Hey, kids. Crappy news.
There are 9.6 million Baby Boomers in this nation, petrifying with each breath, turning into wrinkly, leaky geezers before your very eyes. Of course, they already have all the good jobs and own the best houses, which they expect you to be buying from them in the coming years at the most inflated values in history. Yes, sucks. But it’s your obligation to bail them out, since you spent twenty-six years in the basement.
Anyway, here’s the news: Just 27% of the wrinklies plan on being retired by age 66. That means 73% will be working, half of them full-time, in jobs you thought were coming your way. And, no, we’re not talking about Wal-Mart greeters or building custodians, but actual professional positions which the antiquities don’t plan on giving up.
This is the latest alarmist finding from the financial guys (Sun Life survey). And while a lot of it is self-serving, pay attention. There are lessons here. All those people are delaying retirement for a reason, and it’s not because they love working. Most don’t think they have a choice – a conclusion even more will be reaching as the biggest cohort in history steams into their sixties. Just seven years ago 51% expected to be fully grassed by 66. Now that number has been cut by more than half.
In the intervening period interest rates have cratered, we’ve gone gaga for houses, corporate pensions have withered and personal debt’s exploded. The combination could be financially lethal for those Boomers who stashed the bulk of their net worth in property, and don’t understand that they need to unlock it now, trash debt and get invested for growth and income. The odds of that happening? Piteous. Most never will. Until it’s too late.
So, lesson one: don’t put all of your dough in one asset at one address on one street, unless you look forward to having a prickish 32-year-old boss when you’re 66.
We’re not done yet. More than six in ten people aren’t making an RRSP contribution this year, which is about the same number who figure they’ll run out of money in retirement (says RBC). Worse (says BMO) 60% of all TFSA money is sitting in cash and 20% in GICs. So here is the sexiest tax-trashing growth vehicle Canadians were ever gifted, and they have an 80% failure rate.
But it’s the females we should worry about most. Totally hooped. Three-quarters of Canadian woman have no financial plan or goal. Almost 70% haven’t thought about how they’ll afford retirement (now roughly 30 years long). And 44% have no company pension plan, not even one of those crappy mutual fund-RRSP things run by an insurance company.
How did this happen?
Good question. Maybe some of the ladies brave enough to come to this testo-drenched, truck nutz-sporting, abs-flexing, Harley-hugging blog will be kind enough to respond. But it seems women are more risk-averse. They look for guarantees when it comes to financial assets, but are willing to take huge risk and leverage on real estate — because it’s perceived as safe.
Is this societal? Genetic? Cultural? Or just sexist?
In any case, there are almost five million Boomer women destined to become the biggest and most dependent demographic in history (since guys croak an average of six years earlier). Interest rates may rise over time, but not enough to counter inflation or provide liveable income. Government support is more likely to shrink than expand – as is now happening with the OAS cutback. Real estate values are unsustainable as debt swells and incomes don’t. And it’s pretty much assured tax rates will rise in the future, given government finances.
The biggest risk, then, is running out of money. But ask the average person (especially the average female one) and they’ll say risk means losing it.
Lesson two: invest, don’t save.
So, enfants, that’s the choice. Repeat the mistakes of your parents, in a less forgiving world. Or relive them. Just don’t expect a different outcome.
266 comments ↓
All of this under-saving for retirement seems to imply that over the next decade, there will be a huge race to buy as many long-term inflation protected assets as possible. And in the practical sense, this means common stocks as they are the only reasonably priced asset class remaining at the moment.
Can you say, “TSX = 40,000” a decade from now? Might even be a bit on the conservative side, since the 1990s saw a triple.
Where are the oil bulls today. I told them Nat gas is the play.
FIRST !!!
Perfect example of this was a conversation with a friend who is married. The wife wants to switch house and the male lost the pair.
What’s really shocking is no one cares to learn more or ask. I work in the industry and it’s true. No one understands the two sides of risk. They see the risk of losing money but don’t understand the risk of not having enough.
On another note this light sprinkling has crippled the 401. If there is more snow than I am endowed I can understand the delays.
Disclosure, it’s not that endowed.
There goes my finding a sugar moma plan.
“I would wager not too many inhabitants of Van or TO are yet aware of these recent immigration rule changes and the broader implications for downward pressure on housing prices in the metro centers in particular, going forward.”
It is not exactly a rule change, rather in the new program (Which allows the government to handpick the immigrants), so far the preference was given to these immigrants with jobs (or offers). I expect that to continue, if there is a pressure on the employment front.
Canada can keep with the stated 280,000 for 2015 immigration goal, by simply re-purposing the temporal workers/students already working here, at least during this year (Not all the 280K are economical immigrants of course).
What is more worrisome in Toronto, is that recently I see immigrants, that just arrive, and only have 1 job per family (even temporal), are rushing into the RE market
Normally it would take newcommers a few years to buy, after they settle comfortably (financically), now it seems to very fast, and without any backup plans …
“They look for guarantees when it comes to financial assets, but are willing to take huge risk and leverage on real estate — because it’s perceived as safe.”
Truer words have never been spoken. I don’t know what the answer is in how to correct this though. When I start trying to explain this to my mom (only 60) the eye glaze happens immediately.
I think part of the problem is everyone knows alot of people that have made money in real estate and not many that a material amount of money from investing. Maybe it’s a chicken egg thing because not many are investing so …
A part of the problem is entire generation of people are in prime house buying years never even hearing of a possible decline in house prices. Can you imagine if tech bubble didnt happen, 2008/9 didn’t happen and stocks were on a one way tear? Now imagine you could invest at 20:1 leverage this whole way. That’s a tough psychological barrier to crack, especially for those not financially inclined.
I’m also going to throw this one out there in fear of being castrated but males tend to get numbers better. There are far more engineers, mathmeticians, scientists, and bankers that are male and I don’t think it’s necessarily a structural hiring problem either. *hides*
Hey Garth.
Maybe ladies just care more about where and in what they live?
I am a LadyInWaiting and not happy about it at all. Living in an ugly, decrepit, and “soon to be torn down” house in Vancouver area. Rents everywhere here are incredibly high along with costs to buy. I am not a granite-licker, just someone who wants to paint the walls a color other then vomit, fix the plumbing (ignored by landlord), and trash the decaying hot tub in the back yard. This blog definitely overvalues the benefits of renting. Renting sucks, so please factor that into our financial cost-benefit analysis. In the meantime, I will continue to wait (unhappily) until something changes…which, in Vancouver it seems, will be never.
“….In any case, there are almost five million Boomer women destined to become the biggest and most dependent demographic in history (since guys croak an average of six years earlier)…….”
______________________________________
Sounds like an excellent incentive for males to invest (and not croak early).
So many Boomers, so little time.
“Maybe some of the ladies brave enough to come to this testo-drenched, truck nutz-sporting, abs-flexing, Harley-hugging blog will be kind enough to respond.”
Well, I can’t speak for most. I took a bit of a weird path to where I am. At 24, I had $50k in student loans and owned a condo in the US that I bought on zero down, because those are The Things You Do. In 2007 I lost my job along with everyone else and couldn’t find work in my city. Suddenly mobility made a lot more sense than societal pressures to own property.
Long story short: I walked away from the condo, moved to Canada, got a job, and have been employed since. Student loans paid off. Fully-invested TFSA with an RRSP holding the rest, 60/40 balanced portfolio and all.
Lessons learned? Mobility beats property, especially in my 20s and 30s. Running out of money is way scarier than losing it. Better to have two years’ (and growing) expenses saved up in case things go wrong than to have a 95% mortgage on granite countertops.
Oh, and that foreclosure (which didn’t finalize until 2008) goes off my US credit this year. Like it never happened. So, final lesson? Never too old to start over and do it right.
Amazing divergence of news between Canada and the US. It’s astounding how the narrative has flipped over the years.
And yes where are the oil bulls????
@#8 LadyInWaiting
Get out of Vancouver and get a better landlord. I did both. Even in Toronto, rents are so much lower that you can find a decent place with a decent landlord.
My old (110-year-old) (rental) house had a plumbing issue on Monday. My landlord was here in 15 minutes solving the problem. And it didn’t cost me anything, unlike if I owned the place.
Is that a picture of Smoking Man, Esq and his FX protege son?
Realtor.ca sure has a lot of blue dots everywhere.
I thought they used to be red dots… measles spreading.
Garth
When we came out with OAS at 65 most folks did not live that long. So retiring at 65 was pretty much a given you are dead or close to it. Now life expectancy is much higher then 65. It is pretty absurd that folks were sold on the idea that they take an insurance product (freedom 55) save a small percentage of their income for 1 third of their lives and be supported by family and investments for the other 2 thirds of their lives. It is not sustainable especially with an average savings rate that used to be around 9 percent and now is something like 5. Society is coming to terms with this fantasy and most have to work longer.
Puta madre.. is that Mike Duffy ……LOL LOL<LOL
#8 LadyInWaiting on 02.18.15 at 7:37 pm
I am a LadyInWaiting and not happy about it at all.
That being the case, can’t you just call off the procedure?
Dee on 02.18.15 at 7:41 pm
“Fully-invested TFSA with an RRSP holding the rest, 60/40 balanced portfolio and all”
That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard a woman say
We have about 250K net annual population growth in Canada, mostly due to immigration – since hard core Canadians are actually dying. (BTW – Garth – did you contribute?) Within 10 years they can absorb most of the housing that is on sale. And I would not count on the basement dwellers , they will just switch basement and contribute to mortgage payments of some hardworking immigrants or buy/rent a condo. It will not happen rapidly either, unless some external shock develops.
Also please do not forget some of those babyboomers are quite well off and will just “donate” in kind own home – promoting their prodigal offspring from below the grade level. It happens all the time…
#10 Dee on 02.18.15 at 7:41 pm
A woman that talks sensible finances. Rawr. I mean… ROAR (bears roar right?).
Are you single?
Speaking from X side, I’m thinking I’m in the minority here, but I’ve never actually relied on the Y side to provide for me, work for me or cater to me. I am married, but I don’t rely on his income. I make a comfy six figures.
I would be absolutely fine renting. He loves the house more than me (mostly for the yard and the view). I don’t anticipate having OAC or CP or whatever by the time I retire (25 years, give or take a few). So we save 20%/yr to invest (thx Garth), have adequate life insurance, RESP for the one Y teen we have left at home.
My advice: Look after yourselves. Don’t rely on another person for security. Don’t be lazy. Donate your time. Don’t be greedy. Get an education, and PAY YOURSELF FIRST.
GT, you do like to fan the flames sometimes…but it is a valid question, one that needs to be asked.
My humble 2¢: I believe the female cohort representing a higher percentage of those who lack any retirement plan, stems from a complete and utter lack of financial education in many (most) cases. Financial literacy is not taught in public school (it should be), and if there is no one else in the family, or immediate peers to offer useful, practical advice growing up, then that individual is on their own to figure it out. Some do, many don’t.
This applies to both men & women.
If one doesn’t realize this necessary (to create wealth) knowledge is missing early in their adult lives, and does not make the effort to invest the time to self-educate, they are at a disadvantage.
I suspect if these stats were broken down by age group, they may still skew negatively towards women, but they would indicate a higher percentage of Gen X and younger women who DO have better financial acumen and some form of retirement plan. I also suspect that Boomer and older women in this mix may skew the numbers. I don’t believe that the much higher percentage of homemaker women of days past had much access to financial literacy education, NOR likely the interest to learn as back then it was still pretty common for the husband to provide the income. Double whammy as they approach retirement completely unprepared financially.
Mix in cult of consumerism, trying to out-do your colleague/friends/neighbour, costs of keeping up appearances and that would also have a larger net negative impact on women, although the younger female cohort I believe is likely doing better in this regard than their predecessors. It is critical for many younger women to be seen as successful, and accumulate the material trappings, (even in some cases if they are drowning in debt), as they need to swim with sharks, so to speak, to be taken seriously in their careers, even today. Combine with the fact that according to Govnt’s own stats, there is STILL a pay gap happening based on gender in many professions, so the ladies are in some cases, also making less for the same work. It is narrowing, but still persisting. Sad but true.
I have also witnessed quite a few male financial train wrecks (faaar more than the females) in my peer group so personally I don’t yet see this bias playing out in my own circle for the most part, these are just my humble observations.
I would suspect some of the older Dawgs here will have a very different experience / analysis ;) …
#7 Catalyst
Food for thought while you are hiding:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/computer-programming-used-to-be-womens-work-718061/?no-ist
Garth, unfortunately this study hits dead center in the bullseye, it’s right on. I am one of those boomers and I’ve cashed out my real estate and living off of pension and portfolio but many many of my friends and spouses and ex spouses are right in the boat you describe. I’m retired but companies keep hiring me back for skills and long learning curve that they don’t want to train or pay the youngsters for. I feel bad doing it at times but lots of my peers will step in and say yes if I say no.
Many of my buds are paying for their kids real estate endevours or supporting them in the basement. Most of them don’t believe their house value could go down, and additionally will have no trouble selling their house when they need to. (in for a surprise I’m afraid)
In terms of the many of the women being hooped, I agree with that assessment in the study also. Unfortunately many women I know didn’t plan ahead enough and sadly ended up single and having to support themselves when it is too late in the game to get set up with a nice job and pension.
It’s going to be tough for a lot of people, I think lots of people are going to end up sharing accomodation and expenses to survive, similar to how many 3rd world cultures survive in old age.
Garth, you ask:
“How did this happen”? It was well articulatedd years ago.
“People never want to look at the present: people live in the rearview mirror because it’s safer, they’ve been there before, they feel comfort. Anybody who looks at the present is a threat, a nuisance in the extremist degree. The present is an area that people have always avoided throughout history – the utopias of mankind are all rearview mirror images of the preceding age”
Marshal McLuhan, The Seven O’Clock Show, CBC Television. 1967
You nuisance you.
Percentage of wrinkles expecting to be retired by 66: 27%.
Percentage of Canadians employed in public service: 21.2%.
Coincidence????
(Note: 21.2% is the 2010 figure; certainly in Ontario after an additional four years of McGuinty/Wynne fiscal impotency we’re likely higher – despite Steve-o’s best efforts)
Therefore, lesson three: forget post-secondary education, forget an ambitious career: get in with a government gig after leaving high school and Peter Principle your way to the Sunshine List and Freedom 55.
Hey Mr.Turner, I and my wife which happen to be both women are not house horny, we read this blog everyday before we go to bed. Does this makes us sane or insane?
I don’t know what it is. My MIL is particularly bad. She just bought a huge brand new house for more than her budget. Originally she had been looking to downsize into a condo. I am not sure why she didn’t just look for a nice rental, but her belief is that “Renting is throwing money away.” I am sure showing her the math would not convince her otherwise.
Garth, did you read the fed minutes out today? Are you willing to even consider the logical conclusion they are not moving rates this year?
I would point out there may actually be a higher percentage of “truck nutz-sporting, abs-flexing, Harley-hugging WOMEN” following your blog than you may suspect…
I think part of the problem is everyone knows alot of people that have made money in real estate and not many that a material amount of money from investing. Maybe it’s a chicken egg thing because not many are investing so …
Catalyst#7
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I think this is a pretty good summary .
You wouldn’t know if your neighbours portfolio was going great ,but when they sell their house 3 days after listing for a good amount more than they paid for it it’s hard to resist .
Everyone I know in Vancouver attributes wealth to real estate which as we know is not true ,but that’s the mentality here at the moment.
Gen-X lady reader here.
Maybe some of it is generational. I know that many of the women of my parent’s generation (boomers) were homemakers, childminders, part time workers etc. (not all but many) and didn’t have much input into the family finances other than budgeting for groceries. Oh and the only way they are leaving their house is when they are removed by the coroner.
I hope my generation is doing a better job.
We poor Xers are sandwiched between the boomers and millennials so we had better.
Waiting patiently for the primo jobs that the boomers won’t leave and being run over the millennials behind us – gotta have a Plan B. And that would be assemble as much *&%! You! money as possible.
If I may interject (and sorry, Garth for the use of the eye-dialect spelling of the “T-word” in Quebecois, I see the alternate spelling has been approved for comment)
There are two principles I discovered true beyond any doubt since I started questioning the “whys” in the wake of the GFC:
1. Money is a token for promises.
2. The economy is a barter system for those tokens.
Bonus (life experience): Good things happen slowly, bad things happen fast.
Do what you wish with the tokens: invest (or not), save (or not), barter for booze (or, ummm… nevermind), but always keep in mind the two principles above, and the fact that D has rammed its way into the building.
Good thing you said “Almost 70%” because it certainly doesn’t apply to all women.
I like “this testo-drenched, truck nutz-sporting, abs-flexing, Harley-hugging blog” and I am “kind enough to respond”.
Is it easy ? It is not. Our only priority in life is not investments, but I agree, it should be pretty near your very top ones. It is for me anyway.
