Life on Credit

The art of borrowing money

Money and Motivation: Is Your Consumer Behaviour Driving You into Debt?

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There are a number of strategies you can make use of to find out what your “financial” personality is like, so that you can get out of debt and start learning some responsibility. Statistics show that household debt is skyrocketing, reaching new and new heights year after year. Consumer debt comprises around 30% of the total debt.

Market Principles vs. Individual Principles

We live in an age when supply is almost endless. We can buy practically anything we can imagine, and in wondrous variety at that. When you think of the traditional supply and demand graph, you would expect demand to plummet. Perhaps this can be seen as a challenge to the age-old economic principle. Not only is demand not plummeting, it is rising and rising and the state of debt testifies to this. It seems we want things so much that we no longer care that we can’t afford them. However, we should be careful when we assume that macroeconomic principles transfer to microeconomic ones. In other words, market principles do not always reflect individual ones.

Personality Balance Sheet

Experts advise debt-ridden consumers to create what they call a personality balance sheet. The idea is to make a list of your personality traits as they relate to your behaviour as a consumer and define them as advantageous or disadvantageous. What motivates most of your purchases? Granted, this is a difficult question to answer. There are many factors that motivate purchases apart from personality traits, such as age, sex, even location. Naturally people in sparsely populated areas will have a whole different set of criteria when it comes to purchasing goods or services compared to people from big cities.

How Commercials Influence Behavior

Before you can understand how your personality may be driving you into debt, you have to understand the psychology of advertising. What are producers actually going for when they advertise their products? You may have wondered how they possibly get returns on commercials, what with there being so many. Advertising’s main function is informative, true, but it also serves to educate. By advertising expensive luxury products, they work on your system of values, artificially creating demand for something costly and prestigious that you don’t need. If you are especially vulnerable to that sort of “propaganda”, as would be someone with low self-esteem who wants to be respected and admired, you’ll fall for this. You may take out a loan to get the latest BMW or Mercedes model instead of sticking with your trusted Volvo or Pontiac.

If you tend to be on the impulsive side, make sure you stay far from temptation. Take all your credit cards out of your wallet, do not go into stores if you don’t actually NEED anything, and even curb window-shopping. This is not going too far. Do you want to get out of debt or don’t you?

Main Money Personality Types

According to experts, there are several money personality types – the spender, hoarder, avoider, and amasser.

  • Spenders tend to buy on impulse and buy things they don’t need, whether jewelry, groceries, or anything else. They find it difficult to prioritize and save for a rainy day. Spenders are often knee-deep in debt.
  • Hoarders, on the other hand, usually have a budget and prioritize their purchases and long-term and short-term financial goals. For hoarders spending on travel, dining out, magazine subscriptions, and entertainment is a waste of money (and time). Hoarders usually have an emergency fund and prefer to save for college education, retirement, or just in case.
  • The avoider tends to put off things like paying bills on time or doing taxes. He has a hard time saving, planning, budgeting, and dealing with financial matters. This money personality type has a nonchalant attitude towards financial planning and things like retirement income, investment, or insurance. If you are an avoider, it is a good idea to talk to a professional to get in control of your financial life. Always shop with a list, create a budget, and stick to it.
  • The amasser is a different story – for him money means power and enhanced self-esteem. Lack of money, on the other hand, may result in depression and poor self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness and failure. The money monk is the exact opposite, feeling that money and consumption are the root of all evil. A steady paycheck or inheritance money will actually make him feel insecure.

There are three more personality types – the flyer, security seeker, and risk taker. The risk taker, for example, tends to make risky investments such as real estate investment trusts, options, currency trading, and high yield bonds. Risk takers aren’t too worried about financial matters and details. They actually get excited about potential returns, risk, and possibility. Security seekers, on the other hand, prefer low-risk investments such as bonds, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. They like to be prepared for anything, be it a natural disaster, depression, or apocalypse and humankind vanishing from the Earth. Security seekers usually have an emergency fund for a rainy day. For them, life is about careful planning, budgeting, and saving for the future. The flyer also has a distinct way of thinking. He feels content and happy with life as it is. The flyer has a nonchalant attitude toward financial matters and as long as he is independent, free, and making his own choices, that’s all that matters.

