July 2012 – Fingers In Your Wallet

Should payday loans actually be used?

The ability to pay for the products and services that we need in our day to day life is really important in ensuring the quality of our lives. As all of us who live in Canada are striving hard to provide the best facilities to our children and ourselves, our financial might is becoming a very important aspect in ensuring our living standards. All of us try really hard to live within our financial capability and take care of our needs. The Canadian people by nature are hard workers and like to live our lives on the fruits of our hard work.

But, the recent times have been quite hard on the middle class and working class people in the country. Along with impending fears of a housing bubble crash, the Canadian economy has been under the tight grip of recession and its associated ill effects. Right now, it is not easy to hold on to your job, or to get a good paying job. Again, the salary is not increasing at the same pace as the recession. As a result of all these aspects, many among us will need to seek loans from all available sources to ride over our rough times.

When a person is desperately in need of money, he or she will accept money from any available resource without thinking twice about the terms and conditions associated with the loan. This is not a wise method to choose a loan. Commercial banks and credit card companies do provide you with loans with a very reasonable rate of interest. But, if you exhaust all these opportunities, then you will be really desperate to gain any more money. In such circumstances, payday loans can provide you with a way out of the tough situation, but the same precautions you take with a normal lender should still apply. You want to seek out payday loans from a reputable company who has been in business for several years. Be sure to check their website to confirm that they aren’t some fly-by-night operation.

Are these sorts of loans good for any person? They do provide these loans to people from all backgrounds of life, provided you can prove that you have a job. In most cases, these loan amounts can be obtained for a short period until your very next pay check. In the current scenario, most payday loan firms operate out of the internet and provide you with an opportunity to apply for these loans over the internet. In most cases, these loan amounts are delivered right away by Interac email money transfer or something similar. Once the loan is approved, the loan amount will be credited to your bank account usually within 24 hours. Once the money has arrived, you can easily withdraw it from an ATM or pay your bills using your online banking.

Is it okay to get a short term loan for dealing with long term problems? In a nutshell, no. These loans do charge you a higher rate of interest and other related charges than commercial banks. Another requirement of this loan is the need for paying back the loan on your very next payday, and failure to pay can result in very high fines and penalties and can cost you money. Hence, if you are unable to pay back at such a short notice, do not opt for it. Payday loans are good for use during emergencies to ride over short term financial troubles only. You must use this opportunity wisely and with a lot of care.

Canadian Investment Portfolio’s Remodeled with the Expertise of Justin Bender and Moneysense

Moneysense‘s Dan Bortolotti enlisted the financial expertise of portfolio manager Justin Bender and investment advisor Shannon Dalziel, from PWL Capital, Inc. of Toronto to renovate the investment portfolios of Canadians in need of change. The results were amazing and found their way to the Yahoo finance Canada: Renovate your Portfolio. The article details the successful portfolio makeovers of three Canadian households: a retired couple, a family with three young kids, and a single woman.

“Each of our investors was struck by how much they would save in fees?” on a mid-six-figure portfolio, a 2% savings can be $1,000 a month “but it’s not just about cost. After all, if you’re doing a renovation, you might be able to buy a top-quality power drill at a deep discount, but that won’t help you drive a nail. In the same way, we hope to show you that building a portfolio is all about finding the right tool for the job.” says Dan Bortolotti in the article.

Justin Bender has a unique way of presenting risk assessments to his clients called Monte Carlo simulations, which are a form of stochastic modeling techniques, where he stress tests different asset allocations to demonstrate which will work best for the clients situation. This combination of his financial genius and his ability to show investors concepts that they can understand and trust has shown amazing results.

Canadian Seniors Retiring Into Bankruptcy

In Canada, more and more retirees and those over 65 years old aren’t able to enjoy their golden years of retirement. Instead of having a financially stable portfolio, these people are the largest group who are insolvent, according to the non-profit organization Vanier Institute for the Family.

Comparing the figures from 2010 and 1990, the non-profit found out that retirees during both periods shared the same disappointing fate when it comes to bankruptcy. The even more unfortunate fact is that these figures may point out to even more people who may be insolvent when they retire a few years from now.

This year is the most crucial period for financial analysts as this marks the first group of Baby Boomers entering into their retirement years. This group comprises almost 400,000 Canadians who were born in 1947 and enjoyed positive economic growth during their childhood years, directly after World War II. That year also marked the start of an upward trend in Canadian births, peaking in 1959 with almost 500,000 babies born that year.

The implication in 2012 is that, demographically speaking, there are now more seniors in Canada than any other time in almost 100 years. Those that were supposed to enjoy their retirement packages are now looking at a bleak outcome. To add insult to injury, this trend will only worsen in the next decade as more Baby Boomers enter their retirement years.

Canadian Interest Rate Threatens A Hike

The low, low interest rate of 1% set during the uncertainty of recession times, September 2010 could soon be coming to an end according to the Bank of Canada. Consumers have been rushing headfirst to start borrowing at this rate since it was instituted, causing officials to repeatedly caution the public and the overall household debt of the nation to increase sharply. Now, due to the steady inflation of Canadian currency, interest rates are set to rise sharply, though some say not yet. The Financial Post claims that banks will keep up their “tough talk” but will not act on it for a while, citing the subtle rise in energy costs as evidence. Many economists suspect that interest rates will begin to rise ever so slowly by the end of this fiscal year. First time buyers and honeymooners be warned, the Canadian housing market is about to cool off. Financial post reports that, Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest inflation rate last month, at 3%. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were also above the national average, both at 2.6%. The lowest rate was in Alberta, at 0.8%, falling costs for electricity and natural gas, while British Columbia had an annual increase of 1.6%.