WORKING YOUR WAY OUT OF HOUSEHOLD DEBT
Household debt which is an all-encompassing definition of not only personal debt but also mortgage loans has been the talk of the economy for quite a while.
From arecently publishedCIBC Poll results, combined with the increased downloads of our personal Excel budget spreadsheetI startedthinkingabout the facts and figures as I see them. The one particular figure that stood out was the 16% of Canadians that are prioritizing the paying down of their debt.
Having topped the Poll last year with the same issue, it made me wonder if anybody got anywhere closer to paying their debt off or at the very least reducing it significantly.
There was controversy last year when statistics were issued from various sources saying that for every dollar earned in Canada the average Canadian owed $1.64, then the way it was calculated by one bank suggested that the rate was actually lower. Either way, the debt ratio hasn’t really changed, although it has got slightly lower since the highs it obtained in 2012.
I was curious to see what our household debt ratio was, so I got trawling the internet to find out how it’s calculated.
There is a free handy calculator online for those who wish to know how to calculate your own household debt ratio. Ours is 81.67%, but please bear in mind that the calculation does not take into account any savings, investments or any other assetsthat you have.
Now, back to business. As I was saying, following the figures and the data released by various statistics and polls, it would suggest that Canadians are doing what they said and paying down their household debt.
Although, thepercentage of people who are willing to build their savings is lower at 11%, the fact that it has gone up from the previous year is quite promising.
The facts create a picture of a slight turn around in the way Canadians are seeing their finances. Even though retirement planning was at the bottom of the priorities, we do not know the age range of the demographic.
Besides, if debt repayment is your highest priority followed by building up your savings, I’m guessing retirement planning for now is taking a back seat.
If you are one of the 16% who are prioritizing your finances to pay down debt, will you be using a budget in 2014?
Canadian Budget Binder this week
If you missed any of my posts from the week here is the list of posts you can catch up on reading!
- New Years Resolutions 2014: My Health, My Money
- Happy New Year 2014 is here to stay
- The Grocery Game Challenge Dec 30-Jan 5, 2014: Join the challenge starting now
- The Best of Canadian Budget Binder 2013
- Biscotten Torte (Biscuit Cake)
- PF Weekly Grab a Brew #53: Excel Budget takes off for 2014 (download your free copy today)
CBB at home and the blog
We’ve spent the last two weeks on holiday at the relatives and are heading back home this weekend. It’s been two weeks of family, food, fun and illness for both of us.
It’s always nice when I get an email from a fan who says thanks for what I do and in some cases have shared their experiences with me and how Canadian Budget Binder has helped, inspired and/or motivated them to make changes to their life and personal finances.
I also run the Making a Difference feature in this blog post every week to recognize other personal finance bloggers who are making a difference to share their blog with my readers.
It’s not every day someone comes to me to say, you’ve made a difference or we really love your blog and that their readers do as well. This was the email I received from The Brighter Life the other day. You know I’ve worked with The Brighter Life in the past and comment frequently on their site.
I was told that Canadian Budget Binder was chosen as one of their 2013 favourites for money along with many other Canadian Bloggers many of which I interact with as well as a blogger. I hope you get a chance to head over and check them out.
With the year drawing to an end, we have gathered our favourites for money in 2013. We hope they will help encourage and inspire you to live a successful, brighter life.
Thank-You to The Brighter Life, I am honoured and humbled.
-Mr.CBB
Fan deals and inspirations
Submit your Brag or Inspiration
If you have a brag that you want me to share email me at canadianbudgetbinder (@) [yahoo] [.ca] or fill out my contact form by Friday each week to have your brag considered for the Saturday post.
Hey Mr CBB!
I hope you feel better soon. I was out shopping today and got some deals which I wanted to share with the Canadian Budget Binder fans.
We hit up Target to return something my parents bought Adam and decided to see what they had on clearance. Christmas items were 50-75% off.
