read More »from People are both excited and afraid of increased automation: study

Nothing kills the joy of the holiday season faster than fighting for a parking space at the mall, then standing in huge checkout lines on December 23, and fighting for the year’s hot toys while sweating in a winter coat.

This year “Santa” finally got his act together at my house and started early, shopping at Amazon and Indigo websites, Costco — both online and in the store, and at Joe Fresh.

A recent trip to New York City was an eye opener — the deals there were few and far between thanks to the weak Canadian dollar, but who goes to the Big Apple for savings?

To finish off my shopping list (and perhaps add in a reward or two for me for being a smart shopper) should I stick with Canadian stores and websites this November, or make a run for the border — real or virtual?

There are some excellent websites such as savingsguru.ca (with a complementary Facebook page) that have hard-to-beat prices. But be warned — it’s addictive and easy

Read More »from U.S. vs. Canada: Who's got the better Black Friday deals?