Borrowing edged up in the fourth quarter of 2018 to $21.2 billion: StatsCan
The level of debt Canadians carry continues to increase. A report released on Thursday by Statistics Canada said “household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income increased to 178.5 per cent in the fourth quarter (of 2018), with growth in debt slightly outpacing income growth.” “In other words, there was $1.79 in…
New survey says the need to liquidate is significantly higher among males and those under 55
The level of personal debt in Canada has been an alarming trend in recent years. A survey released on Wednesday says one-in-five Canadians with debt say they will need to liquidate assets – such as cash in their RRSPs, get a second mortgage, sell a vehicle – to help pay off or pay down their…
Report says taxes discourage people from engaging in productive economic activity, hindering economic growth
A new report by Canadian public policy think-tank the Fraser Institute says Canadian workers across the income spectrum pay significantly higher personal income taxes than their American counterparts. “Income taxes are a major attractant — or deterrent —for entrepreneurs, businesses and workers looking to start a business, expand operations or relocate, and at virtually every…
If you think there's something wrong, there probably is, says Interac
It’s Fraud Prevention Month in Canada and Interac Corp. has launched some tools to help Canadians not get scammed. The company said 71 per cent of Canadians said in a survey that they feel confident in their ability to detect a phishing scam. But Interac Corp. also found that 96 per cent were unable to identify…
Bulk buying discounts to stretch your budget only work if you have extra cash to spend
Does your heart skip a beat when you see a skid full of ‘buy one get one free’ grocery items? Maybe the words ‘deep discount while supplies last’ gets you filling your cart with three times as much of the stuff as you’d normally buy? Or, do you head straight for a bulk discount store…
A financial housecleaning is at least as important as getting rid of old newspaper and kitchen crumbs
Do you have a hard time keeping track of bank accounts and bills? It may be time to clean up your finances. If you're like me, you clean the pantry and toss out old newspapers and flyers every week or so, but you may go several months without de-cluttering your finances. Our priorities may be…
More than 371 million transactions worth a total of more than $132 billion
Canadians used digital money transfer service Interac e-Transfer more than one million times per day last year. In a news release on Tuesday, Interac said it experienced record numbers in 2018 – more than 371 million transactions worth a total of more than $132 billion, representing a 54 per cent increase in volume and a…
What’s wrong with protecting people from financial default? What's wrong with cooling housing prices?
This is a true story from just before the recession earlier this century. It helps illustrate why Canada's mortgage stress test makes so much sense. A newly-married and very well-heeled couple wanted two homes – one in California and one in British Columbia. Getting financing for the California home was no problem. All the funding…
Interest rate hikes, housing costs, rising taxes and stagnating wages are all crucial. We need to address these problems
What can't happen won't happen. If incomes are stagnant while taxes, prices and interest rates rise, people will fail to pay their debts – as is the case for 120,000 Canadians every year. The long-term buildup of urban house prices had already made people financially vulnerable and consumer insolvencies in Canada increased by 9.2 per…
There's no better time to tighten the fiscal purse strings than when interest rates are on the rise: BMO
Here’s a scary thought on the state of household finances in Canada. A new report released on Tuesday by BMO said one-quarter of Canadians didn’t save a penny in 2018 as Canadian household credit burdens keep creeping higher. “The current environment is putting some pressure on Canadians' finances, making it more difficult for them to…
RE/MAX survey shows economic uncertainty and expensive home prices are the biggest factors
A national survey of single Canadians indicates they’re reluctant to purchase a home. According to the RE/MAX survey conducted by Leger and released on Tuesday, 52 per cent of single Canadians said economic uncertainty and expensive home prices are the biggest factors impacting their decision not to purchase a home on their own. The survey…
But much of the justification for expanding the pension plan is debatable or downright wrong
By Jason Clemens, Jake Fuss and Milagros Palacios The Fraser Institute Canadians likely noticed that their first paycheque of 2019 was slightly smaller than in 2018, even if they got a raise. The decline in after-tax income is because the first of several tax increases to finance an expanded Canada Pension Plan (CPP) took effect…
This is a trend we expect to continue throughout 2019: Moneris Solutions Corp.
Consumer spending in Canada rose by three per cent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2018. That marked the lowest increase for the year and the lowest quarterly growth in four years, according to Moneris Solutions Corp., Canada's largest processor of debit and credit payments. Quebec and British Columbia saw above-average increases of…
ATB says lingering economic uncertainty likely exacerbates the financial pinch felt by Albertans to reach their retirement goals
A new survey suggests that half of Albertans are worried they haven’t saved enough money for retirement and close to one-third say they will be over 70 years old before they can retire. Those are the results of the latest Investor Beat survey by ATB, which also found that only 28 per cent of Albertans…
When the government makes employment more expensive, the sure result is fewer jobs
The federal government began 2019 by taking a bigger bite out of workers’ paycheques: the combined employer and employee Canada Pension Plan payroll tax rose from 9.9 per cent of earnings to 10.2 per cent. It’s the first of five annual payroll tax hikes. By the time the CPP tax hike is fully phased in, a…