The “D” word. Stressful right? When your divorce is finally final, how will you begin again?
The transition can be liberating for some, daunting for others. Mixed feelings – anger, relief, sadness, joy, fear and uncertainty – are common and may take time to sort out.
Meanwhile, the clock on your new life is ticking, and regardless of your emotions, it is time for a freedom-inspired relaunch, says Jacqueline Newman, a Manhattan-based divorce lawyer and author of Soon To Be Ex: A Guide to Your Perfect Divorce & Relaunch (www.Jacquelinenewman.com).
The divorce proceedings – all the time spent with your attorney and in court, all the hours burned while considering highly emotional and financial factors, from the impact on your children to the division of assets – put a big part of your life on hold, not to mention a major strain on it. And now with the difficult process over, Newman says, it is important to focus on creating a brand new you.
“The last umpteen months have been about your kids, your ex, and your divorce,” says Newman, “thus, a little ‘me’ time is in order. Here is an opportunity to be free from having to answer to anyone but yourself. So live your life to its fullest.”
Newman’s message is that divorce does not have to be the worst thing that could have happened to you.
There are silver linings as you begin to take control of what you can, and she offers three tips on how to relaunch after a divorce.
• Treat yourself. Right out of the divorce gate, buy something meaningful for yourself. Lose the guilt your ex made you feel for spending on clothes or expensive shoes. Your gift could be something symbolic and therapeutic that fires a shot back at your ex. “I would absolutely recommend you buy yourself a divorce present of some kind,” Newman says. “You deserve it. One woman I represented was constantly mocked by her husband during their marriage for being flat-chested. It is easy to guess what she bought as soon as her cash payment cleared.”
• Embrace single hood. This does not mean you have to hug your first post-divorce dinner partner. It means embracing a new stage of discovery, with the different, interesting people you meet while dating becoming part of your growth. Newman recommends online dating as a way to “relearn how to date.” Many newly divorced people feel insecure about dating, but Newman suggests learning about people outside your comfort zone. And rather than trying to focus on finding Mr. or Mrs. Right, Newman says, “Give yourself some time to look around and meet different types of people. You may learn something that can broaden your perspective on life. If you can start seeing relationships not as the goal but as opportunities for growth, then you can start being more accepting with the outcome of each relationship.”
• Expand your freedom. Use your new windows of time to catch up with friends you have not seen. Newman recommends Facebook as an easy way to reconnect. On weekends when the ex has the kids, strengthen your friendship circle and broaden it. Explore and re-discover yourself. Pursue new hobbies or renew ones you did not have as much time for in marriage. Advance your career. “Your post-divorce life is offering you a chance to go after the promotion you have been dreaming about,” Newman says.
By doing the things you long wanted to do, you can find the new you.
“You are free to be who you are without judgment from a spouse,” Newman says, “and to do whatever you want. Learn to love yourself.” For the Silo, Cathy K. Hayes.
As Canada’s aging population continues to grow, there are concerns about the financial and physical capacity to meet its growing care needs.
Seniors’ need for housing and care is a complex issue involving many government policies and, therefore, government has many avenues for the exertion of control and adjustment over the issue. Much room for improvement is evident in the quality of, capacity for, and financial support for meeting these needs. This analysis provides a summary of the challenges and gaps in the current state of senior support policies and provides insights to inform future policy.
This Commentary examines the household spending patterns of seniors, the availability of different housing and care options, the costs of providing care in different settings, and government policies that subsidize support services in homes, retirement communities, and long-term care. The results show that the availability and costs of different services and types of care vary significantly across the country. In particular, seniors with below-median incomes face affordability challenges related to shelter costs, with these costs becoming a potential barrier to access to retirement homes and other support services if not publicly available. Further, there is unmet need for home care across Canada, which invests less in home and community care than other OECD countries.
To ensure there is adequate capacity to provide care for high-needs seniors, provinces should invest in expanding home and community care and prevention.
Previous research has shown that about 30 percent of entries to long-term care homes (LTC) could be delayed or prevented (CIHI 2017). Investing in expanded home and community support services and providing financial supports for low-income seniors to access the care they need where it is most appropriate, can reduce the demand for more intensive (and expensive) LTC or hospital care. There are waitlists for LTC, and “alternate level care” seniors occupying hospital beds, which contributes to higher costs, lower hospital capacity for other treatment, and lower quality of life and declining health for the affected seniors. In addition, a significant proportion of below-median-income seniors face housing affordability challenges. Ensuring housing needs are appropriately met can improve the quality of life of seniors and prevent premature entry into higher levels of care. Differences in the availability of services and how they are funded across the country can inform strategies to improve accessibility and capacity. Notably, Quebec has more seniors’ care spaces, lower vacancy rates and lower rent charges than other provinces, while providing comparatively more support to senior households through tax credits.
Overall, limited fiscal capacity, growing demand due to demographic aging, and the growing costs and complexity of care needs for aging seniors all present a significant conundrum for policymakers. There is a daunting challenge in determining the appropriate level of support, ensuring it is well targeted, and allowing for seniors to choose what is best for them. Government policies should encourage seniors to remain independent as long as possible, but also ensure they have adequate financial resources and access to support services if they are required.
There are multiple options for housing accommodations as seniors age, and the choice will depend on their preferences, families, level of need, and the affordability and accessibility of the various options. This section discusses the different care needs that seniors might have as they age. It also illustrates the continuum of care: seniors choosing assisted/supportive living accommodations or receiving home care will have a range of needs, and care must be flexible enough to suit an individual’s needs.
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are a set of essential everyday tasks and activities that individuals typically need to perform to live independently and maintain their overall well-being. These activities are often used in healthcare and long-term care settings to assess an individual’s functional abilities and to determine their level of independence. When someone experiences limitations in one or more of these areas, they may require varying degrees of assistance or care, ranging from minimal support to full-time care. Health professionals use ADL assessments to develop care plans and tailor assistance to meet an individual’s specific needs and promote their overall quality of life. The specific ADLs may vary slightly in different contexts, but the core activities are as follows.
Personal hygiene and grooming: including bathing/showering, caring for teeth, medication management, etc.
Dressing: choosing appropriate clothing and putting it on independently.
Eating: feeding oneself and preparing simple meals.
Mobility and transferring: being able to walk, get in and out of bed, or independent transferring from one surface to another (such as from a bed to a wheelchair).
Toileting and continence: The ability to get on and off the toilet, maintain personal hygiene, and manage incontinence, if necessary.
Medication management: the ability to follow medical care plans without the need for assistance or reminders to take necessary medications.
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living: activities that are not essential to basic self-care, but are crucial to independent living in a community such as managing finances, planning and preparing meals, doing laundry, going shopping for essential items, etc.
Notably, most of the ADLs have little to do with direct healthcare needs. Instead, they are a set of daily activities that could be provided by different types of support services including meal delivery, housekeeping, laundry services, and social activities. Seniors requiring support with some ADLs could benefit from one or more support services, even if they do not have advanced healthcare needs. Healthcare is an important component of supporting seniors to remain independent, however, many of the activities that are required for independence fall outside the traditional scope of healthcare.
The options for support available to seniors are directly related to their care needs. Those who are able to live independently can choose their accommodations based on lifestyle and preferences. Those requiring occasional or minimal assistance can remain in their homes and receive help from family, other informal caregivers, and possibly publicly funded home and personal care services, or they could choose to privately pay for some services such as regular housekeeping or food delivery services. They might also choose to move to a retirement home or community where meals and other services are provided, as well as ongoing opportunities for socialization. As care needs become more intensive, seniors may require ongoing or live-in support from a combination of public or private home and nursing care services, family, or an informal caregiver at home. In the retirement home setting, there are many options to address increasing care needs. However, as care needs become greater, affordability plays a factor in how long a senior might stay in a retirement home before moving to LTC where care needs are generally fully subsidized by government, and room and board charges are limited by regulations.1
At home, those requiring hands-on or total assistance require significant and ongoing care. At this stage, a caregiver must be available at all hours to assist with many basic ADLs, and the options for care become more limited. Those without an available caregiver in the home will likely be best served by residing in long-term care homes that have health providers on site at all times of day. Depending on their health conditions, hospice and palliative care might also be appropriate for end-of-life care. Increasing numbers of retirement homes are offering heavy care and dementia care services, and publicly funded home care can be accessed to supplement some of the costs. This still, however, presents a significant financial burden to seniors. Often, even though a retirement home can safely and appropriately meet the care needs of a senior, LTC becomes the preferred option. Most often, this is because of the cost differential between what the government will subsidize in a LTC setting versus the limited home-care services available to offset privately paid retirement home care costs.2
The options for care and assistance with ADLs reflect progressive levels of need. As care needs become more intense, the options become more limited (and/or costly). Those requiring ongoing care can choose to live in a long-term care home, or might be able to remain in a residential setting – home, retirement home, assisted living facility – if they and their families have the resources to supplement publicly provided services, and if the appropriate services are available privately. Of course, those that are independent have a full range of choices for where they might want to live, except those places reserved for people with higher care needs. More than three-quarters (78 percent to 91 percent) of Canadians would prefer to receive care while continuing to live in their homes as they age, but only one-quarter (26 percent) expect that they will be able to do so (Sinha 2020, March of Dimes 2021). The different types of seniors’ accommodations and short-term respite care programs are described in Box 1. It is important to note that there is overlap between many care options and levels of need – two seniors with similar care needs might use different combinations of services. This is particularly the case for people with minimal to moderate needs for support. Similarly, the options will vary in terms of availability and costs depending on the location, the ownership and operation models of the different residences, and the level of public coverage and involvement in different levels of care. The next section provides a summary of the availability and costs of various seniors’ living arrangements across the country, focusing on provinces with larger populations (BC, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec).
There are 2,076 long-term care homes in Canada. At first glance, LTC in Canada appears to have a comparable amount of beds and financial resources in comparison to international peer countries. Canada has close to the average number of LTC beds relative to the size of the senior population, but still fewer than countries such as New Zealand, Finland, Germany, and Switzerland. It also has a comparable proportion of the senior population receiving LTC care and homecare, relative to international peers (Wyonch 2021). It spends more per capita than the OECD average on funding LTC but spends less than other OECD countries as a proportion of GDP. The GDP proportion of health spending for inpatient LTC is above average (Wyonch 2021).
Despite higher-than-average spending, there are long waitlists for LTC in many Canadian provinces. In Ontario, there were, as of Oct. 2022, almost 40,000 seniors waiting for LTC, and 76,000 receiving care; this means the waitlist currently exceeds 50 percent of care capacity (OLTCA).3
The median wait time was 130 days in 2021/22 (213 days for entrants from the community, and 80 days for hospital entrants) (HQO). In Quebec, the waitlist is much smaller (4,235 as of June 2023). However, seniors might still wait up to two years for a placement (Bonjour Résidences).
The cost of long-term care varies across provinces, but charges payable by the resident to cover room and board are generally standardized by regulation within each province. For example, in Ontario the maximum monthly co-payment for LTC is $1,986.82 – $2,838.49 depending on whether the room is shared or private. In Quebec, room and board charges for public and contracted private long-term care homes (CHSLD or centre d’hébergement et de soins de longue durée) are $1,294.50 – $2,079.90, depending on the type of room. Quebec also has unsubsidized (uncontracted) private CHSLD, where the average monthly costs are between $5,000 and $8,000, depending on resident’s needs (Bonjour Résidences).4More than half of LTC homes (54.4 percent) and the majority of retirement homes are privately owned and operated. There is no consistent ownership pattern across the country: in five provinces, the majority of LTC homes are privately owned and operated, with the other provinces having majority public ownership. All LTC homes in the Territories are publicly owned. Both publicly and privately owned LTC homes provide ongoing care for some of the most vulnerable members of society. At both public and private LTC homes, healthcare is publicly funded and most support services will be included in room and board rents. Seniors must require significant care to qualify for LTC.5
Individuals requiring support who don’t have a caregiver in the home are much more likely to be admitted prematurely to LTC homes. Indeed, about one in nine new entrants could potentially have been cared for at home or in a retirement home setting. These new residents are more likely to have previously lived alone or in a rural area where formal and informal supports are less likely to be available (CIHI 2020b).