This is what we got:
- Dog toy (a Christmas gift for friends that just got a puppy) $3.49 (thatwas 50% off)
- Napkins (Christmas) 4 x $.90
- Napkins (Christmas) 2 x $.67
- Christmas window clings 2 x $.30
- Mini Goo Gone 10 x $.30
- Gift tissue $.90
- Pack of gift boxes $.75
Total $15.46
Have a great week Mr.CBB
-Jen P
Making a difference
Making a difference is a part of this post where I share a personal finance blog that I interact with daily and has made a difference in my life.
I have asked the blogger to introduce themselves, their blog and how they want to make a difference with their blog for the fans and for themselves.
Today, I bring you my friends Michelle and Jefferson who run the personal finance blog “See Debt Run”.
When Michelle and I created See Debt Run , we were trying to hold ourselves accountable as we began to climb out from underneath our own mountain of debt.
Two years later we are debt free but we continue to share our stories of how we save money on our family’s expenses and how we are working to create a better financial future for our children.
We are contacted fairly regularly by people who are in the same situation that we were in two years ago. A number of these folks have told us that our story and the success that we achieved give them hope that they too can escape from their debt problems.
We didn’t know if we would keep writing on See Debt Run once we finished our debt payoff, but it is this possibility that we can make a difference that keeps us moving forward.
Blog post sharing
I really appreciate when other blog owners recognize my hard work atCanadian Budget Binderand share my posts with their fans or even mention my blog on their blog or website.
Here are the blogs that did just that this past week, so please head over and check them out. If I’m missing you it’s because I didn’t get a ping back so please send me an email and I’ll add you next Saturday.
Since it is the Christmas holidays many personal finance bloggers have been taking a break from blogging so not too much link love for Canadian Budget Binder this week.
Let’s see what the new year has in store for CBB and all the blogs we follow and share with all of you.
-No one linked to CBB this week. 🙁
What is a blog carnival?
Some fans have asked me just what is a blog carnival so a little explanation is due here for anyone reading for the first time or for my long-time fans. A blog carnival is where a blog or website hosts what we call acarnival of blog postsfrom around the web.
Most blog carnivals have a theme and certain rules for submitting which must be followed. If you are a blogger and would like to learn what blog carnival directories I submit to each week you can find the information in a previousSaturday Weekend Reviewpost that I wrote.
Carnival Glory
A big thanks to these pages for accepting my blog posts and sharing them in the following carnivals……….
- Carnival of Retirement– Save and Conquer
- Carnival of Money Pros- Fitnancials
- Carnival of Money Pros and Winter Blogging Break- Your Personal Finance Pro
- Personal Finance Carnival #24- Aspiring Blogger
- This Weeks Finance Carnival- Stepping It Down
Every week I get thousands of people visitCanadian Budget Binderbecause they did a search online and found my blog. Here are a few of my favorite searches that may have even brought you here and you’re reading this, right now.
- Goat landscaping Canada– Here we thought it was funny but people really do use a goat to landscape.
- Tips to convince your boss to give you a Christmas bonus: I’d like to know them as well… 🙂
- Why ladies never fear men with money: I don’t know? Ladies… can you answer this?
- Code 33 grocery: Anyone? I have no idea what this is.
- How to make your coupon not expire?-Use it haha ;P
- What section are pregnancy tests in the dollar store? – haha.. probably in the same section as the dollar store condoms… 🙂
That’s all for this weeks edition of The Saturday Weekend Review. Have a great week and catch me here again next Saturday with more updates.
-Mr.CBB
Are You New To Canadian Budget Binder?
- Follow Me on Social Media:Twitter,Facebook,Pinterest,Stumble Upon,RedditandGoogle+
- Check out my newFree Recipe Index
- If you like FREE then click this link for my FREE Excel Budget Spreadsheet and all my Free Money Saving Lists!
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Photo Courtesy: Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net
