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Capital Newswire Fall 2018

Welcome to the worst blog post you’ll see this season!

Everything’s going to be all right!
Maybe it was this year’s early snowfall and its impact on farmers. Maybe it’s the early sunset, or the recent rise in interest rates, or the partisan politics. It seems like there’s a lot of darkness out there. We even have an awful theme song! Listen here

But here’s the thing: we know bad things happen. But the good news is, if we have ways to cope with some of those awful events, we can lessen their effects. If we plan ahead, we can make it that much easier to get through those dark times and shine a little light! So join us as we go on a little tour down the awful highway – and a look at how to make things a little bit better.
-Rick Harcourt
Manager of Group and Voluntary Benefits

The Markets will crash.

We’re in the midst of one of the longest bull markets in history. Markets always adjust. We know that. One of these days, something will happen and the headlines will talk about the great stock plummet of 20XX. What’s even worse is that we have no idea when. No one does!
But before you hit the panic button, what if there were things you should know before anything like this happens? READ MORE

You're going to die. When? One day.

Dying is the worst. Right? And unless you really have your [stuff] together, the bad news for those close to you is that things are going to be really messy. There’s the emotional side of course. We can’t really control that. But there’s also the financial side.
But if you’re reading this, it hasn’t happened yet! You’re like Scrooge on Christmas morning. You can start to get things organized. And we’re here to help show you how!
READ MORE

Half of all Canadians will get Cancer.

The Canadian Cancer Society announced in July 2017 that nearly 1 in 2 Canadians can expect to get a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. Anyone who’s dealt with it knows cancer is a horrible disease to go through. As if the sickness itself wasn’t bad enough, it’s devastating on people’s savings. We can’t make the Cancer go away – we wish. But if it didn’t destroy your savings – if you could actually just focus on getting better, wouldn’t that help? We have a way to do that... READ MORE

Your spouse's money is going to his sister.

Your spouse dies tragically. You’re getting things in order to figure out how to claim on his life insurance. He has RRSP investments, which were started long before he met you. And now you find out that his beneficiary is his sister.

Not ideal, right? So here’s a suggestion: let’s just make sure that everything is going where it’s supposed to! We can show you how... READ MORE

Thanks for listening! Actually, we’re starting to feel like maybe not everything is so awful after all! We even have a new theme song! Click here to listen

If you’re still feeling the effects of Fall, though, maybe a little comfort food will help. What is better than a ready-made meal for those chilly Fall evenings. Read on for our favourite Fall dinner recipe.

Fall is a busy time for all of us.

There are kids to take to swimming lessons, hockey practice to attend and of course homework to get through before bedtime. And make a healthy and delicious dinner for the family? Sounds awful...How do we fit it all in?

What can you do to make things better?

With a delicious and comforting Minestrone soup! This recipe has been inspired from a Food Network recipe, adapted to work as a ready-made freezer meal or a quick dinner on a busy school night.

Simple Minestrone Soup (inspired by the Food Network)

Time: 30 minutes, serves 4

Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 links of your favourite Italian sausage (about 6 oz), with the casings removed
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 ribs of celery, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2-3 cups kale, roughly chopped
- 1 – 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1 – 14 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup ditalini pasta (or substitute any small pasta shape)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
1. In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil and add the sausage meat. Cook over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes.
2. Add in onion, carrot, celery, garlic, salt and pepper and cook until tender.
3. Add in kale and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir in pasta, tomatoes, chickpeas, chicken broth and 4 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until pasta is al dente (or just cooked through), about 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

• A vegetarian version can be made by omitting the sausage and using your favourite vegetable soup stock.
• Turn this into a ready-made freezer meal:
1. Follow the recipe through to step 4 and instead of simmering the soup to cook the pasta, once the ingredients are added in step 4, remove from heat and ladle into your freezer containers. Label and freeze immediately.
2. Label with the following cooking instructions:
- Thaw soup in the fridge overnight.
- In a large stock pot bring the soup to a boil over medium high heat, reduce heat and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente and serve immediately.