Retirement homes offer a wide variety of services and programs targeted at different client types. These include those who are fully independent and wish to live in a congregate setting for the lifestyle and social benefits, those with mild to moderate care needs, those with heavier care needs, and those who require specific dementia care programs and supports. In Ontario, for example,15 percent of homes provide dementia care, 34 percent provide assistance with feeding, and the majority provide services to assist with other ADLs (Roblin et al. 2019). Prices of retirement home care vary significantly by location, as well as by amenities and services offered as they are market driven (and are not generally directly government subsidized). Various provinces have senior rental accommodations that provide care needs: in Quebec the services are called “seniors’ residences”; in BC “assisted living”; in Ontario “retirement homes”; and in Alberta, “supportive living.”
Many retirement homes offer more extensive health and personal care services. These additional services increase costs for seniors since they are either charged as additional services or will be incorporated into higher room and board costs. In Ontario, if these additional services are provided by the retirement home, the additional services are not directly publicly subsidized. In some cases, residents in retirement homes might also receive home care or assisted living support that is provided by a separate agency, either publicly or privately. Most retirement homes are privately owned and operated. Their activities and levels of care provision are regulated by provinces, but prices will be determined by market factors and the amenities and services offered in each location.
In Ontario, retirement communities are regulated by the Retirement Homes Act, 2010 (RHA), and are licensed and inspected by the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA).6Each retirement community can offer up to 13 care designated services, for example, assistance with dressing and personal hygiene, medication management, and providing meals. Services might also be publicly provided through home care. About half of seniors currently living in retirement homes have care needs that would qualify them for publicly provided home and community care. Home care services supplement the care services in the retirement home at no cost to the resident and assist with affordability of the retirement living option for seniors with care needs.
In Quebec, private seniors’ residences are rental facilities that are mainly occupied by people over 65, and offer various services such as nursing care, meal services, housekeeping, and recreation. Private seniors’ residences must hold a certificate of compliance from the Government of Quebec ensuring they comply with health and safety rules. Similarly, in Alberta, the provincial government sets accommodation standards for supportive living facilities. Supportive living operators require a licence if they provide accommodation and support services to more than three people, provide meals or housekeeping services, and arrange for safety and security services. Alberta also has Designated Supportive Living where access is determined by an assessment by a health professional, room and board charges are determined by the Alberta government, and accommodations provide 24-hour publicly funded health and personal care services on site.
In British Columbia, retirement homes are divided into categories: independent living, and assisted living.7Assisted living is divided into three classes: i) seniors and persons with disabilities who have chronic or progressive conditions, ii) mental health care, and iii) substance use care. Assisted living residences provide housing, hospitality services and support services, and they may be privately paid, publicly subsidized, or a combination of both. Independent living seniors’ residences are essentially retirement homes targeted to seniors who need minimal assistance and are not generally publicly subsidized. For seniors requiring assistance, assisted living spaces are publicly subsidized based on income: a maximum of 70 percent of after-tax income goes to housing and support services in assisted living. However, there is a minimum fee of $1,093.50 per individual ($1,665.60 per couple) and maximum monthly rate for publicly subsidized assisted living is based on market rates for rent and hospitality services in the same geographic area.
Though individual retirement homes and assisted living facilities might have waitlists, there are fewer concerns about overall capacity. Across provinces, both standard and heavy care spaces are at least 10 percent vacant (Figure 1).
Alberta has the highest vacancy rate for standard care spaces (26.8 percent) and the lowest vacancy rate (10 percent) for heavy care spaces, suggesting a need to transition some standard spaces to heavy care spaces as the population continues to age and care needs intensify across the senior population. Ontario notably has the fewest seniors’ care spaces relative to the size of the senior population, particularly for heavy care units (3.0 spaces per 1,000 seniors over age 75). A long waitlist for LTC and few spaces for seniors with less intensive – but still significant – care needs suggest a need to expand the number of spaces available for seniors across the care continuum. Notably, British Columbia has the highest vacancy rate for heavy care spaces, despite having relatively few spaces (14.4 per 1,000 seniors over 75). It also has the highest rent among provinces for heavy care spaces ($6,726/month) and the largest increase in rent between standard care and heavy care spaces (Figure 2).
Quebec has more than three times the amount of seniors’ housing spaces in comparison to other provinces, relative to the size of the senior population. It also has the lowest median rent for both standard and heavy care spaces by a large margin. Median rent for a standard care space ($1,873/month) is about half the cost of other provinces, and a heavy care space in Quebec ($3,566/month) costs less than a standard care space in Ontario ($3,845/month).8Quebec having triple the supply but similar vacancy rates to other provinces suggests that lower prices are a result of a significantly higher supply of seniors’ care spaces.
Demand is also likely to be higher in Quebec due to policies that indirectly support private seniors’ residences and LTC through medical expense and home care tax credits.
Home care covers a broad range of services, including personal support for ADLs, homemaking services such as housekeeping, laundry services and meal preparation, and can include professional services such as nursing, occupational therapy, or social work. Across Canada, about 6.1 percent of households receive home care services and 2.8 percent of households have unmet home care needs (Table 1). Unmet need is highest in British Columbia and Ontario, and lowest in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Notably Quebec and Atlantic Canada also have the highest proportion of households receiving home care.
In Ontario, publicly covered services are generally tailored to an individual’s needs and delivered in their residence (a home in the community or retirement home), following an assessment by a case manager or health professional. Services are delivered by third-party agencies that can operate on a non-profit or for-profit basis. In Quebec, seniors can access discounted home help through the Financial Assistance Program for Domestic Health Services program. After approval, seniors receive a discounted hourly rate for various home care and support services provided by qualifying domestic help and social economy businesses.9 Many services provided by home care agencies and domestic help businesses can also be purchased directly through the private market. This option gives a completely free choice of services, without the need to qualify for government assistance, but must be paid for out-of-pocket. In BC, home support services can be purchased privately, or can be publicly subsidized, based on eligibility. If publicly subsidized, home care recipients are charged a daily rate for services, based on their income.1010 In Alberta, home care is narrowly defined as providing medical support for people so they can live in their homes. After an eligibility assessment, services are provided under Alberta Health Care Insurance meaning that if a service is not insured, it is not publicly funded.
Over half of home care services are paid from government sources (52.2 percent), and 7.3 percent are covered by insurance. More than a quarter (27 percent) are paid for out of pocket (Gilmour 2018). Government sources are more likely to cover health home care services than support services. In 2015/2016, more than half of nursing care services (54.3 percent) and 42 percent of other healthcare services had a monthly cost (Table 2).
In many cases, seniors receiving home care will also receive help from informal caregivers (for example, family members, neighbors, and adult children). Informal care reduces the direct public costs of supporting a senior to maintain their independence in their home, but it can represent economic deadweight loss if informal caregivers reduce their hours of paid work.11In addition to formal in-home services, there are also seniors’ day-programs to provide care throughout the day, and respite care beds for when informal caregivers might need additional support or if the senior needs additional care for a short period of time.
Depending on the jurisdiction, “assisted living” services overlap somewhat with home care and retirement home services, but generally target those with higher care needs.
Assisted living programs are defined differently across the country. In Quebec, “Resources intermediaries” provide housing and access to support services for individuals with minor to moderate loss of autonomy. In British Columbia, Assisted Living provides housing, hospitality, and social and recreational services to adults requiring a supportive environment due to physical and functional health challenges. In Ontario, Assisted Living Services provide support for people with special needs who require services at a greater frequency or intensity than home care, but without the medical monitoring or 24/7 nursing supervision that is provided in long-term care. Services are provided by third-party agencies that operate on a not-for-profit basis. In Alberta, Designated Supportive Living is broken down by levels of service, ranging from 24/7 provision of health and personal care services for those living independently, to providing specialized residential dementia care (AGO 2021).
Assisted living services are generally publicly funded, with limited room and board co-payments when housing is included in services. They are targeted to cover gaps in the continuum of care between independent living options and long-term care, and the services provided can overlap with both to ensure appropriate levels of support are provided and seniors are not prematurely admitted to long-term care.
Alternate Level of Care patients are people occupying an inpatient bed, but whose needs no longer require acute level care. ALC patients occupy 12.7 to 27.5 percent of beds in acute-care centres across the provinces and represent 15.5 percent of all acute-care bed-days in Canada (excluding Quebec) in 2021-2022 (CIHI 2023). ALC patients are most often admitted to acute care as a result of an injury or illness, but subsequently cannot be discharged home as their clinical condition requires new additional support and/or care services such as home care, transfer to a long-term care facility, or another form of specialized care (rehabilitation, psychiatric or complex). In some cases, ALC patients might be admitted for predominantly social reasons: no acute or rapidly accelerating medical condition is present, but certain circumstances force patients and caregivers to turn to emergency departments (for example, real or perceived failing of social services or lack of adequate community supports) (Durante et al. 2023).
ALC patients represent a complex health system challenge with many contributing factors. Lack of access to preventative and primary care services, or to home care and other social services, can result in patients going to emergency rooms when an alternate level of care would be more appropriate. Similarly, a lack of capacity in home care or long-term care can result in ALC patients remaining in hospitals for extended periods of time. Both scenarios represent an inefficient use of limited (and expensive) hospital resources and constrain capacity to provide acute care. From a financial perspective, each ALC patients represent a cost of $730 to $1,200 per day to Canada’s healthcare systems (Whatley 2020).12
While inefficient spending is concerning, preserving limited acute care bed capacity is necessary to prevent bed shortages and ensure accessibility for Canadians. Canada has fewer hospital beds relative to the size of the population than most OECD countries, and high occupancy rates in acute care beds show that the system is strained. While there is no agreed upon “optimal” occupancy rate, 85 percent is often considered the maximum rate to reduce risks of bed shortages. The average across OECD countries was 69.8 percent in 2021. Canada was one of three countries to have a rate over 85 percent and had the fewest beds per capita in the high-occupancy group (OECD 2023).13If Canada reduced the number of ALC patients and the number of days an ALC patient spends in hospital, it could significantly reduce acute care capacity concerns. A 13 percent reduction in ALC days would be sufficient to bring acute care occupancy down to below the 85 percent occupancy threshold to prevent hospital bed shortages, since ALC patients currently occupy 15.5 percent of capacity.
There are opportunities to reduce ALC patient days, both from within the hospital setting and by improving and expanding community and support services. Increasing the number of seniors’ care spaces, increasing the scope and provision of home care, improving primary care access and ensuring that necessary support services are accessible and affordable for seniors would all alleviate the strain on hospitals by preventing admissions and allowing for more rapid discharge of ALC patients to alternate levels of care. Within hospitals, incentives for physicians, families, and the hospital generally encourage longer than optimal stays. Front-line clinical staff (especially physicians) have strong incentives to avoid conflict and risks resulting from acute-care discharges (Chidwick et al. 2017).14Hospitals in some provinces charge a daily fee to recoup the costs resulting from ALC hospitalizations. The fees are generally equivalent to the daily rates for room and board in LTC, not the full cost of an acute care bed. This means that there is little incentive for seniors or their families to prefer one care setting over the other if a patient is destined for long-term care. The hospital, however, cannot charge patients this fee unless they need continuing or chronic care – destined for more or less permanent institutional care.15Hospitals, therefore, have an incentive to designate ALC patients as chronic and in need of long-term care, so that they can recoup costs. In Quebec, hospitals do not charge fees related to ALC. In that case, seniors and their families have an incentive to prefer hospital care over home care, a retirement home or a long-term care home since these options do have financial costs. Provinces should examine their hospital fee policies related to alternate level care to ensure that clinicians, hospitals, and seniors are not incentivized to provide or receive more advanced healthcare services than are necessary to meet the needs of the patient. Hospitals should also evaluate policies and guidance for clinicians and front-line workers on making discharge decisions to reduce referral to long-term care when it can be avoided.