Thanks Garth,
The new norm – boomers helping their offspring with down payments, especially for daughters. Princesses and condos. Especially here in Vancouver. Realtors like Rennie have made it quite clear the boomers are sitting on a lot of dough (bank of house) that will be dispersed to help their kids with house and condo purchases. Yet another realtor propagandist using fear tactics, your kid will never own without your help, to squeeze money from the source. If and when prices fall in Vancouver some families will be left holding the bag on more than one underwater property. They will be working till 80, or until death or house do them part. Freedom 80, the new norm?
I’m in my early 30’s and I have a company pension (defined contribution, self-directed investing). I learned well from my parents who opened my first bank account when I was 5. I’ve always loved saving money. I started working at a very early age. I love working.
I rent and plan to for the long-term unless the market takes a big dip. I like that I don’t have to worry about anything accept rent increases, which are small when they happen.
I’m now fully invested (just over $40,000 – TFSA and regular trading account), thanks to your guidance and a lot of extra reading on investing. I used to play it too safe in my 20’s, but I’m now addicted to investing. Balanced, of course. And I have no debt.
I always update an expenses/income/savings spread sheet to see how much I can save (invest) and spend on extras each year.
As an independent woman, I know I need to be responsible for me and make sure I manage my money in the best way to secure my retirement (I want to retire at 55) and make sure I’m taken care of in general.
Why don’t most women have a plan? I have know idea. I was never like that. I always had a plan and goals. I’m getting smarter about it all now. To be honest, most of my girlfriends and I don’t talk about money. Only my BFF and I do, and we’re the same way when it comes to money.
Always enjoy reading your blog, learning as much as I can about investing, and when to finally buy my own place (in Cowtown). I’ve rented for the past 20 years (with my kids) and want the security of not having to move from place to place as it is with house rentals. I’m learning from reading your blogs and will keep saving until it seems its a true buyers market – or at least as close as it will come. It’s nice to get advice from someone more neutral than my Real Estate agent or Mortgage Broker. Thanks for what you do :)
Lies, damn lies and statistics? The Sun Life survey is not boomer based, it’s an uber small sample of working people aged 30-65. The younger cohort are always famously saying they will have freedom-95 or work until they die. I said the same thing when I was young and foolish.
They also think they will never age, get sick and that the workplace ageism that they themselves revel in, will magically disappear by the time they hit, oh 49. Your 27% expect to be working blah-blah-blah covered 3 generational groups.
I also have never met these simple-minded dependent women that you refer to. The ones I know that leaned that way are all pretty elderly, think 80+ and never worked a day in their life.
I believe the survey sample was 3,000 working people and 400 retired. That is large by polling standards. — Garth
#8
Being poor and working forever to pay someone else sucks more. Factor that in.
That’s what today is about.
#35 A Girl Who Invests
I’m in my mid-thirties! Isn’t that something?
Listen, I like the cut of your jib. You’re independent you say? As in – single? Plus no debt? Oh, and a spreadsheet too! My loins are stirring.
You can reach me at gmail.
Hi Garth, just wanted to pop in and give some female input. I’ve been reading your blog for about 3 years, and it’s been great. You’re fantastic and I really wish I had a financial advisor like you in real life.
I can’t speak for all women, but I will share my own situation.
I’m in my early 40s, well educated, and currently am debt free and have about $250k in RRSPs and TFSAs. I just sold my second house (small loss this time after making a killing off my first one). Now I’m renting.
I’m super proud of what I’ve accomplished. It took hard work and sacrifice.
Why are there not more women like me? Well one reason… We just don’t discuss finances. My father never discussed finances with me. I have no girlfriends I can sit and discuss investment strategies with. Nor would I really want to. I think we are more focused on people and relationships than material things.
And honestly even when we do want to discuss finances, we are treated differently. I walk into a bank or a car dealership or put an offer in on a house and I’m talked down to. I’ve actually been asked “do you need to go home and discuss this with someone?”.
I also don’t think women have the same competitive edge men do. I work in a male dominated field, and for much of that time as a consultant, and I really see the difference every day. Guys are just more competitive with each other. Who has a bigger vehicle, a bigger paycheque, the latest bike, gadget, sports equipment, etc. Most women I know could care less about those things. (Which is not great at times, I’ve seen women ask for less money in contract negotiations for instance). So if a women is in a job where she is happy, she may never ask for a raise. If my friend gets a great job with a big raise I’m just happy for her, I don’t feel like I need to one up her.
It saddens me to talk to my friends who haven’t even thought about retirement let alone start paying down debt or saving. But I really don’t see how that will change.
Sir Garth:
If one is looking for “financial freedom” don’t look to the Life Insurance Sales Guy. If you sake hands with one check to see if you still have your watch.
[…] Source: http://www.greaterfool.ca/2015/02/18/lessons-4/ […]
Garth, what you’re not addressing, and it’s the single biggest issue affecting savings rates and why older people have to work and younger people aren’t getting ahead, is the integrity of THE MONEY ITSELF.
The boomers experienced a time in their lives when their money was GOLD AND SILVER. The younger generation no longer has that. We are having our savings dwindled and our purchasing power destroyed every year by the inflation monster.
Sooner or later Garth, you’re going to have to address that very obvious correlation.
You are so full of it. — Garth
On the whole tonight. Way to go ladies. Changing the stereotype.
My mother did not have the opportunity to be financially independent but I knew when I was very young that I did not want to be dependent on anyone for money. I also had no desire to work beyond 60 so I retired last year at 59. Saw too many people work too long to be able to enjoy retirement. I worked for over 40 years, 8 different jobs, one employer. Great company, great company culture, great (optional) company pension plan. I can’t say I knew what I was doing at the time but it made sense to me to save for the future. I signed up as soon as I was allowed. I never missed the money because I never allowed myself to have it in the first place. I have a friend in the Financial Planning industry – she is a CFP – and I enjoy working with and learning from her. She really helped us get financially organized. My husband and I opened a family RESP when we were in our 40’s and our children have graduated debt-free and are gainfully employed. Also in our early 40’s we started contributing to our RRSP’s and in our early 50’s when the TFSA was introduced we signed up for that as well. We have investments, a fully paid house, a vacation & income property in the Caribbean and two fully paid cars. Zero Debt. We eat well, live well, travel and are grateful for everything we have. We have taught our children to pay themselves first, to save for a rainy day, to use credit wisely and to use the services of a financial planning professional like we did. Most important of all is health and well-being. Without it, all the money in the world is of no use.
Love your blog Garth. Thanks for all the advice.
#31 maybe
Naaaailed it. I heartily concur.
#34 Marco
In my old line of work* we had a saying “Freedom 95”. I can count on one hand the number of colleagues** I met over the years that had “any” form of retirement plan. Most planning to work until dead.
*a male dominated workplace
** coincidentally(?) all women
Why we women are more risk-averse, without trying to generalize too much:
I find men more obsessed with building an empire, many men would love to be Warren Buffet and George Soros and control the world. This leads to more risk taking in stocks, leveraged ETFs/mutual funds and derivatives in an effort to pursue this goal. I don’t know many women who are interested in conquering the world (lack of female dictators maybe?), so they invest in lower risk vehicles e.g. GICs, high interest savings accounts and low risk mutual funds and ETFs.
Some women, even in younger generations, like Generation Y, still let their husbands handle most of their investment assets. I have met some women who don’t know how their spouse/partner invests their money after the household expenses have been paid. Societal pressure really isn’t to blame (especially in Gen Y where gender inequalities are less noticeable than in previous generations), I think they just trust their spouse/partner enough to look after the both of them and then it’s just one less thing to worry about in life while they focus on the kids, their spouse/partner and family (aging parents, siblings, cousins, in-laws, family get-together/celebrations seems to be left to women to take care of).
Some women with defined benefit plans may think their pension and CPP will cover most of their expenses. Many have not really looked into how much they will get when they retire, I have met some who just think, ‘I will worry about that tomorrow, I have enough on my plate’ (e.g. the spouse, kids, extended family etc.). And while 44% have no pension, it would be interesting to see how many of those women have spouses that do have enough to cover retirement for the both of them (again, men who dream of building an empire) – I do know some women in that boat.
I think more women would probably be better at investing if there were more women who were investment advisors. I am in the financial industry, stay informed about changes in the industry and take lots of financial courses, when I sit for my exams I find the percentage of women taking the exams is less than half probably around 25-40% depending on the course. I am asked all the time by women (and some men) what they should invest in and what to stay away from – I am not an investment advisor, so I encourage them to find one they do trust to create a portfolio specific to their needs. If more investment advisors were women, women would feel more comfortable asking these questions to their advisors. I am sure there are many men who are approachable and trustworthy, but when you see the some of the men in finance on television/online or visit your local bank, insurance or investment firm; some come across as arrogant and as intimidating as an investment broker in a Hollywood movie. If I wasn’t knowledgeable about investing, I would probably stick my money in a GIC rather than dealing with one of these people and risk losing my life savings.
Living in a multicultural city, I have many friends of various cultural backgrounds; I haven’t noticed a significant difference in why women don’t invest. It’s mainly for the reasons I have stated above.
And there you have it, but this is just my opinion.
bobs ur uncle: from your link:
Well, male programmers wanted to elevate their job out of the “women’s work” category. They created professional associations and discouraged the hiring of women.
my first programming job (de Havilland Aircraft) was in 1969. The world described in your link is totally unrecognizable.
Sir Garth:
If you want financial freedom, stay away from the Life Insurance guy. The illustrations look great. The results are actually putrid. Take it from a 67 year old still driving school bus because the Life Insurance guy screwed me over 11 years ago.
I also wanted to say thank you Garth for the invitation for female input tonight.
I read through some other women’s posts here, and this is another way we differ from men. We just don’t speak up the same way.
#7 Catalyst
“I think part of the problem is everyone knows alot of people that have made money in real estate and not many that a material amount of money from investing.”
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Nobody whose only asset is a single piece of real estate makes a thin dime until closing day. On that day, life changes to a new mode for those who do not repurchase.
Many just can’t conceive of such a decision. They believe it’s tantamount to a self-transformation from ‘respected citizen’ to ‘shiftless vagabond’.
That’s the insurmountable hurdle for the intransigent wrinklies. A deep seated belief that there is no other way for the common man to succeed except through perpetual title to a piece of dirt. Or a box of air.
Garth has fought this misconception for years. I stand as a testament to the validity of his message. I once owned real estate. The last of it was liquidated 5 years ago when it was clear the run-up was on its last legs.
That wealth is now the heart of an ‘economic engine’ that pays me instead of leaking into a granite countered money pit.
My capital has actually increased while I’ve lived comfortably off the proceeds. That includes the period of the financial crisis of 2008. I did not sell into that market as many of my contemporaries did. I recovered very handily. Many of them are still dealing with the setback.
Just the thought of home ownership in today’s mad market gives me a deep chill.
lesson 3: exploit people who come after you with no pity or shame
lesson 4: be born a boomer
I’m not so sure rates are going up
“Yields on short-term Treasuries fell by the most since August 2011 after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed “many” members wanted to keep rates near zero for longer.” – Reuters
On the positive side, REITs, preferred and lenders like EasyHome and HomeCapital will keep doing well. Insurers, not so sure.
Own everything, nothing is a sure thing.
and another thing
New federal email system won’t be done until 2016
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/new-federal-email-system-wont-be-done-until-2016
The government has said the move to one email system should save the federal treasury $50 million annually, avoid duplication of services, and reduce security weaknesses. It is also a central component of Blueprint 2020, the plan to modernize the public service.
what a bunch of yes men!
before the plan each department had its own email system, I think they were pretty good. The problem with one centralized system is if one is hacked then they’re all hacked.
I suspect that the need for enhanced security in a few specific areas blows up the cost of the whole project. I know that in my area Canadian Soil Information security requirements were quite minimal – it was information that we were trying to publish anyway.
http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/index.html
There’s the tendency to exaggerate security requirements – we need security because we’re important.
So then start your daughters early…
Mom would have me plot her closing stock prices with my kid markers on graph paper daily from the back pages of the G&M, before the advent of the internet. She took investment courses and debate intelligently with her McLeod Young Weir broker. I think I knew what a P/E ratio was at 7. Would get penny stock certificates and silver coins from grandma for birthdays (fancy and pretty and subtly instructive). The women managed the household finances, budgets, knew how to save, invest, minimize taxes, and grow nest eggs.
Interest having been sparked young, I ran investment clubs through school and still share tips with work colleagues. Found my niche in ‘inpact investing’ and social returns – appeals to the softer side.
Financial advisors often struggle to cater to you, and you can visit a financial blog daily and get called “dude” by Smoking Man, that’s typically how it goes.
Frankly I think we’re an underserved and lucrative cohort, accustomed to going it alone. Very much under the radar.
TSX 40,000?? Why not TSX 400,000. Zimbawe had a great stock market in the 90’s. Before– Garth pipes in “wont happen” do some research on the petro dollar and what it means when the US loses this status THIS September!
Dingaling. — Garth
Note to self #1
Find a product or service to sell to the rich professional boomers that don’t want to give up their lucrative jobs.
There are many ways to make them part with their money. Need to find the best ones
Note to self #2
Create a GIC type product to sell to the large population of women with conservative tastes, take their money and invest it elsewhere for bigger gains. Everyone wins – i just win more.
Note to self #3
Stop thinking out loud because people will judge you.
Every generation made sure the generation after them were better off… right up until the Baby Boomers. They just have no idea what they’ve done in their endless pursuit of “success.” Ridiculous.
Wow! Great to see all the ladies posting tonight!
A couple of themes about females being more risk-averse and less financially savvy. Most of the married women I know tend to leave all that money stuff to their husbands, even though they are also working. The only input they have is in how the money is spent, not how it is saved or invested.
Lower paying jobs, taking time off to raise children, less opportunities all influenced the path that many (Boomer) womens lives took. Divorce also had a nasty habit of taking its toll on finances, more on the female side than the male (speaking for my generation anyway).
I’m almost 60, on my own, and learned about investing because I had to. Only recently have I started talking to some of my closest friends about investments and actually joined a women-only investment club.
There are some financially-savvy women out there. And some men that are totally clueless about money. So it’s not just a gender thing.
My uncle, aunt are always so scared of being in debt and having too much real estate in their primary residence or having many properties.
They only own a modest 3 bedroom house worth $250,000 free and clear. It is pretty cheap to maintain, repair and heat, cool, property taxes etc. It costs at most $900 a month.
They can’t stand risk of their market value of investments going up and down and not knowing what money will come in or not.
They saved much more than most Canadians all their lives.
They have RRSP’s, TFSA’s all maxed out, $547,000, $80,000. They put them all in 3.05% to 3.09% 5 year GIC’s just put in the end of November-2014.
They are content with the $102,000 interest it will accrue in 5 years.
They are both retired now at 61, receiving $1,200 from CPP a month and $5,800 a month from LIRA annuities.
It is a 30 year annuity policy, term certain until 2045.
They will just max out each year their TFSA’s $11,000 and have their 2 adult children maximize their $11,000 as well.
They still did find 3 financial institutions with GIC’s that pay 3% 7 year, 3.09% 5 year, 3.00% 3 year, Duca Financial CU, QuintEssential CU, Ganaraska Financial CU.
They loaded up with non-registered money, $350,000. The $10,500 yearly interest will come in handy.
If you plan on buying an over priced box, remember it’s a buyers market and it’s your turn to be an asshole.
LOWBALL EVERY BOX
pay your landlords mortgage or buy into a declineing market and fund your local banker and potentially set yourself up for a major loss for years to come which you may never recover from.
This reset just has a different feel to it then the last 4 that I lived thru.
Tightening labour market,inflation of consumer goods/tax’s,debt everywhere and Canuck buck loseing 20% ,If you own sell/if you plan on buying wait a yr or 3 !
hell this is getting scary!
Different socks…
#21 Vanectodal – too true about the lack of knowledge but even more fundamentally is the fact that back in the day, women were taught to depend on a man taking care of them. Including finances. Yes, even the baby boom women in the swinging 60’s still absorbed that underlying message – marry, have babies, have the man take care of things.
If you think that message has changed due to women’s lib, hah. Was at a club in the 90’s, listening in horror to the women in the ladies. Who were rating the men in the club on whether they had money or were likely to have money. Not one of those women seemed to think that they should make their own money & ensure the security of their financial future without depending on some guy to provide it.
Now throw in earnings. Women still make on average less than men do, even taking into account the much higher percentage of degrees in the hard sciences the ladies have been acquiring in the last decade or more. For every women with such a higher education & the job that might go with it there are a dozen or more whose work & income are in the much lower income range.
Then throw in the price differential between what a woman pays for a service & what a man is expected to pay. Haircut? $50 or more for the lady, $20 for the man. That holds even if ‘all’ the lady wants is a basic trim, no fancy styling involved. Cashmere sweater? Half the material by weight, half the size & twice the price or higher. Men don’t wear nylons which may not last even one wear before having to be discarded. Even at dollar store prices that adds up. And don’t even get me started with fashion & how that adds up, even on sale.
