If your employer tells you to expect a week’s delay for your next pay check, how will you respond? Will you find yourself panic-stricken, scrimmaging to rub two cents together to get by, or will you rest easy knowing you have a contingency plan—money saved in an emergency nest egg to see you through this minor financial setback? The Vanier Institute of the Family authored a report in early 2010 assessing the current financial state of Canadian families. It cited research that found 59 per cent of respondents stated “they would be in trouble if their pay check was delayed by even a week.” The study also revealed that Canadian families are “walking a financial high wire” with research from 2009 indicating several troubling trends. 2009 saw a 50 per cent increase in mortgages running 90 days or more in arrears compared to 2008. The number of credit card holders behind at least three months in their payments rose 40 per cent from 2008 to 2009. Also, household debt climbed to an astounding $96,100 in 2009, creating a debt-to-income ratio of 145 per cent, the highest it’s ever been according to the report. Along with the rest of the world, Canada is slowly recovering from one of the worst recessions experienced in a generation. Governments and corporations have begun to pick up the pieces and to lay out plans which will prevent repeats of some of their mistakes. But the “great recession” or “credit crisis” also brought to light the abysmal state of … [Read more...]