Addressing the unmet care and housing needs of seniors could significantly reduce the number of ALC patients and their lengths of stay in hospitals. Reducing ALC days and admissions would likely be sufficient to reduce the strain on acute care capacity to levels more comparable to international peers and reduce the risk of bed shortages.
Different settings and types of service provision, with different public programs and levels of subsidization, make comparison across provinces challenging. In this section, I compare public costs of seniors’ healthcare across the country and provide estimates of the public costs of care provision across different settings in Ontario and Quebec.16
Rather unsurprisingly, per capita health expenditure increases with the age of the population, since older and frailer individuals have increasingly intensive healthcare needs. There is some variability between provinces, with New Brunswick and British Columbia having lower spending per capita on care for seniors. Across the country, more than $1 of every $4 of provincial government healthcare spending goes to caring for people over 75 years of age. From 2010-2020, total provincial and territorial government spending on healthcare for the population over 75 increased by 40.5 percent to $52.77 billion, while total government spending on healthcare increased by 56 percent. In some provinces, increases in seniors’ healthcare spending have been driven by growth of the senior population (ON, NS) (Figure 3). Some provinces have contained these increasing costs by reducing per capita spending on seniors’ healthcare (NB, AB, NFL). In others, both increasing senior populations and increased per capita spending contribute to spending growth (QC, PEI, MB, SK and BC). Only in PEI and BC has spending on seniors’ care kept pace with overall increases in healthcare spending.
Meanwhile, seniors are spending more on their own healthcare and living expenses. In 2019, the average senior household (75+) spent $14,440 on housing and $3,260 on healthcare (Table 2). Healthcare costs have stayed relatively constant in real terms from 2010 to 2019, and increased less than total consumption, though private insurance premiums have increased by 117 percent. Food and shelter costs, however, have become more expensive. Seniors who rent their homes are facing challenges in addition to affordability, with more than half of those in unsubsidized rental units having inadequate, unsuitable, or unaffordable housing (Table 3). As needs increase with age, the cost and availability of options will factor into the lifestyle choices seniors make about where they live.
In Ontario, a senior with high care needs would likely qualify for long-term care or assisted living. If those services aren’t readily available, they might require a stay in hospital as they wait for an assisted living or long-term care bed to become available. Regardless of the care setting, the personal costs are similar.17
From a public finance perspective, however, there are different costs associated with different levels of care. A hospital stay for someone over 80 years of age ranges in cost from $4,306 to $11,361 per episode of care. Long-term care costs the province $5,870.70 per month per patient, and the average cost of assisted living is about $1,494 per month per patient.18Previous analysis has shown that the total cost of care is lower in heavy care retirement spaces than in LTC, and that public costs are significantly lower due to residents paying privately for services in retirement homes (Table 3). Public spending is lower if people receive advanced care services at home, or in retirement homes, than in long-term care. Hospitals are the worst option. They have the highest public cost and are also a limited resource. Every hospital bed occupied by an alternate level care patient (ALC) carries an opportunity cost and makes the bed unavailable for acute or critical care, or surgical rehabilitation and monitoring.
The picture for high needs patients in Quebec is similar to that in Ontario, but with notable distinctions. There are no private costs for a hospital stay in Quebec, and room and board charges for public LTC range from $1,294.50 per month to $2,079.90. Quebec has private LTC homes that cost residents $5,000 to $8,000 per month, depending on level of care need.19The public cost of a hospital stay for a patient over 80 years of age is higher in Quebec than in Ontario ($5,627-$14,488), as is the level of subsidization of public LTC ($5,837.73 – 9,379.60 per month per client, depending on type of room). There are similar public costs associated with a hospital stay or a month in LTC in Quebec, but the need to preserve scarce hospital resources remains, meaning that from a public cost perspective, the preference would be for high needs patients to be in LTC homes. If the senior can afford it, a heavy care bed in a private retirement home or private LTC home is most beneficial, from a public finance perspective. Research has shown that the government pays 79.7 percent of residential care costs and 81.7 percent of nursing home costs, or about $53,500 per user of a residential care facility and $82,400 per user of a long-term care facility. Comparatively, home care is estimated to cost $7,140 to $23,634 per client, depending on level of care need (Clavet et al. 2022).20
For mild to moderate needs, seniors can depend on informal caregivers, public or private homecare services, nursing services, or they can choose to live in retirement homes offering the services they need. In many cases, some combination of services is required. Home care services in Quebec can be heavily discounted depending on the level of assistance qualified for under the “Domestic Help” program. In Ontario, those qualifying for public homecare services don’t have out-of-pocket costs.21 In both provinces, homecare services can also be acquired privately, in which case there is no direct public cost.22 In both provinces, retirement homes are generally privately owned and operated and offer a variety of services across a spectrum of care needs. In Ontario, the average rent for a retirement home is $3,845 per month, representing a less affordable option when compared to average household costs.23 In Quebec, retirement homes represent a slight savings compared to the average senior household’s expenses.24Quebec has many more senior living spaces than Ontario, relative to the size of the population. It also has a much lower vacancy rate. As discussed in detail in the next section, different tax credits in each province provide different levels and types of support which likely affect both the accessibility of different types of support services and the distribution of seniors’ receiving care in each setting.
In addition to publicly provided services and subsidies on home and health care services, there are also tax credits that reduce the cost of support services and equipment for seniors. Quebec makes more expansive use of tax credits to support seniors remaining in their homes as they age than Ontario. People over 70 years of age in Quebec can claim up to 38 percent of eligible expenditures through the refundable tax credit for home support services.25 Services eligible for the tax credit include meal preparation or delivery services, nursing care services, home and personal care services (such as housekeepers, landscapers, or aides to assist with bathing, dressing, feeding etc.). For homeowners, only eligible services can be refunded. For tenants, however, a portion of rent can be considered if it includes eligible home support services. Similarly, retirement home residents can claim the portion of their rent that relates to meal preparation and home care services. The total amount that can be refunded takes into account total income, level of dependence, family structure, and the eligible expenses incurred throughout the year. An independent senior could qualify for a maximum of $7,020 in refundable credits based on the maximum service spending of $19,500. Dependent seniors can be eligible for up to $9,180 in refundable credits. The credit is reduced when family income exceeds $69,040.26
In Ontario, residents over 70 years of age can claim up to $1,500, or 25 percent of eligible expenses up to a maximum of $6,000, through the Ontario Seniors Home Care Tax Credit. Eligible expenses fall into several categories including walking aids, hearing devices, wheelchairs, hospital bed for home use, oxygen, vision, dental, or home nursing care. The maximum tax credit is reduced by five percent of family net income over $35,000, meaning about a quarter of households with a member over the age of 75 will qualify for the maximum credit. Claimable expenses are amounts over 3 percent of net income. The Ontario home care tax credit covers both services and equipment but does not allow for rent deductions, while the Quebec credit is for eligible service expenses only. Notably, the level of support provided by the Ontario tax credit is lower than that in Quebec. It covers a smaller proportion of the population and refunds a significantly lower amount. See Boxe 2 for examples of the difference in refundable tax credits for a senior couple in each province.
The federal government and Quebec also offer tax credits for improving home accessibility. The federal home accessibility tax credit is available to people 65 years of age or older, or those with a disability. Eligible recipients can claim up to $10,000 related to renovations or purchasing equipment that improves the accessibility and safety of the home. The renovations must be of an enduring nature and could include wheelchair ramps, walk-in bathing installations, and support bars. Quebec’s tax credit is similar to the federal credit. The Quebec Independent Living tax credit for seniors covers 20 percent of eligible expenses over $250.
There are also tax credits to support informal caregivers. At the federal level and in Ontario and Quebec, immediate family members can claim a tax credit for providing care for a disabled relative. Quebec also offers a refundable tax credit of 30 percent of total expenses for caregivers paying for respite services that provide a short-term replacement for care and supervision of a disabled relative.27
The tax credits available to help seniors stay in their homes are quite expansive, and generally consider age and household income levels. In some cases, the tax credits have restrictive criteria, such as requiring the person receiving care to have a disability, making them more targeted to the population requiring more intensive and ongoing care. In Quebec, the home support tax credits go a step further than in Ontario by including a portion of rent related to services, making retirement home care partially eligible, and by separating tax credits related to devices and services. The tax credits are also available to different age groups: tax credits for home equipment become available at age 65 under federal and Quebec subsidies and are available to those 70 and older in Ontario. Both Ontario and Quebec have reserved tax credit eligibility for home nursing care and other home care services to those age 70 and over. The timing of the availability of tax credits loosely follows the progression of care needs as people age and is targeted at the population in need of assistance – without requiring medical assessments and case managers to determine eligibility.28
However, there is a significant difference in the level of support provided between Ontario and Quebec. As the examples in Boxes 2 and 3 show, the question of whether a senior lives in an owned home or rented accommodations (including retirement homes) significantly changes the level of tax subsidization received in Quebec, but not Ontario. In either case, seniors are likely to qualify for more refundable tax credits to support independent living in Quebec than in Ontario.
Developing public policies to support seniors as they age should be informed by seniors’ preferences and levels of need. Some senior households requiring lifestyle or healthcare services have the financial resources to invest in adapting their homes, or to pay for services.
Many seniors are homeowners and have the ability to downsize or transition to a retirement home or other rented accommodations using the unlocked equity to pay for their accommodations or supplement publicly provided healthcare and lifestyle support services. A significant number of senior households, however, face affordability challenges and are in inadequate or unsuitable housing. This section provides a brief overview of the household spending patterns of seniors and their housing needs, with the aim of informing policies that best provide targeted support to seniors most in need.
The Household Spending Survey from Statistics Canada provides insights into the number, composition, and spending patterns of households across the country. According to the 2019 survey data, there were about 1,991,750 households with at least one person over the age of 75, representing 13.5 percent of the total.29 Nova Scotia has the highest proportion of households with seniors (15.24 percent) and Alberta has the lowest (10.77 percent). The data show that while the majority of households with seniors are living within their means, senior households with below-median incomes, and those who rent, are more likely to face affordability challenges or have difficulty accessing adequate and suitable housing.
Most seniors live alone or as a couple (42 percent and 35 percent, respectively). The distribution of seniors among housing types is similar to the rest of the population; a majority live in single detached houses (54 percent) and about 3 in 10 live in apartments or condos. The majority of senior households own their home without a mortgage, and seniors are more likely to own a second property than the population average. The majority of households with seniors depend on government transfers as their main source of income (52 percent), followed by other forms of income (27 percent) and employment earnings (17 percent).30In general, 75+ households have lower spending and consumption than the average household and spend a lower proportion of their income.31 Senior households spend less than the average in all categories except healthcare and custodial services (though they still spend less on household operations overall). Examining average income and consumption patterns across provinces shows that the average household with at least one person over the age of 75 can meet its needs and still reserve about 30 percent of income as savings, a similar rate to households overall.
Averages, however, can mask more worrisome spending and consumption patterns at the lower end of the income distribution. Households with below-median income have consumption expenditures that exceed their incomes.32 Shelter and food costs represent about 46 percent of consumption expenditures across lower-income households in general, and 53 percent for lower-income households with seniors. Shelter costs exceed the 30 percent affordability threshold for below-median-income households with seniors.33 It is difficult to determine the level of need from these data alone, since many seniors have significant savings to support their consumption. Lower-income seniors who do not have significant savings would be more likely to face affordability challenges. Ontario has the lowest spending on shelter for lower-income households with seniors ($8,862), and those households have significantly lower shelter costs than the average across lower-income households in the province.34 In Quebec and Alberta, shelter costs exceed 35 percent of consumption expenditure for senior households. In British Columbia, seniors who rent spend 46.1 percent of their income on shelter.