Can women be self sufficient & financially savvy? Of course they can. But until women wake up & start taking care of business (instead of expecting some guy to do it for them) they are going to continue to be much less secure financially.
#40
Great post and way to go. Not n a pat in the back kind of way but in a serious smarts kind of way. You’re right about it being hard.
The guys that are competing are the truck nuts kind of guys. You will never know the guys that have the real money. Its the guy with the beat up pick up truck and torn coat with no gloves. He’s always smiling and never seems to be a hurry to be anywhere. Seems to be going away a lot.
He or she will never tell you just like you keep it mostly to yourself. You just can’t talk about having lots of money like that. Much less investing. People resent you and can’t relate. They don’t think the average working person can accumulate great wealth.
“So here is sexiest tax-trashing growth vehicle Canadians were ever gifted, and they have an 80% failure rate.”
So here is the sexiest
I think it goes both ways.
Generalizing here, but: on average women are more risk averse, less willing to invest in equities, less cut throat in the workplace and less willing to fight for raises than men.
But on the flip side they are also: less likely to have hubris/know-it-all syndrome when it comes to investing, less likely to make panic trade when markets tank (b/c they’re not obsessed to the same extent) and they’re also way way way less likely to be some form of goldbug / anti central bank doomer wackjob
Speaking as someone in in TO I know of plenty of professional women in their 20’s & 30’s who own condos, very few that are big into equities & investing (outside of a company plan). It’s just the way it is.
I’m a mid-30-something female, and a self-professed addict of Garth’s blog. I rent, have my clams invested, and no debt.
I invested money for the first time when I was 13 or 14. My father helped guide me on how I could best invest my humble nest egg. I remember it was satisfying to be paid money, by simply lending it out.
It would be nice if more women were interested in finance. On occasion, I’ll try to introduce some finance info to female friends, but they don’t seem interested at all, and the conversation quickly changes. Generally, men tend to have a better understanding of the way money works and how to grow it.
Why aren’t women more interested? I would have to agree with Garth that women are more risk-averse. Not only that, but they are more focused on raising children, and making sure the fridge is stock.
It is disappointing to me that such a high percentage of women have little to no financial goal. I do think that traditional values are still ingrained, and that some women expect their husbands to take care of them financially in the future.
Thank-you, Garth, for your blog. It’s make a difference in countless lives.
I’d also guess women are a lot more likely to invest in a dead simple ETF / mutual fund passive portfolio whereas men are more likely to think they’re the next Warren Buffett and go all out trying to “pick winners” …… even though it’s proven all the time that active management is inferior
#31 “Maybe some of it is generational. I know that many of the women of my parent’s generation (boomers) were homemakers, childminders, part time workers etc. (not all but many) and didn’t have much input into the family finances other than budgeting for groceries.”
Heartily concur with you #31. I saw this scenario play out all around me and was the first in my family of 5 to relinquish the patriarchial model I was surrounded with and become educated about finances. I am mid 50’s, have fully utilized my TFSA, RRSP, and have approx $500,000 in nonregistered investments in a balanced, diversified portfolio. When I married, I set up a $10,000 RRSP for my husband (who had no concept on how to save and no interest in preparing for the future). I set up and contributed to my children’s RESP’s. I contributed a 30% down payment on our home with inheritance money left to me from my father (my husband did not contribute to the down payment as he had no savings). I worked at a job which had a pension plan. When my ex received his inheritance money on his mothers passing (as his father died penniless) he purchased toys for himself. The imbalance of contributions and his need for self fulfillment at the expense of saving for our families future, and his reluctance to work full time in order to hasten our financial freedom eventually led to our divorce for which now I am obliged to share half of my pension. It is possible marriage break up could also be a substantial reason why baby boomers must work longer for financial freedom as is the fate of approximately 50% of all marriages.
My children are very good savers. My 17 year old daughter has read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “the Wealthy Barber”, saves 80% of her babysitting money with her “pay yourself first” philosophy and is prepared to live within her means by finding the least cost housing possible when she attends university, and is determined to save for her future. It would be very interesting to conduct a poll of women reading this blog and discover the percentage who fit the “survey results” above and the statement “Three-quarters of Canadian woman have no financial plan or goal. Almost 70% haven’t thought about how they’ll afford retirement (now roughly 30 years long).” I expect very few!
Wanted to add one more female perspective tonight.
I’m in my late 30s, married. I’ve been working since I was 16 and investing since I was 24. I work hard and have a great career but no pension plan. I have always planned for the future and continue to do so.
My husband is the complete opposite. He will spend every penny he makes and then some. We have separate bank accounts and if we ever divorce I’ll get screwed.
I’ve always been interested in finances. Sure I would love to have one less headache and leave the finances to my husband but in my case, I can’t.
About half my friends are like me. The other half are clueless when it comes to finances and leave everything to their husbands.
Yes I drool over granite and Louis Vuitton bags. I will splurge and treat myself to something super expensive and impractical every once in a while. But I also check in on my investments about 5 times a day.
I’ve been reading this blog for about 1 year and I’ve learned so much. I’ve tried to get my husband to read this, but he’d rather spend his time watching tv.
Could it be that so many women are ill prepared for retirement because they spent good earning years raising children without financial assistance from the fathers and, therefore, had little left to invest? That was my experience. The divorce rate is high in this country. Lots of working single moms struggling.
Lesson to learn from the boomers: Buy a house so you can be like them, proud homeowners. Oh wait, prices are a bit higher then when they started out, but as they say day to day, you must work hard like them and you too can live the dream.
Time machine back to the 70’s, reminder to wear bell bottoms and bring 30,000 cash. Then sit and wait as prices inflate. “Schooled”
“As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot.”
John Lennon
Garth:
Thanks for turning the podium and the mic over to our friends, colleagues, partners, mothers, sisters and daughters.
Now for me, back to the cheap seats to watch listen and learn.
It’s too bad the media landscape is so littered with contradictory and confusing information, like this survey story saying there is no problem:
http://www.bnn.ca/News/2015/2/10/Majority-of-Canadians-saving-enough-for-retirement-survey-says.aspx
No wonder so many of all genders give up on investing and turn to real estate.
And to talk about a female differential in retirement preparation without talking about unjustifiable lifetime wage differences for women, lack of women on boards and in higher paid positions etc… is just kind of ignoring the elephant in the room.
@ #58 onpar on 02.18.15 at 9:20 pm
Every generation made sure the generation after them were better off… right up until the Baby Boomers.
& @ all the knights in shining armor defending us from the evil generation
_________
Sorry, but every generation made sure they lived better until it was no longer possible. The fact that it has happened to whole generations means, mathematically, that any other large group of people (generations) would have behaved exactly the same.
Sure, even the blame is understandable, because they factually used all resources, placed their sticks around absolutely everything worth a darn, and left the bill to others whom they now blame for being lazy or suffering from ADD, but, mathematically and logically, any large group of people (even those riding high horses at the moment) would have done the exact same thing given the same opportunity.
I know I would have, and I don’t know anyone who would have passed the opportunity. And I happen to talk to a lot of people, from many layers of the pyramid, from almost the top, to the very bottom. None would have passed that opportunity.
50% of the people I am working with are 63+, and they are sitting on the fence about whether to retire, rather bi-polar about it too.
Female Canadians are among the most coddled in the world, and many into their 40’s still need the bank of Mom/Dad. The golden oldies I know are still financially supporting their daughters. Most of their sons oddly enough have it together, weird I know. Must be all that male privilege the gender studies majors keep going on about (degree paid for by mom/dad).
Retirement, where you put away $10,000 a year, and in 30 years inflation had made it nearly worthless and banks pay no interest. Nice.
No one under 35 is even thinking of retirement, they can barely find a job that pays a livable wage. The boomers I suspect will cling to their cushy jobs until they develop a medical condition and can no longer work. Good time to be in elderly care facilities or medicine.
#7 Catalyst on 02.18.15 at 7:35 pm
—
It is true that women are not as good as men in math. School teachers discourage young girls from believing they are good at math, even when they are. The effect lasts into adulthood.
I suspect the problem will fade as successive generations become more accustomed to women in engineering.
#55 Financial Freedom at 40
“So then start your daughters early…”
Very. Well. Said.
It was my Mom’s financial prudence and accounting knowledge, and my Dad’s investing acumen that initially got me on the right path. I am grateful.
Pay Yourself First drilled into my head at an early age, and Put Your Money To Work For You.
Financial Literacy 101. Ideas that in a healthy society should be introduced in grade school for the (many) kids not getting the basics at home.
The first things that crossed my mind have already been covered by the ladies who commented above:
1. A generational thing, maybe in part? Left over from a time when women generally stayed in the home and their husbands’ income and pension took care of them both? I know older women who have never had a paying job. And some housewives whose husband took care of all the money stuff and then when their husband died or they are divorced, they had no idea how to handle financial things and/or had no marketable skills and were basically screwed :(
2. Lack of financial education. This is true for both genders. I actually think this is the bigger, more stubborn problem. #1 might just be making it hit women (as a collective group) harder then men.
I remember getting “financial education” in high school as part of a “life skills” class (you know, the one where they teach you about STDs and showering – yay for well-funded BC public schools!). I suspect this “financial education” was more than what most people got, but I think it was only a day or few. I came out of it thinking that there was an 8% a month savings account somewhere that I was supposed to be putting my money into…LOL. Not very helpful.
It has been a very steep learning curve the last few years, not least because I had to find information myself – because my folks and most of my social circle don’t know this stuff either.
It would be nice to see a more comprehensive financial education given in schools, at least. I think it would help a lot.
I dunno, Mr. T. It’s asking a lot! Anyone would think it was the Internet, it’s so welcoming :-)
You’d like a person to expose her finest assets and future prospects to the hankering hollow hungry eyes of your gruesome gaggle of confused crusties, gambling grumblies and tentative troglodytes…not to mention the loonie-lusting losers*. All that and dubious matrimonial offers…is it any wonder that women are risk-averse to a fault?
* Forgive me people, I just used “losers” as part of my little joke. Everyone here is a winner, obviously!
DELETED
I have another vision, and it is war. Go out and have some fun while you have time. Hide your draft age children.
TOgirl#71
I’ve been reading this blog for about 1 year and I’ve learned so much. I’ve tried to get my husband to read this, but he’d rather spend his time watching tv.
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I watch t.v at the same time ,I just wait to the commercials which are every 7/8 minutes and then read a couple of comments and see if I agree or if I think the person is full of it.
Win/Win.
Mr T.
Put thoughts of a dog-blog far behind you. It’s plain to see from tonite’s offerings that a Match site with financial theme would be absurdly popular.
Ladies & gents, Eric Lascelles’s February economic update can be accessed from phn.com
Usually Eric’s presentation is quite dry, but the graphics he uses this time are quite interesting, informative, and make following along quite easy.
Caution: listening to above audio may make you feel warm and fuzzy, resulting in you wanting to buy something.
We should crowd fund a Truck Nutz franchise in Toronto. Smoking Man’s indigent sons can peddle this, door-to-door.
176 Yogi Bear on 02.18.15 at 1:40 pm
Commercial banks don’t have any exposure to the treasuries and mortgage backed securities held at the Fed. The entire point of the Fed purchasing them was to remove them off balance sheets of the commercial banks.
============
Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful response.
Yes I agree that the banks have no direct legal exposure to any decline in market value of Fed assets. On the other hand, at some point the banks are going to want their money back from the Fed, at least to the extent of the reserves in excess of the amount they are legally required to leave on deposit. If the Fed has developed a trillion dollar hole in its asset base, how are the banks’ auditors going to certify that their clients can still get all their cash back from the Fed? Presumably some kind of federal government support or recapitalization will be needed, which will likely arm the politicians who despise the Fed to try and bring it to heel.
#182 Ralph Cramdown on 02.18.15 at 2:35 pm
#175 Yogi Bear — If the Fed sells at a loss to yield at the market… then what? Who is out of pocket and needs to make up the loss?
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Good question. It won’t take much to wipe out the Fed’s equity. There is also the interest the Fed is paying the banks to leave their excess reserves on deposit. These reserves are cash in excess of statutory reserves that were built up as the Fed purchased securities from the banks under the various QE programs. As I understand it, these reserves can be called in by the banks but they are presently being paid an adequate rate of interest to leave them at the Fed. If this is correct, a general increase in interest rates will either increase the Fed’s interest burden or the excess reserves will start to flow back into the economy generating inflation, or more likely, some of each.
As to who will have to cover the Fed’s losses, I don’t think it will be the Rothschilds. I know the bullion barkers love to tell the marks that the Fed is privately owned by a cabal of sinister bankers. I just don’t see that these financial geniuses would set themselves up for the no-win bet the Fed has made. Therefore the Fed is clearly a de facto branch of the US government and US taxpayers will suck it up. As always.
I think we all know that woman look for a man that can help her survive a zombie apocalypse, while she looks for this character she also looks for a suitable mate to procreate. Optimizing long term gains (monetary)is always top priority! Having said all this however, my experience with money comes from a female perspective growing up in a middle class immigrant household. My father raised 2 girls and perhaps because there were no boys, taught us to be money savey. School was top priority and we are the first generation to go to university. Perhaps there are some women who are as you say house horny, but i believe there are just as many men who like their toys. I could care less what car I drive as long as it gets me from point a to b. My husband on the other hand likes a bit of luxury in a car…sadly not anything close to being called an investment and something that depreciates at that… Why do men like expensive cars? huh?? I just don’t get it. anywho, maybe there are some women who meet your description, but there are some men who do to. Men on this horny blog… teach your daughters to handle their money,and make sure they know they have to have their own credit history separate from their husbands. If some of you wish you can have them read a post by jcollins in which he gives his own daughter advice about money. Anyhow, I enjoy your blog, even if some of you don’t give women credit. When i read something that discredits women here, I just smile and think….little do they know,….little do they know……
Women expect men to pay for the dates they go on. Men are merely utilities to pay for what the woman wants. Men, lose your job, you are gone. Seen it through every recession. Divorce numbers speak for themselves. Courts back women, as they get the house and kids. Women need the house, it gives them control of the money, and the courts make sure they get it upon divorce, of which the majority of women initiate the divorce. This is the truth and is all backed up by the facts, so don’t let the facts get in the way of your insults.
I love women, and there is never a shortage, I just never give them the key to my place. As always, my freedom first.
I always place my Freedom First.
“Presumably some kind of federal government support or recapitalization will be needed, which will likely arm the politicians who despise the Fed to try and bring it to heel.”
What about a gold revaluation? The US has what, 8,000 tons of gold as official reserves? If they revalued that to equal that of the hole in the Fed’s balance sheet, couldn’t they use such to balance off the liability?
Of course, that would mean a much higher gold price, but isn’t that pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point?
#70 Last of the Baby Boomers on 02.18.15 at 9:54 pm
Garth is talking about “investing,” not saving. Very different mindsets.
When will they come out with truck ovaries, I wonder?
I don’t have a truck so I would have to put them on my bicycle…
This is essentially my long term play. When it comes time for me to retire, I expect taxes will be higher, and benefits lower. I don’t even expect to receive a single cent from programs like CPP and EI, even though I’ve been paying into them my whole life. I’m ambivalent about owning (vs renting), but if I were to buy today, I would have no money left over for my long term financial goals, like 70% of Canadians it turns out.
I expect proven energy players to do well in the future. I expect well run food producers to do well in the future. If you’re asking yourself whether taxes will be higher in the future, also ask this: will energy be more important and valuable in the future? What about food?
I also expect growth oriented (equities) and income spewing assets (dividend payers, REITs) to become more desired and relatively expensive. People (and pension funds) will need cash flow, and GICs and governments bonds won’t cut it.
Sadly, few will realize this, even after it’s obvious and too late; hence the 100% certainty taxes will be going up and services will become even more rationed out than they already are.
Lesson three…
Never trust a woman holding a bag full of money…
Ukraine has agreed to increase the cost of gas to consumer by 280 percent, and 66 percent for heating, as part of the IMF terms for getting extra financial aid, says Valery Gontareva the head of the National Bank of Ukraine.
http://rt.com/business/233427-ukraine-boosts-gas-price/
Forget talking finances with the girlfriends. (And I am a female.) We can’t even get past discussing any simple political happenings of the day…..
The country better come armed with pitch forks and torches marching in the streets if Heir Harpo manages to slide Bill C-51 through Parliament……
Hey Freedom First ,what took you so long to chime in you chauvinist pig.
Maybe you were busy preening in the mirror telling yourself how good you look.
Now go make love to yourself.
#88 estrella on 02.18.15 at 10:41 pm
“Anyhow, I enjoy your blog, even if some of you don’t give women credit. When i read something that discredits women here, I just smile and think….little do they know,….little do they know……”
________________
Very true and well said!
