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The Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs are in the NHL playoffs and look strong. The Raptors are the top seed in the NBA’s Easter Conference, and the Blue Jays have started the baseball season playing better than many expected.

Welcome to the cable-cutter’s nightmare. Netflix is great and all, but it has nothing to match the excitement of following your sports teams live on TV. That’s a big reason why we haven’t cut cable at our house.

Open this photo in gallery:

Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews celebrates with goaltender Frederik Andersen after defeating the Montreal Canadiens on April 7, 2018.Chris Young/The Canadian Press

It’s possible to watch professional sports without cable, though. There are streaming services you can subscribe to for roughly $25 per month that give you access to games in various leagues. You can also try an HD antenna to bring in games broadcast on some networks. In this list of five myths about cord-cutting, No. 3 is that there’s no way to watch sports without cable.

Cutting cable is a sure way to save money on monthly utility costs. A recent survey found that one in four Anglophone Canadians no longer pay for a traditional TV service.

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Rob’s personal finance reading list…

How to get rich quick

The Squawkfox blog offers an appropriately skeptical take on the recent Real Estate Bitcoin and Wealth Expo in Toronto, featuring the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Alex Rodriguez. Need I say more.

The best time to book flights

The question: How far in advance of your trip should you book your flight? Here’s the answer, based on a travel website’s analysis of 917 million different flights.

Caught in a housing squeeze

If you’re curious about the trouble a weakening real estate market can cause, check out this story about couples in Oakville, west of Toronto, who bought new homes with the expectation of selling their existing houses for a certain price. They’re now stressed to the max because they can’t get the amount they anticipated and are having trouble securing financing for the cost of their new houses.

Why a dishwasher is worth the money

New research shows dishwashing causes more relationship distress than any other household task.

Today’s featured financial tool

Anyone looking at getting into the housing market will find this mortgage qualifier tool useful. It shows whether you qualify for a mortgage based on your income and expenses.

Ask Rob

The question: “When I sell a U.S. stock with a capital gain outside an RRSP or TFSA, whose exchange rate should I use at the time of sale to convert it into Canadian dollars for CRA purposes? Is the 15 per cent withholding tax on U.S. stocks eligible for the foreign tax credit on the Canadian income tax forms?”

The answer: My colleague John Heinzl explains how to calculate the exchange rate when selling U.S. stocks here. And, yes, the 15 per cent withholding tax on U.S. dividends received in a non-registered account is eligible for the foreign tax credit.

Do you have a question for me? Send it my way. Sorry I can’t answer every one personally. Questions and answers are edited for length.

Featured Video

How to avoid being your adviser’s ‘problem client.’

In case you missed these Globe and Mail personal finance stories

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