The importance of shelter costs to seniors’ expenditures, particularly below-median income households, warrants further investigation. Statistics Canada’s housing indicators provide further details. Households where the primary maintainer is over the age of 85 generally have higher rates of housing inadequacy, unaffordability, and unsuitability than the average across all households (Table 4). Seniors show higher rates of “core need” housing than the general population (see Box 4 for definitions of housing indicators).
In all major provinces, more than a third of renters are in housing that is inadequate, unsuitable, or unaffordable. There are some challenges related to housing indicators for homeowners. Rates of inadequacy, unsuitability, or unaffordability are generally lower for seniors 75+ than for the overall household average. Those who rent are more likely to face difficulties. Notably, more than a third of senior renters in ON, BC and AB cannot afford to move into more suitable housing.35 Quebec, comparatively, has lower rates of core housing need than the other provinces, suggesting that a higher proportion of households could afford to move to adequate or suitable housing. This implies that Quebec has fewer affordability challenges relative to the other provinces, particularly for renters and seniors, despite similar levels of inadequate, unsuitable, or unaffordable housing.
As seniors age, it becomes more likely that they will downsize housing to unlock equity and/or move to more appropriate housing. Similarly, they might choose to transition to renting accommodations in seniors’ care spaces. Between 2016 and 2021, 36 percent of over-75 households sold their homes (CMHC 2023).36This rate has declined over time, showing that more and more seniors are remaining independent for longer and choosing to remain in their homes as they age. Older seniors are more likely to transition to rented accommodations (including private market rental units, retirement homes and LTC) and are also more likely to require supportive services. Declining rental rates and a higher proportion of seniors owning their homes shows a preference for aging-in-place and shows that many seniors can maintain their independence for longer than seniors in previous cohorts. Most seniors would prefer to age in their homes, but many are concerned that they won’t be able to afford to do so. Some seniors are pooling their resources and investing in shared accommodation and care services (Sylvestre-Williams 2024).
There are also “naturally occurring retirement communities” when the majority of inhabitants of a multi-unit dwelling are seniors, or seniors choose to purchase housing in close proximity to each other. These naturally occurring communities could provide opportunities to improve the efficiency of home and community care services. They also reveal the preferences for housing and support services of seniors with adequate financial resources to be strategic and plan for their desired retirement. This could provide insights for new models of seniors’ care that reduce costs by supporting the independence of lower-wealth seniors and encouraging seniors with means to contribute to the costs of their support services.
Overall, the data on household spending and income show that the average household is able to afford its needs, although spending patterns change with age and require higher healthcare expenditures. In general, 75+ households have lower spending and consumption than the average household.37 Seniors that have below-median incomes, however, are facing affordability challenges similar to other households in the category, particularly with regard to shelter. These insights suggest two important factors to consider in developing seniors’ care and support policies. First, many senior households have sufficient resources to fund some lifestyle support and healthcare services, meaning there could be opportunities to develop markets for seniors’ support services to supplement the under-provision of publicly provided home care. Second, some seniors are facing affordability challenges, meaning targeted support policies that holistically consider housing, support, and healthcare needs could reduce the likelihood that these seniors will prematurely enter long-term care or become ALC patients in hospitals. For the Silo, Rosalie Wynoch /C.D. Howe Institute.
Clavet, Nicholas-James, Réjean Hébert, Pierre-Carl Michaud, and Julien Navaux. 2022. “The Future of Long-Term Care in Quebec: What Are the Cost Savings from a Realistic Shift toward More Home Care?” Canadian Public Policy 48: 35-50.
Chidwick, Paula, Jill Oliver, Daniel Ball, Christopher Parkes, Terri Lynn Hansen, Francesca Fiumara, Kiki Ferrari et. al. 2017. “Six Change Ideas that Significantly Minimize Alternate Level of Care (ALC) Days in Acute Care Hospitals.” Healthcare Quarterly 20(2): 37-43.
Durante, Stephanie, Ken Fyie, Jennifer Zwicker, and Travis Carpenter. 2023. “Confronting the Alternate Level Care (ALC) Crisis with a Multifaceted Policy Lens.” Briefing Paper. University of Calgary School of Public Policy 16(1). Available at https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/76748
Nuernberger, Kim, Steve Atkinson, and Georgina MacDonald. 2018. “Seniors in Transition: Exploring Pathways Across the Care Continuum”. Healthcare Quarterly 21(1): 10-12.
Roblin, Blair, Raisa Deber, Kerry Kuluski, and Michelle Pannor Silver. 2019. “Ontario’s Retirement Homes and Long-term Care Homes: A Comparison of Care Services and Funding Regimes.” Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement 38(2): 155–167.
The IMF announced today (Tuesday, April 11, 2023) in the World Economic Outlook’s press briefing that the baseline forecast for global output growth is 0.1 percentage point lower than predicted in the January 2023 WEO Update, before rising to 3.0 percent in 2024.
“The world economy is still recovering from the unprecedented upheavals of the last three years, and the recent banking turmoil has increased uncertainties.”
“We expect global output growth to fall from 3.4% last year to 2.8% in 2023, before rising to 3% in 2024, mostly unchanged from our January projections. Advanced economies are expected to see an especially pronounced growth slowdown from 2.7% in 2022 to 1.3% in 2023. Global headline inflation is set to fall from 8.7% in 2022 to 7% in 2023 on the back of lower commodity prices but underlying core inflation is proving to be stickier. Importantly, this outlook assumes that recent financial stresses remain contained,” said Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s Chief Economist.
Much uncertainty clouds the short- and medium-term outlook as the global economy adjusts to the shocks of 2020–22 and the recent financial sector turmoil. Recession concerns have gained prominence, while worries about stubbornly high inflation persist.
“Once again, risks are heavily tilted to the downside, they have risen with the recent financial turmoil. Most prominently, recent banking system turbulence could result in a sharper and more persistent tightening of global financial conditions. The simultaneous rate hikes across countries could have more contractionary effects than expected, especially as debt levels are at historical highs. There might be a need for more monetary tightening if inflation remains stickier than expected. These risks and more could all materialize at a time when policymakers face much more limited policy space to offset negative shocks, especially in low-income countries,” added Gourinchas.
With the fog around current and prospective economic conditions thickening, policymakers have a narrow path to walk towards restoring price stability while avoiding a recession and maintaining financial stability. Achieving strong, sustainable, and inclusive growth will require policymakers to stay agile and be ready to adjust as information becomes available.
“First, as long as financial stress is not systemic as it is now, the fight against inflation should remain the priority for central banks. Second, to safeguard financial stability, central banks should use separate tools and communicate their objectives clearly to avoid unwarranted volatility. Financial policies should remain laser focused on preserving financial stability and watch for any buildup of risks in banks, non-banks, and the real estate sectors. Third, in many countries fiscal policy should tighten to ease inflation pressures, restore debt sustainability, and rebuild fiscal buffers. Finally, in the event of capital outflows that raise financial stability risks, emerging market and developing economies should use the integrated Policy framework, combining temporary targeted foreign exchange interventions and capital flow measures where appropriate,” said Gourinchas.
The recent rise of Artificial intelligence (AI) programs such as ChatGPT has created a frenzy around AI-related stocks.
C3.AI, a pure play AI stock, is up over 100% since late December.
But is this rally sustainable? After all, the public was already surrounded by AI without realizing it. Almost everything people use in daily life is affected by AI already:
advertising
entertainment streaming services
social media
cars (collision detection and blind spot monitoring)
fraud prevention
screening job applicants
email spam filters
many other applications
C3.AI is a company that creates software to help other companies deploy AI projects. C3 software is being used in multiple ways, including managing inventories, monitoring for energy inefficiencies, and predicting system failures. [Of particular note is one new product from C3 called ex machina which allows users to program AI initiatives without using any coding at all but instead via a series of visual programming tools. CP]
AI stocks, and technology stocks as a whole, were a neglected market in 2022. The Nasdaq 100, an index heavy in technology stock, fell more than 30% in 2022. C3.AI fell over 65% in 2022, and is currently down almost 90% from its 2020 high (even after the 100% rally in 2023). All currency quotes that follow are in USD.
C3.AI recently peaked at $30.92 on February 6. It then reached a low of $20.31 on March 1 before rallying back to $29.98. It has since fallen and is back near the $20.33 low.
This puts the stock at a crucial level.
An analyst from SafeTradeBinaryOptions.com had this input: “Right now, the stock is in an uptrend, albeit a precarious one. The price has been making higher swing lows and higher swing highs throughout 2023. But if the price drops much below $20, that will no longer be the case. The price will have made a lower high on March 6 (compared to February 6) and if the price drops below the March 2 low, that is a lower low. These are signs of a downtrend starting — not an uptrend.”
All facets of our modern world are already in the embrace of A.I. whether we know it or not.
This $20 region is important because if the area holds, this indicates the price is moving in a range, with the possibility of the price moving back up to the top of the range near $29. If that happens, there is still hope that the price will eventually break out of the range to upside, continuing its advance to $40, for example.
However, if the price drops below the $20 region, the range is broken and the uptrend is in jeopardy.
It’s important to watch C3.AI to see how investors are perceiving the future of AI, and what that may mean for the industry’s future.
As of March 2023, C3 doesn’t have a lot of direct competition. The company is not yet even profitable. How the stock moves is based on whether investors believe the company can eventually generate profits — and in this case, its profits largely depend on whether AI becomes even more widespread than it already is. For the Silo, Kat Fleischman.
Breaking a leg is never an easy experience, and even though Canada has free healthcare, there can be other medical bills that come with it and they can be overwhelming. And what happens if you were traveling and had an injury outside of the country- what then? In addition to the physical pain and recovery process, you may also have to worry about how to pay for these other medical expenses. In this article, we’ll explore some of the steps you can take to pay for your doctor’s bills after breaking your leg.
Image: castnews.org this site profiles girls with casts in bikinis. Not. Even. Joking.
Check Your Insurance Coverage
The first step to take when facing medical bills is to check your insurance coverage. If you have health insurance as an extra, you may be covered for some or all of the expenses associated with your leg injury. Check with your insurance provider to understand the limits and deductibles of your policy. Understand any out-of-pocket expenses, such as co-payments or coinsurance.
Consider Financing Options
Is the payment plan not working for you? No worries! You can find an emergency loan in Canada that can be a viable option to help you pay your bill on time. Many financial institutions and online lenders offer emergency loans for unforeseen expenses, including medical bills. These loans can provide quick access to funds to cover your medical costs, allowing you to focus on recovery.
Before choosing an emergency loan, it’s essential to research your options and compare interest rates and fees to ensure you select the option that works best for your financial situation. Ensure you understand the loan agreement’s terms and conditions before signing up.
Negotiate the Medical Bills
When you receive a bill for medical services related to your leg injury, ask for an itemized bill. This will allow you to see exactly what you’re being charged for such as an ambulance fee and identify any errors or discrepancies. Once you have an itemized bill, you can try negotiating with your healthcare provider or hospital. Explain your situation and ask if they can reduce the bill or set up a payment plan that works for you. If you’re uncomfortable negotiating independently, you can seek assistance from a medical billing advocate or attorney.
Set up a Payment Plan
If you cannot pay your medical bills fully, you can work with your healthcare provider to set up a payment plan. Many providers are willing to work with patients to develop a payment plan that fits their budget. When setting up a payment plan, make sure you understand the terms and conditions. You should know how much you’ll be expected to pay each month, when payments are due, and whether there are any penalties for late payments. Sticking to the payment schedule is vital to avoid accruing late fees or other penalties.