Freedom First lives in the lonely paranoid wasteland of a jaded mind.
When men lose jobs they lose all sense of themselves. If it lasts any length of time the wife finds herself living with a catatonic shell and she feels increasingly unable to pull both of them up and out of the hole he is, by sheer inaction and lack of communication, digging deeper every day.
What’s she supposed to do, let both of them drown? Escape is sometimes the only option.
A minister of foreign affairs that cant speak french . What are the qualifications exactly required for a government position ?
No wonder this country is so screwed up! Today your Minister of Defence (never even played a game of Risk) now please you have to fill in for I quit Baird for no reason given, but I still expect my full pension. Disgraceful!
bottom line:
1. boomers will NOT sell en-masse. they’ll die one by one in their homes. Worst case, they’ll downsize – so buy and renovate new houses. Close to city hospitals in later years.
2. Inflation is RAMPANT, ambrosia foods almost doubled some real food prices. 20% inflation is here to stay. Even the organic chamomile tea
3. When the dust settles in 10 years, all the pretenders, know-it-all, posters and people that speak without thinking will be bankrupt or on food banks.
4. I think (and hope reality will prove me right) we have millions of full time jobs for just collecting pay – that drag in itself (no productivity) is going to cause inflation and loss of purchasing power, including houses.
5. Crappy apts (in terms of location and condition) will become the de facto AFFORDABLE standard in Toronto. A detached in a good hood, in a good condition – it will become the unapproachable dream and a LUXURY.
where will you be in a decade -it’s your own destiny to find out. expect young fellas with cardboard boxes around their necks saying “WE WORK FOR FOOD”
That’s the future of Toronto.
Who left the gate open again? — Garth
@catalyst
I’m not sure if you’re trolling by suggesting that women don’t get numbers as a reason why they are not in a sound financial position but I truly hope you realize that this comment is sexist.
Many women leave financial planning to their husbands/partners and are at the mercy of those decisions later in life. They are also disproportionately more likely to be in part-time or low-earning jobs or are under-employed.
Many women in the comments to this post have noted that finances are simply not discussed with their friends. Anecdotally, I find this to be true. Despite the fact that my friends and I are all professionals with careers, the majority of my friends do not discuss finances. I am happy to discuss and debate it (with references to this blog quite often) but I am in the minority.
It’s important that financial literacy be taught in schools and that people educate themselves (both men and women).
Rates aren’t going anywhere except maybe down… RE will continue to soar.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-31527884
US rates will rise. The question is which month this year it starts. — Garth
I’m a female investor!!! YAY!!! Hear me roar! Retired happily with hubby! Both of us under 55 retired! two kids through university away from home, no debt! never had a mortgage! Always saved first then paid the bills second! And what what ever was left was saved again! never bought GIC’s, bonds or ETF’s!! Self taught on common stocks!!! I had a few misses but over the past 35 yrs a lot of wins!!! Seen a lot of stock market crashes and housing bubbles!!! Always got through them!!! The point of my comment is that you have to take responsibility for your own destiny! It knew I didn’t want to work till I was 65 and it was easier for me to make money on real estate and Investments better than working 9-5 for someone else! If you don’t look after your self (and family) no one else is there to look after you! It sure worked for us! Ha ha and I am female!!!
And in other news…
Reports are saying the Fed is prepared to keep rates low for longer. This doesn’t offset the anticipated rate rise later this year.
Oliver may not deliver his budget until May 2015 now?
Race to the bottom is on as BMO slashed rates further today. (Also, it extended it’s recent decision to curb contactor spending beyond Jan/Feb 2015…but I’m not suppose to know)
“Real estate values are unsustainable as debt swells and incomes don’t” Garth
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28 Conrad on 02.18.15 at 8:04 pm
Garth, did you read the fed minutes out today? Are you willing to even consider the logical conclusion they are not moving rates this year
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Conrad…time to start the comprehensive critical thinking. Raising rates is one catalyst that can be a deterrent to buying a house. What happens if your neighbor runs into financial trouble or is just over indebted and ready to blow. That person has to sell, much like what is playing out in Calgary. Desperation sets in and people are willing to take a modest loss to get the hell out – with good credit that is. And the market ratchets down as the next person has to go even lower to get out.
Did the US housing crash occur because rates rose?? It is called being in over your head and one job loss away. I don’t wish for it – just see things in an unbiased fashion.
Unlike Vancouverites who do not think they will be affected by the troubles in Alberta. Do people not fly in and out from the Greater Vancouver Area? I bet a lot do. Are products destined for the oil fields, not made in Vancouver.
The job market is Vancouver is not that great – at least for high paying jobs. Oh yah rich immigrants, yup just like the Japanese in Vancouver in the 80’s early 90’s they left – of course some stayed.
China is cracking down on rampant corruption to ensure political stability. Big deal for them as tensions are rising.
Boomers lending money to their kids to buy houses…oh that’s a good idea. For the most part boomers left high school to work in good paying jobs can their children say the same. Masters degrees popped up in every discipline because there were no jobs -its a holding pattern. What didn’t you learn in your degree that all of a sudden you now have to master in the years proceeding. School is theory, the implementation of theory is experience.
It is hard for me to envision smart people being so dumb…but I guess that keeping up appearances is a factor and then there is all out greed.
When my WW2 grandparents retired they didn’t buy a brand new $60 K truck. They scaled down. Look around you at all the new cars on the road driven by the boomers and also the young.
Yes some made money of real estate buy selling high but I have seen some turn around and spend most of it building their dream houses – yup 3-4 bedrooms, decks, etc etc for two people. Don’t believe me… search the listings in and around Qualicum Beach and Parksville on Vancouver Island. Who will buy there houses if their are no jobs in the area. Whole mountain sides are now over run with houses. At some point the music stops and there are not enough chairs for everyone.
Our political leaders are not competent, at least most aren’t. Isn’t is obvious by now. We will need true leadership to right the ship.
“Freedom First” should rename to “No Sex”
Good luck buddy. I thought dinosaurs went extinct a long time ago.
92 Ruane on 02.18.15 at 10:47 pm
When will they come out with truck ovaries, I wonder?
==================
Actually auto parts that celebrated the female form long predated trucknutz. In particular there were the Cadillacs of the fifties whose twin frontal protuberances were known a “Dagmars” in honour of a prominent actress of the day. There was also Ford’s infamous failure, the Edsel, whose grill was unfortunately likened to … to a … modesty compels me to stop here.
Interest rates on savings accounts were 10%, financial planners did not exist, no one had to spend a dime to earn 10% returns on their deposits.
And inflation made such returns moot. — Garth
Garth,
What do you do with your life?
#8 LadyInWaiting
Wow, really?
Was the hot tub not there when you rented the place? Did you miss it when you were looking at it? Was the landlord not a dick back then too? Did you get anything in writing? Did you find out anything when you signed on the dotted line?
Any decent landlord will be fine with painting walls anything you like. You just have to paint it back when you move out, or maybe even not of the place is up for renos anyways. But guess what. A home owner has to paint them back too (while still living there) before they sell. How much of a haircut are you taking if you try to flog your house with pink and yellow walls throughout?
Finding a rental takes as much due diligence as finding a house to buy. Sadly, most renters do zero, then are shocked, shocked! when things don’t just magically work out their way. “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
As for your comment about rents, they’re more than fine in Vancouver. That’s the whole point. Rents have barely kept pace with inflation, while prices skyrocketed. Maybe you need to look in places that are more within your means, and leave the city for people with money.
Harper the economist and mail boy is on the job.
Nothing to worry about folks – 10 years and $200 billion more in the hole. Neo con nonsense – cut taxes transfer wealth to the rich – no money for pensions or EI for the lazy plebs. Harper promised a free lunch – enjoy your jello in the squalor of your rotting house.
Well Garth, if you read the minutes from the Feds, you will conclude that the rates are not going to increase in 2015.
The illusion of wealth over the last 30 years in the western world has been created by inflating debt bubble with free money. We all know to create wealth you have to make things that the rest of the world wants to buy. 60% of consumer goods are made in China, they are the only once creating real wealth. They can go and buy choice properties around the world and not even ask for the price. Yes, some day your prediction of GTA RE collapse will be correct, but not because the Feds are going to increase the rates. That is not going to happen, but the credit bubble will burst.
I read them. And you made all that up. — Garth
JSS on 02.18.15 at 7:00 pm (yesterday’s post)
#218 Blowhard on 02.18.15 at 6:39 pm
Ref. your friend in his 60’s…
I find it disturbing to hear of folks in their 60’s with still a mortgage. I’ve heard of so many couples in their 50’s and 60’s who had paid-off homes, only to go buy another house and inherit another mortgage. Why? answer I’ve mostly heard – “because I worked hard and deserve it.” And also…”well I’ll keep working into my 70’s”.
WTF is a matter with us Canadians? Don’t we want to retire a mortgage no later than 50 so that the money can now be redeployed into income assets (stocks, bonds, etf’s, etc.), in order to give some monthly income?
************
Hey JSS,
I can’t help you out with the WTF question.
It simply boggles me too. We used to hate work when it was run by the establishment.
But then again, I’m a sailor who was mortgage free before 40 and then spent money on wine, women and yachts… the rest I just wasted.
So now, 60 or sooner is the cut-off. Monthly budget can be as low as 4K including travel and it looks like the portfolio can be spinning off 70K or so.
Comfort. Thanks Garth for nagging us enough that I got a FA to help out.
Livin’ the dream mate.
@102
I don’t understand how a woman with a good grasp of financial matters would take such a passive role in her own future.
Engineers, programmers, investment analysts (math oriented jobs) tend to be male dominated. It’s not my opinion, its just the way life is.
So I don’t think it’s a sexist comment, just people who are so busy being PC can’t talk about anything these days.
#39 Ray Skunk
I guess dating someone new in my 30’s will be a whole new ball game if being debt-free and spreadsheets are a turn on for 30-something men. It definitely beats that 50 Shades of Grey crap.
“Women look for guarantees when it comes to financial assets, but are willing to take huge risk and leverage on real estate — because it’s perceived as safe……..But it’s the females we should worry about most. Totally hooped. Three-quarters of Canadian woman have no financial plan or goal.” (Garth T.)
‘Why, oh why, are we female boomers like this?’……from my perspective on the ‘distaff’ side and moving into the 6th decade….I would echo the first part of #21 vanecdotal’s contribution.
Also, with the profound cultural shift we lived through in the 60’s and 70’s, many young people distanced themselves (at least temporarily) from traditional roles and pursued higher education, travel and ‘other experiences’. This meant that many women postponed work, family and child rearing until their 3rd and 4th decades (if at all). For many nuclear families there was little or no extended family support or adequate day care and women’s careers were often disrupted during their child-rearing years. Family savings and work benefits may have been minimal.
N.A. baby boomers were in their thirties when we suffered through ‘the great inflation of the 1970s, which began in late 1972 and didn’t end until the early 1980s’. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/1970s-great-inflation.asp
I think the stock market (until the end of the 80s) was seen in a negative light.
In BC we boomers were in our formative years when we witnessed the demise of the Vancouver stock exchange. “At one point the VSE listed about 2,300 stocks, a great many of which apparently were not very successful. ….Ultimately, the VSE is an example of one of the world’s less successful stock exchanges.”
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/vancouver-stock-exchange-van-.v.asp
So yes, from my perspective it’s easy to see why many boomers (male and female) perceive real estate to be at least as safe as the stock market. Plus you can live in your asset. We can also assume many people believe property means stability. There is great cultural and psychological significance to marriage, home ownership and children. These things bind couples together (for better or for worse!).
Of course, if life goes smoothly and sickness, death, divorce, frequent relocation and unemployment are avoided then families flourish. However, for many women and men, life may not have been so smooth and family support may have been minimal. Those people may suffer financial hardship in their latter years.
Having said all that, I am happy to rent and happy to have a balanced, diversified and liquid portfolio. Thank you Garth!
OK, here’s my female perspective:
* For a woman, I have a high-tolerance for risk, meaning I’m willing to gamble a little stocks for fun (although I should have learned my lesson by now), but my investments are mostly diversified with ETFs. Investment portfolio is doing fairly nicely, and I’m committed to continue making it grow for retirement.
* Have some money (probably too much) in safe stuff, but it was an inheritance (so not credibly mine) and it’s there as a safety net so that whatever happens, I don’t have to go cry and beg to my parents. I figure I owe them that much, after all I terrorized them by hanging around on the upstairs floor (too much of a luxury goose for the basement) until I was 23. Now they can enjoy their retirement.
*None in corporate RRSP mutual plan pension-thingy…they do have a matching plan but it kind of scares me the way the fees are hidden…I guess I should get over it and get with the program. I just like seeing exactly where my gains and losses are coming from.
* Nesting: doing it, but without kids, and without a house. I like having the freedom to move, although I don’t really have any concrete plans to go elsewhere. Even if I was married and had a couple of kids, I’d continue renting…it’s a financial no-brainer at this point in time. The boyfriend and I nest in a nice rental with our kitty and plants, our TVs, blogs and fine cuisine ;-)
* Now for the war of the sexes: Freedom First (#89) and gut check (#99) you are both right because you are both playing into stereotypes. I’ll admit it: I love shiny things and I love it when guys buy me shiny things, and when they make or help make, or buy me dinner, but I also like to spoil my man with awesome toys and meals too. I think people have to live by their own rules. Happier alone? Then stay unshackled and enjoy the freedom. Need a partner to thrive? Enter coupledom. Just try to appreciate every single moment.
I am a lady (most of the time) and a baby boomer (heavy on the baby part).
When I turned 12 (’72), parents told me I had to find a part-time job (and I did). Parents also told me to save my part-time earnings in the bank for anything “extra” and for the “future”. And I did. Parents also told me to buy a house ASAP. And, yup, I did. I also put in a suite so that “renters” would pay off my mortgage. And they did.
In retrospect, parents, teachers nor any other authority figure ever taught me a thing about “investing” those savings (beyond CSB’s). All I recall is the “savings” message. Got that one loud & clear.
By 20, figured out all by my little ol’ self that living within ones means was critical, that debt sucked and took away all ones freedom or options.
After finally growing up (i.e. after reading Garth’s pathetic blog for the last few months), realize I could have done more w/my money, made my savings work harder for me over last 40 years or so.
In the end, however, I believe the key to my (mediocre) financial success was in fact staying out of debt all these years — not falling victim to consumerism or feeling like I needed to keep up with the Jones’.
Just one lady’s story.
There would be plenty of jobs to go around if this government would put a halt to immigration. Oh, but that is racist.
We could inbreed and have mullets. Great idea. — Garth
So over 60% of the 30 – 65 crowd polled expect to be working past 66.
Something’s not jiving with the BC Liberals calculation of 670,000 boomer retirements for their 1M new jobs plan by 2022.
http://www.bcbusiness.ca/finance/bc-to-see-1-million-job-openings-by-2022-thanks-to-boomers-sort-of
#107
In all fairness to FF, he never implies no sex, it’s just unclear what with…..
DELETED
A call to all girls for comments on financial competence? Ok, I’m a girl and a year ago I followed the advice of one of the blog commenters:
A.) Go to Canadian Couch Potato (a blog on investing. Globe and Mail calls it “the best investing blog in Canada.. wtf??!! what about Garth’s??!)
http://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios-2/
B.) Pick an option from the model portfolios. There are 3 portfolios with pros and cons listed for each. I chose Option 2: TD bank e-series funds. It took a bit to set-up; the whole “open an online account with TD Canada Trust or (preferably) a TD Direct Investing discount brokerage account” was tricky. I needed help from the bank which is kind of against the whole e-fund idea. You’re supposed to set it up yourself online. That is why the MERs are so cheap. (0.44 and 0.50%) This step cuts out the annoying visits to the investment advisor’s office where you’re thinking, “Am I getting screwed?” Never again.
C.) Rebalance yearly: on a certain date, or when you get some extra cash to invest, or when the ratios are more than 5% out of whack. You can pick when to rebalance, and you do this from your home computer. It’s easy to rebalance. That’s the buying low, selling high part. Make all four numbers worth 25% (or whatever your asset allocation is.) Only grade 7 math skills needed here. Yay!
In 9 months, I made $700 on $7000 invested. That’s way more inspiring than the CIGs and the advisor’s hand-picked mutual funds I had with RBC which brought in -$50 over 5 years. (yes, that is minus fifty dollars after MERs and fees were gathered. Fu@&er$.)
I would like to thank the person who posted that advice.
I am investing in the market, with very little financial and investment knowledge, by myself. Thank you Garth :)
..and I’m single ;)
#90 Mark on 02.18.15 at 10:45 pm
“Presumably some kind of federal government support or recapitalization will be needed, which will likely arm the politicians who despise the Fed to try and bring it to heel.”
What about a gold revaluation? The US has what, 8,000 tons of gold as official reserves? If they revalued that to equal that of the hole in the Fed’s balance sheet, couldn’t they use such to balance off the liability?
