Canadians borrowing more against their homes

I see it every day. People making banks rich. They borrow and spend then pay interest. Some of the older people were taught to save then spend and then the banks didn't get rich

I agree, people do not get it.The 'credit card " company is really the bank lending money at loan shark rates.The Royal Bank credit card, get it? The government is only too happy to see the price of gas jacked up, because they get a cut, and check the timing, The election is over, and the house is not sitting.We need to wake up and demand this financial rape stops, The price will drop , and people will think they are lucky, but it will be about 5 cents higher than the original price.
And some goon from the oil patch has the nerve to talk about people not changing THEIR DRIVING HABITS,as if it is the fault of the public.You mean how dare we drive to work,or pick up our children from school ,or go to buy groceries?These hikes are a tax increase , hidden from view.The public should do everything possible to not use the car, see how they like that.

Drive a beater, don't need a new Dodge Ram 4x4, rent don't own a house. Don't use a credit card if you can't cover it before months end, don't eat in resturants , only on a special ocasion maybe. Shop the Thrift store first for the wants, some good deals to be had, be savy when you buy, don't drive when you can walk, you'll live longer.Quit smoking. Make your own wine and beer. Stay away from the mall. go only when you absolutly have to. Make coffee at home, saves $30 maybe $40 a month. and on and on we go. I shudder when I think of people that pay out hard earned money in interest that will contribute to a bank ceo's bonus that will make more than you in one year than you do in ten.

i paid off my home when i was 37 and that was one of the best feelings i have ever had and trust me i was incredibly tempted to borrow on the house. i am a single father with two 13 year old sons who i can now spend the money i was using for a mortgage on. they never went without but at 13 they are into hockey, soccer, baseball, and anything else they can fit into their lives. the extra 1500 a month goes a long ways toward their activities and their education. and as a typical parent i still go without a lot of things but i sleep a lot better knowing i have zero debt.

Just remember what you call debt capitalists call investment.

It is not by chance that Canada and the rest of the world are so heavily in debt. It has been a well thought out plan, that has been in use for more than 40 years.

To borrow against yourself is freedom, to borrow against your children is crimminal, to borrow against people that are not even born yet that is evil.

The next 3-5 generations on this planet are in serious trouble. Fiscally, socially, and environmentally we leave them nothing but debt.

The only thing that is left to be seen is if the people will except it. And by the amount of people that go to work for this system everyday I would say they have excepted it.

Hopefully God will have mercy on our souls because I am sure our children won't.

Dont use credit cards and dont borrow on your house. If you dont need it to survive dont get it. unless you can pay cash. If you want a car but have one thats paid for now and still runs make a second acount and start paying into it a little more then the amount you would expect to pay till
you realy need to get the car. Main reason new tech is comming out and regulations for 2013 cars will have high mpg. Try to avoid anything that charges you intrest to use. If you can do this you will make your life less stressfull. Its how i live my truck and van are paid for and i have put 500 a month into an acount an can buy next car cash will not till one of my working vehichals stop working.

I think people are playing with fire here,when the housing market goes down prices will follow and like the late eighties early nineties in Ontario many will owe more than what their homes are worth.People are not listening to Flaherty and Carney but why should they when are governments spend the same way as they are,and like in the states it will be everybody's fault but their own.

The fact is housing has become un-affordable to much of the population, who must rent. Those who could afford to own a home cannot maintain it's value without increasing investment in maintenance. Homes are not built to last as long as they once were. Continually changing styles, greed driven construction practices, and the movement towards the largest profit margin taking priority over quality all combine to ensure that most houses require major investments regularily. True value over time is not factored into any economic policies, nor is the human factor. The system is designed to take all land away from the majority over time. Though everyone has the potential to be in the benefiting top group, the reality is that this group will ultimately be relatively small, and the rest of the people will have to work to pay for their housing on a regular basis, or be incapacitated in a manner accepted by society as a legitimate incapacitation for societal supports to be administered in a manner society deems appropriate.

Canadian debt loads are at their highest? Making your home equity work WHO? No control over rising gas prices? Gas prices rising cause so and so said.... Canadian economy is Strong? Biggest deficit to boost the economy and create jobs? Forcing the HST down our throats? CAN "WE THE PEOPLE", "ALL "TOGETHER" PLEASE WAKE UP AND PUT A END TO THIS @#$% !

What's all this commenting......... it's the Snap and Crackle before the POP !

Canadian housing asset values rising at 10% per year for over a decade, while the core inflation rate hovers at 1.5-2.0% per annum over the same period (no shift in supply or demand), can mean only one thing: our own real estate bubble is ready to pop. POP!

