Life happens.

And with it, so do unforeseen hardships.

That's why it is always good to be proactive and have a plan.

A new report by BMO Wealth Institute reveals that while many Canadians have a financial plan in place, very few have considered what would happen if unexpected life events arose that could cause financial hardships.

20 years ago, merging finances after becoming a couple wasn’t something people thought about much. Most of them married young and quickly opened joint bank accounts, got a mortgage in both names, and shared credit cards.

Younger people are marrying less and less these days, and when they do marry, they're generally older than in generations past. It’s also much more likely that both people will work and have their own sources of income.

As well, with common-law relationships becoming much more common, the whole 'merging-money' issue is simply a little more complicated than it once was. If you get together when you're older, for instance, you're likely already financially established and merging your finances may seem like too much trouble.

Believe it or not, families are spending more on taxes than they are on the basic necessities of life.

According to a new report by the Fraser Institute, 42.7 per cent of an average Canadian family's income went towards taxes while just 36.9 per cent was spent on food, clothing and shelter in 2012.

And we wonder where our money goes.

Smoking is not only bad for your health but it's also bad for your house.

According to a new survey, smoking in your home can lower it's resale value.

In fact, it can lower the property value by up to 29 per cent. And, based on an average Canadian house price of $378,532, that's a loss of over $109,000.

Is there an ideal price tag attached to the dream of home ownership?

Well, first-time homebuyers in Canada think so. In fact, they are zooming in on the $300,000 price range when looking for a new house.

And, they plan on putting down about 16 per cent ($48,000), according to a new BMO First-Time Home Buyer's Report.

For many Canadians, the dream of home ownership is just that -- a dream.

Buying your first home is probably one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make.

So before you jump into making the dream a reality, it is important to do your research and find out the true costs of home ownership before you get trapped in a financial nightmare -- much like the movie Money Pit.

What do franchises like Pizza Nova, M&M Meat Shops, Cora and Coffee Culture have in common?

They all have the ingredients to be financially successful.

In Canada, one out of every five dollars spent ends up in the cash register of a franchise operation.

That's more than $100 billion each year, proving savvy marketing, solid fiscal planning and some calculated risks are helping franchises prosper north of the 49th parallel.

It seems that Canadians are investing in their retirement a little more than usual.

Now that the RRSP contribution deadline has passed, BMO Bank of Montreal released a study which revealed that 63 per cent of those polled made or had planned on making a contribution to their RRSP before the March 1 deadline.

That's an increase over the previous year when only 38 per cent indicated they were contributing.

So what's the logic behind stashing away your cash now for your golden years ahead?

Many couples think marrying or setting up house together means merging their debt loads, but that's not necessarily the case. While many couples opt to pay down debt together, neither spouse is usually legally obligated to pay off debt that the other incurred before marriage.

If your spouse or partner never signed the original contract or requested a credit card, they can't be held responsible for the debt. In Canada, marriage alone does not make you responsible for your spouse's debts.

However, if you refinance a loan with your significant other and put your name on the loan's promissory note, or add yourself as a joint account holder of a credit card, you'll likely become responsible for those debts, even if your spouse took them on before you got together.

At the very least, this could mean setting some guidelines such as cutting up unnecessary credit cards and living on a debt-senstive budget.

You would think that life slows down in retirement.

But in fact, according to a new report by BMO Bank of Montreal, Canadian retirees are busier than ever. 

There's not enough hours in a day for all the activities retirees have these days.

The report revealed that more than one-third of those polled have more activities than time in which to do them and one in three admit that retirement is more expensive than they expected.

However, 82 per cent say they are happy with their current lifestyle.