Borrow to get ahead

Video Transcript

ANNOUNCER:

Borrowing to get ahead. Isn’t that kind of like an oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp or freezer burn? Well, if you’re like many Canadians you might never have thought that you need a plan for borrowing… to help you address your needs now, over the next five years, and down the road. Take a look; it’s true. You can create your own personalized borrowing strategy to fit your cash flow budget.

Borrowing to get ahead can help you pay down your mortgage faster, become debt-free sooner and plan for your long-term borrowing for things like your child’s education or your retirement.

There are lots of smart ways to approach it. You could take years off your mortgage by making small changes like changing your payment frequency from monthly to biweekly, matching a payment or even increasing your payment by say $50 a year for the next five years.

It’s amazing what even small changes to the way you pay your mortgage can have on the amount of interest you can save. Or, cut the interest on all of your borrowing by looking at the interest rates on the things that you owe. For example, you could move your balance from a higher interest credit card to a lower interest Scotiabank card. With the same monthly payment, you could pay your debt off faster.

The cornerstone of your borrowing plan should be the Scotia Total Equity Plan or STEP, which gives you the flexibility you need for borrowing… now and in the future. It not only lets you split your mortgage into fixed and variable rate solutions or between short and long-term solutions, you can also add lines of credit, credit cards and other borrowing products as your needs change. With STEP you may never have to apply for credit again.

See what we mean about borrowing to get ahead… and planning for it?

That’s just the start. Take a look our other videos to find out more. And when you’re ready, talk to Scotia advisor and create a borrowing plan to help you get ahead.