Rising household debt could be drag on long-term growth: federal document + MORE Aug 26th

Even debt-free Canadians could eventually feel a pinch from someone else’s maxed-out credit cards, suggests research presented to senior officials at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

If you’re planning to buy a new car, hold off on applying for a personal loan to pay off credit card debt. It will ding your credit score on two fronts

Raj Thirumeni
AGE: 28
PLACE: Vancouver
TFSA TOTAL: $17,000
STRATEGY: Stocks

Me and my TFSA
Raj Thirumeni is 28-years-old and works for the banking operations of a large financial institution. He has several degrees, including a Master of Science in project management, an MBA, as well as a mechanical engineering undergraduate degree from the University of Windsor. After all those years of study, he now has a full-time job but since he isn’t earning enough yet to make contributing to an RRSP feasible, he’s decided to concentrate on beefing up his investing through his TFSA.
Raj opened his TFSA in 2015 with a $5,500 contribution. “I learned about it from my TD Bank branch,” says Raj. “I was applying for a credit card and the teller told me about it and explained the basics to me.”
TFSA contribution room calculator »
Before making his first investment, Raj spent a few months watching the oil and gas markets. As oil prices were falling in 2016 he bought his first stock: TransCanada Pipeline…

One of the best Car Rental Reward program promotions, National Emerald Club’s One Two Free (US, Latin America, Caribbean) / Rent Rent Reward (Canada) has returned. Once again there is a U.S. version which now also includes Latin America and the Caribbean and a Canadian version. The Canadian version is slightly better than the U.S. version on the rental portion as Canadians can credit Canadian rentals towards the promo whereas their U.S. and Latin American counterparts cannot. You can also earn points for opting in for emails, downloading the mobile app and more.  Earn a Free Rental day when you earn 600 points or complete two qualifying rentals. A Qualifying Rental is a paid rental, via the Emerald Club®, of a Midsize or larger vehicle at participating National Car Rental® locations in Canada and the 50 United States, including the District of Columbia, as well as in Argentina, Aruba, Belize, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, St…

Even debt-free Canadians could eventually feel a pinch from someone else’s maxed-out credit cards, suggests research presented to senior officials at the federal housing agency.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. board members received an update in March on the country’s credit and housing trends. The presentation contained a warning: the steady climb of the household debt-to-GDP level had put Canada’s long-term economic growth prospects at risk.
The document pointed to a study that argued household debt accumulation eventually hampers economic growth over the longer term, eclipsing the nearer-term benefits of consumption. The strong expansion of household spending, encouraged by a prolonged period of historically low borrowing rates, has created concerns over Canadians’ record-high debt loads. It has also been a major driver of economic growth.
The Canadian Press obtained a copy of the CMHC presentation via the Access to Information Act. It was included in a “confidential” memo to deputy finance minister Paul Rochon…