The Debt-Free Lifestyle

by Christine Conway

If you are living on an average Canadian income of $80,000, how can you afford to buy a home and start saving for retirement, even in a city like Vancouver with the richest real estate in the country? This is the question that every average Canadian is asking these days, especially in Vancouver where the most homely bungalow is selling for well over $1 million.

Vancouver-based financial planner Christine Conway shows you how to do it. Speaking from her own experience living in Vancouver and with the expertise of a certified financial planner, Conway lays out a plan that an average Canadian can follow. The key is to pay down debt quickly, and avoid mounting interest payments that can exceed the original value of the home.
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This book is crammed with useful tips for anyone who feels pinched as they try to handle mortgages and credit card payments. Among other things, Conway suggests people should spend 15 minutes a week on their budget, pre-pay mortgage payments, and pay off the most expensive debts.

Genres: Adult

195 pages, Paperback

Published November 20, 2016

Reviews

[archdandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly focuses on mortgages and not really how to create a "debt free lifestyle" plan. The author doesn't talk much on how to implement this lifestyle or even how to create one that works for you. I felt like I was reading a very dry manual on mortgages and how they work.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s easy to read and understand with some good examples. My only complaint is that it should be called mortgage free lifestyle as 95-98% of the book is focused on paying off your mortgage.

[Mapleleaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Debt-Free Lifestyle by Christine Conway details how to attain a mortgage in one of the most expensive community in Canada with an incomparable income. Together with her husband, she shares how she successfully finished paying off a mortgage before the average 25-year amortization (in their thirties), leaving them two more decades to grow a healthy retirement savings. This on top of owning and running a successful financial planning business after learning all the ropes from the previous owners. She shares her budget plan for each paycheque to keep track of expenses and identify unspent excess which she immediately transfers to a savings plan meant for prepayment of their mortgage - effectively reducing the amortization. While they allocate some money for entertainment, she also suggests finding other ways for additional funds either for personal wants or to grow the prepayment savings such as an additional job, asking for a raise or through a promotion. She also hints at being conservative rather than keeping-up-with-the-Joneses when it comes to material possessions. Her detailed explanation of how a mortgage works follows three scenarios comparing different levels of principal, prepayment amounts, and interest rates; showing the number of years each would take to finish a mortgage (one of them a few years close to his retirement) and the monthly payment amount. She also touches on the ideal time to make prepayments (yes, better towards the beginning), whether to invest towards a retirement fund, or do both.
Conway is so gracious to have shared her tips. While my personal mortgage was paid off in 18 years, I wish the book had existed earlier which would have shown the benefits of prepayments or balloon payments, further shortening our amortization. I can see that the author was careful to explain concepts in layman terms that anyone can understand. Understandably, financial planning may be of serious interest to a few but I highly recommend this book to young adults embarking on a mortgage or those at the beginning of their career and wanting to learn how to save for the future.

[Em Holmes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty outdated. I was excited to find not just a Canadian finance book, but one specific to Vancouver— and while some of the concepts can be taken from the book, inflation has caused all of this to be quite outdated. I also felt overwhelmed and simultaneously bored by all of the scenarios and terminology. It would have been great to have had a bit more flow and fun while explaining this to people who don’t understand financial lingo and terminology as much as those in finance.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other reviews before me have stated this, but the book focused on paying down your mortgage rather than practical tips. I did like that it was based in Canada as most of these books talk about USA which is not relevant to me as a Canadian. However it would have been nice to have a few more practical options.