Of course, that would mean a much higher gold price, but isn’t that pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point?
====================
The US has close to 9,000 tons. At $1,200 per troy oz that comes to just over $300 billion. If you want it to be worth real money, like a trillion dollars, it would have to reach $4,000 per oz. You would still have to figure how to get it from the Treasury to the Fed without igniting political WWIII. That’s assuming the gold is really still there which is a long shot according to conspiracy theorists.
“So, enfants, that’s the choice. Repeat the mistakes of your parents, in a less forgiving world. Or relive them. Just don’t expect a different outcome.”
They don’t expect a different outcome but they will expect their trophy at the end.
Devon Energy is saying they have reduced their cap expenditures by 20%, but expect their oil production to increase by 25%. The reason is better technology and efficiency of the newer fracking processes. They believe the oversupply of oil production will not abate in 2015 because of this. This does not bode well for the price of oil, for the $CDN and for the Canadian Oil industry in general.
http://wolfstreet.com/2015/02/18/the-chilling-thing-devon-energy-just-said-about-the-us-oil-glut/
#8 LadyInWaiting
Please Lady, this is your LIFE! Quit being depressed and get the hell out of there (the apartment and Vancouver).
I’m 100% sure you can do better, but that’s going to depend on you giving up on that sob story (I know from experience, because I tried self-pity in the past and it only brough me misery).
Good damn Jack.. Deleted.
The value of the deletes go’s up. Sorry Gartho, my cuz got his prostate choped out, started thing about my mortality, he’s a week older that me. Diapers for him form here on in.
I decide to get hammered tonight, might be dead tomorrow. One more buzz is all one can hope for.
I came across con te petrio tune.. Though about my nephew, he wore number 6 on his hockey jersey his whole life.
You fall off a 150 meter cliff, you got six seconds to think, what was going thew that kids head. Six seconds.
But I know the difference between the three tribes I mentioned..
One secretly eats bacon, the good.
Next One is crazy. Fairy tail in the sky.
The last, Smoking Men, takes one to know one.
Good night.
Reasons that 75% of women wouldn’t have a financial plan:
1. General societal acceptance that women are capable of handling our own financial futures is only about 1-2 generations old, depending on the company you keep (perhaps still nonexistent if your company is really questionable). Many women in this country were raised to believe that they should depend upon their husband’s financial judgment.
2. Women make less money on average, so like other people on the lower end of the income scale, they are more engaged in day-to-day survival than planning ahead.
I’d like to see that figure for women with financial plans broken down by generation and income level. I expect it improves substantially as the data set gets younger and higher earning. Financial planning isn’t inherently gender-based, it’s socially conditioned.
Risk aversion is genetic. Most women thankfully do not have the gene that allows them to engage in something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soDfhgAfJeM
It’s a man thing. But mother nature likes to ensure survival of species and has her own methods for cleansing the gene pool. It’s simply a matter of time.
Unless time stops, in 200 years no one will care about the baby boomers. Until that blessed day we must live alongside each other. This epoch we seem stuck in reminds me of the twenty years of hell I call “the Parton, Delouise, Reynolds aberration” No one alive at that time ever thought those idiots would ever fade from view. They were in every movie, every commercial, everything imaginable until they weren’t. And following the law of punctuated equilibrium so the baby boomers must go. Their music tramples and dominates all other music to the point that an entire generation of musicians have been overlooked and kept off the air. They totally demolished any hope of a normal life for their own kids, and have had a massive impact on all aspects of culture. Maybe by the time I’m 80 in another 40 years it will be over. No more “American Woman!!!!!!!!!!!” screeching out of every Canadian radio four times a day. No more Beatles re-re-re-release albums. No more. The time for change came a long time ago. No one paid attention. That’s why I work everyday in the hangar with a 75 year old man. There are absolutely no employees at my place of work younger than 25. It’s totally insane. There is an entire generation of people missing from our business. On the other hand the whole place is clogged up with old men who have licenses and jobs they wouldn’t even qualify for now because they jacked the requirements to the moon to protect themselves from their own kids lol! What a bloody mess
A very small amount of the over 66 that still work are university profs. A lot of these guys are in their 70s, come in every day for 4 hours, maybe teach one course every third semester, and co-supervise some hopeless grad students. They are all on the sunshine list and might deserve to be for something they did 25 years ago. But if they retired two fresh profs could be hired in their place.
#89 Freedom First
I agree. Women are so dumb when it is question of money. They always spend all what they have (and even more).
I think women lack the ability to think for the future. They try to fully live their present in expense of the future.
#10 Dee
Are you American? If so I am pretty sure you are not allowed to have a TFSA
Garth, you begrudge the nearly dead their pittance OAS, and now I see you do not want them to hold on to their jobs either. What is left? Drinking the cool-aid, I guess.
I know, I know, you have a solution. But read #20, they visualize no OAS or CPP 25 years on.
Funny thing is that 30 years ago, during a long bear market, the same dire predictions were made about the social retirement safety net, but the advocated solution was completely different! It was…wait for it…. Invest in real estate! Rental properties to be exact. Worked for me, and paid of my mortgage. I think they call that the Zeit Geist.
A lot of the guys I used to work with in government are late 50’s early 60’s and are planning to stick it out to the bitter end. AND THESE ARE GUYS WITH FAT DEFINED BENEFIT PENSIONS.
Why do they have to keep working
1) paid big bucks for the kids’ education
2) took on big mortgages so they could buy the Victoria dream home
3) no savings other than pension
4) spending like drunken sailors on crap for their houses and a couple new cars every few years
The thing is none of them like their jobs, there bosses all the way up are younger, and they have been sidelined as pretty much irrelavent.
Freedom 65 is what they wait for.
#115 Catalyst
“Engineers, programmers, investment analysts (math oriented jobs) tend to be male dominated. It’s not my opinion, its just the way life is.
So I don’t think it’s a sexist comment”
Seriously? What decade are you from?
I’m a mechanical engineer. 30 some odd years ago when I was in university, female engineering students were not that plentiful. Now, I’m working with as many female engineers as males.
Maybe you and Freedom First should consider becoming roomies.
@Trojan House(?)… thought it was Horse….
Thank you so much for your comments. Believe me my daughter would love to “invest” but will not be allowed until age 18. As a substitute she is relieved to know her low risk RESP is earning 10.79%. She knows all about balance and diversification.
@ Freedom First “Women expect men to pay for the dates they go on. Men are merely utilities to pay for what the woman wants. Men, lose your job, you are gone. Seen it through every recession. Divorce numbers speak for themselves. Courts back women, as they get the house and kids. Women need the house, it gives them control of the money, and the courts make sure they get it upon divorce, of which the majority of women initiate the divorce. This is the truth and is all backed up by the facts, so don’t let the facts get in the way of your insults.”
Having represented myself in Supreme Court through a very difficult divorce case, I can vouch the system has thoroughly progressed from your antiquated viewpoint. It is truly 50/50. Women do not “get the house”, unless she provides 50% market value to her ex, and until it is tested on the market, no one will truly know what that value is. The house is often sold, and the value distributed 50/50 between the parties. The courts decide what is in the children’s best interest and often it involves a shared parenting model. There is no financial benefit to “getting the kids”, and nor should there be; however it should be a 50/50 cost sharing for which it is not. Through my experience, the parent living the greater time with the children bears greater costs.
Trade the drama …and have some boring stuff = easy +15% annually.
It’s the unusual woman who can stand to foray into these boys clubs and self-teach ourselves about finance. I’m Gen X, so I got enough chutzpah drilled into me in school to put up with this crap, but I’m probably about 99% more strong willed than anyone out there. Point being the boys club atmospheres in almost all financial media and math-intensive educational and work environments are most of the problem. Testosterone, sure, my NORAD commander dad taught me to shoot a gun at six and lay bricks at eight. I can handle hanging with a macho crowd. Sexual harassment and stereotypes, however, not so much with the positive contributions to women’s economic empowerment. We really, actually don’t want to read that kind of tripe. Go figure.
Women encounter lower pay and poorer job opportunities across the board due to lingering iniquities in education and our shamefully inadequate childcare system. Consequently, as a demographic overall we still inhabit a lower economic status than men. Many Boomer women in my family are simply resigned to this. It’s been ingrained into them their whole lives. In the fifties and sixties women were generally still raised to be nurses, not doctors; secretaries, not UN ambassadors. Some Boomer women from the lower and middle classes were lucky and ambitious enough to be able do second degrees in the 1980s at public universities, like my mother, but it came with great economic hardship for the family at the time. I can’t imagine this has been an option available to the majority of the older Boomer women. (Those raised in the 70s fared somewhat better.)
Gen X women of some means, we’re somewhat better off opportunity-wise, but, ouch, the outright discrimination and harassment at the tops of most fields for us – still – it’s very, very ugly out there for career advancement. I’ve been shocked in my thirties and forties to find out this was the case. We were told everything’s fixed fixed fixed equal now, and that’s really a load of bunk once we get into the upper echelons of our careers.
So in essence less economic freedom = more financial anxiety. That’s the way I see it.
#24 Funky
” . . . Marshal McLuhan . . . ”
Seems to me that people are not usually aware that he was an ordained Catholic priest; Northrop Frye who taught at U of T at the same time, was an ordained Methodist minister.
C.G.Jung: “Not everybody lives in the same century.”
Me: Not everybody lives in the same century all of the
time.
Rhetorical query for Mr.Turner: In what country on what Utopian planet have old people not been known as comparatively poor?
It would appear that a great number of blog dogs could be more accurately referred to as blog bitches. I think that if a comment comes from someone who has a gender neutral name, most people would be inclined to assume that they were male. No doubt many of the female blog dogs keep their names neutral to prevent others from making assumptions based on their sex.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_hlMK7tCks
Well, as only one of a few female readers of this blog I will say as a business owner I’m NOT risk averse and have educated myself on all things financial from the time I was in my teens. I like the idea of owning real estate (and do) BUT do get and agree with the value and importance of diversifying. I do know a few men of varying ages who believe real estate is King (and will only go up), buy UP in a home as you get older as a so called solid investment. Hmmm, go figure. Guess we don’t all fit nicely into the box Garth divides us into.
Oh, yes, I also know at least three women who own(ed) motorcycles (and love Harley’s) and as many men who don’t like them. I personally love vintage sports cars.
YIKES!!!!!!!!
“U.S. crude stocks rose by 14.3 million barrels last week, data by industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed after Wednesday’s settlement, compared with analyst expectations of an increase of 3.2 million barrels.”
It’s the middle of the “Heating Season” and it’s been a Hellish winter on the East coast. Yet, oil inventories are rising? What’s up with that …. eh?
The Middle east is turning into a free fire zone and Putin is telling the President of Ukraine ….. give up. Yet, oil prices are dropping again after a brief rally.
Used to be … a rainstorm in the Gulf of Mexico was reason enough to jack up oil by $10.00 a barrel.
Peak oil … anyone???
Suckers will pay taxes for the Boomers retirement.
Brain Drain 2.0
I’m going to the states if our taxes rise. Texas baby!
Post 120
You are correct.
But you can’t say that on this blog. Once the truth is exposed, this blogs finished.
Lack of female financial accumen? Maybe because most women despite feminism still want the guy to be earning the dosh?
Why bother learning, just find the right guy..
What was that comment on here the other day? Two YVR 20 something women overheard talking about a new boyfriend. First question was out of friends mouth…”does he own a condo?”
Women’s fundamental evolutionary drive right there… to find a capable provider for her future kids.
The phrase ‘gold digger’ exists for a reason…there is no male equivalent. Men don’t care about a woman’s financial status, only that she’s good in the sack.
The financially aware woman is a rare entity. This forum is self selecting.
Most womans drive is to pair/mate with a strong provider and raise a family. She regularly ‘gives it up’ in return for safety/provision. The core basis of our entire society.
However she’s subject to evolutionary Hypergamy…..divorce forums are littered with bitter guys whose wives deserted them after they fell upon financial hard times.
This gender imbalance is purely evolutionary. Being financially aware is part of the provider role, i.e. The Male.
Ok Garth, thought I’d bring some estrogen into the mix. I’ve been following your blog for a few years but first time posting, since you asked so nicely ;)
Player Stats:
…………………………..
*Early 30s
*University Educated
*Occupation: Educator (both private & public systems)
*Newly married
*Financial Teachers: Mom/Dad=”save your $”, Garth
*Maxed out TFSA? YES
*Retirement funds (RSPs, Mutual Funds…)? YES
*US Dollar Reserve? YES
*Rainy Day Stash? YES
*Life Adventures? YES, lived/traveled/worked in Europe for a couple years. Why I add this fact? Because I didn’t chase the ‘rich boy’ or wait around to get wined and dined by ‘good enough for today’ boy. Earned, spent and saved my own $.
*Housing? My hubby fortunately purchased a home 12 years ago before this current housing disaster. Had it rented, now renovated and we currently live in our humble abode with the basement rented. It’s currently worth around $600,000 more than he paid in a “desirable” West Coast area. Housing prices are simply insane here! Sure, we could sell and invest the profit, but for now we’re happy with our simple life. Yes, I’m very fortunate for a smart, loving husband, but I don’t ask him for expensive gifts and fancy dinners so we don’t have a problem paying down our mortgage and still enjoy a couple vacations a year.
Soooo………..
Are all my lady friends this prepared for the future? Not a chance! Many women (and men for that fact) are simply under-educated when it comes to finances (myself included). Here’s a hint boys: Women like security. Once upon a time GICs provided financial security in it’s simplest form. Where does one who is financially illiterate (for lack of a better term) turn to for financial security in these modern times where the government continues to punish responsible savers?
PS – Might as well ask you for some advice while I’m here. Is there a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ time to purchase ETFs? I just don’t trust our economy.
Thanks for the blog Garth.
Gosh, I hate long posts ;) -sorry
Cutting off ‘Double Dipping’ by unionized civil servants will create a lot of opportunity for today’s youth unemployed. Recent UNI grads are shut out of professionals like policing, teaching, administration, engineering, crown corps etc by civil servants who retire to take a full government pension and then ‘contract back’ into their same jobs to collect double pay and double benefits…aka ‘double dipping’.
If someone doesn’t want to retire…fine…but don’t let them bath in the public trough and collect a second wage for the same job plus benefits while the youth unemployment is close to 40%. It’s unethical and immoral. Make the greedy have to choose between collecting a government pension…or working for the government. But how can these people look themselves in the mirror knowing that if thier practise had been the norm when they were coming into the job market they might not have the job they hold today. Stop the piggishness and get the jobs to the people who can most benefit from them.
#109 Bring back the 70’s
Garth -And inflation made such returns moot
———————————————-
Garth, you do remember that..
In the 70s despite higher inflation, relative prices were far more reasonable.
And while inflation is important, it can be mitigated.
How? Spend less. Keep your car longer. Repair your appliances. Grow your own food.
Spend less!
What a concept.
The 70’s was far less about consumption than the economy is today.
In fact in this time frame the economy was still about building and selling goods to others, as opposed to buying goods from somewhere else with money we borrowed from someone else, or some other country.
Yes it sounds so old fashioned.
How did they live with 3 channels, rotary dial phones, no internet and no Snapchat?
Life must have been so boring.
Yet those that spent less and saved, were rewarded.
Today, those that spend, and spend more are encouraged.
Those that want to save, without the risk of crazy market fluctuations, never ending ‘financial planners’ (read mutual funds salesmen) with no client fiduciary responsibility, and markets that are consistently manipulated by those with vast resources or through millisecond decisions made by machines are told:
‘don’t save, invest’.
‘It’s the only way to build your wealth.’
In today’s wonderful globalized and indebted world economy , that may be.
It wasn’t always the case.
In the past some were happy to save, others were happy to invest.
Both were effective.
The saving option has been crushed due to misguided government policy in response to the outright greed and fraudulent actions by some of the largest firms all of which which profit from flogging a multitude of mostly incomprehensible investment vehicles and not boring ‘savings’.
This is perhaps the greatest irony of all.
The savers of the world have been taken.
The female demographic in our society is pretty catered too. They hold the most public sector service jobs. More of them are in university and graduating at higher rates then men. Laws in general are more lenient and in favor of women, think of divorce courts and custody laws. They are a protected class of people, and I am sure if they have issues in the future they will be looked after by big daddy government. They are a huge demographic and voting block that I am sure NDP or liberals would love to make promises too.
I believe people who are worried about running out of money or not being able to retire, consider moving to a second or even third world country especially if you have an ancestorial link to that country. Cost of living is very cheap and the Canadian dollar goes a lot further in such countries.
I have quite a few financially secure, investing-loving, independent female friends. One in particular got me onto this blog about 2 years ago and thanks to your advice Garth (and my dad pushing finance articles on me since my early 20s), my portfolio is now reaching 70k, growing at about a grand a month. I’m debt free, and kicking back in the Mediterranean, picking up some private teaching work and waiting for friends to come visit!
