More than half of Canadians living paycheque to paycheque

[Crazy Bacon Legs]

I don't consider car payments to be a debt, so this doesn't really apply to me.

[Regular_John]

Can't say I'm surprised, I've seen people my age do some silly things like take on a second cell phone bill so they can have the latest iPhone. So their paying an additional $20-$30 a month for a phone their not even using just to run out the contract.

[tripin_billie]

Still driving a 98 Corolla, and plan to until it falls completely apart. Make good money, just don't think a car payment is the best use of it.

[Ducay]

Tough issue to discuss in Calgary on an internet site where the majority of us are office workers (as per on internet), involved in Oil & Gas.

You'd get a more balanced debate if we were at a blue collar bar in Mississauga or Hamilton

[V]

I just finished driving my 1987 Buick Century into the ground last year. That sucker just wouldn't die. Only reason I didn't keep it was I was moving north and didn't think ol' Bessy would make it up the highway.

I bought a 1995 Mazda MX-3 last year and I'm hoping it lasts at least another 5 years.

I have four kids, though, so I don't have any money to buy something nicer even if I wanted to.

[Muta]

I go shopping for clothes once a year, use as many coupons as I possibly can wherever I can, and I've cut down going out on the town (well, not recently). Spend less that you make, and there's the basic starting principal.

I honestly don't understand how people can live decadent lifestyles and not be able to afford it. I know a couple people like this. I also know people who whine about not having any money, but then have no problem suggesting going to Mercato for dinner on a Friday night.

Boogles the mind, I tell yaz....

[Pacem]

Not surprised.

My wife and I have 2 other married couples that are close friends. We easily make less money then either couple and are far more financial secure and always have been. Us 3 couples got married within 5 months of each other, my wife and I were the ony couple to walk away debt free. That was before we opened up all our gifts. My wife and I have a rainy day fund that if both of us were to lose our jobs we could survive for at least 2 months, possibly 3. I imagine these other 2 couples would be in a horrible position if their pay was delayed by a week.

Its amazing how irresponsible and/or impulsive people are with money. I just cringe at some of these decisions these other couples have made. Getting into a rental agreement for a year when there were the same units in the same building that included more and cost less. That is completely ignoring the fact that they moved into a 1 bedroom place that is a touch more then 600 square feet while they were trying to get pregnant. Of course the lease runs out in 2 months and the baby is due in 2 1/2 months. Have fun with that. He didn't even negoitiate with the guy or look for other ads for the same building. He made the deposit and signed the lease on the spot. I've seen a couple consolidate loans twice within 5 years and they still max out their CC's. Paying for 2 trucks and driving one, while the other sits rotting away in a friends yard. Complain about the cost of rent, getting a room mate and then the minute things get just a touch better kick out the room mate. Go out and rent an even bigger more expensive house to only find themselves in the exact same position the moment things are on a down swing.

Sure they have nicer vehicles and they dress nicer then me, my wife still manages to spend enough on clothes, so I can't say they dress nicer then her. However, I never have to stress about paying bills on time or where im going to get the money to pay for "X". I never have to call up a friend to borrow money, or borrow a CC to pay a bill cause it goes thru faster then cash and services will be cut if they don't. I'll always trade the freedom of not having to stress or worry about things like that for the nicer cars and/or clothes.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Tough issue to discuss in Calgary on an internet site where the majority of us are office workers (as per on internet), involved in Oil & Gas. You'd get a more balanced debate if we were at a blue collar bar in Mississauga or Hamilton

I agree.

There are white collar workers that are just irresponsible with their money and not putting enough away for a rainy day.

There are blue collar or service workers that just don't make enough to put money away for a rainy day.

[OilKiller]

Sure Pacem, those are all choices. Personally I like running all my credit cards up and stressing about it. Makes me feel alive.