A Final Word to the Wise

At its core, consumption is a social habit. We buy what others buy or encourage us to buy, even though we may not realize it. It follows that you should surround yourself with positive people who realize that there is more to life than shopping.

Canadian Dollar – Post-Election Strategies for Making Money Trading USD/CAD Currency Pair

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Experts warn that the Canadian dollar will remain weak over the coming months, with oil prices going down and revenues falling. Canada is one of the world’s largest oil producers, and lower oil prices certainly pressure the currency down. Another reason why the dollar is sinking further is the business unfriendly policies adopted by the liberal government. Truly, the government is committed to investing in waste water treatment, building bridges, repairing roads, and infrastructural improvements that will benefit engineering companies and the construction industry as a whole. At the same time, the government’s decision to run a deficit means a weak dollar, and experts warn that more debt also means larger interest payments and a weaker currency.trading

Making Money Trading USD/CAD

How to make money from Forex trading is a question that many investors ask post election and given the weakened external demand. The first thing to do is to learn more about Forex rates, current stock market trends, and how perceptions of government policies affect rates. If investors see the liberal party as spend-progressive, then they will be confident that the market is doing well. But this is just part of the puzzle. When it comes to currency trading, many believe that the loonie has further to weaken and fall due to falling gold prices and revenues of giants such as Kinross, Goldcorp, and Barrick. The economy of China, one of Canada’s trading partners, is also slowing down. As a commodity currency, the loonie has been affected by a combination of factors, among which risk sentiment, commodity prices going down, and China’s economy.

Investing in Assets and Currency Hedge Funds

Some Forex experts recommend buying into USD/CAD as long as most investors continue to sell. At the same time, a falling Canadian dollar, combined with low oil prices means that US assets increase in value if priced in CAD. The opposite is also true – US assets are worth less when the loonie is rising. Investors who are worried about the fact that the Canadian dollar will increase in value may want to look into currency hedge funds like iShares S&P 500 Index ETF CAD-Hedged. Others choose not to hedge and limit their US exposure to no more than 10 percent. Still others choose to invest in healthcare, technology, and consumer-oriented companies in the US and hedge their currency exposure. The goal is to reduce potential risk when investing abroad. Currency hedge funds promise significant payoffs and to this end, they follow market trends through computer algorithms. In some cases, currency hedge funds take bearish or bullish positions and report gains at a time when companies trading emerging-market assets report losses. In any case, the ultimate goal is to realize consistent returns. To this, currency hedge funds that focus on CAD to USD usually use advanced strategies and algorithms to follow the movements of currencies with significant trading volumes.

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USD/CAD Trading and Other Instruments to Make Profits

Crude oil is an important factor that affects the Canadian dollar. The reason is that oil prices are denominated in USD. The fact is that there is a strong USD – CAD negative correlation and the same goes about the price of oil. This means that when oil prices go down, USD/CAD goes down and USD weakens. The opposite is also true – USD/CAD rises when oil prices go down and USD strengthens. If you think that oil is going to rally more than USD/CAD will go down, then you may want to purchase both. By the same logic, sell both if you think that USD/CAD is going to decline compared to oil. Another idea is to invest in options on the futures and spot markets. This is a low-risk type of investment.

When there is no clear up or down trend, one option is to rely on hit and run trading in the hope of making small profits. In this case, you may want to pay close attention to trends and look for a small pull back and a bullish trend. When you spot a reversal pattern, then it is time to buy. Such strategies could be useful when the situation on the Forex market is unclear. When there is uncertainty about the direction in which the market will go, some experts recommend using Nadex spreads and the Iron Condor strategy to trade options. Nadex spreads can be used in a flat or downwards market while an upwards market requires credit spreads. Note that when you use Nadex spreads, there are time limits as well as a ceiling or floor level. Investors who use the Iron Condor technique buy the lower spread and sell the upper in the hope of making significant profits.

If You Have $10,000 Would You Put Them in a TFSA

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A tax-free savings account is a flexible and convenient savings solution that helps Canadians to earn tax-free income. This product can be used together with other investment vehicles such as registered education and registered retirement savings plans.