Look for Assistance Programs
Another option you can look for is financial assistance programs from non-profit organizations or government agencies. These programs help individuals who cannot pay for medical services on their own. Research the available options and apply for assistance if you meet the eligibility criteria.
Paying medical bills after you have an injury can be daunting. However, several financing options are available to help you cover your medical expenses. The key is to research your options carefully, compare interest rates and fees, and understand the terms and conditions of any financing agreement before signing up. By doing so, you can effectively manage your medical expenses and focus on your recovery without undue financial stress.
Running a business can be a challenging task, especially when you are dealing with multiple tasks and responsibilities at the same time. Fortunately, many tools can help streamline your business operations and make management much easier. In this article, we will take a look at five such tools that can help you manage your business more efficiently.
A personalized ERP
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning, and you may opt for an ERP business application. It is a type of software that helps businesses manage their day-to-day operations by integrating and automating various business functions, such as finance, accounting, inventory, sales, and human resources, into a single system. ERP software provides real-time visibility into all business processes, enabling businesses to make informed decisions based on accurate data.
Slack
Slack is a communication tool that helps teams collaborate more effectively. It allows you to create channels for different projects or teams, which you can use to share files, send messages, and hold virtual meetings. Slack integrates with many other tools, such as Trello and Google Drive, making it an ideal choice for businesses that rely on multiple tools for their operations.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that allows you to track and analyze your website’s performance. It provides valuable insights into your website’s traffic, such as where your visitors are coming from, what pages they are visiting, and how long they are staying on your site. This information can help you optimize your website and improve your online presence.
QuickBooks
QuickBooks is an accounting software that can help you manage your finances more effectively. It allows you to track income and expenses, create invoices, and manage payroll. QuickBooks also integrates with many other tools, such as Trello and Google Sheets, making it easy to manage your finances and other business operations from a single platform.
HubSpot
HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing, sales, and customer service platform that can help you manage your business more efficiently. It includes a CRM (customer relationship management) tool, email marketing, social media management, and much more. HubSpot’s powerful tools can help you automate your marketing and sales processes, and improve your customer engagement.
Trello
Trello is a project management tool that helps teams collaborate and stay organized. It is a visual tool that lets you organize your projects into boards and lists, with cards for each task. You can assign tasks to team members, set due dates, and track progress. Trello is great for managing projects of all sizes, from small tasks to large, complex projects.
Managing a business can be overwhelming, but with the right tools, it can be much easier. ERP, Trello, Slack, Google Analytics, QuickBooks, and HubSpot are just a few of the many tools available that can help you manage your business more efficiently.
By using these tools, you can streamline your operations, improve communication, track performance, manage finances, and much more. So, give these tools a try and see how they can help you manage your business more effectively. For the Silo, Bill Gordon.
Bookkeeping is tedious for most business owners unless you are a seasoned accountant or a fan of working with numbers. That is because businesses have a lot of financial details that need to be recorded, for instance, which supplier should be paid, outstanding customers, equipment to buy, significant purchases to make, and more. Without an accounting and bookkeeping system, you may lose essential business data, miss important goals, or make uninformed decisions that may affect your company’s finances.
Proper money-handling strategies are integral in any business as it helps you keep track of your long-term goals, improve your profits, and streamline seasonal cash flow changes. In addition, it will help your business stay out of trouble with the Internal Revenue Service or IRS.
By adopting good bookkeeping habits, you can avoid costly errors when it comes to record keeping. You can opt to have an in-house team to handle all your bookkeeping services, but this can be un-economical for small business owners. To save on cost, you can work with a bookkeeping agency, which often offers professional online and virtual services in Canada at very fair rates.
Here are seven tips for better bookkeeping for businesses in Canada.
Separate Your Business and Personal Finances
If you are a sole business owner, you should learn to separate your personal and business accounts. This will help you maintain records of every business and personal spending and help you keep the boundary to alleviate eating into the business growth finances.
For limited liability companies, the business is a separate entity from you, and your finances should be kept separate. That means you need to know which assets belong to the business and which are yours. By eliminating all personal transactions from the business accounts, you will lower the number of transactions the bookkeeper needs to categorize and reconcile. Additionally, your tax preparation and filing process will be seamless. You can find a bookkeeper in Canada to help you separate your accounts and provide outsourced business and personal bookkeeping services.
Control Your Business Credit
One of the common signs of an insolvent business is the inability to make payments promptly. The company may need better credit scores, lack of funding, or challenges in fulfilling its working capital needs.
When your business depends on bank financing to fund everyday operations, you will need help to pay back your high-interest debt. Therefore, you need to do due diligence before taking external funding.
You should set strict deadlines for your clients to pay what they owe and consider blocklisting repeat offenders that are taking advantage of you. Eliminate any late payments, as it is just like an interest-free loan. Your business may quickly become a cash-flow crisis if you lack rigorous credit control.
Track Business Expenses
Business expenses may be claimed against tax; therefore, tracking them is crucial if you want to cut overhead and maintain a healthy cash flow. You should always use a business credit card and keep records of expenses based on business activity.
Categorizing your expenses can be crucial, especially when your business is undergoing an CRA audit. The numbers on tax returns are often estimates, and these records help offer supporting evidence. Always remember that even trivial expenses will add up, and having records of everything can be helpful in the long run.
Overspending negatively affects any business; hence, keeping track of your expenses will ensure you track all your expenditures. Always remember that every dollar that you spend takes the business one step away from making a profit. Therefore, when running a business, keep a close watch on all your expenses, understand the benefit you gain from each expense, and document everything carefully. With outsourced online bookkeeping services, you can keep track of all your business expenses and maintain good records.
Schedule Routine Bookkeeping Times
As a business owner, you are handling many things at once, which can eat into the time you can use to monitor your financial record books.
The best way to keep your accounts is by consistently scheduling times to balance your books or working with a bookkeeping company in Canada. You can set aside time when your credit card statement is due and check through your monthly transactions to ensure everything is accurate. Although this task will take about one or two hours, it will simplify your life during the tax season by making tax preparation and filing much more effortless.
Create Budgets For Your Expenses And Set Financial Goals
Planning for business expenses, especially significant purchases, can help you best utilize your business resources and credit while giving you the peace of mind you need. Setting up and reviewing business budgets is directly related to the success of your business.
According to research, small businesses that regularly review their budgets on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis have success rates of 95%, 75%, and 25%, respectively. Therefore, if you want your business to succeed, you must have relatively high unused credit balances. In addition, you should also ensure your budget is monitored regularly, understand the benefits of using credit for your company, and be able to earmark the right amount of business payroll expenses.
Automate Manual Processes
One of the best accounting tips for growing businesses and start-ups is automating routine bookkeeping. Most accounting and bookkeeping activities are repetitive, and automating them will make your work easier and seamless.
Some repetitive bookkeeping processes you can automate include paying employees’ salaries monthly, following up on late invoices, and tracking invoices you send to customers. In addition, you can also automate the calculation of mileage payments for employee reimbursements and document utility bills in a central database.
Business owners can make life much easier by utilizing unified accounting project management solutions to help track expenses, automatically send invoices, and generate customized reports.
Consider Hiring a Tax Accountant
Investing in a seasoned tax accountant near me can be valuable for your business, even if the professional commits just a few hours every week or month to work on your small business bookkeeping and accounting needs.
A certified bookkeeper will record income and expenses and categorize them for a specified period. Conversely, a chartered accountant will help file your business taxes and set up your business’s accounting backbone. A reputable bookkeeping company will have certified tax consultants near me ready to assist you.
With an expert bookkeeper or chartered accountant handling all financial tasks, business owners can focus entirely on their business to attract customers and satisfy existing clients. They can also develop new products and services and grow their business.
Final Thoughts
Bookkeeping is a necessary evil that businesses cannot escape because almost everything depends on it. With an accurate and robust accounting system, you will get information about the business’s cash flow, performance, and financial condition, and it will help you make informed financial decisions. With the tips mentioned above in mind, you can ensure your small business bookkeeping records are available and can make better decisions for your business. You can also eliminate the headache of bookkeeping by outsourcing this function to a certified bookkeeper to help you out. Having a safe pair of skilled hands providing bookkeeping services for small businesses will give you, as the business owner, the confidence and freedom to lead from the front by focusing more on growing your business.
Life insurance is commonly regarded as an investment that should be considered much later in life, when you are older. Young investors frequently favor high-risk, high-reward investments such as equities and commodities. Even the most conservative millennials prefer investments such as fixed deposits or debt mutual funds. Insurance is being replaced by investment options that promise greater monetary returns sooner.
However, the fact remains that investing in life insurance early has numerous benefits.
You’ll understand why investing in life insurance plans early in your career should be an important part of your retirement planning once you’ve learned the benefits. So, here are 3 of the many benefits of purchasing a life insurance policy at a young age.
You will pay lower premiums
Purchasing life insurance at a young age can save you money in the long run. The insurer frequently considers factors such as the applicant’s age and general health condition when determining the premium payable. People in their twenties and thirties are generally in better health.
As a result, premium charges are less expensive than those charged to older investors. Another reason why buying life insurance at a young age is less expensive is that your risk of dying is much lower. To take advantage of this provision, it is best to purchase life insurance early in life.
Your money has enough time to grow
When you purchase a life insurance policy at a young age, your money has more time to grow. As a result, investing in your twenties increases the death or maturity benefits payable at the end of the policy’s term.
For example, if you purchase a life insurance policy at the age of 25 and continue to pay premiums until you are 60, your money will have 35 years to accumulate into a retirement corpus. If you buy the same life insurance at 40, you only have 20 years to make your money grow. Investing early can thus increase your investment’s cash value in the long run.
The future of your family is secure
Most people, by the time they reach retirement age, will have amassed a sizable corpus to help keep their family financially secure. Most people’s children would have graduated from high school or have a job by the age of 50 or 60. When you’re younger and just starting out in your career, your family may be in a more vulnerable position.
In the unfortunate event that you die, your spouse and young children will struggle to cope without a financial safety net. Investing in a life insurance policy at a young age can provide your dependents with this benefit.
As you can see, investing in life insurance at a young age can be a really big deal if you want to save money in the long run. It will also protect you and your dependents no matter what if you had to die unexpectedly. If you need any advice, you should contact a professional that will help you choose the right life insurance according to your needs.
It’s safe to say Blockchain technology has disrupted the internet in quite a dramatic fashion.
Despite only being invented about fourteen years ago, cryptocurrency has formed a world of its own and it is now estimated the market will hit well above a $1 trillion USD valuation from four years ago…..
Allowing transactions, alongside other things such as documents and invoices, to be sent across a P2P network, the technology has been praised for its advanced security and anonymity benefits.
The latest infographic crafted by Bitfortune looks into how many ways Blockchain technology impacted the world and various business industries, such as charities and banking.
In the world of cybersecurity, Blockchain can help reduce or eliminate fraud and errors, along with being a more accurate and confidential platform for industry professionals.
For example, REMME is a secure platform that has eliminated the need for passwords and instead uses Blockchain as a form of authentication.
In supply chain management, Blockchain is being used to reduce the number of errors and exposure to potential threats.
The technology also helps reduce time and increase efficiency – a win-win all around, really. FedEx recently announced plans for an internal Blockchain pilot program that will help solve customer disputes while IBM and Maersk are also working together on a new company that will use Blockchain within global shipping supply chains.
Take a look at the infographic below to learn how Blockchain is disrupting other industries around the world for the better and why it’s time to start thinking about how you can incorporate the technology into your lives.
You’ve likely seen paper money from all over the planet. Maybe you have an aunt living in Australia that sends you dollars in the mail every year for your birthday or perhaps on your commute to work each day you pass by a currency exchange kiosk- you know the type: colorful bills from all over the world decorating the walls.
