Does food bank usage mean that our financial system is broken?
The demand for food banks has increased sharply and that underlies the significant financial challenges many Canadians face, writes Peter Watson. More families find it difficult to make ends meet. It seems everything is more expensive. Homeownership costs have risen largely because of the increase in the cost of borrowing and therefore mortgage payments are […]
Beware of the Financial Blame Game
Blaming others is not a financial solution for personal financial problems, writes Peter Watson. There have been two the public examples by the federal government of blaming others for financial hardship. It is no secret that many Canadians are finding it very difficult to make ends meet. Everything seems so expensive, and many cannot keep […]
Fewer Investors Use a Financial Advisor
Investors purchasing mutual funds use an investment advisor almost two thirds of the time. When purchasing ETFs, only one third use an investment advisor, writes Peter Watson. This information is from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada’s annual investor survey that was recently released. Why are so few investors using the services of a […]
Avoid Investing in Stocks Based on Short Term Success
Beware of the “shiny object” syndrome, writes Peter Watson. One of the most difficult challenges of investors is to ignore the “noise” that often surrounds investing. Much of that noise is based on short-term results. Investing is done for long periods of time. Short term approaches to investing in my opinion are just speculation. Guessing […]
Mortgage Payments Are Becoming Challenging
The most significant challenge for some over the next few years is making their mortgage payments, writes Peter Watson. Many have already experienced the effect of higher interest rates. The lucky ones have locked in a specific mortgage rate that has not come due, but that day is coming. There are several realities to homeownership. […]
Past Tax Strategy is a Possible Solution to Provide More Residential Rental Units
There is a potential solution for Canada’s current lack of residential rental units, writes Peter Watson. It is an idea that was used in the 1970s when there was also a shortage of rental supply. Offer individual investors tax incentives. Decades ago, the top tax bracket was slightly over 50%, the same as it is […]
Time is running out to improve Canada’s debt issues
Focusing entirely on the dangers of mounting household debt is a disservice to our country, writes Peter Watson. Over a few short years, housing mortgage rates have doubled, or more. This has caused a significant hardship for many homeowners. Many people might not be able to keep up with mortgage payments and are at risk […]
Summer Travel Spending is Down
It is no surprise that Canadians plan to spend less money travelling this summer, writes Peter Watson. One of results of the Bank of Canada aggressively increasing interest rates over the last two years is to force people to spend less money. Plus, because of inflation, most things cost more so there is less money […]
Inflation Does Not Harm Investors
Inflation is not bad for investing, writes Peter Watson. There is a relationship between investment returns and inflation. Stock market returns in the United States, as measured by the S&P 500 index, posted an annual return of 10 per cent over the last 30 years. Inflation during that same period, as measured by the […]
A Financial Strategy for Change
A strategy to make financial changes easier to implement, writes Peter Watson. One of the strengths of humans is our ability to change. Yes, we have the ability, but it is often very difficult. The strategy for change we are suggesting is to look ahead at the benefits of making changes that most likely will […]
