Canadians making good progress on debt

More than half of Canadians say they are making good progress paying down their debt, still many fear it’s not enough, according to a new survey. Harris-Decima and CIBC polled more than 2,000 adults and found 72% are holding some form of debt. The good news is 61% say they are making good progress repaying […]

Ottawa chastised for handling of TFSA tax rules

The Canada Revenue Agency should have been more active in fulfilling its responsibility of letting Canadians know the tax consequences of the Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), says a new report from the federalTaxpayers’ Ombudsman. Although the rules regarding withdrawals and over-contributions were available on the CRA’s website from the start of the program, the report released Monday said the […]

Home ownership trumps renting in personal finance stakes

Owning the roof over your head should still be a goal for most Canadians as paying rent is like paying someone else’s mortgage, experts say. The Bank of Canada gave its clearest signal so far this week that interest rates are set to rise, while a growing number of real estate watchers and some economists […]

Consumers cope as prices rise

Canadians are digging in and watching their pennies, finding new — and old — ways to cope as the country’s highest inflation rate in eight years smacks up against record consumer debt levels. According to the RBC Canadian Consumer Outlook Index, released Wednesday, Canadians are carrying an average $13,058 in personal debt — not including […]

Household Debt Slowing, But Still Growing: BMO

TORONTO, June 21, 2011 – Although the growth in Canadian household debt is slowing and household assets are rising, debt ratios have pushed further above levels in the United States, and more steps need to be taken to repair the household balance sheet, according to Doug Porter, Deputy Chief Economist, and Sal Guatieri, Senior Economist […]

How to give up renting without going broke

DIANNE NICE Globe and Mail Blog No matter how many stories I read about housing price bubbles and rising interest rates, there’s no way I would go back to renting, and most Canadians feel the same way. For three long, miserable years, my husband and I rented a unit attached to our landlord’s sprawling house […]

Canada gets high score on quality of life index: study

By Derek Abma and Peter O’Neil Australia is seen as having the best quality of life among industrialized countries, one ranking ahead of second-place Canada, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. However, it appears the clincher for Australia could be its high voter-turnout rates, which policy-makers in that country […]

Brokers facing uphill battle to win bigger cut of $215B HELOC market

By Vernon Clement Jones Home equity lines of credit represent 22 per cent of all Canadian mortgages, or a whopping $215 billion, according to a new CAAMP report – the first to track that segment of the market largely closed to brokers. “As far as we know this is the first time anyone has tracked […]

Canadians take Carney’s debt warning to heart

Canadians appear to have gotten the message Mark Carney was sending when the Bank of Canada governor went public last year with his concerns about rising levels of household debt. In the months since his remarks – which were augmented by changes to lending rules by Ottawa – growth in consumer borrowing has noticeably slowed, […]

Housing Hold’em: RBC Poll finds over half of younger Canadians plan to buy next year

46 per cent of younger homeowners say mortgage costs eat up too much income TORONTO, APRIL 7, 2011— Over half of young Canadians (55 per cent) believe that it makes sense to delay a home purchase until next year, 10 points higher than the national average, and almost half (46 per cent) of younger homeowners […]

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