But how well do you know the faces of world currencies? Is it the King or Queen on the face of the Swedish Krona or neither? Which former US President is found on the five dollar bill?
Take this fun test and discover some pretty cool facts about paper money faces.
Searching for a mortgage broker can seem like an overwhelming process and you might not know where to begin.
The search can be lengthy and if you are faced with an emergency situation and need fast funding, you might not have much time to do the proper research. Below is a list of the top things to consider when searching for the right mortgage broker for your needs.
Choose Someone Who Offers Solutions To Your Problems – Not all mortgage brokers are created equal. Some mortgage brokers have training in specialized areas like stopping power of sale or debt consolidation. Additionally, if you have been turned down by the bank due to poor credit, you will have a greater chance at securing a mortgage loan through a subprime mortgage broker as they have the skills and experience in dealing with complex applications. Thus, it’s important to select someone who can help provide a solution to the problem you are facing.
Do They Have A Good Reputation? – Check out their website, read their testimonials and reviews and preview their social media profiles. Mortgage brokers will at the very least have a website. View the company’s About Us or Team page to get a sense for who you will be working with and if they seem trustworthy.
Is The Brokerage Registered With the Better Business Bureau? –Ideally, the brokerage should be registered with the Better Business Bureau. A BBB accreditation means the business has met all the requirements to be granted accreditation status including completing an application form, undergoing a thorough business check and meeting the BBB’s standards.
Ask Them About Past Clients in Similar Situations – The brokerage’s approach to providing solutions is very important and they should be dedicated to a high level of customer service. Ask the mortgage broker if they have helped others with the same borrowing needs. The mortgage broker should have your best interest at heart – if not, look elsewhere!
Pick Someone Who Has Done Work Before in Your City or Area –Because you will be working closely with the mortgage broker, it makes sense to deal with someone who lives and works in your area because they will most likely have a strong connection with the community and can offer a more personalized approach to handing your application.
Mortgage Brokers are becoming increasingly popular over banks and credit unions because of their ability to access a large number of lenders to secure the best rates. If you are unable to obtain a referral from a friend or family member, then by following these 5 tips, you’ll be sure to find the right individual that suits your needs. If you’ve done your research properly, then you should feel confident that you have chosen the right person to work with.
Having a strong relationship with your mortgage broker is important in making sure they understand your unique needs and can provide the right advise. After all, it’s your financial wellbeing that is the greatest priority, so having an experienced person on your side who is dedicated to your needs is the most important. Featured image: Shutterstock
Moving into a retirement home marks a special occasion because it signifies the beginning of your golden years. While this means that you can finally relax and start enjoying all of life’s greatest pleasures to their fullest extent, it shouldn’t mean that you can disregard financial planning either.
Out of the Old and Into the New
When you decide to capitalize on your lifelong investment property and use that money towards enjoying your retirement, you’ll likely follow through with a long-awaited plan to downsize. The reason for this isn’t merely financial; it is because, as an empty-nester, you no longer require all of the space that you once did when raising a family. You are also likely no longer interested in performing all of the continual maintenance that your old home requires.
Moving into a Custom-Built Townhome
However, just because you have decided to downsize doesn’t mean that you should enjoy your new home any to less extent. If you’re looking for a new location in southern Ontario, you can work with a Fort Erie home builder to create the custom townhome of your dreams.
When you opt to partner with a company that builds custom homes, you’ll get access to more choices about how you’ll live during your retirement. Not only can you add extra rooms, but you’ll be able to decide on the look of aesthetic features like what type of flooring that your new home will contain in each room.
Building Your Next Investment
When you build a custom home, the choices you make about the final product where you’ll live can influence the value of your home. Extra rooms and fine-quality flooring options will increase the resale value of any property, as will opting for energy-efficient appliances.
The Potential for Appreciation
Given the growing popularity of the Niagara region, the most likely outcome regarding real estate will be a continued increase in value. If you’re interested in purchasing a home that will make a good investment property, then it will help to buy a custom option that allow you to gain more control over particulars and will be worth more than a previously owned property.
Embrace the Active Adult Lifestyle
While a newly-built custom home is sure to become a wise investment, that’s not all that retirement living is about. Buying a home in an active adult community will provide you with the opportunity to make social and active lifestyle choices that can contribute to better health and an increased lifespan. You’ll also be living near great beaches and easy access to nature.
Given that the road ahead in life is always unpredictable, there’s never a bad time in your life to think about financial planning. After all, you want to ensure that you’ll be covered in the case of emergencies and that you have something leftover to leave to your children and grandchildren. To get started on your nest investment home, get in touch with a company that builds custom homes in the Niagara region. For the Silo, Mila Urosevic.
About half-way from East Coast to West Coast, you’ll find Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The biggest city and capital of Manitoba, Winnipeg is also one of Canada’s top retirement destinations. Whether you’re looking for great culture, sports, food, recreation, an affordable cost of living, or great senior housing options, Winnipeg is worth checking out. Here are the top reasons you should consider the city on the Red River when you’re thinking about your retirement options.
1 Great Senior Housing Options
As a city with over 800,000 residents, many of them seniors, there are plenty of senior housing options ranging from independent senior living communities to assisted living. As a family, if you’re looking for assisted living options for your loved ones, there are a few things you want to look for:
Availability of memory care, including care staff who are trained to work with adults suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Transportation assistance to medical appointments and services.
Private suites and a family-friendly environment.
Therapeutic group exercises offered at the residence.
A safe, warm, and comfortable environment.
Don’t be afraid to take your time and do research. The move into assisted living for seniors is a big one and should be made as a family,
2 Outdoor Activities in All Seasons
If you live here, you already know: Winnipeg is a winter city. That doesn’t just mean winters are long, cold, and snowy. A lot of seniors worry about the severity of the season if they haven’t lived here before. But Winnipeg also happens to be one of the sunniest places in Canada, cold or not. There is plenty to do on a bright winter day, including skating trails complete with warming huts and winter festivals that can rival the best of the city’s summer entertainment.
There are plenty of ways to get involved with sports and recreation in the city, including golf, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and more.
On top of all that, the city is home to huge amounts of green space that are great for walking, tai chi, and fitness clubs for seniors that can help you stay active and limber. While Vancouver may get all the credit as a hub for outdoor lovers, with the banks of the Red River and a wealth of natural assets, Winnipeg offers plenty of all-season activities – and a much lower cost of living.
3 A Rich Cultural Life
Winnipeg offers a rich cultural scene with a wealth of museums, concert halls, and theatre. Some of Winnipeg’s top cultural destinations include the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Centennial Concert Hall, Seven Oaks Museum, the Museum of Human Civilization, the Royal Manitoba Museum, and many, many more. There’s always something to do in Winnipeg.
In addition to the arts, there’s also plenty to eat. The culinary scene punches above its weight, according to food critic Dan Clapson, and experiments with both regional ingredients (like Birch syrup) and lesser-known international ingredients. Markets like The Forks are one-of-a-kind in the country.
Get to know Winnipeg. Learn more about your retirement options in one of Canada’s top retirement destinations.
Lots of people struggle to get a mortgage in the first place. It’s especially hard now because homes are so expensive. You start to think you’ll be paying off your mortgage for the rest of your life.
Luckily, your finances will probably improve considerably over time. When they go up you should look into paying your mortgage early. Let’s look at some of the top reasons why it’s something you should aim for in the future.
Extra Money To Enjoy Yourself
If people need to take out bad credit loans in Toronto, ON, they won’t have lots of disposable income. When you don’t have great credit you can’t enjoy yourself, but that’s not the case when you’re older.
When you have more disposable income after paying off a mortgage, you’ll have much more money to spend on luxuries. If you need to keep paying a huge chunk of your income towards a mortgage your life won’t be as fun.
Saving Lots Of Money In Interest
Once you walk into Clover Mortgage Brokers in Toronto & GTA, they’ll let you know how much you can spend on a home. But it’s going to be a lot more over the lifetime of the mortgage due to interest payments.
When you pay interest on a loan, it makes up a big chunk of your monthly payments in the beginning. The amount of interest you pay drops over time, but if you pay off the mortgage early you’ll no longer have to pay it.
It Eats Into Any Debts You Have
Over the course of a lifetime, couples can generate a huge amount of debt. College tuition, car payments, and credit cards can sometimes be quite high. These debts won’t disappear once you pay your mortgage.
Fortunately, once your mortgage is gone you’ll be able to focus 100% of your efforts on your other debts. It will take you one step closer to becoming debt-free, so you’ll have one less thing to worry about.
A Mortgage Is A Secured Loan
When you take out a mortgage it’s classified as a secure loan, which means when you don’t pay the loan they’ll be able to take your home away. In a perfect world, you’ll have as few secured loans as possible.
You could pay a credit card instead of a mortgage, but it would mean they could take your home. Even though you won’t miss your credit card payments, they couldn’t take your home even if you did completely ignore them because a credit card isn’t classified as a secure loan.
It’s Easier To Enjoy Retirement
Nobody should have to pay debts when they’re retired. Sadly, so many people are struggling now, so it’s much more common than you think. It will eventually start to hurt your mental and physical health.
How can you enjoy retirement if you’re always worrying? Maybe you’ll even have to stay on at work because you can’t afford to retire. Pay off your mortgage to ensure you don’t have any stress when you retire.
Don’t Leave It Too Late
Nobody is saying you should try to pay off your mortgage as soon as possible, but it’s something you’ve got to start considering as the years go by.
On the heels of the Top 10 names of men who are likely to cheat on you, , a free background check that searches public, criminal, arrest, civil, speeding tickets and more has just released the Top 10 Female Gold Diggers and the list puts Jennifer on top.
Identity theft has been on the rise with 1 in 8 searches coming up with a criminal past, and with that comes a rise in ‘gold diggers’ or women who are just chasing the money, legally or not. DirtSearch.org pulled data from over 2 million background searches and looked closely at the female names most often searched. What came back was petty crimes such as personal property, vandalism and identity theft. Out of that list, the names that come up most often in the top 10 are Jennifer, Jessica and Michelle, followed by Lisa and Ashley.
Here are the Top 10:
1. Jennifer
2. Jessica
3. Michelle
4. Lisa
5. Ashley
6. Amanda
7. Melissa
8. Stephanie
9. Nicole
10. Angela
So if you are a man dating a woman ( or a woman dating a man or a man dating a man or a woman dating a woman) and are questioning if maybe your girl has a shady past or are a qualified ‘gold digger’ just after your bank account, here are ways to tell your girl is a Gold Digger or make sure she is not on the ‘dirty’ list:
1. A sense of entitlement: She thinks she is a princess and has no long-term or short-term goals. Search her first name and last name anonymously on a background search site such as DirtSearch.org. Sites such as that one searches through online public records based on an algorithm and aggregates data across the internet to find what is listed online.
2. Trouble paying their bills: Gold diggers drop hints that they may be evicted or their car might be repossessed when instead they are buying $400 shoes and watches.
3. Age range: The girl is 30 years younger than you but tells you that she is 15 years younger.
4. She never pays for anything.
5. She is into expensive and lavish gifts. The girl asks you to pay for nails, hair and lavish trips.
6. They indulge in a pipe dream: She is constantly talking about becoming an actress or a model.
The company also earlier released 10 U.S. states where background checks are most prevalent. The Top 10 States are as follows:
Arizona
California
Texas
Florida
Illinois
New York
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Michigan
Georgia
Although we live in the richest and most advanced society the world has ever known, many of us say we need more money in order to be happy, notes best-selling business book author Doug Vermeeren.
“Even some of those in the top percentile of earners often feel like they don’t have enough money,” says Vermeeren, (www.DouglasVermeeren.com), an international speaker who consults with celebrities, business executives and professional athletes.
“The math is simple: More money does not equal more happiness. It’s our attitude toward money, not the amount, that influences our happiness the most.”
