pafret Loc: Northeast

"Half Of Canadians Have $200 Or Less In Savings- How About You?"

"Half Of Canadians Have $200 Or Less In Savings - How About You?"
by Tyler Durden

"Two months ago, when quoting the CEO of cell phone insurer Assurant, who appeared on Bloomberg TV to discuss business trends, one of his quotes caught our attention: “The reality is, half of Americans can’t afford to write a $500 check,” Colberg said. We decided to look into the CEO's claim about the woeful state of US finances. What we found is that according to a recent Bankrate survey of 1,000 adults, 57% of Americans don’t have enough cash to cover a mere $500 unexpected expense. Turns out the CEO was right. And while that may appear dire, it is a slight improvement from 2016, when 63% of U.S. residents said they wouldn’t be able to handle such an expense.

The Bankrate survey findings echoed research published last year by the Federal Reserve, which found that 46% of respondents said they would be challenged to come up with even less, or $400, to cover an emergency expense, and would likely borrow or sell something to afford it. When the Fed asked what types of emergency expenses Americans had actually faced in the last year, more than one out of five cited a major unexpected medical expense. The average expense: $2,782, or almost seven times higher than the Fed’s hypothetical $400 surprise bill.

How does this stunning statistic compare to some other developed nations? It turns out that the state of half of US finances, deplorable as it may be is positively shining, not to mention "twice as good", when compared to the country's neighbor to the north, where a recent Ipsos survey on behalf of accounting firm MNP, found that more than half of Canadians are living within $200 per month of not being able to pay all their bills or meet their debt obligations. Needless to say, if $500 in savings is bad, half that amount is outright bizarre.

“With such a small amount of wiggle room, any kind of unanticipated hardship, such as a job loss or even a car repair, could send an already struggling family into financial despair,” Canada's Global News quoted Grant Bazian, president of MNP’s personal insolvency practice, which is one of the largest in Canada. He also revealed that for 10 per cent of Canadians, the margin of error when it comes to household finances is even thinner, at $100 or less.

It gets worse as those with anything at all left at the end of the month were in better shape than many: A whopping 31% of respondents said they already don’t make enough to meet all their financial obligations.

The poll also found that while debt is causing Canadians a fair bit of stress, few appear to be overly worried or on track to buff up their monthly financial cushion. Two-thirds of survey takers said they are “less than very confident” about their ability to create an emergency fund. And then this hair-raising finding from the survey: "Roughly 60 per cent said they don’t have a firm grasp of how interest rates affect debt repayments." According to Bazian, the statistic helps explain why many indebted Canadians end up taking on more debt and high-cost loans. “That’s how so many end up in an endless cycle of debt,” he noted.”
- http://www.zerohedge.com/
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Related:
“Central Banks Injected Trillions Into The Market To Prop It Up & It's Not Enough”
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wHlDKMZtc8

"A fair bit of stress"? Yeah..

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

Fortunately we have NO DEBT, pay all our bills each month, and still put a couple of dollars away each month. How do we do it? we have no need for expensive things, grow half of our own food, and learned how to live frugally years ago. It helps that I lived in a rooming (translate "flop house") while going to college, worked days and went to school nights, lived with a couple of sets of jeans and shirts for a number of years. Having only what you NEED is a step forward, not backward. Now we have enough money to buy lots of books and even send some on to others when we are done with them. Priorities for each person are different, that's all.

QuestGirl Loc: Jayhawk Country

Above all God. Food, clothing and a roof fullfill our needs. Everything else are wants, conveniences and sociatol necessities, like this gadget I'm posting from...and I still WANT a landline.

4430 Loc: Little Egypt ** Southern Illinory

Well I'm not Canadian but just a 71 yr old American farmer still tilling the land have be in and out of debt most all my working life and still use debt on occasions .

I'm not rich by many standards but not poor by any means I have paid for land plus a fair amount in a Sep and IRA I started taking my SS at 70 which goes into an account that I haven't touched so barring any unforeseen disastrous happening I should get thru life with some to pass on !

One of the main problems I see in people today is the fact they are not willing to do without play toys etc etc and not set back a little from time to time and thus can in be in trouble at any given time.
One cannot live from one pay check to another for long till things can and will go sour !

