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Buy what you need

The $70 dollar test

If you have a real problem with excess spending, try this test. For a week, give yourself $70 cash, and put away all credit cards. This forces you to live on $10 a day. When you are faced with a strict income, it forces you to be very careful in what you spend. It will make you realise what is really indispensable and which spending is mere extravagance.

prevent economy-damaging tax increases on the middle class at year's end, conferring by phone after a secretive exchange of proposals.

to reduce his initial demand for $1.6 trillion in higher tax revenue over a decade to $1.4 trillion

The longer the White House slow-walks this process, the closer our economy gets to the fiscal cliff," he said, declaring that Obama had yet to identify specific cuts to government benefit programs that as part of an agreement that also would raise federal tax revenue

Canadian consumer debt grew at the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2010

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has been warning households of its growing debt rate and officials are continuing to caution that household spending levels are starting to get out of control.

With Canadians so deep in debt, it would be extremely difficult for domestic spending to pick up slack in the economy if things started to go downhill. That could result in a serious downward spiral in employment levels, household spending and the quantity and quality of credit outstanding, the report says.

"Households are spending money they assumed would be coming, then they realize they've run over the cliff because income from exports from these trading partners is not materializing and that's translating to weaker jobs.

domestic consumption is usually the more steady contributor to economic growth compared to exports and investment. But this time, household debt is out of control.

C$11.6 billion ($11.8 billion) oil-sands project the first major spending reduction among Alberta energy pr

West Canada Select, traded at a record $42.50 a barrel less than U.S. crude on Dec. 14.

C$2.5 billion a month because of the lower prices, according to an estimate by Houston-based investment bank PPHB Securities LP. The discount has helped erode Canadian oil profits and hurt companies’ shares.

Less than 24 hours after Lagarde put down her dessert fork, debt rating agency Moody’s put six of Canada’s biggest banks under review for a possible ratings downgrade, citing high consumer debt levels and a frothy housing market.

Household debt-to-income ratios now stand at 163 per cent, higher than in the United States before its housing crash and up from 147 per cent two years ago.

RBC last week revealed plans to spend $1.4 billion to buy auto lender Ally Financial while TD said it was buying retailer Target’s credit card business. The Bank of Nova Scotia also recently purchased the online bank ING Direct for $3.1 billion.

Baby boomers are targeted because after struggling to get an education in skills that would land a job, and after decades of effort, they have accumulated some wealth.

To them, we symbolize intergenerational inequality.

Your future will be defined by how well you learn skills that match the needs of the job market. Those who gain useful skills will find higher paying, more rewarding jobs; those without that knowledge will face low-paying, unstable prospects.

A country's economy devastated, unemployment endemic and suicides rising -- this is the reality in Greece

Greece -- the birthplace of democracy -- is now reliant on eurozone bailouts and subject to political decision-making in Brussels and Berlin.

Merkel met with Greek Prime Minister

Researchers at the Ottawa-based Centre for the Study of Living Standards looked at how much taxes and government benefits helped to even things out between the rich and the poor in Canada over the past three decades

They found that taxes and spending have persistently dampened inequality, but not enough to stop the increase in inequality over time

before-tax income inequality rose 19.4 per cent over three decades

Overall, the poll done for the bank by Harris/Decima showed 17 per cent of respondents selected debt reduction as their main priority in 2013

Managing day-to-day spending/budgeting came in third, selected by eight per cent of respondents and down from 14 per cent last year

At the same time, debt management increased as a priority for that age group to 18 per cent from 14 per cent

emerging

While consumers are still spending and loading up more debt, Canadian corporate leaders are pulling back on their business plans because of weak global economic growth

debt-to-income ratio rose to 163.4%

zimbello If you can accomplish the writers list you don’t need corporate. Corporate needs you. Put your skills to work for yourself…far more rewarding. Glen Loock Read the article and loved what it says, “Rely on yourself”. This is a new time and it requires a change in our thought pattern. All ten are great ways gai [...] Philippe Scheimann These are indeed 10 excellent points. I would actually expand in the point of ‘start a professional blog’ by actually ‘establish your presence on the Inter [...] Henry Cameron Chang Great article with a great message. This has been something I’ve been telling people for a long time. Fredick Anquandah Interesting piece of advice there…Thanks for that on ma way to the first step and hope it gets me there… Laura Ede I agree – taking a temporary/contract role is an option that job hunters should consider. After spending 10 years in the Public Sector I was made redundant [...] Susan Keefe Unfortunately, I find myself among the unemployed so articles such as this have consumed a good deal of my time lately. These are great tips, especially fo [...] 20 comments, 12 called-out Comment Now Follow Comments Following Comments Unfollow Comments Comment Now Follow Comments Following Comments Unfollow Comments 2.9k 1.2k 888 gigya_share_button_li

vast majority of employers are sympathetic to such circumstances.

More than 40% of unemployed job seekers have been out of work for six months or longer

You have a debt problem, or are going to have one, if: you continually go over your spending limit or you use your credit cards as a necessity rather than a convenience; you are always borrowing money to make it from one payday to the next; your wages have been garnisheed to pay for outstanding debts; you pay only interest or service charges monthly and do not reduce your total debt over many months; creditors pressure you for payment, threaten to sue or repossess your car, furniture or television, or hire a collection agency to recover the money for them; or utility companies cut off service because your bills have gone unpaid.

Possible Solutions

Contact your creditors Explain why you can't make your payments and suggest making lower payments over a longer period of time. You may be surprised by how many creditors are willing to accept such arrangements.

three per cent of the province’s electricity in 2012, compared to 2.8 per cent for coal-generated power. A decade ago, coal-burning plants produced a quarter of the province’s electricity output.

Over the noon hour last Friday, for example, wind was generating 1,196 MW of power, compared to 710 MW from coal. A new wind-generation record was set Jan. 4, when 1,663 megawatts (MW) of electricity was produced by wind turbines, concentrated in southwestern Ontario.

Nuclear power continues to be Ontario’s chief source for electricity, supplying 56.4 per cent of total output last year, followed by hydro at 22.3 per cent, and natural gas at 14.6 per cent, according to the new IESO figures

Managing day-to-day spending/budgeting came in third, selected by eight per cent of respondents and down from 14 per cent last year.

45-64 named retirement planning as their top financial priority, which fell to just 12 per cent among that age group in this year’s survey.

“Even small contributions today can make it easier in future years to reach your retirement savings goals,”

In the July-September period, households borrowed $27.3-billion, $18.4-billion of that in mortgages, while consumer credit levels increased by $7-billion to $474-billion.

“Given the prospects that interest rates will eventually rise, households must cool their spending and borrowing further.”

household debt to annual disposable income reached a new high at 164.6%