Happiness researchers Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, professors at the Harvard Business School, recently published research indicating that it’s not money that makes people happy, nor the things people buy with it. Rather, it’s the experiences one has that ultimately account for happiness.
“How you experience your money on a day-to-day basis is what matters,” Vermeeren says. “If the software running in your brain is constantly reinforcing the message, ‘it’s not enough,’ then that is likely how you will see yourself and experience your life – as ‘not enough.’ ”
The world’s richest city- is it Tokyo or Dubai? The top ranking seems up for grabs and changes from year to year.
Harvard’s Happiness researcher Elizabeth Dunn
Vermeeren reviews the three fallacies of abundance as it relates to happiness:
• We are all entitled to a certain amount of wealth: The feeling that we deserve or are owed a certain amount of wealth will always make us unhappy with whatever we have. While we are entitled to certain human rights, those do not include a winning lottery ticket. In reality, we are not owed any amount of abundance and, in fact, should count ourselves lucky if we’re able to meet our basic needs; many in the world are not. More of us, however, would be happier simply appreciating what we have.
• The result of our labors is money: Money is a means to an end, not an end in itself. This can be a challenge to keep in mind since so much of our lives are spent in the pursuit of money. We work and go to school to support ourselves and our families. We see things we want, and we know we need more money for them. Study after study shows, however, that what really makes us happy is what we do and who we do it with, and not how much money we spend.
• We’ll be happiest when we finally reach our goal: We are happiest when we are progressing toward a goal. When we lose sight of our goal, veer off the path toward our goal, and even achieve our goal, we’re less happy. Rather than setting one goal and deciding you will be happy when you meet it, you’ll be most happy if you continually set goals and relish your journey toward them.
Doug Vermeeren is an internationally renowned public speaker, author, movie producer and director. His life coaching strategies help those from all walks of life, with clients including business executives, celebrities, professional athletes and more. Throughout the last decade, Vermeeren has conducted extensive first hand research into the lives of more than 400 of the world’s top contemporary achievers, making him a sought-after commentator on news outlets including ABC, FOX, CNN and more. He has written three titles contributing to Guerilla Marketing, the best-selling business series in publishing, which is included reading in the Harvard Business School.
His documentaries include the award-winning film, The Opus, which has been published by Random House as a book in 23 countries. Vermeeren’s latest film, The Gratitude Experiment , has received critical acclaim. For the Silo, Ginny Grimsley.
Everyone has a relationship with money, but for women, it’s much more fraught with emotion, says Meriflor Toneatto.
When we avoid and ignore those emotions, we allow them to quietly guide our decision-making – which inevitably holds us back.
“Understanding our emotions, fears and doubts about money and how they affect our behavior can help us heal them so we can experience financial and personal freedom,” says Toneatto, an entrepreneur, certified business and life coach, and author of “Money, Manifestation & Miracles: 8 Principles for Transforming Women’s Relationship with Money.” For women, money is an emotional currency. It’s tied to our sense of self-worth and self-confidence, and our feelings of safety and security. These feelings often translate into self-limiting decisions.
The effect can be profound. Consider female entrepreneurs:
“The number of women-owned U.S and Canada. businesses is growing 1.5 times faster than the national U.S. average, but a report from 2013 found that they’re still contributing less than 4 percent of overall business revenues, about the same as they were in 2007,” Toneatto says.
“Our businesses are smaller because we’re less likely than men to borrow in order to expand. We’re afraid to take financial risks,” she says citing a U.S. Department of Commerce report..
And in the corporate world:
Women comprise half the workforce, yet hold the majority of lower-wage jobs in the United States, according to the 2014 State of the Union address.
What are the emotions shaping so many of our decisions? Toneatto cites five:
Fear: The most common emotion among women is fear. With money, we fear not having enough of it; that we’ll lose it all and never get it back. Nearly including those according to the 2013 Women, Money and Power Study.
And we fear an abundance of money. We may fail to negotiate a higher salary because we fear we can’t live up to it. Successful women may be reluctant to reach higher because we fear failure — and losing it all.
These fears often have roots in situations we were exposed worth. They send a strong signal that we need to root out their source and heal it.
Guilt: People who say things like, “I feel guilty when I spend instead of save” or “I never buy anything unless it’s on sale” have guilt feelings associated with money. These, too, are often rooted in the fears and messages we saw and heard in childhood about not having enough money. Many of us are natural nurturers who’ve gotten the message that “good” women are selfless, and so we may freely, even recklessly, spend on others while withholding from ourselves.
Shame: This painful emotion cuts whether worthy and deserving. We avoid talking about shame, and so it exerts control over us. With money, shame is commonly connected to amassing a lot of debt and hiding it because we fear being judged, humiliated, and disliked.
Anger: This emotion repels money, opportunities and people because it can leave us closed off emotionally and physically from others. It’s based in a belief in the unfairness of life and/or the unfairness of money. A person who becomes angry about money may be angry at herself for missing an opportunity or for mishandling money in the past. Anger can lead to trust issues and to over-protecting every cent – even hoarding money.
Blame: Anger and blame often go hand in hand. hand in hand. It stems from feeling disappointed or wronged because you believe your life would have been easier and/or better if someone – maybe parents or a spouse — had been able to provide you with more money. Blame can sabotage relationships with both people and money for years.
“At some point in our lives, we all have felt one or more of these emotions,” Toneatto says. “The good thing is, once you begin to recognize them, they’re like a flashing yellow ‘caution!’ light.”
About Meriflor Toneatto
Meriflor Toneatto is the founder and CEO of Power With Soul, a company dedicated to empowering female entrepreneurs and professionals by helping them transform their relationship with money. The author of “Money, Manifestation & Miracles: 8 Principles for Transforming Women’s Relationship with Money.” Toneatto holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration and management and graduate certifications in personal, professional and financial coaching. A former corporate executive, she is a recipient of the Amethyst Award for Excellence and Outstanding Achievement from the government of Ontario, Canada.
Debt is much more common than you think. Almost everyone has encountered it at least once in his or her life, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. What is most important is being able to recognize it and address that you need help.
One way to get help is by consulting a not-for-profit credit counselling agency that offers holistic support in all aspects of debt maintenance. The right agency will offer advice on everything from how to spot and avoid credit repair scams to delivering judgment-free credit rebuilding advice through wise credit and money management.
To avoid future situations of financial uncertainty start saving for an emergency fund once you’ve been able to knock off some of your debt. Having a safety net will make you feel more stable in years to come, and as the title suggests, it’s always an excellent idea to have funds available if any sort of emergency takes place.
It takes time and dedication, but you’ll thank yourself later on when you can pay debts off in half the amount of time as it would normally take.
How Much Should You Save?
Of course, everyone’s situation is different. Depending on if you have a family or you live on your own, if there is a beloved pet that may require medical care — there are many factors that can affect how you should consider initiating your emergency fund.
It’s a common belief that a typical person should be able to access six-months of salary at any time. This is incredibly unrealistic for most people, but it can be a long-term goal.
Look at what you earn per month, and think of an amount that makes sense to set aside in a savings account each paycheque.
How to Build the Emergency Fund
Speak with your Credit Counsellor first to gain some insight on what your emergency fund could look like, and consider these ideas.
The first step is to save one month of living expenses. Sit down and plan out how much your food, entertainment, bills, rent, and so on cost. Work out how long it would take to save that amount, and set aside a chunk of money each month. Even if takes a few months, the point is that you’re working toward a goal.
If time and health allow, get supplemental income. Are you free on weekends to work a few shifts at your friend’s store? Perhaps you could take on an additional freelance writing or design gig to chip away at in the evenings. It’s hard work, but if you’re able to take on something a little extra, it will pay off.
Save your tax refund. It might not be possible to save the entire amount, but if you’re able to, do it! After you’ve filed your taxes and if you qualify for a refund, saving it can be a simple way to boost your savings.
Think about the benefits of opening an emergency fund. You’ll feel so much more secure and calm knowing that there are funds available in case something unpredictable happens.
You will get back on track and you can plan for the future.
My book, Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went, tells us that “The study of money, above all other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to disguise truth or to evade truth, not to reveal it.
The process by which banks create money is so simple the mind is repelled.”
Graham Towers, the first Governor of the Bank of Canada, explained the process by which banks create money: “The manufacturing process consists of making a pen-and-ink or typewriter entry on a card in a book. That is all. Each and every time a bank makes a loan, new bank credit is created – new deposits – brand new money.
John Kenneth Galbraith- mystic or curmudgeon? image: poorwilliam.net
Broadly speaking, all new money comes out of a bank in the form of loans. As loans are debts, then under the present system all money is debt.”
Money created by banks and other financial institutions is interest-bearing debt. They create the principal and expect their money to be returned with interest. We can’t create interest the way they create the principal, so we must obtain it from some other money that was also created as interest-bearing debt. There is never enough of this money in existence at any time to pay off all of our collective debt. More interest-bearing money must continually be borrowed into existence.
In 2013, not so long ago, the ratio of household debt in Canada, including mortgages and consumer debt, was more than 160% of disposable income after mandatory deductions and income taxes and this statistic will keep growing with each year. The federal debt in Canada then was more than $600 billion, and interest payments on the debt in 2011-2012 cost $31 billion dollars or 11 cents of every tax dollar. Now in 2019, the federal debt has grown to $768 billion.
The five largest banks in Canada reported more than $27 billion in combined net income for the 2012 fiscal year.
Canada’s central bank, the Bank of Canada, claims to “regulate credit and currency in the best interests of the economic life of the nation”, and to mitigate “fluctuations in the general level of production, trade, prices and employment”, yet the purchasing power of the Canadian dollar has dropped steadily since the Bank of Canada was founded in 1934. As a store of value the dollar has not performed very well. It should also be noted that Canadian banknotes ceased to be redeemable for gold in 1929.
Bank of Canada notes are fiat money that the federal government declares to be legal tender, and the Bank has a monopoly on the issuance of bank notes. These notes are supplied to financial institutions to satisfy public demand. Chartered banks in Canada are no longer required to maintain statutory cash reserves for the loans they make. According to some estimates, Bank of Canada notes add up to less than 2% of the total amount of loans made by the banks and other financial institutions.
Money created as interest-bearing debt is scarce from the moment it is created, which curtails its effectiveness as a medium of exchange. Every dollar comes into existence as interest-bearing debt, and the overall cost of interest is reflected in the price of everything we buy. This is not to suggest that interest should be banned or that interest rates need to be controlled by a central bank. Anyone should be free to lend his or her savings at a mutually agreeable rate. Equity financing, with shared risks and rewards, is another option.
What is being suggested here is that we ask some fundamental questions about the monetary system and the function of money.
Are you able to use your goods, services, labour, knowledge, skills and abilities to obtain enough money to purchase other goods and services?
Are you able to obtain credit when you need it and are also willing and able to pay it back? Are you able to negotiate an agreeable price for credit and loans? Are you on a treadmill of debt, no matter how hard you work, how many expenses you cut, or how hard you try to save?
Are your savings secure and retaining their value?
Money is basically credit, like an IOU. Our ability to exchange our goods and services should not be hampered by the price of credit or an inadequate supply of money. Anything physically possible is financially possible. We can extend credit to anyone who wants to purchase anything from us and who is willing and able to provide us with a mutually agreeable amount of his or her goods and services. In essence, goods and services pay for other goods and services.
A mutual credit clearing system is an alternative method that can be used to facilitate reciprocal exchange.
Members of a credit clearing association have a trading account where an ongoing record is kept of their sales and purchases, their credits and debits. Every transaction includes a credit entry for one member and a debit entry for another, but interest does not have to be paid when an account temporarily has more debits than credits. Credit is extended to members from the rest of the traders in the group, and the major benefit of this system is that members can obtain interest-free credit. In the long term every member is expected to provide as much as they obtain. It all balances out within the community of traders. It’s all a simple matter of bookkeeping.
