Flippin the Stats Around

There are been a lot of talk among the blogging community about the Personal Financing Conference going down this October. It’s been really interesting to read the different points of views form bloggers who are and aren’t going. Myself I am not going. I can’t justify the cost, not that I have looked into it. but I live in Ontario that’s a two plane tickets and hotel costs and food and and… enough said. Ninja isn’t going despite him being debt free and having must more cash than I. But I suspect that given his current long distance relationship his vacation days will be spend going to see Girl Ninja, and really who could blame him for that!! 


Yesterday the TD bank of Canada released a survey that they did on savings and debt in Canada. There were a couple things I found interesting about this survey, first it’s very much out of date since it was conducted in the first week of December 2010. If you put that aside though and look at the data I don’t think it’s as bad as the bank is reporting it to be.  For example 38% of people reported that they had no savings at all, flip that number and you get 62% of Canadians reported that they have some form of savings. Look some savings is better than no savings, even $1,000 is better than nothing. It’s clear that 62% of Canadians surveyed are getting the message.


When asked why respondents were not saving enough they said they were paying down debt (credit card, car loans ect.). Only 12% of Canadians who were surveyed said “they shopped beyond their means.” This means a whopping 88% of Canadians were making better choices with their disposable money. No mater what that 88% is doing with their money as long as they have stopped adding to their debt total they are in a much better position financially. Yes I think savings is a very important thing to have, this is why despite all the issues I have had with ING I haven’t stopped my automatic withdrawals for my emergency fund. However the problem here, is that people who commission these surveys often forget the dollar only stretches so thin. I am sure that if it was in everyone’s power we would all be debt free and have 6-12 months away for emergencies. However this is just not the case. It is also a lot harder to climb out of the finical whole than it is to get into it.


Debt isn’t a new concept; it’s just become more accessible in the last 40 years.


Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but non are fun when you set about retiring them. Ogden Nash


The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave. 
Proverbs 22:7