Don’t fall for these common financial myths

It’s never too soon or too late to build your financial portfolio, and there are various accounts you can open for whatever stage of life you’re in. Remember, everyone moves at their own pace—what matters is building a plan that works for you.

As a general rule, it’s good to live within your means, but that doesn’t mean you should completely avoid borrowing. Using debt responsibly (through credit cards or loans) helps build your credit score. Just remember to spend within your borrowing limit and always make your payments on time.

Canada has established rules and organizations to ensure our financial system is strong, resilient and well-regulated. One of these organizations is the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC). We exist to provide deposit protection to keep your money safe in the unlikely event one of its member institutions fails. We can help in many ways, such as restructuring the institution or reimbursing your insured money.

In Canada, there are different protection frameworks:

• Federal deposit insurance: Offered by the CDIC, it protects deposits such as term deposits, like guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), as well as cash accounts and even money in foreign currency in financial institutions that are members.

• Provincial deposit insurance: Each province has its own deposit protection for provincial credit unions.

• Investor protection: Offered by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, as well as some provincial bodies, it provides protection for other investments like mutual funds, stocks and bonds.