[shermanator]

On an entry level salary, it's hard to put money away for retirement when even the average price of renting a 2 bedroom condo in this city is around $1100 a month. I bought a condo in 2009 with the reasoning that the mortgage and condo fees and all that were the same price as renting, therefore it made sense to have that money paid each month go towards some assets.

For myself to be able to buy an average priced house in Calgary (which IIRC is around $410k), I would have to triple my mortgage payments alone. I can't fathom how people my age are able to afford one.

[THE SCUD]

There is so much money in this city - Salary is but a small percentage of many people's total income, after bonus, options, presidents lists, SAR's, UAR's, etc, etc, etc.

Saying "John drives a BMW and only makes $80K a year" could also mean "John cashed in $500K in options and SAR's this year and drives a bimmer?!" Tough to judge a book by it's cover, even if you've read page one (salary).

[THE SCUD]

Originally Posted by fotze

What the fata is a president's list? Sounds like 'stealing from shareholders' list. You accountants are crooks, making up all these schemes to pay people.

Generally when a company is started ,the initial round of investors are selected by the president (if it' as highly-sough after investment) and 'allowed' to invest. This is because far more people want in then there is needed capital (for share dilution reasons, mainly), so a president's list invite means you get in on the ground floor, generally.

Consider it getting in on a low-priced, highly-anticipated IPO offering.

[IliketoPuck]

You get to essentially reserve shares in an IPO. Not quite like warrants, but if it is a solid company, it generally turns into a nice tidy profit.

[spydermal]

The beginning and end to all my debt comes from the monster that is Gamblor.

[OilKiller]

Originally Posted by spydermal

The beginning and end to all my debt comes from the monster that is Gamblor.

Wow...that's eerie...I was visited by that same monster.

[8sPOT]

It's not always overspending that puts people in these situations. My wife and I were living comfortably and decided to purchase a local business. Tried running the business with employees but felt we were not maximizing the potential. Wife took a 5 year leave from Canada Post to concentrate on the business full time and BAM, just like that we are basically down to one pay cheque.

Our mindset is 2 years from now we will 'hopefully' be better off than we are now. But, at the moment, we are absolutely living pay cheque to pay cheque and it's a horrible thing.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by shermanator

On an entry level salary, it's hard to put money away for retirement when even the average price of renting a 2 bedroom condo in this city is around $1100 a month. I bought a condo in 2009 with the reasoning that the mortgage and condo fees and all that were the same price as renting, therefore it made sense to have that money paid each month go towards some assets.

For myself to be able to buy an average priced house in Calgary (which IIRC is around $410k), I would have to triple my mortgage payments alone. I can't fathom how people my age are able to afford one.

You're bang on. This is what I don't get. When people are just starting out why do they think they should be buying the average price. They're just starting out so they should be buying the bottom-level house. Something in the 200K range like a town house condo. Anything higher is over-reaching.

[Knut]

My wife and I were able to save up quite a bit of money and service our debt when we were both working. Now that she is on Mat leave we are living paycheque to paycheque while still servicing the debt. This experience has taught us that the $1000 a month spent on fancy dinners and bottles of wine is something that we can do without (for now).

I could never understand what people have against leasing your vehicle. It is going to depreciate anyways. May as well think of it as renting a vehicle for 3 or 4 years and then dropping it off and renting a new one for the next 3 or 4 years.

[Hilch]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

The only worse thing to blow your money on is buying scratch lottery tickets.

That's my retirement plan!

[peter12]

Outside of having kids, the realm of personal finance is dominated by opportunity cost. Some people are better at making those trade-offs than others. I'm a grad student, make very little money, and I own a pair of $500 shoes. That's not bragging. I sacrificed lots of other things over a long period of time to afford them. It's about choosing to be frugal in some areas, and choosing to splurge in others. I just find that lots of people lack that basic skill.

As many here have said... the extravagance of my fellow generation just blows me away. Lots of peers and friends don't seem to understand that you just can't have it all.