#’s: 97,99,107,122
Thank you all. You have shown how people respond to the truth. I understand why Smoking Man says he hates most people. I don’t hate people though, as my expectations of people are extremely low, as they should be, as all you have to do is read the debt levels and financial stats Garth gives us on a daily basis. Why on earth would I ever live with one of you? Sex? Married people don’t have sex.
Well GT, way to flush out the fairer feminine canines on the blog… clever.
If you were fishing for your next book idea, (a l’il something in investment advice with an estro-centric twist perhaps ? – if not – Hello Under-served Market) with this post, let me just say Well Played Sir… *claps hands slowly* well played…
i see poor old ladies all the time in hamilton. they raised their families and moved away and their husband died from the toxins at the steel plant and here they are. they get buy on the small few thousand in pension then the goverment cheques. thats it, they wait for what i call the calender, the 5th of the quarter are hst cheques, the 10th is trillim benefit, 20th is child tax benefit and 31st is the goverment pension/welfare/disability cheques. you can tell by the traffic what day of the month it is.
women dont make any money, they are poor, choose to have kids, a big mistake, trust a guy when he saids they will look after you for life, etc etc, then they are on their own in old age, poor health and wealth.
see it all the time, the full cycle, the stupid 19 year old single mom with a stroller, to the 70 year old lady living in a one bedroom subsidized apartment at 525 month.
when you work for minimum wage, and never anything better, thats the high end of their wage cycle, the bottom is the goverment welfare cheques in various forms. this the minimum and maximum lots of women face, like millions of women in canada. major demographic problem. dont choose to be a women, generally more stress, unappreciated by your kids, make less money and end up poor and alone.
#39 Ray Skunk on 02.18.15 at 8:31 pm
#35 A Girl Who Invests
I’m in my mid-thirties! Isn’t that something?
Listen, I like the cut of your jib. You’re independent you say? As in – single? Plus no debt? Oh, and a spreadsheet too! My loins are stirring.
You can reach me at gmail.
Geez, isn’t there a Mrs. Skunk? I’m not so sure getting a girlfriend is the best way to increase household income and net worth!
#152 I am not a crook
I travelled to Cambodia once. There’s a country where you don’t need ancestral ties to live.. just take a bus to Bangkok every 6 months and get your passport stamped. Costs about $5 return if you don’t get ripped off. Technically you don’t need to go all the way to Bangkok, but they told me that it doesn’t feel right to cross back and forth on the same day.
Ran into expats paying $3/night for a hotel, they bought their own appliances and furniture and the hotel provides security.
OTOH, some of the expats told me about how all about their woman troubles in the West have been dealt with by handing out the occasional $20 bill. An elderly Italian man told me that it was an easy choice for him. His wife doesn’t let him see his kids and the alimony meant that in Italy, he would be working to his grave. Tragic, but understandable.
Trouble with Cambodia is that medical care, while affordable and reasonably competent is limited to open air nursing stations, and the police only work from 9-5.
Interesting place.
On behalf of Boomers across Canada who have the best pensions, cradle to grave benefits, lovely homes and so on, I have one thing to say.
You’re welcome.
The formula for retirement planning isn’t all that complicated
– If you’re working, you’re investing. Full stop. Never earn a paycheque without contribution. Adjust your lifestyle accordingly.
– Pay yourself first, always set up automatic deductions
– Don’t overestimate your lifestyle needs. You can be comfortable and happy with less stuff. This lets you contribute more.
– Avoid employment gaps (extenuating circumstances aside). A year’s missed contribution can easily become a year’s missed retirement spending money.
– “What doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get done”. Monitor your returns, compare to the market’s performance. If you’re not at or better than the indexes, you’re likely too safe.
– Focus on growing the pot (investing), not adding to the pot (saving), although you are always adding to the pot. The only reason you add to the pot every month is because we live in this reality that employment income trickles in every few weeks. The contribution is the detail, the growth is the focus.
– Never touch the pot until you retire, (extenuating circumstances aside). A new car isn’t it.
– “Time in the market” is more important than “Timing the market”. Just keep pushing in your money. Start early in life if you can.
– If your lifestyle comfortable by your own standards, and you get salary increases/bonuses, adjust your contribution upward.
– Plot out a “life at a glance”. Figure out i) planned retirement income ii) current and future contribution rates iii) assume growth/inflation rates (say, 6% and 2%). Lots of tools out there, or use excel.
My math tells me that to retire on $6K a month, you need $1.3M in the pot, roughly.
Yes, these things are easier with better employment income. Its tough on entry level pay. But people do it.
And if after all the above you have money to spare, only then can you afford vacations in Fiji.
For myself, I violated the rules:
– RSP home buyers plan
– Going back to school to retool. This, it turns out, did accelerate my earnings.
#116 A Girl Who Invests on 02.18.15 at 11:46 pm
You have no idea how in demand you are! You’re right up my alley…
Garth, you need to set up a dating area on the GF website, where the profile information is financial literacy and portfolio diversification!
Canada to pay entire cost of Detroit-Windsor US Customs plaza”
Is it possible that the U.S is looing at Canada and its smug media and apparently generally well to do populus (home owner wise anyway) , and considering that if canadians want to trade with the Americans then, “Build your own Bridge”….
After all, for 100 years 1/2 the compies that built the Ontario economy were American. That somewhat benefited U.S but was everything to Ontario Canada.
Everything has its day…
Ontario had a robust industrial economy for the last 5-10 decades but the cracks appeared 20 years and widened considerablly in the last 5 years.
I’m forcasting that the next 20 years are going to see a greater deterioration of this industry in Ontario and a positive but slow recovery to industry in the neighboring states like Ohio and Michigan.
Labour intensive industries simply can not afford to do business in Ontario with high energy costs and households requiring a salary of 60,000+ / year.
I will give you an example for those who are too worry about housing crash.
If my home cost $700,000 and I panic and sell. I will have to rent a place, similar might cost 3,000 utilities included.
Let’s say you stay 5 years waiting for the “crash” and paid $180,000 in rent/utilities ( no to mention possibility of moving more than once because landlord panic and want to sell). I think is better keep house and if you need to sell your home 5 years latter you can take 500,000. It is your home, you only have one live and one house. People with “investment” properties are the ones who should worry about it.
To Sale your home and invest does not feel right for everyone, you might panic and sale low and make even richer other people. Don’t sale your home if you don’t have to and don’t panic in the event prices go down.
#60 – Frank Wilson
If your aunt and uncle live in Canada and have money in regular Canadian banks their funds will be protected under the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corp. (CDIC)
There are a few rules, of course. A GIC (not linked to the stock market) is covered for up to and including 5 years. (not 7 years) up to $100,000. Your aunt and uncle could have up to $100,000 in each of their names, plus a joint account, per covered financial institution.
Money in Credit Unions, however, is NOT protected by the Canadian government. It is protected by the PROVINCE your aunt and uncle live in. I have even come across some bank employees selling GIC’s that are not aware that credit union’s are NOT protected by the Canadian government.
Deposit insurance on savings in the big banks is meaningless. — Garth
A “dingaling” for knowing the history of the petrodollar and the fact that EVERY fiat currency in the history of the world (over 70 just in the past 100 years) has gone to its intrinsic value of 0!
GreaterFool Rule #7: Anyone who uses the words ‘fiat currency’ usually has none. — Garth
So, like, give us this extension tomorrow, and we’ll take care of things later.
Efharisto poli!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ6xBaZ92uA
About 95% of Canadian men are manginas and don’t realize it. They think that calling their wife the boss and having her in charge is totally normal. In fact, in Canada, Womens and Mens roles are reversed from the natural system. Women are in charge and look and act masculine like Men do in Male power societies, and the Men act submissive like foreign women do in male power societies. Most men here have never known anything else, and assume this is the way it is everywhere. If they stood up to their wife, she would divorce him and he would have to give up half of what he owns and pay alimony just like in the USA. So marriage here is fraud, but most men don’t realize it because they are so desperate to get a woman they sign the contract and become slaves. Canada was recently picked as the best country in the world to be a woman. They forgot to mention that any country where it is the best place to be a woman is probably the worst place in the world to be a man
“Liquidity means a portfolio that can be converted to cash in a few days .. ” – Garth
What happens when the bid stack vanishes?
When did that happen with quality securities? Oh right. Never. — Garth
I am a middle age housewife who is at home taking care of my husbands mother who has Alzheimers. My husband has a good job and supports the family. I support him. I also care for my own aging parents and two teenagers. I make great meals, and add a lot of love to my family. Along with my menial labour of looking after meals, lunches, elderly and laundry I take care of investing. So many people have no respect for women in my situation. Unpaid work seems worthless to society, it is done by women generally and gets little respect. Get a job, why are you not working, she must be lazy…. Women are as hard on me as men.
I concluded long ago our finances are like my other household jobs.
So, I started with taking my Canadian Securities course from home, reading technical trading books, studying stock charts, reading about economics. I started making trades in a brokerage account and have done and do well. There is a wealth of information available. There have been few times where I have made more money than my husband took home in a month.
Year over year we continue to grow our nest egg. Retirement for the husband at 60 is pretty much a done deal.
I keep our portfolio’s diversified and invested. We also bought rentals and I managed them for a while before selling them recently. I am interested in tax strategies to keep us from paying taxes unnecessarily. This all began because at some point early on we realized the banksters were only in business to make money off of us, not help us. We have no debt, we are renting (my idea), we are going to be more than fine during our retirement(God willing) because we started planning during our 20’s. Paid off our first house when I was 32. TFSA full, RRSP, all self directed.
I think women get a bad wrap in this blog. Too many sexist comments too. In general I see as many men as women who are illiterate about finances. It is a choice. Cause and effect. I agree with some of the posts that say that financial literacy should be taught in school.
That of course would not be supported by the big corporate banks would it? The government may not like it if our children did not keep the economy ticking by being good little consumers of debt.
I disagree how women are perceived to just want the granite countertops and do not think about long term consequences of debt. It is not just women. It is society in general. As Canadians we can groan about running out of money before we die… but look around at the rest of the world, even our poor can get fed and housed. Our life expectancy is one of the highest in the world.
The majority of people have nothing to say to me when they find out about my menial job… they see only the surface, not the substance. Hey, Garth, could you be seeing only the surface of these granite licking female cohort? Do you think they do anything other than lust after a better house?
How many men lust after a better car or toys, a shop for those toys? It is the same greedy monster that pulls people down into debt. The banks promote it as does the consumer oriented society we live in. Education costs are astronomical so some of our young people are pickled in debt before even really entering into mainstream society.
Even people with Alzheimer’s can enjoy the moment, food, family and love. In the end the granite countertops are not even noticed. Where is the actual “value” of society at? Not at the nursing homes, and we all may live long enough now to go to one of those.
#168
I couldn’t agree more. Getting married and having kids is a huge risk for a Canadian man. Great way to go broke.
“U.S. crude stocks rose by 14.3 million barrels last week, data by industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed after Wednesday’s settlement, compared with analyst expectations of an increase of 3.2 million barrels.”
Alberta is finished. Oil back under $50. RE going to be worth 50k in a few years.
…But it seems women are more risk-averse… – Garth
Maybe so, they are also more into the «building the nest» thing.
But most importantly they are more financially illiterate than men (who by the way are not so great at it either…)
#127 RayofLight
Nice find Ray and it explains why
“U.S. crude stocks rose by 14.3 million barrels last week, data by industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed after Wednesday’s settlement, compared with analyst expectations of an increase of 3.2 million barrels.”
Go read Ray’s post and maybe you will understand why the oil sands is finished and why they are doing an orderly shutting down of the oil sands maybe forever. Alberta is finished.
Germany just tells Greece to pound salt!!
Well Garth, I’ve got to hand it to you. If 3/4 of women in Canada are financially illiterate, you have attracted some that are financially savvy to your blog. Congratulations!
Maybe you need to send out Amazons to do female-only financial seminars across the country. Although not as sexy as house-flipping seminars.
#118 Cici on 02.18.15 at 11:52 pm
Mental Accounting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_accounting
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mentalaccounting.asp
“Rather than rationally viewing every dollar as identical, mental accounting helps explain why many investors designate some of their dollars as “safety” capital which they invest in low-risk investments, while at the same time treating their “risk capital” quite differently.”
“Mental accounting is subject to many logical fallacies and cognitive biases.”
Best,
HD
@lala #168 :
“In fact, in Canada, Womens and Mens roles are reversed from the natural system. Women are in charge and look and act masculine like Men do in Male power societies, and the Men act submissive like foreign women do in male power societies…..Canada was recently picked as the best country in the world to be a woman. They forgot to mention that any country where it is the best place to be a woman is probably the worst place in the world to be a man.”
*******************************************
Don’t cry too much. Your male power societies are still very much in style.
The worst of them perform genital mutilations on young girls or murder their female babies – by the millions. Alas, foot binding is a thing of the past but stonings and public executions of girls who have been raped are still readily available.
There is no global shortage of this “power male” yang energy. Far from it. There’s more than enough international yang to cancel out the weaker yin energy of the Canadian male. Extra yang flow will be directed wisely. Some will be used to forever dominate and oppress a large percentage of the world’s women. Any leftovers will go toward a permanent state of low level war.
A good relationship (ANY relationship- husband/wife, parent/child, platonic friendship,etc) isn’t about power… or money. This site needs a good psychologist.
Mom at home – chapeau !
@ #124 Hannah van Eck on 02.19.15 at 12:09 am
Great job. Way to go.
Best,
HD
New Alberta exports, weed and water. Have at it before BC gets in the game when their RE crashes. Crosswalks are not built until someone dies.
#162 CTO on 02.19.15 at 9:19 am
“Canada to pay entire cost of Detroit-Windsor US Customs plaza”
The Ambassador bridge is a hornet’s nest of corruption. Bridge owner Matty Moroun is the poster boy for everything that’s wrong with US politics. Moroun held up a new bridge for years, mostly by buying off Michigan legislators with bribes thinly described as campaign contributions.
Critics point out that Moroun’s opposition is fueled by the prospect of lost profits from his duty-free gasoline operation at the bridge. It was estimated he made almost $.60 cents a gallon profit on each fill up.
Michigan’s wiley Governor Rick Snyder found a way to bypass the lawmakers and the rest as they say is history.
“Of course, that would mean a much higher gold price, but isn’t that pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point?”
Why would we have a much higher gold price?
Especially because, if I understand correctly, you see deflationary world ahead
Never understood what is the difference between gold and any other commodities anyway. If anything gold has less uses in the industry than other commodities …
#170 mum at home “I disagree how women are perceived to just want the granite countertops”
Really? You think men willingingly watch HGTV? You think an unemployed man has no trouble dating?
The entire house purchase process is female driven in relationships.
A primary long term objective of women when dating is pining down a guy who is financially stable and can support her with a roof iver her head.
If he becomes unemployed long term his value to her drops off a cliff.
Ask me how i know…
How about this McKinsey report…
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/majority-of-canadians-are-saving-enough-for-retirement-survey-says/article22880582/?cmpid=rss1
“US rates will rise. The question is which month this year it starts. — Garth”
Why is it important when exactly the rates are going to be raised?
Maybe they are going to be raised later than June. Maybe even next year. Why does this matter?
What is important is the tightening trend, and I believe we are close to the point when raising rates will be more beneficial for the US economy than not raising them
62 takla
“pay your landlords mortgage or buy into a declineing market”
——————————-
Correction: pay half your landlord’s mortgage and enjoy living in his house. The other half is up to him.
#78 D.D. Corkum
“It is true that women are not as good as men in math. School teachers discourage young girls from believing they are good at math, even when they are.”
—————————————
That’s not how I remember it. Sometimes I think I grew up in a different country. The girls were generally the bright ones in my elementary school.
Most of them were goody-two-shoes and teacher’s pets. They excelled at fractions, percentages, times tables and other things the boys found to be painful drudgery.
The boys excelled at soccer and spit balls. If memory serves, many were too dumb to pound sand. The tiny handful of smart boys eventually turned out to be gay.
“There would be plenty of jobs to go around if this government would put a halt to immigration. Oh, but that is racist.
We could inbreed and have mullets. Great idea. — Garth”
This poster doesn’t understand what he is talking about
Here in Toronto, a lot of economic activity is revolving around providing “services” to the new immigrants
car broker/insurance broker/housing broker/mortgage broker …
If the immigration was ever to stop, even for a few years many existing jobs will be gone
And, as an added bonus to being a Canadian Boomer, we didn’t have to plod around the jungle in Vietnam but did invent the pill, free love and unprotected sex.
Now I have a nice home, pension, benefits to die for, no wife and I still don’t use a condom. Yup, it sure sucks to be a Canadian Boomer
With more boomers continuing to work, that is an indication to me that less of their homes will be coming to market. However, it also means less good jobs available for Gen X, Gen Y and Gen M to afford the homes that do come to market.