2 years ago, I had a house worth $385K and which I had paid $200K and still owed $125K, we had a sick baby and my wife quit her job to take care of him, to avoid using home equity, we used our Credit Line of 50K which was empty, then after 1 1/2 years, credit line was at max and my bank which starts with C and ends with C offered us a way out, equity !!! when you are in trouble, even when your brain says "No way", a way out is great... so we went for it, now I owe $220K on a house I originally purchased at 200K ! yes I can sell probably at $400K, but I don;t want to move... Why am I saying this, BECAUSE this same bank offered me another credit line of 50K which I refused, but I could not believe the greed and the way they presented it, they said.... just in case you run into problems, much safer to have the space in PCL ....like they were helping me!!!

used to be young people eventually purchased a 'starter" home, eventually if circumstances allowed graduated to the mansion on the hill.......................we lived in our first home for years before I could afford proper living room furniture.....................now it's all set to go after the honeymoon.............big house, big car, all the "new " furniture and the credit cards.....we went eleven years without a vacation because we couldn't afford it...not complaining, just commenting. today....no mortgage, no car payments..........it's nice, not looking to retire, started small.....worked real hard......enjoying this part of my life.............stay away from debt. We took a money management course once, a little outdated for today's world, however, it stated, do not borrow money for anything that depreciates in value.....hence the cars, furniture, toys. Realistically, most of us need to borrow for the car, but pay it off as soon as possible, unless you can write off the cost of a lease don't do it.....pay a lot of money and end up with scrap metal in the end. Interest rates will go up, gas prices will go up, food prices will go up, taxes will go......UP.

Basic needs have all shot skywards too, don't forget this. We have hidden cost in consumer taxes of all these expenses and even a simple little tin can of a SUV ,that most young couples with one to three tiny kids in their first years of marriage , cost what? 20-40K . often mom has to stay home to wean the babies initially, and this takes off more from the takehome pay, in spite of govt assistance.
I also think that many, esp the older people, have lost a chunk of their life's savings, with the stock market crash of the past 2 cycles, and mutual funds are not improving, with administrators making money in their admin fees but not working for the investors.
you see the mutual funds sink in relation to the stock market fall, but when the stock index rise, you don't see the mutual funds rise in relation.
much like the credit cards charging exhorbitant rates of the 90's and still charging these unchanged rates these days when we are not seeing double digit lending rates.
so really, as much as the critics are saying people are over borrowing bc they are spendthrift,
we forget that many are just trying to keep afloat after losing all their life savings in investment.

time the Finance Minister and Bank of Canada bosses earn their keep . how is is that with all their expertise, they didn't know see the stock market crashes coming.
and now that a "recovery" is barely there, they are now talking of increasing the lending rate.

so , let me ask, how do you see a "recovery" when so many people are over leveraged?
i think something smell fishy.

Yes, the young can't start from the bottom, they have to start from the top! Every one needs a new or newish home, a small car is not good enough, it has to be a pick up with a gas guzzling hemi engine. How many young mothers with a child or two do we see in parking lots driving these monsters to go grocery shopping? It has long been known, that North Americans are the most wasteful citizens on this earth. Wait til gasoline goes to $ 2,- to $ 2,50 a litre.

Nuh uh, not me! I ain't borrowing against my equity....I want to retire early.

I have been reading people's comments and everyone here is right about what they say. This is nothing yet folks wait until the barrel of oil goes to $200 - 500 a barrel and this has been predicted already. Food, clothes, gas, housing, etc. has gone through the roof already and this is only the tip of the iceberg and I am not kidding you. I pity people who owe big money on their homes and it is going to become like the US and the rest of the world. Just lately Bernie Madoff (yes the one who made off with the loot) said behind bars in prison that it is all a ponzy scheme and he is right. You pay at least 3 times the cost of the house by the time you are finished and that house isn't worth what you paid for it and then you need another mortgage just to fix it - you are never out of the woods being in debt. The same holds true with credit cards, new cars, etc. People do not need gigantic houses and big cars - this is all to keep up with the Jones' and doing that is getting people into big trouble for sure. In the past people lived in smaller homes and drove the vehicles that were made for the time and lived within their means and were able to save and put good food on the table instead of junk. It is going to shock people to see houses go down in price. In Florida there is a man who makes more money emptying out houses that are repossessed than he did selling them. This goes to show you that it is going to happen here as well. Suicides will be on the rise for sure since many people cannot take losses and the ups and downs of life.

wow these comments are great !
this article is ment to convince the stupid people that borrowing against your house is a good thing ........get ready for the pop!

I'm laughing at all the dislikes so far in this comments section, ya think a few people on yahoo have borrowed a little too much against their home? People, it's nothing personal. Enjoy your life but live within your means, only do it if it's absolutely needed. I don't think people truly understand how much interest they pay in their lives, the only thing you should be paying interest on is a HOME (and NOT the objects in it, unless it's big purchases you can pay off with a year or so), and in some cases a new car (especially if you commute alot, it's a convenience to have the safety of a warranty and better fuel mileage). If you looked at it objectively you'd see the truth. I have a financial plan, I will be debt free by the time I am Forty, house paid off and everything and I am a single parent. I don't even make that much money, it's all about keeping it simple.

There goes your "American Dream". Bankruptcies will quadruple in the next 5 years. Nobody can survive the recession of 2012. It's going to be huge and you will finally experience what it means to live in a bachelor apartment with your wife and 2 kids. You will also start buying everything on Craigslist and eBay like I do. I also used to have $ 70K salary and now I live on $ 6800 a year.

Don't ask me how or why. Just look at China's economy. There is your answer.