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September 16, 2021

Fewer Canadians living from paycheque to paycheque: report

Despite nagging concerns, Canadians' finances have actually improved in the past year, with fewer people living paycheque to paycheque and more even managing to put some money aside, according to a recent poll by the Canadian Payroll Association.

The survey suggests that 42% of Canadians would be in financial difficulty if their pay was delayed by even a week. And, while that's a grim statistic, it's actually the goods news. Last year, 47% said they were just making ends meet

Either way thiough, that's an alarming number of people who could be one car repair or dental bill away from financial disaster. The survey says 40% of employed Canadians are spending all of – or, in many cases, more than – their net pay.

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July 30, 2021

Canadians better off than they think: report

Despite shouldering record-levels of debt, Canadians are actually richer than ever with household net worth eclipsing the $400,000 mark for the first time in history.

The average household's net worth grew by 5.8 per cent at the end of last year from $378,093 at the end of 2011, largely, due to roughly a 5 per cent increases in real estate values and savings, according to a recent report from Environics

This keeps Canadian households ahead of their U.S. counterparts for the sixth straight year although, on a currency-adjusted basis, the gap isn't that dramatic.

In fact, that gap has actually narrowed a bit recently, largely because Canadians continue to borrow where most Americans seem to be saving a bit more. And U.S. housing prices are on the increase.

But will this gap continue?

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...