Women obviously have an instinct to look after and provide a stable lifestyle for their family. Renting throws a possible curve ball into that equation, if you can’t find a good, stable, long-term rental, you might be forced to move. Home ownership does have it’s benefits (if it doesn’t bankrupt you).
#183 Crusty Clarke on 02.19.15 at 12:15 pm
———————————————-
You cannot generalize from anecdotal evidence.
Such as my experience, personally and through my friends, typically it has been the guy that has pushed the home buying issue.
Safe Stuff (40% of Total Portfolio)
20% Variety of bonds
20% Preferreds
Growth (60% of Total Portfolio)
9% REITs (~8%)
17% Canadian (Large / Small Cap)
17% US (Large / Small Cap)
17% International (Large / Small Cap)
Newbie here, is that the ideal portfolio Garth?
Thanks.
#161 Danforth
I like your idea! In my experience it’s hard to find a man with sound financial goals and plans, and who actually cares about future financial security. The madness!
“Liquidity means a portfolio that can be converted to cash in a few days .. ” – Garth
New question: What happens to quality securities when everybody sells at once?
There are buyers for each. Next question? — Garth
Boomers might be running out of options too, if not all of them can sue their children:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/woman+sued+children+support+loses+case/7901917/story.html
Shirley Anderson had sued her children citing the rarely used Section 90 of the B.C. Family Law Act, which allowed elderly parents to sue their children for support.
“The cases that have held up in the past included the stipulation that a child is entitled to meet his or her own expenses first and if there is money left over, the parent can look to be paid. Where there is estrangement that was the fault of the parent, that estrangement could disentitle the parents from support,”
Gen X girl here, risk taker.
Like so many who have already posted, I am fortunate to have had financial skills taught at home by my mother, with lots of role models of women managing money in my family — my great grandmother ran a massive farm as a widow, my grandmother was the town treasurer, my mom went to business school, and my cousin manages a fund for a big mutual fund company. They provided, and my mom and cousin still do, a chance to talk about money and investing in a girl talk context, which has been amazingly helpful. My female colleagues, not so much. Their mantra is that real estate will always go up and that everyone should buy a house.
I am diversified in a way that makes sense for me, and which includes real estate within Garth’s Rule of 90. I love “risk” and returns financially, and got my money into USD over a year ago. But, my girly side also loves real estate, too — just not as an “investment”!
Gentlemen, The Queens!
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/02/19/john-baird-greets-queen-in-london-as-foreign-affairs-minister.html
#21 Vanecdotal on 02.18.15 at 7:52 pm
—————————————-
Financial literacy definitely is being taught in school these days:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/surveyliteracy.html
“…shutting down of the oil sands maybe forever. Alberta is finished.”
Why do you repeat the same message, so often?
What is so good about Alberta being finished? As I see it, this would mean a substantial revenue drop for Canada, diminishing transfer payments to “have not” provinces, as well as CMHC losses, which means tax payer losses …
Doesn’t sound that good for the ROC ….
#186 “What is important is the tightening trend, and I believe we are close to the point when raising rates will be more beneficial for the US economy than not raising them.”
Bingo. I guess never say never (*cough* BoC fluffers *cough*) but expectations should be that the cost of borrowing money will be going up, not down. People should plan accordingly and not try to play chicken with the CBs and bond market.
#191 Bottom’s up….”it has been the guy that has pushed the home buying issue”
Anecdotal evidence…..
Getting married and having kids in a nutshell.
Replace “light” with the whole experience of marriage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTUQyEr-sg0
#168 lala on 02.19.15 at 10:15 am
All of this is due to feminism. You can see clearly what it did to our society. Maybe Canada is the best country to be a women, yet I am pretty sure this is not the country where women are the most happy.
I consider today marriage as a very high investment risk (for men) with a very few return. Many mens woke up and no longer wish to engage.
#98 TOgirl
#88 estrella on 02.18.15 at 10:41 pm
“Anyhow, I enjoy your blog, even if some of you don’t give women credit. When i read something that discredits women here, I just smile and think….little do they know,….little do they know……”
________________
Very true and well said!
____________________
Ditto. And I do not want to elaborate further.
“I still don’t use a condom. ”
Yeah, I’m sure that monthly penicillin shot makes up for it. Hopefully nothing long term.
+++
Garth, baiting the sexes just diminishes the financial discussion and gives voice to the He-man Woman Haters Club members here. And it seems most are from that era anyway. We should just call them Grumpy Old Men.
I am letting them hang themselves. It’s going well. — Garth
#134 Jeff
#89 Freedom First
I agree. Women are so dumb when it is question of money. They always spend all what they have (and even more).
I think women lack the ability to think for the future. They try to fully live their present in expense of the future.
____________________________
So, there is a God after all. Jeff and Freedom First really do not desire to be with dumb women. They prefer to be alone. Smart women do not want to be with #134 Jeff and Freedom First. Everything works out in the end, doesn’t it? Everybody’s happy in their respective corners.
I’ve tried to bring my wife upto speed on how I’ve invested for our retirement. Tried to get her to read Wealthy Barber, etc…
She’d rather play games on her ipad.
Also checking out my grade 9 son’s maths syllabus. In B.C. he has choose which math options to take in Grade 10 and above, one of 2 options. One option covers household financial planning, mortgages, loans, investing, etc.
Why is this an option? Why isn’t it mandatory? Why does he have to learn a load of calculus crap he is never going to use in real life, yet actual usable maths that everyone should understand is an option?
#82 nonplused: Second, let’s look at how women (and society) evolved. Women sell their reproductive abilities for assistance from men. It’s been that way probably 1,000,000 years. They don’t save, they screw. Men buy children from them.
_________________________________
I am speechless. I doubt that this would be posted if the comment could not be done anonymously.
It should not have been posted at all. I apologize for having missed it. Now deleted. — Garth
164mark
If you own your house outright and have sufficient funds on a side then maybe is good to keep it in long term, provided you look at a 30-50 years time horizon.
If you sell and rent then your rent is variable cost, it does not need to be 3k, it could be 1.5 k. based on changing situations.
But most people own not houses but huge mortgages and the effect of dropping house prices and increasing interest rates on people with 85-90 % outstanding mortgages is devastating both financially and morally. They might never qualify for renewal after the first 5 years.
Bottom line:
The time of the artificial housing supper bubble that drives close to 50 % of the Canadian economy these days (construction + banking + insurance+…) is faster and inevitably running out and we are going to face very soon the dire consequences of it. The idiots in key roles have pushed it that far that even currency crash and capital controls might not be able to prevent free fall of our economy.
Canadian dollar will be the first to crash and burn with all the consequences. Japan’s and US’s situation are much better. Just pick the pop corn and watch it out.
There will never be a time when a house (turned into credit derivative highly leveraged ‘saving’ instrument) will be ever worth that much in terms of productive assets alternatives (e.g. dividend stocks,) as in the peak of this bubble, courtesy of misled and wrong financial and monetary policies and in same cases, frankly speaking, stupidity and idiocy of politicians.
#183 Crusty
How do you know?
This is my experience.
My husband was terribly ill for almost 2 years. He could not work much. At points of adversity one can either get bitter, or realize there are no guarantees and go on while counting blessings that we do have.
I stuck by him thru the worst and will stick by him for better or worse. His value did not diminish when he was
ill and needed a lot of my support.
There is tremendous hurt in the world. Being unemployed is tough on people. If a spouse doesn’t choose to love you, it is a terrible thing. People get burned all the time by both sexes. Those “burning people” have to live with their own conscience.
Look carefully to make sure the people you let into your life have a conscience. Due diligence, my friend, just like buying a quality company stock or a good used car.
You can tell a tree by it’s fruit, that goes for both sexes.
When a family member gets ill, and you have no debts it takes a lot of pressure off and one can concentrate on the important thing, people and getting them better or being there for them even if they won’t get better.
Note: Lots of boomers are going to plan to delay retirement further and then they will fall ill unexpectedly. Then, they will not be able to delay it. Too much debt reduces options.
Also, marriage is like a deck of cards sometimes we get a crappy hand. No one has to play the game. Cause and effect.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-slump-could-briefly-dip-canadian-inflation-negative-172350553.html
OTTAWA – The turbulence of the global oil slump could briefly nudge the Canadian inflation rate into negative territory this spring, a senior Bank of Canada official said Thursday.
But deputy governor Agathe Cote said even if the rate dips below zero it would not be considered deflation, which would require a decline in consumer prices across the board.
We either have:
1. A deputy governor of BOC who does not know what deflation is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deflation
In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services.[1] Deflation occurs when the inflation rate falls below 0% (a negative inflation rate).
or
2. Our inflation measures do not reflect the general price levels of goods and services.
In both cases:
Be very worried.
#188 “If the immigration was ever to stop, even for a few years many existing jobs will be gone’…
and most universities would face huge layoffs as the backdoor to Canadian citizenship closed for large numbers of their foreign students.
Well, I love the postings from the wonderful ladies here, level headed, responsible, i find that incredibly attractive
I wish to add that only because I have an interest in this stuff I was able to educate myself
I made so many mistakes, its unbelievable (and continue making new ones)
But, just turned 53 and thinking of semi retiring in 1 year exactly;
I have 1.2 M $ in invested securities, ETFS etc at BMO-NB & TD Waterhouse
100K in cash , at ING and BOM
150K or so in a condo that ive had for 5 years and has not moved one red cent (Investment property)
and finally my 450,000 Paid for house
Base o n garth’s rules, im 33% in Real estate or so, and falling as I add to pile.
Do I have enough to retire on, if I invest it 60/40 and take out 3.5% or 4% ; I dont wish to touch the principal, just the dividends and the less income the better
Regards!
JM
PS ladies, Im single and looking for a level headed lady such as the wonderful ones that posted here. Please apply soonest at email above
The downside of life
… perhaps sun life is looking towards annuity products or
and the upside of death “defectus causa pestilencie”
Social and Economic Effects of the Plague
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/plague/effects/social.php
#87 Andrew Woburn on 02.18.15 at 10:40 pm
Yes I agree that the banks have no direct legal exposure to any decline in market value of Fed assets. On the other hand, at some point the banks are going to want their money back from the Fed, at least to the extent of the reserves in excess of the amount they are legally required to leave on deposit. If the Fed has developed a trillion dollar hole in its asset base, how are the banks’ auditors going to certify that their clients can still get all their cash back from the Fed?
The Fed has a virtual printing press. It is not possible for the Fed to become insolvent under a fiat system, unless Congress put some kind of restriction on their ability to “print” money. On top of that there is virtually zero possibility the Fed or US government does not respect Fed liabilities because it has the potential to cause a financial meltdown.
#182 Ralph Cramdown on 02.18.15 at 2:35 pm
#175 Yogi Bear — If the Fed sells at a loss to yield at the market… then what? Who is out of pocket and needs to make up the loss?
A Fed liability is ultimately a liability of the US government aka the US taxpayer. But taxpayers won’t be “paying” anything directly if losses are incurred. The indirect effects relate to loss of confidence in the US dollar and other market forces (such as inflationary pressures).
The Fed cannot become insolvent under the current rules. It can inject fresh liquidity to counteract any losses. As long as people remain confident in the US dollar and the Fed tightly controls the “real” money supply to check inflation, they can continue to operate in this fashion.
BoC: Oil slump could briefly dip inflation into the negative
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/boc-rate-decision-to-be-based-on-close-study-of-economy-risks/article23073653/
The plunge in energy prices could send Canada’s inflation rate into negative territory “for a brief interval” during the second quarter of this year, Bank of Canada deputy governor Agathe Côté said.
Speaking to a lunch audience in Mont Tremblant, Que., Ms. Côté said the central bank expects total Consumer Price Index inflation to bottom out “slightly above zero” in the second quarter, but allowed that there is a possibility it could briefly sink below zero…
Ms. Côté indicated that a dip into negative total CPI inflation, caused by a severe drop in one component of the index, shouldn’t be cause for concern that Canada might slip into a deflationary spiral.
“Rest assured: Even if inflation turns negative for some time, that would not constitute deflation, which requires a generalized decline in prices,” she said, adding that with Canadians’ longer-term inflation expectations still near the bank’s 2 per cent target, “there is no reason to fear deflation.”
5 robots coming to a field near you this year – Farm Industry …
farmindustrynews.com › Farm Equipment
Mar 3, 2014 – says roboticist Stewart Moorehead, who heads up John Deere’s robotics group in Champaign, Ill. John Deere already sells a robot called the ..
142 Nagraj on 02.19.15 at 2:22 am
“Seems to me that people are not usually aware that he was an ordained Catholic priest; Northrop Frye who taught at U of T at the same time, was an ordained Methodist minister.”
I don’t think you’re correct on this. McLuhan was indeed a devout Catholic- having converted from Protestantism- but I don’t think he was ordained. He had a wife and children.
Northrop Frye was a minister in the United Church.
Note to Blog Dogs who are determined to trot out various statistics, arguments, and extreme scenarios:
Prices in places like Vancouver & Toronto will remain relatively high … whether you own or rent. Please get over it.
WAR IS COMING.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31530840
“The comments from Defence Secretary Michael Fallon are an indication of a fundamental shift in the Nato perception of the crisis in Ukraine.
Nato governments clearly believe that what began as a localised Ukraine problem that strained ties with Moscow has now become a Russia problem, and a Russia problem that is likely to persist for some time.
Ukraine is thus seen as a manifestation of a much broader policy shift on the part of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Fallon’s belief that there is indeed a potential threat to Nato territory – in particular the Baltic Republics – is widely shared; hence Nato’s desire to underline in the most emphatic terms that its security guarantees to its members will be honoured in full.”
Real estate will be such a quaint forgotten conversation very soon.
As for retiring Garth is correct, I have at least a dozen employees my age or a little older that are intent on not retiring. Firstly I have talked to each and everyone of them at least a year before they turned 65 and asked one simple question, “do you want to retire?” The overwhelming answer in every case is NO! They would ask can I work here in the same capacity? Absolutely is my answer. These “old guys” I’ll use the term loosely have in some cases 40-50 years of knowledge and experience that nobody can replace. I don’t care if you’re a gifted MIT, Berkly, Cal Tech, or U of T degreed professional right out of university you just wont have the experience and history that these guys process. What we constantly do here is to match up old with new and slowly start the exchange process. Young guys have ambition and newer technological studies and bring in fresh ideas while the old guys have the experience and history on projects. Anyway most of my staff at that “boomer age” don’t need the money but almost everyone of them said what am I going to do sitting at home watching TV, golfing, drinking beer and sleeping in. Fun for a while then I’ll go ape-nuts! I’m intending to work in a smaller capacity but still be involved in the company until that day I forget where the hell I parked my car. Then I’m out!
#129 Smoking Man on 02.19.15 at 12:26 am
Good damn Jack.. Deleted.
The value of the deletes go’s up. Sorry Gartho, my cuz got his prostate choped out, started thing about my mortality, he’s a week older that me. Diapers for him form here on in.
I decide to get hammered tonight, might be dead tomorrow. One more buzz is all one can hope for.
I came across con te petrio tune.. Though about my nephew, he wore number 6 on his hockey jersey his whole life.
You fall off a 150 meter cliff, you got six seconds to think, what was going thew that kids head. Six seconds.
But I know the difference between the three tribes I mentioned..
One secretly eats bacon, the good.
Next One is crazy. Fairy tail in the sky.
The last, Smoking Men, takes one to know one.
____________________________________________
I like bacon! Not secretly though and fairy tails in the sky could mean a lot of different things!
Sorry I don’t smoke!
Good night.
One female example – my mom will turn 64 this year. She does plan to retire at 65 but is concerned about being broke and doesn’t know where she will live. In her case – high school education (from a small town where in the 60s, few went on to higher education), married my Dad, high school sweetheart who dropped out of HS and apprenticed to be an appliance repairman, eventually owned his own store. They bought their first house for $21K. It was paid off. Had us (twins). Decided when I was in grade 6 to build a new house. 6 years later my Dad up and left, “didn’t want responsibility” anymore. My mom worked at his store so was out of a job and fell back on retail jobs. Could not afford to keep the house even though mortgage was only $40K. Had to rent a place. Her income barely covered rent let alone expenses (small town, not many rental options). Got nothing from my Dad as he was self employed and gave up the store, hid all income in cash. She went back to school, got an okay job (Educational Assistant), but still couldn’t save. Bought a vehicle on credit card (I KNOW). Trying now finally to pay it down. Screwed, basically. I think a lot of women depended on men too much, as was normal at the time… and got left holding the bag when relationships went bust.
#170 Mom at home on 02.19.15 at 10:36 am
I applaud you!