The Basics

There are multiple benefits to opening a TFSA, one being that consumers’ savings grow in a tax-free way while withdrawals and investment income are also tax-free. The fact that TFSAs allow flexible withdrawals is a further benefit for individuals. Another benefit is that there are no lifetime contribution limits to worry about provided that you are eligible. Finally, contributions to your TFSA account will have no effect on other government-provided benefits such as the Goods and Services Tax credit, Old Age Security, and others. With lifelong eligibility, this investment solution can be used at any age, whether you are a young professional or close to retirement.

What if You Are in the Middle Tax Bracket

Canadians with a high income level benefit from the new threshold or contribution limit ($10,000). Those who contribute the maximum will save about $3,800 in taxes over a 10-year period. With savings of about $5,000, those who fall in the middle tax bracket are making contributions of about 1/5 of their pre-tax income. At the same time, finance and tax experts point to the fact that the new contribution limit offers more flexibility, whether you are in the middle income bracket or have a more limited income. Even an income of $50,000 or lower makes the tax-free savings account a better alternative to the RRSP because TFSAs help save on taxes. Canadians who are about to retire may want to look into this option as well provided that they trim other investment solutions such as RRSPs and RRIFs.

In fact, the new limit is designed to benefit middle class couples. A couple in their early 40s, for example, is expected to accumulate savings of over $1 million over their lifetime, plus estate worth over $650,000. This is provided that both partners have an annual income of about $80,000 and aim to retire at the age of 58. Finance expects base estimates on a 3.5-percent real estate growth and 2.2-percent inflation. In general, a tax-free savings account is a good solution for young couples and professional in their early 30s if they are saving toward retirement or big-ticket items and other major purchases. Upper-class individuals will obviously benefit from the new limit, but the new measure is also designed for public service employees and teachers with defined benefit pensions and contributions they rely on. Young adults, on the other hand, may choose not to use RRSPs to save toward retirement altogether because of the tax issues associated with RRIF and RRSP withdrawals.

Is This Good News for Retirees?

Statements by the federal government indicate that retirees will be the major beneficiaries of the new contribution limit. To this, seniors may want to move cash from their RRSP or registered retirement income fund to a tax-free savings account. There are multiple benefits to doing this, one being that higher contributions reduce income tax. While many Canadians believe that it is not advisable to make RRIF withdrawals before the age of 71, this is not the case, especially for consumers with a registered retirement income fund. The fact is that individuals may benefit from early withdrawals by reducing their tax bill. In addition, there are estate planning benefits.

Some people are concerned that additional income will trim the benefits because they will be left with more taxes to pay. The good news is that this would be so only during the first couple of years once they retire. Then their taxable income becomes lower. The reason is that less cash in a registered retirement income fund means less money to which the minimum withdrawal applies. And while retirees pay more in taxes during the first couple of years, experts point out that there are several mitigating factors to take into account. One is that account holders pay at a 31-percent marginal tax rate which is lower compared to contributions from previous years. Thus Canadians benefit from the fact that they pay less in taxes on withdrawals.

Conclusion

There are plenty of benefits to opening a TFSA now that the contribution limit is set higher. All Canadians who are at least 18 years of age are allowed to contribute up to the limit and thus accumulate significant balances. These balances are not only conserved in a tax-free way but grow with time. Finance experts also point to the significant estate planning benefits offered by TFSAs. If one of the spouses was a RRIF holder and passed away, then the other spouse would suffer a major tax hit if they made RRIF withdrawals. With tax-free savings accounts, holders face less risk even if they make withdrawals early in retirement. And if you have $10,000, it is worth opening a TFSA and contributing up to the limit because this is a sheltered account. Some finance experts even advice customers to contribute to their grandchildren’s and children’s TFSAs in case they’ve already maxed out their own accounts. This is perfectly legal to do and yet another way to maximize your savings.

Is It a Good Idea To Save Money?

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There are plenty of reasons to save for a rainy day, especially if your income is low or average. If you don’t have a stable job but are paid commissions or bonuses or have a seasonal job, this is yet another reason to save to be financially independent. The unfortunate truth is that bad things and emergencies can happen to everyone.