Direct credit clearing systems can be operated on a fee-for-service basis to cover expenses and to compensate those who provide this service. Nobody is ever forced to join any trading group and members are also free to leave when their debts are clear. Anyone can start their own credit clearing service, which allows competition between associations based on quality and price of service. Associations can also cooperate with each other to increase the number of potential trading partners and broaden the range of goods and services that are available.
Credit does not have to be scarce or expensive. We can control our own credit and allocate it as we choose. Are your best interests being served by the money you use? For The Silo, John Kenneth Galbraith.
Being broke sucks and you don’t have to come from a wealthy family, have the next billion-dollar idea or work 18-hour days to become rich, says self-made millionaire Mike Finley. In fact, you don’t have to be extraordinary in any of the headline-grabbing ways. What you need is the self-awareness to avoid wasting Financial Happiness.
“Money used wisely can give you financial security ”
Finley lists 10 of the most common money traps that lead to consumers going broke:
1- Making the appearance of wealth one of your top priorities by acquiring more stuff. The material trappings of a faux lifestyle, as seen in magazines and advertisements, are not good term happiness.
2- Working a job you hate, and spending your free time buying happiness. Instead, find fulfilling work Monday through Friday so you are not compensating for your misery with expensive habits during the weekend.
Even worse than living paycheck to paycheck- advance loan on your paycheck.
3- Living paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about saving money. Don’t live for today, as if that’s all that matters. Have you already achieved all of your dreams by this moment? If not, embrace hope and plan for tomorrow. (Appreciating your life today doesn’t require unnecessary expenditures.)
4- Stopping your education when someone hands you a diploma; never reading a book on personal finance. Just about any expert will tell you that the most reliable way out of poverty is education. Diplomas shouldn’t be the end of learning; they should be a milestone in a lifetime of acquiring wisdom.
5- Playing the lottery as often as possible. While you’re at it, hitting the casino! Magical thinking, especially when it comes to money, is a dangerous way to seek financial security.
6- Running up your credit cards and making the minimum payments whenever possible. Paying interest on stuff you really don’t need is a tragic waste of money.
7- When you come into some free money, spending it. Feeling like you deserve it. By that logic, you’re saying that a future version of you doesn’t deserve the money, which can be multiplied with wise investments.
8- Buying the biggest wedding and the biggest ring so everyone can see just how fabulous you really are. Nothing says “Let’s start our future together” like blowing your entire savings on one evening.
9- Treating those “amazing” celebrities and “successful” athletes as role models. Trying to be just like them whenever possible. As far as we know, there’s only one you the universe has ever known. Don’t dilute your unique individuality by chasing an image.
10- Blaming others for your problems in life. Repeat after me: I am not a victim. The victim mentality is an attempt to rationalize poor habits and bad decision-making.
“If you’re feeling uncomfortable with your financial situation, don’t just sit there in a malaise of ‘If only I had more money,’ ” Finley says. “Instead, use it as motivation for a better life; that’s why the discomfort is there.”
Like most North Americans, Mike Finley was raised with no education in personal finances. Joining the Army out of high school, he realized he didn’t understand money management and began the task of educating himself. After 26 years in the service, during which he practiced the principles he learned, he retired a millionaire. Finley is the author of “Financial Happine$$,” and teaches a popular financial literacy class at the University of Northern Iowa. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.
The payments world has long been governed by the world’s great financial institutions. Banks and states have dominated the world’s spending habits, regulating transactions and payment methods.
The last decade has seen a shift away from the great institutions having total control over the financial landscape, and it’s been largely down to the digital revolution. Recent years have seen growing partnerships with the technology industry. Tech has sought more innovative ways for the financial industry to operate, and a greater freedom for consumers to spend their money.
Find current trends and what the future has in store for spending in this interesting infographic below from our friends at moneyguru.com. At the time of posting 1 British Pound = $1.42 US and $1.79 CDN.
The usual route to home ownership tends to start with meeting a special someone. When you’re a couple and you want to begin a life together, it makes more sense to get a new home for yourself. You may plan to get a roomier home for the two of you, and especially if kids are part of your plan in the foreseeable future.
What if you’re single? That doesn’t mean that you can’t get a house in Montreal, or a condo in NDG (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce) or anywhere else in Canada. Here are some tips that can help if you’re single and determined to buy your own home:
Get your finances in order. This is the first and most important rule, as money will always be an issue for you especially since you don’t have a partner to share the expenses. It can be problematic to get a mortgage when you’re single since you’re less likely to repay a loan than two people together who both work for a living. So, pay off your credit card debts, raise your credit score, finish paying for your car, and have enough money to put down 20% of the house price as down payment.
Have lots of money in the bank. What if you lose your job right after moving into your own home? You’ll need money for all your expenses while you search for a new job. You need some money in your bank account that’s equal to three to six times your monthly wages. Keep in mind that as a homeowner you have to pay for your home’s upkeep along with home insurance and property taxes.
Make sure to account for all your possible expenses. First-time owners are often unpleasantly surprised when they encounter expenses that they don’t normally deal with when they were apartment tenants. Home ownership can be very costly, especially when you have to remodel your home. It’s also difficult to estimate what you’d have to spend, especially when you have a backyard to maintain.
See if a condo makes more sense for you. In general, a condo unit makes a lot more sense than an actual house if you’re still single. A condo will probably be located closer to where you work. It’ll also be located right in the middle of the city you’re in, so entertainment establishments are conveniently nearer. A condo building can have amenities that you’ll appreciate when they’re nearby, such as a gym or a salon. It also provides you with more social opportunities to meet new people so that you’re no longer single (if that’s what you want, of course).
Be conscious about security. Security is another reason why condos work best for singles as they usually have guards in the lobby to keep out strangers. If you’re living in your own house, you may want to put in a strong lock on your doors and perhaps on your gate. You should make friends with your neighbours, who can call the police when they see strangers in your home when you’re not there. A security camera tied into your smartphone can help as well, though a dog can also be useful.
Look for houses with a friend. Couples have the advantage of having someone to discuss their home options so that they’re more certain of their choices. If you’re looking for possible homes to buy, make sure you call a friend to come along. They can help you think logically so your emotions don’t get the best of you.
Of course, one “side effect” of having your own home when you’re single is that you generally become more attractive to potential partners. Just make sure you buy the right home when you can actually afford it, so you can actually enjoy your new status as a homeowner. For the Silo, Dimitry Karloff.
Fact: Fewer than 35 per cent of workers in Ontario have a workplace-based pension plan. Coverage for workers in the private sector is even lower, with only 28 per cent having the benefit of plan membership.
Government Working on Made-in-Ontario Plan
Premier Kathleen Wynne announced today that the Right Honourable Paul Martin has agreed to serve as Special Advisor to the Minister of Finance. Mr. Martin will work with the government on a made-in-Ontario solution to enhance retirement income security for the people of Ontario.
Charles Sousa- Ontario’s Minister of Finance will benefit from Paul Martin’s experiences as Canada’s Prime Minister and Federal Minister of Finances. CP
The announcement followed a meeting between the Premier and the former Prime Minister, where they discussed the urgent need to help hardworking people build a more secure retirement. As federal finance minister, Mr. Martin played an instrumental role in the 1997 federal-provincial agreement to reform the CPP. These reforms were critical to ensuring the plan would be financially sustainable.
Helping people retire with dignity and security is part of the government’s economic plan to invest in people, build modern infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.
QUOTES
“I want to thank Paul Martin for taking on this role as Special Advisor. Together, I know we will help protect Ontario’s hardworking people in their retirement with a made-in-Ontario solution that is viable, responsible and puts people first.”
–– Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario
“I am pleased that Paul Martin has agreed to act as Special Advisor on retirement income to the government of Ontario. After the federal government failed to agree to enhance the CPP, our government announced that we will move ahead with a made-in-Ontario solution to enhance retirement savings in the province. Paul Martin will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience as we work towards ensuring that future generations have a more secure retirement.”
–– Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance
QUICK FACTS
The Right Honourable Paul Martin was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006.
Fewer than 35 per cent of workers in Ontario have a workplace-based pension plan. Coverage for workers in the private sector is even lower, with only 28 per cent having the benefit of plan membership.
Retirement savings experts suggest that individuals require 50 to 70 per cent of their pre-retirement income to maintain their standard of living in retirement. Many Ontarians, including middle- and higher-income earners, may not be saving enough to meet this target.
The Ontario government will introduce legislation to establish a Financial Accountability Officer, an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly. Ontario is the first province in Canada to introduce this oversight measure.
If the legislation is passed, the Financial Accountability Officer would provide independent analysis to all MPPs about the state of the province’s finances, including the Ontario Budget, as well as trends in the provincial and national economies. In addition, at the request of a legislative committee or an MPP, other types of research could be provided by the officer, including the financial cost or benefit to the province of any public bill. The Financial Accountability Officer could also be asked to review and estimate the financial cost or benefit to the province of any proposal that relates to a matter over which the Legislature has jurisdiction, such as the establishment of a new program.
Increasing financial openness is part of the government’s plan to work collaboratively, attract investment, create jobs and help people in their everyday lives.
“We are proposing the creation of a Financial Accountability Officer to further
enhance the openness and transparency of government. This would also include the
financial assessment of any public bill brought forward to the Legislature by an
MPP. The work undertaken by this independent officer will help better inform the
house on possible financial impacts of a proposed bill and increase information
available to Ontarians.”
– Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance
“We are fulfilling our commitments with the introduction of the Financial
Accountability Officer Act. I look forward to working with the opposition to pass
this Bill and other important legislation that we will be debating this fall.
Ontarians want to see minority government working, and I’m optimistic we’ll be able
to make progress in the Legislature.”
– John Milloy, Government House Leader
QUICK FACTS
§ The Financial Accountability Officer would be selected by a panel consisting of
one member from each recognized party, chaired by the Speaker of the Assembly who is
a non-voting member.
§ The Financial Accountability Officer would produce an annual report on or before
July 31 of each year.
§ The establishment of a Financial Accountability Officer builds on previous
government actions to enhance accountability and transparency, such as the Fiscal
Transparency and Accountability Act, 2004.
Ontario is taking steps to provide vulnerable consumers with protection against unfair business practices of some companies that offer debt settlement services.
As part of the province’s continuing commitment to strengthen consumer protection, the Ontario government intends to introduce legislation that, if passed, would impose new rules for debt settlement services, including:
Banning companies from charging upfront fees for debt settlement services.
Limiting the total amount of fees consumers are charged.
Requiring clear, easy to understand contracts.
Establishing a 10-day cooling-off period, providing consumers more time to consider their agreements.
Allowing the licenses of non-compliant companies to be revoked.
These proposed reforms would help protect the rights of consumers and are part of the new Ontario government’s commitment to building a strong economy and a fair, safe and informed marketplace.
QUOTES
“Ontario consumers need to have confidence that they’re getting what they pay for when purchasing debt settlement services. We’re going to introduce legislation that would protect some of our most vulnerable consumers from being taken advantage of, at a time when they need the most help.”
— Tracy MacCharles, Minister of Consumer Services MPP Pickering-Scarborough-East
“Ontarians work hard for their money. Why just give it away to a company that is going to take your up-front fee but not actually settle with your creditors? I’m pleased the Ontario government is strengthening protections for consumers looking for help from debt settlement companies”
— Gail Vaz-Oxlade, financial writer and host of “Til Debt Do Us Part”
QUICK FACTS
Ontario is joining other provinces like Alberta and Manitoba that regulated companies offering debt settlement services.
There are currently 22 companies and 38 credit counselling providers offering debt settlement services in Ontario.
The average consumer debt in Ontario is more than $25,000 per person.
LEARN MORE
Read more about how the Ontario government protects consumers who use companies that offer debt settlement services. www.sse.on.gov.ca