Kazudy

Well thank God I have more then $200. In my savings account, plus no house or car payments. It's nice to be retired.

F.D.R.

Funny how we really don't think about these things till an article or word comes along to show us just how well off we are. Armed with only a high school education but an ability to 'think outside the box' I seem to be better off than many. Both cars are paid for one of my two homes is free and clear and the ability to write a $500. check. I'm proud to say that along the way I've been able to help several others improve their lot in life or just offer a helping hand to get through a tough time, I learned that growing up in the 50's. At 75 I now do consulting and project management part time and still share with good people who need a hand. Life is what you make it. We all have different priorities which tend to change over time. They say 'Hindsight is 20/20' and boy is that correct, if only I had kept my baseball card collection from the late 40's & 50's.

4430 Loc: Little Egypt ** Southern Illinory

It must be the way people were and are raised !

Our folks wanted us to learn how to manage our money wisely .

I had a checking account in the 6th grade and one of the rules was my checkbook had to balance with the bank statement now this was back when there were no adding machines computers calculators and such .
I spend quit a bit of time at the kitchen table but always got it worked out .

Now days with the computer one can just hit the adjust button and there it is balanced !
This I refuse to do if I'm 2 cents off I'll find that 2 cents I've talked to many folks that if they are within $100 they're good !

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

lolol, WHYYYYYYY do you want a landline?? BTW I first read landmine!!!! Tell ya anything?? Gotta get my head out of politics!!
No, seriously why the landline, I'm curious... I got rid of mine years ago....Now if I could just dump this cell phone that you have to be a computer tech to work..Good grief, Quest.....

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

My dad gave me a credit card when I went to college and said if I went over my limit one time it was done...I told him I'd work to pay it off each month, he said with no more than it had on it I could work a week and pay it off...He told me it had a $1000 so I never went over $500, later, much later I found out it had $2500.. Just goes to show you, you work within your means or you do without...And, yes, I did have a part time job and paid my bill until my Dad found out and made me quit..Told me I wasn't going to school and working too..I'd be working the rest of my life and that was more important..

4430 Loc: Little Egypt ** Southern Illinory

Your Dad sounds like an awesome man !

It true people that work and skimp and do without to get ahead appreciate what they have accomplished over the ones that had everything handed to them .

Just lately I watched a man younger than me inherit a million and a half and go thru it in less than 4 yrs !

When I got back from the service I went in debt for a 120 acre farm and was always scrapping the bottom of the barrel for 10 yrs then slowly things got better then worse with drought double digit interest rates then better again pickings were pretty slim back then .

BIL and Sister brought a burglar alarm business and like to starved to death the first 5 yrs but worked hard done without and now have a very prosperous business they lived on her Nursing check and put everything back from the business back into the business .

QuestGirl Loc: Jayhawk Country

Well now that you mention it, I think we're gonna be seein' some more "landmines" exploding out of Washington...and soon.

OUR President Trump kept Comey around for a reason. Comey testified, under oath, last week. Yates and Clapper testified, under oath, this past Monday. Wednesday brought the well placed BOOM from the "landmine"!!! (These hearings are quite informative. The last time I had cable was during Desert Storm.)

Old school I guess. Landlines work when the power goes out!!!

I hate to say it, but I almost 'feel' a NEED for a landline. But, I would have to give up my entertainment 'lifeline'. I scroll way too much. Even when I have a TV, I scroll waaaay too much!!!

I know what you mean about that need for a "tech" in the pocket. Now and again a new 'menu' will pop on my screen that I'd never seen before. I just know they have a mind of not my doing!!!

QuestGirl Loc: Jayhawk Country

I heard years ago that if you aren't seeing a profit at the end of 5 years, it's pretty well over. Nor do I think it needs to be a large profit, but a profit nonetheless. Your story appears to confirm that tale!!!

QuestGirl Loc: Jayhawk Country

That was your "emergency" fund so your father could sleep at night. You made your father proud LindaJoy, I'm sure that to be true!!!

QuestGirl Loc: Jayhawk Country

Oops...*Tuesday...BOOM....!!!

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

That's what he told me too..Car repairs or getting home etc...My books were the most expensive thing I ever bought...lolol