Why Save Money

It is a good idea to have an emergency fund to meet unexpected expenses and pay for basic necessities in case of loss of income or loss of employment. At the same time, the decision to save or not also depends on the current economic situation. When rates are at historic lows, which is the current situation, savers are literally punished and pay to keep money in their checking and savings accounts. At the same time, inflation is eating away their savings and many choose to keep their money under the mattress.LOC27

Is Borrowing Better Than Saving

Again, this depends on the current economic situation and interest rates. In some cases, taking out a low rate loan is a cost effective solution and more people can afford to borrow. They have more cash to spend on everyday and big-ticket purchases and improved purchasing power results in higher inflation and economic growth. The recent drop in oil and gasoline prices is one of the main reasons for the current state of affairs. When the pace of inflation eases over a longer period and interest rates are still low, this is a good time to borrow at a low cost.

Is It Always Good to Have an Emergency Fund

This depends on your income level, whether you have additional sources of income, number of children and household members, your age and short- and long-term financial goals, retirement goals, and other factors. There are some arguments against having an emergency fund, and one is that most financial institutions which advertise savings accounts offer a low rate of return. In this case, having an emergency fund is a particularly bad idea if you hold multiple, high-interest debts. Debt balances sitting at 15, 20, or 30 percent will cost you dearly, regardless of the earn rate on your savings account. Holding cash in a savings account may make sense but this depends on the amount deposited, the earn rate, and the state of the economy. Many consumers opt for a savings account because of the fact that this is a liquid, low-risk product. There are other ways to invest free cash such as bonds, stocks, certificates of deposit, money market accounts and riskier investment strategies such as Forex trading. In general, consumers save money to meet unforeseen expenses, pay for home and car repairs, and other major repairs. It is also a good idea to have an emergency fund in case of a sudden job loss due to an accident or another unfortunate event. Many people save for retirement, but there are better ways to grow your money than opening a savings account. Some people also use their emergency fund to pay for vacations and to make a down payment for a vehicle or house but again, this depends on inflationary pressures and rates and this is not what emergency funds are meant for.

How to Make Sure Your Savings Are Not Eaten Away by Inflation

LOC26There is no straightforward answer to this question but basic investing tips can be of help. When inflation is high, your savings are menaced because interest rates are also low. Unless you are offered a high-interest savings account, the purchasing power of your money is steadily declining. One way to protect your savings against inflation is to take more risk with the goal of getting higher returns. Financial advisers recommend investment strategies that are medium-risk and bring higher returns. One option is to invest in inflation-bearing bonds and the best part is that you benefit from tax-free returns. The rate also increases over time. Another option is to invest in stock but this is a riskier solution for seasoned investors. You may want to look at alternatives, for example, stock and shares ISA which is one way to secure income from shares and stock. It is also a relatively safe investment vehicle that brings inflation-beating returns. Basically, this is a type of ISA that allows some degree of flexibility. The returns depend on the types of investments customers choose to buy. Some businesses pay regular dividends and offer the opportunity to get decent returns. There are other investment vehicles such as annuities, mutual funds, commodities, equity, and others. Other options to protect your savings against inflation include money market mutual funds, savings bonds, corporate stocks and bonds, state-sponsored tuition plans, and education IRAs. You can also look into investment vehicles such as treasury notes, bills, and other securities and exchange-traded funds.

Conclusion

Whether it is a good idea to save or borrow depends on many factors, including your personal and financial circumstances and the state of the economy and global financial trends. One way to protect your savings when inflation is high is to use different investment strategies such as dollar cost averaging, portfolio diversification, and allocation of investments. Some investment instruments are safe and low-risk but bring low returns. They are also more liquid meaning that customers are allowed to withdraw their money without penalty and at any time. Other instruments are riskier or less liquid and offer higher returns. Whether it is a good idea to save depends on your financial goals, i.e. early retirement, buying a new vehicle, a college fund for your kids, and so on. Think of your mid-term and short-term goals as well (holiday purchases, travel, paying off debt faster, etc.) Saving can also help become financial independent and live a stress-free life.