Personal Finance Buzz

After buying a home together Mrs. SPF and I decided our century house needed to be insulated to keep heating costs down during Canadian winters. We knew that Ontario was still supporting the ecoEnergy retrofit program until the end of March 2011. Now was the time to get our ecoEnergy Retrofit done. We insulated the whole house, including the basement. I also figured out how to install a low flow toilet to get rebates on this improvement as well.

The ecoEnergy Retrofit Program is (was) a fantastic idea where the Federal and Ontario governments would provide up to $5000 to homeowners who was to make their homes more energy efficient.

Here's a look at the rebates our governments are offering for making your home more energy efficient with the ecoEnergy retrofit program.

Mrs. SPF and I were wed in the autumn of 2009 just south of Ottawa in North Gower. After we wed we decided that buying a home in Canada together as a couple was important to us. Prior to being married we “tested the waters” so to speak by living together in the first house I had ever owned.

It's important to consider the expenses of owning a home, not just the mortgage but increased heating costs, possible renovations, home security and home insurance.

If you’re new to the home buying process, you may be a little surprised at the fees and costs you pay over and above the cost of the home. Unbeknownst to ill-prepared home-buyers, there’s actually a good amount of money that will be due when you’ve finally “closed” on the home.

Mrs. Sustainable PF agreed to marry me about two and a half years ago and we wed just over a year ago. We determined that we needed to prioritize some important things in our lives which included choosing and buying a home together as the house we were living in was one I purchased shortly before meeting Mrs. Sustainable PF.

When we bought our home (a new build house), a few years ago, we were so focused on the process of buying a home that we didn’t really take into account some of the costs that can come with a new house.

As you look for a home, shopping around and getting documents together for pre-approval, it is easy to lose sight of some of the costs involved with home ownership. There are costs associated with getting the mortgage, and then there are on-going costs that you have to be prepared to pay.