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Canajun Finances Home » Fathers Day, Trump Housing Bubble, and #MoneyTalk

Fathers Day, Trump Housing Bubble, and #MoneyTalk

I hope you realize that Sunday is Father’s Day, formerly the year when the most collect (i.e. reversed charges) phone calls happened (I bet some folks will have to Google what that means). As I have said, Dad wants to know you are OK. As long as your Mother knows everything, Dad wants to know you are OK.

Stats Canada published a neat survey about the Diversity of young adults living with their parents (speaking of Father’s Day), highlighting the number of young folks still living with their parents. The telling statistic that I read in the report was:

Of the 4.3 million young adults aged 20 to 29 in 2011, 42% (or 1.8 million) lived with their parents. This compared with 27% in 1981.

That is a lot of folks still living at home. Some financial folks say it is a symptom of the housing bubbles in major cities. I don’t think I agree. I have stated before that young folk should not aspire to live their parents’ lifestyle when they first move away from home, but that seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

Given the current political climate in the United States and the possibility of a Trump presidency, it is imperative to remember that Canada is a welcoming nation. However, it is crucial to note that firearms are strictly prohibited in Canada. This scenario could result in a large influx of American citizens migrating to Canada, similar to the Draft Dodgers who arrived in Toronto during the mid-1960s, providing a significant boost to the Canadian economy. However, a pressing question to consider is whether the sudden influx of “Yankee Dollars” would result in even more inflation in the already overpriced housing market, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver, the most likely destinations for our American cousins. Although a condo in Toronto may seem exorbitant, it could appear reasonable if one were to receive a 25% discount due to a low Canadian Dollar.

My Writings for Week Ending June 17th

Not much writing this week, busy time of the year, and after watching the Last Week Tonight Video, I am starting to wonder why I write.

Stealing an idea from Mr. Oliver, I wrote No Good News Has Been Delivered Using Excel now. Please don’t take this as me dumping on Excel. It is an exceptional tool, which anybody doing anything financial should be proficient in using the device. My commentary is based on the fact that if someone sends you an Excel spreadsheet, its news cannot be made to look good.

Video of the Week

I usually include a video at the end of this article, but John Oliver has (in 20 minutes) summed up pretty much everything I have ranted about for the past 11 years, so have a watch of this, but keep reading my stuff too.

Just Call Your Dad to Say You are OK

Do you have a cottage in your family? Is there marital strife? If this is the case, you had better read Mark from the Blunt Bean Counter’s article The Income Tax Implications of Divorce Where You Own a Home and a Cottage. As usual, Mark points out some subtle differences that you might not be thinking about in this situation. Speaking of real estate, the Globe’s Robert McLister gives us a warning with Make sure to check your broker’s math when shopping for a mortgage, and if you don’t understand the math, you should! Captain Obvious reports Canada’s significant banks hiking fees while pulling in big profits in other news from the CBC. Maybe you should invest in them to recoup those fees?

The Fraser Institute put out an interesting graphic, 5 Myths of the Canada Pension Plan, containing some provocative comments. I am not sure I agree with it, but it is still an exciting piece to compare and contrast with other viewpoints. Using the subversive side of things, Robb from Boomer and Echo gives us Our Anti-Mustachian Family Spending Report. It is not that provocative but still an interesting perspective. Speaking of savings and spending, the Frugal Trader brings us Financial Freedom Update June 2016 (+5.78%), but as Michael James comments, a Million bucks doesn’t go as far as it used to.

Are you thinking about increasing your negative equity and getting another car? It will help if you read The Most and Least Expensive Cars to Maintain. I am glad to see my Toyota Corolla did so well on the list.

The Chinese economy is an enigma (to me), and Mark from 2nd Career Search points out Why China’s Growth is Slowing, and his opinion might surprise you. Medium gives us Why Central Banks Will Issue Digital Currency in more international stories, a fascinating read.

You can pretty get used to many things in life (good and bad), and Michael James points out many of us are Building a Tolerance for Debt. Debt should make you uncomfortable, and as I have said countless times, There is No Such Thing as Good Debt.

Take Me Home Preet

Hopefully, Preet has thawed out from his visit to Montreal to watch the Grand Prix, but here is a helpful tweet from him:

2016 Random Thoughts

My Twitter feed is where I re-tweet many great articles by some of my featured writers (and make the occasional odd or off-colour commentary on life (in 140 characters or less)). I am also on Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Flipboard, Instagram and other Social Media sites (look for the BigCajunMan userid). Don’t forget to vote for my posts (see the nifty dashboard on the bottom of each article, where you can cast your votes). As they say in Quebec, vote early and vote often!

Feel Free to Comment

  1. Michael James
    Reply

    One problem China has is that their emergence has been built on cheap labour. They can’t all become wealthier and still have cheap labour available. The rate of growth had to slow. Thanks for the mention.

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