……
I had to look up the years representing boomers. I guess that’s what I am … Maybe I’ll call myself a bLoomer…
My parents were immigrants with not a lot of formal education. My mom saw the lack of opportunity for herself and drilled the ‘get an education’ mantra into my head. Been working since I was 12 and did get an education. Always used RRSP’s , now TFSA’s and lived frugally. Still travelled and always eat well. Was a home owner at 24. But my income dropped off considerably when I had kids. And really, I had no desire to let someone else have the fun in raising my kids after I’d gone through the ‘fun’ of having them! But, to each his own…
My profession is such that I could always work 1 or 2 days a week while running the house and raising the kids so no biggie when I decided to work more.
Would you recommend taking the Can Securities course? I have often thought of it.
For those guys that seem terrified that a woman may divorce them and take ‘their’ money… What about the women of divorce? It’s pretty scary. Suddenly you have to understand more about financial stuff than ever before. Not that you weren’t trying before, just that the consequence of failure is that much more severe.
Marriage, for some of us, was two people working together , having each others’ backs. I think a lot of the guys here sound down right paranoid.
the flash crash in the CAD..
I’m so happy the market isn’t rigged! It makes me feel so much better that I can just watch the fundamentals and move things around based on common sense, because if I knew that my wealth was tied up in egos and robot attacks I might just s*it myself.
I can tell you that i read this blog every day because my wife and her sister have applied considerable pressure to by real estate as an investment. (Condo, house or otherwise).
My wife knows almost “0” about different types of investments, while i, with your help have educated myself thourly and engage in proper money management.
By the way,… my wife is a CPA, Senior Financial Analyst.
RE has gone up in value over the last 25 years ….
Financial assets have also gone up over the last 25 years …
but don’t look back at yesterday for guidance about what is to come tomorrow … right?
Every time I try to talk to my wife about financial planning, she glazes over or says it’s depressing. She enjoys her job, makes good money and is very generous, but she has no ambition or enthusiasm for anything outside of work. I’ve had to plan every vacation, choose where we live, decide what assets or vehicles we purchased. Sometimes I feel alone in these decisions or that the responsibility has been unfairly put on my shoulders. I also bought her money books, as she likes to read, but she has forgotten them. I read aloud some of the posts on here and she said that it’s depressing. Otherwise, we get along really well, lots of laughs and ‘dates’, and I was able to convince her to buy vacation property with me, but she does not want to buy a house and prefers to rent because there’s no responsibility. She has 0 savings, no long term assets, no liquidity. She enjoys dining out, shopping, reading, Candy Crush, American Idol. I finally convinced her to start an rrsp, despite how ‘depressing’ that is. I am quite diversified with business equity, land, cash stashed, antiques, royalties on products (I’m a product designer). She makes more money at her job than me, but she saves NOTHING. She spends it all on whatever, gifts, living well. She spends about $5k a month on lifestyle and owes 15k on credit card constantly and gets taxed about 2k a month. She assumes a pension will be enough? Anyway, it’s frustrating and I know she is an individual. (I have male friends who are worse at financial planning so it’s not a sex issue.) I’m very entrepreneurial, I guess opposites attract.
Maybe if there was a “buy these 1, 2, 3, stick it in your rrsp” simple guide she could follow that would help. It’s all confusing and I’m not a salesman. Meeting with the bank only added to the confusion. She doesn’t want to meet with a finance pro because it would be ’embarrassing’. Thanks for the blog-it’s a light for me.
#150 – Greg Sutter –
Can’t agree more and I am one of the oldest boomers. See this all the time especially in the teaching professions. Thankfully I was able to retire at 54.
“PS ladies, Im single and looking for a level headed lady such as the wonderful ones that posted here. Please apply soonest at email above”
Wow … hitting on women on a RE/Financial blog ?
Is there no place where women can safely co-exist with guys without having to endure come-ons?
#216 Victor V on 02.19.15 at 2:31 pm
yep, minions prepping for next rate cut:
http://business.financialpost.com/2015/02/19/bank-of-canada-says-oil-slump-could-briefly-dip-inflation-into-negative/
rates are not going anywhere, US or here. being saying that for 5 years. sticking to it.
“The plunge in energy prices could send Canada’s inflation rate into negative territory “for a brief interval” during the second quarter of this year, Bank of Canada deputy governor Agathe Côté said.”
Only ‘briefly’? Nice try at an understatement. There’s years of price deflation ahead of us in Canada, particularly when it comes to debt-inflated goods and services. Until, of course, a substitute source of demand, other than higher house prices and borrowing associated with such, rises out of the ashes. The BoC has a complete misunderstanding of just how ‘behind’ the curve they are in terms of interest rate policy. There never really was any good justification to raise above 0% a few years ago, and they might have to go into negative rate policy as Canadian deflation deepens in the coming months/years.
Maybe next time, when oil gets back up to $100 +. Alberta and Albertans are sure smart with money.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/alberta-squandered-oil-wealth-with-big-spending-fraser-institute-says-1.2963338
“Prices in places like Vancouver & Toronto will remain relatively high … whether you own or rent. Please get over it.”
Perhaps so, but prices have spent the better part of the past 2 years falling in Vancouver and Toronto (as they have on many other occasions), and the ratio of rental cost to ownership costs will shrink as it is too much in favour of renters at the moment. A continuation of house price reductions is the likely mechanism since supply shortages, nor land shortages, exist in the GVR or the GTA.
The Fed, the printing press, the banks, and the government …. does anybody really know how it all fits together?
“Home Capital has begun to factor in a 10% drop in Alberta home values when making loans”
Source:
http://business.financialpost.com/2015/02/19/mortgage-firms-tighten-lending-standards-in-calgary-as-housing-boom-turns-sour/
People may be willing to work in to their sixties but employers will make sure they don’t end up with an “old work force”. Long before most of these people reach sixty five they will be freed up to seek other opportunities.
Too many women leave the responsibility of earning money and planning retirement to men and most of them are too busy in the present to adequately plan for the future. Far too many women spend more time planning their wedding than they do their careers. Doesn’t work out so well when they end up divorced or widowed.
“Germany just tells Greece to pound salt!!”
Yeah, it’s also what France and Britain told Germany at the Treaty of Versailles …
BBD.B halted pending news.
I left my heart in Tor on to owe. You have to admire the real estate industries sunny disposition.
http://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/2015/02/18/if-gta-housing-unravels-how-it-might-unfold-mayers.html#
#168 lala
“…any country that is the best place in the world to be a woman is probably the worst place in the world to be a man”
Are you actually suggesting that Canada would be better for men if rape wasn’t a crime, stoning was the penalty for adultery, and acid was thrown in the faces of little girls that try to go to school? Because that’s what happens in the countries in the world where it sucks to be a woman (and by your logic, totally awesome to be a man).
Shame on you, you ignorant prick.
(Delete it if you want Garth, it needed to be said)
Sigh, more layoffs at oil and gas co this morning, my best buddy here got the chop, lucky he’d been interviewing at another place that looks really good before this, so much for our only P.Eng at the place. Its all well and good to have us prepared for layoffs and know housing in Calgary is about to plunge, but I see the people who are in deep trouble now, I feel horrible for them.
It just shows why you have to be super careful and read and read and prepare and be disciplined in your spending in case of downturn, the stress alone can make your life a living hell, just that alone is worth the sacrifice.
corporate BS speech on cut backs, right sizing, reductions, all the way they say it. Then tell us to avoid dwelling on this “distraction” and keep our quality level up and stay focused even though many of us are now doing 2 peoples jobs.
And the corps get richer, and we should all be making money off that right?
The black hole that is Alberta real estate, people have no idea about it here. I openly tell people now for the first time ever, I used to be laughed at when I talked about a bubble, now I just say it and tell people to get on this site, no more screwing around. I still get blank looks as I tell them the worst is yet to come with the mass construction and real-estate layoffs, nobody has any idea, let alone barley about the long road of declining oil that is our future.
Hopefully when OPEC splits and its a cut-throat battle to undercut each other and sign contracts with countries for supply, we’ll get some of our Downhole Gauges in place for the low-cost to drill markets (built on the back s of essentially slave labor bangladeshi’s I’m sure)
@Brutus
Hope this isn’t the case and cooler heads will prevail.
NATO’s defence minister is just that, a defence war minister and shouldn’t be allowed to make provoking comments.
Putin wants to go back in time and regain the old Soviet Union. He certainly does not like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, NATO members on his borders. This has some parallels to Alsace and Lorraine.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26769481
#154 Freedom First on 02.19.15 at 4:31 am
#’s: 97,99,107,122
Thank you all. You have shown how people respond to the truth. I understand why Smoking Man says he hates most people. I don’t hate people though, as my expectations of people are extremely low, as they should be, as all you have to do is read the debt levels and financial stats Garth gives us on a daily basis. Why on earth would I ever live with one of you? Sex? Married people don’t have sex.
——————————————–
Um, I,m a 250 lb male ,I was just sticking up for the girls on this blog .
But if you want to fantasize about having sex with a happily married guy ,I guess I can’t stop you.
#220 Brutus on 02.19.15 at 2:42 pm
WAR IS COMING.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31530840
“The comments from Defence Secretary Michael Fallon are an indication of a fundamental shift in the Nato perception of the crisis in Ukraine.
Nato governments clearly believe that what began as a localised Ukraine problem that strained ties with Moscow has now become a Russia problem, and a Russia problem that is likely to persist for some time.
Ukraine is thus seen as a manifestation of a much broader policy shift on the part of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Fallon’s belief that there is indeed a potential threat to Nato territory – in particular the Baltic Republics – is widely shared; hence Nato’s desire to underline in the most emphatic terms that its security guarantees to its members will be honoured in full.”
Real estate will be such a quaint forgotten conversation very soon.
____________________________________________
I keep telling you guys this………………………..
By the way, I’m out on this war. Been there done that, and for that fact so have two of my sons.
Best comment of the day!
“Look carefully to make sure the people you let into your life have a conscience”
Best comment of the day! From #210 Mom at home.
“Look carefully to make sure the people you let into your life have a conscience”
#198 Bottoms_Up
Thanks for the link, most informative, I didn’t know this has been added to the curriculum, this wasn’t taught when I was in school. “Financial Literacy” consisted of How To Balance A Chequebook, and How To Budget Your Grocery Bill For The Month, lol.
This is definitely a step in the right direction.
Not all provinces apparently offer this curriculum yet however, and of the ones that have added financial literacy, they have only done so, I believe, within the last decade.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1726978/canadas-schools-need-focused-consistent-financial-education-program-experts/
Which means the earliest students introduced to these ideas are just now coming into adulthood and the workforce. Let’s hope they get the financial decisions right out of the gate and learn from the missteps of previous generations.
A lot of men seem to be posting sad stories about being victimized by women who seduced them into matrimony and then abandoned them.
Have they given any thought to whether they were funny, charming, interesting and pleasant to live with? Did they contribute anything to the relationship besides their money?
After a bad marriage ended, my aunt gave me a book on becoming a financially secure woman, which I read many times.
I also thought very hard about what I wanted in my life. I concluded that good conversation, good sex and interesting travel, even to the next town, were what I really cared about, and that I could finance a great life on whatever I was able to earn through honest work if I were smart and energetic.
I was fortunate enough to become the live-in, long-time companion of a charming and gifted writer who offered all that was most important to me. We were together for more than 25 years until his death, during which time I supported him for about 10 years. It was entirely worth it.
I took responsibility for paying myself first from my modest salary and then investing my savings for the benefit of us both. My balanced portfolio means that when I retire, I can enjoy a life of art, opera, lovely food, travel and the odd date with a man who scores two out of three. He has less money than I do, but the only thing we argue about is my desire to pay for at least half of our pleasures.
If you’ve been dumped and robbed by a vengeful spouse, could you have invited that treatment by engaging in years of selfish, unloving behaviour? Or could it be that you packed on the weight, neglected your appearance and weren’t that great in the sack? Just wondering, because it’s really hard to leave a good lover, with or without a job.
Open letter to all the women haterz taking time out of their clearly fulfilling lives today to anonymously post on a financial blog how all women are “stupid”, “gold diggers”, “opportunists”, “useless when it comes to finances”, “need to nest”, “dependent on a man” etc, etc.
GROW UP. The world has moved on, your mindset is slowly but surely becoming obsolete. Clearly you are bitter, holding on to past regrets. Let that toxit shite GO already. Seek professional help if you need to. In the meantime though, try showing a modicum of respect for your fellow human beings regardless of gender.
It IS possible to have a balanced, diverse, and informative discussion without sinking to the basest level.
Yes, unfortunately in life there are both A**holes, AND Vaga**holes. Happier people can spot these damaged souls a mile away, and keep them at arms life for their own preservation, except to offer help perhaps, but in a way that doesn’t cross their own boundaries.
If you are attracting these people, over and over, regardless of your own gender, take a hard look in the mirror.
Like attracts like.
Peace.
TurnerNation
http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/bombardier-to-issue-cdn750-million-approximately-us600-million-of-equity-tsx-bbd.a-1993411.htm
#241 Alex N Calgary on 02.19.15 at 5:00 pm
The good news is that this is a temporary transition period. (And there have been several such retrenchments in Alberta since the 1970’s, but we’re all still here anyway. And then some.)
What’s truly bizarre is, the total lack of comprehension of how important and increasingly rare crude oil & condensates are. And how different it is now with so much of the worlds supply depleted in just 50 years. Only the tricky and low-grade stuff is left, with consumption near all-time highs to support a still increasing global overpopulation.
But now producers are filling every spare storage facility and ocean tanker just to scratch for market share and cover their financial asses? Insanity.
#223 Disgustmademepost -‘ I think a lot of the guys here sound down right paranoid.’
It’s not paranoia. It’s facts. Look at the divorce rate, more to the point look at which party initiates most of those divorces. Look at how Canadian ‘family courts’ treat husbands/fathers, one false allegation of domestic violence and he loses access to his kids. Hang out in some of the divorce forums if you like being really depressed.
I’ve said it before, Marriage is an ‘All risks proposition’ for the guy. He has everything to lose.
#210 Mom at home.
Totally agree about who you let into your life. I’d argue that divorce is always the man’s fault. He either didn’t keep his wife attracted to him, or he made a bad mate choice in the first place.
BTW, glad to see a few ‘Red Pillers’ on here.
Looks like a nice opportunity coming to snap up some 12% YTM short-term corporate bonds…
A few weeks ago had a problem w/an 18 yr. old Maytag clothes washer. DH took it all apart & repaired it. Eighteen yr. old Maytag Dryer is still working fine.
Off to France at the end of June for a month’s vacation.
#218 Rational Optimist:
I stand corrected; indeed McLuhan, a devout RC was not ordained, and Frye was UC, not Methodist. My memory somewhat failed me. (I should have checked.)
One of the recurring questions on this interesting blogsite is – What has caused the great Canadian housing bubble? Trying to answer it is not a waste of time, I find everybody’s speculations interesting.
” … and the ratio of rental cost to ownership costs will shrink as it is too much in favour of renters at the moment”
Oh yes, a return to the mean value. Today’s Toronto or Vancouver is not your parents’ places any more. And this reduction in value could take a very long time to play out, and it will never go back to “affordable”. If urban regions continue to grow in population and jobs, prices will always seem “expensive”.
““Financial Literacy” …. come on, it’s nothing more than early grade arithmetic. Do we really need courses on this?
#212 RET
International students do not get automatic Permanent Resident status (old landed immigrant) once completing their studies in Canada.
They usually apply through the skilled worker category or Canadian Experience Class.
There’s always people who to try take advantage of our generosity though…. either through marriage fraud (find a nice Canadian to sponsor them) or make a false refugee claim.
Does that sound bitter? I hope not, I love this country.
A lot of interesting comments to this post.
#170 & 210 – your comments are worthy of The Cat Food Lady. (If you’re a longtime reader of the comments you’ll know what a compliment that is.)
#248 Maggie the Tech Writer on 02.19.15 at 6:05 pm
Or could it be that you packed on the weight, neglected your appearance and weren’t that great in the sack? Just wondering, because it’s really hard to leave a good lover, with or without a job.
LOL! Thank you for the reminder. I need to hit the gym and step up the grooming a little (I am pulling my weight with the housework, chores, and child rearing, though.)
#240 Vamanos Pest
+1000
I think you speak for more than a few of us here today.
#258 young & foolish
In the context of taking basic grade-school arithmetic and learning HOW to apply it in everyday life situations to sound financial decision making, YES. That aspect is missing.
#31 maybe
Right on! Gen X are the first sandwich generation, sandwiched between the Boomers and the Millennials. Lol
Mom at home…
Wow! I have an urge to hug you. Thank you so much for posting and your wise words!
<3
garth, hang themselves…doing a good job so far…really?
http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/19/investing/investing-women-men/index.html?sr=twmoney022015femaleinvestors0730story
Maybe the men who frequent your blog just don’t know where to meet the right woman…something above the 5.99 wing place special is a good place to start. Sorry, am I being sexist? oh well tough men on this site should be thick skinned enough to bear it….Did someone say bear market? Also one more thing. Marriage is always cheaper than divorce. My man and I are going on 25 years….he knew where to look…..